Truly one of the best artists working in Macedonia, Novogradska has a decade’s worth of amazing work in electronic music, indie and soundtrack work for the legendary film director Milcho Manchevksi.
Post-Punk
[Music] Paul Haig – Scottish Christmas
[Music] Tuxedomoon – You (Christmas Mix)
There’s nothing conventional about mixing Tuxedomoon and Christmas together. But it’s here for you to enjoy!
[Music] Lonsai Maïkov – Paraklesis
It’s appropriate to celebrate the feast day of St Spyridon, the patron saint of my local church, with some Orthodox apocalyptic music, courtesy of Lonsai Maïkov out of France.
[Music] Shellac – Dude Incredible
Amazing. Post-punk with a brutal prog influence, courtesy of Steve Albini’s Shellac, which rose from the ashes of Big Black, and actually bettered that legacy.
[Music] Lanterns On The Lake – Another Tale From Another English Town
Thanks again to Max Franosch, whose taste in music remains impeccable.
Lanterns On The Lake are a group out of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, who bring out the best of modern indie rock with a sound familiar to those of us who are a bit older and remember the heyday of the 1980s and 1990s, when the music was legendary.
[Music] Dúkkulísur – Pamela
As if Iceland didn’t have a wealth of great and well-known bands, here’s yet another to add to the collection. Dúkkulísur (Paper Dolls) were/are (?) a new wave band who seem to still be around. This track was from 1984. For a bit more info, read on or look at the video over at Youtube:
From their self-titled 1984 EP.
Grapevine:
Dúkkulísurnar (“The Paper Dolls”) from Egilsstaðir took their cue from Grýlurnar, an all-girl group that appeared in ‘Með allt á hreinu’ alongside Stuðmenn. However, Dúkkulísurnar never sounded like Grýlurnar and leaned more towards The Pretenders in style. In 1982, the first Músíktilraunir was organised, a “battle of the bands”-competition that still remains a springboard for young bands. The first band to win, DRON, faded away quickly, but for Dúkkulísurnar, who won in 1983, everything “happened very fast afterwards,” as guitarist and main songwriter Gréta would later remark. Dúkkulísurnar got signed to Skífan, at the time one of two big “major” labels in Iceland, and in the summer of 1984 the first six-track EP came out. It included ‘Pamela,’ a hit song about a pregnant 15-year old who sings: “This baby was an accident, in my stomach like flares, I wish I were Pamela in Dallas.”
Dúkkulísurnar’s LP came in 1986 (‘Í léttum leik’ (“A Light Game”)—the girls always hated the title) and included the band’s second hit, ‘Svarthvíta hetjan mín’ (“My Black And White Hero”). Being in an all-girl group was nothing to build one’s future on in 1986, so everybody “got serious” and enrolled into higher education. Dúkkulísurnar were laid to rest, but of course, like most other bands, the girls would play together again decades later.
[Music] Jurica Jelić – Sve nijanse Dinare (All shades of Dinara)
I’m extremely pleased to announce the new release of Croatia’s best experimental bassist, Jurica Jelić! He hails from Knin, and produces a mélange of genres, mixing classical, post-punk, and Slavic paganism as his bass influences.
[Music Sample] Cuneiform Turns 30: The Albums of 2014
Washington D.C.-based Cuneiform Records has been publishing influential avant-prog rock music for three decades now. Steve Feigenbaum, the label’s owner, should be commended for bringing such groups like Univers Zero, Daniel Denis, Richard Pinhas and Happy Family to American consumers.
This compilation covers 30 years of great releases, and is available as a ‘name-your-price’ download, courtesy of Bandcamp.