Very little information on this weird, yet funky, Pinoy band. It seems the Philippines was a hip, funky place during the 1970s! Freaky, but fun.
[Music] The Timeless Sadness of Shigeru Umebayashi
In the Mood for Love is a stunningly good movie directed by Wong Kar-Wai, but the soundtrack is rather haunting and powerful. Iwai over at Music Tales muses on the soundtrack, scored by Shigeru Umebayashi, here.
[Music] Misha Mishenko — Metanoia [Full Album]
Very well-done dark ambient music released by Russian composer Misha Mishenko. Check out the label he’s on, Roomtone Records. Definitely worth your time.
[Music] Joachim Spieth – Tides
Joachim Spieth has has a fairly long and storied career as a musician and impresario of one of the best and bleakest of ambient record labels going today, Affin Ltd. Take my word for it: bleak, in this case, is a compliment.
There will be no Bandcamp samples or vinyl releases of this album until sometime in March of 2020, but if you hear the sound samples posted below on Joachim’s SoundCloud account, you will listen to a booming (at least on these speakers), resonant sound that gives you the feeling of being immersed in an ocean the size and power of the one seen in Andrei Tarkovsky’s masterpiece, Solaris.
There are elements of Kosmische Musik, techno at is warmest, and a hint of darkness which reminded me of the best of albums produced by Cold Meat Industry in the 1990s.
This should go down as Joachim’s masterpiece.
[Music] The Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble – The Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble
If you are patient, you will indeed run into a charmingly freaky (or freakishly charming) release on Bandcamp. Today, I want to introduce you to The Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble. They hail from North Korea, of all places, and they have a catalog of at least 85 CDs available. This compilation, release by the Manchester-based Maybles Labels, put a lot of care into curating these tracks. From their Bandcamp website:
Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble – 보천보전자악단 is North Korea’s best known musical group. The group has been active for over 25 years and has released close to 200 albums. It is a household name in North Korea and also enjoys recognition in Japan and China. The ensemble’s recognition in Japan was celebrated with a tour in 1991.
The ensemble is famous for its’ inspired use of electronic instruments including bass, guitar, synthesizer and drums. Additional electronic effects are often created and edited in a sound studio following live recordings in order to achieve the hallmark synth-pop sounds.
The ensemble has written and performed marches, polkas, waltzes, bossanova, cha-cha and ballad pieces during its long history. It has also interpreted countless traditional and revolutionary folk songs from Korea and China as well as several Russian and European tunes.
P.E.E’s music is frequently on the themes of love of ones’ country, ideology and loyalty towards the political leadership of North Korea. Friendship, love and the beauty of nature are other common themes.
Former members of the ensemble have included iconic Korean singers such as Hyon Song‑wol, Ri Kyong Suk, Jon Hye Yong and Comrade Ri Sol-ju, wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
It’s best known melody outside of North Korea is “Whistle’ from 1990, which was covered and released in South Korea by Kim Yeon-ja, to great acclaim and success.
Totalitarian countries have a good reason to release nothing but happy music. If their people actually figured out that their situation wasn’t normal, there would be a lot of officials whose heads would be mounted on pikes, so the need to appease the masses is of critical importance.
[Music] Pandemonium Trio – Play Drone & Drama — barry joseph cullen
The latest TONEBURST release is now available. https://toneburst.bandcamp.com/ Live Electronic Music. Improvisation. All frequencies. Paul Stapleton Miguel Ortiz Barry Cullen released March 6, 2020 The cassettes include a sound collage not available to stream or download.
via Pandemonium Trio – Play Drone & Drama — barry joseph cullen
[Music] Yeong Choi – Pizzapi
The cover art grabbed my attention, I have to admit. This is one of those times where I probably would have passed this up without the shockingly surreal cover art and cheesy tune titles, but I’m glad I stopped by. Yeong Choi is a pianist, programmer and composer from Seoul, South Korea who puts up an album that has a feel like a soundtrack for a new, more acid-laden version of Alice In Wonderland. Quite good, this.
[Music] Red Sails Billow – The Waves Stretch Infinite
If post-rock were created sometime during the 1970s, I could see an album like this getting extended play on my local radio station. Red Sails Billow hails from Bitola, Macedonia, and I have to say that it’s a pretty good example of what’s cooking in the Balkan post-rock scene.
[Music] What is serious music?! — Stephen Jones: a blog
Stephen Jones put up a very interesting blog post in October of last year asking an eternal question vexing music fans.
*For main page, click here!* (in main menu, under WAM) I’ve just added a lengthy article on the demotion of WAM, and the flawed concept of “serious music”. It’s based on the stimulating work of Richard Taruskin on the “classical music crisis” prompted by the defection of critics to pop music since the 1960s, as he challenges […]
[Music] Chronos ensemble. Evgeny Skurat – Byzantine Passions
We celebrate the beginning of Great Lent with Byzantine music. From the website of the Chronos Ensemble:
Wonderful Byzantine Music!!!“Byzantine Passions” or “Chants of Holy Week” were recorded at 2012. This is a solo album of Evgeny Skurat, the art director of Chronos ensemble.
Last sermon of Christ, the anointing by a sinful woman and Judas betrayal, the Last supper, Passions, Crucifixion and Entombment of Jesus are chanted in Greek and Slavic.
The music of the most distinguished post-Byzantine composers is recorded on this double CD. These compositions by German of New Patras, Nikolaos of Smyrna, Petr of Peloponnese, Theodor of Phocaea and Petr Filanfidis one can not find even on the albums from Greece.
Most of the chanted texts were composed in VIII-IXth by John of Damascus, Cosmas of Maiuma, Theodore the Studite and Kassia – the saints of the Eastern church.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 