black (w)hole are an Austrian drone-psych band who are covering similar ground to Masaki Batoh’s legendary group Ghost. Don’t think that this is their only influence, however. One can hear shards of Blue Cheer, The Melvins, and other Japanese psych bands like High Rise and White Heaven. This is well-recorded, powerful, and drone-laden enough to let your mind melt for a few moments. Recommended.
[Music] The Natural Yogurt Band – Spectral Flux
This charming release came into my inbox at about the same moment when Chris, a good mate of mine, was hipping me to the wonders of Library Music.
The Natural Yogurt Band have that sound down perfectly, as this mini EP shows. My only complaint about this release? It’s WAY too short. Let’s hope a series of full length albums are on their way.
[Music] Psychic Dose – Maleficium Volume 1: Death of the Sorcerer
I’m not the biggest metal-head in the world, but this release by Psychic Dose is cueing off of the best of the metal I did manage to enjoy in my youth.
Though one could classify them as a doom metal band, they also show off influences from bands like Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Budgie, at least to my ears. If there is a Part 2, I’m keen on hearing it once it comes out.
[Music] Various Artists – ELECTROFRAMEWORK
Unexplained Sounds empresario Raffaele Pezzella is on a quest to make sure the best in experimental and electroacoustic music gets published. It seems like, week after week, he is releasing a compilation of stunning quality from a specified region, a broad retrospective, or his own delightfully noisy work as Sonologyst.
These tracks might melt your headphones a bit, but the sounds are, in their own way, blissful. Familiar names such as Sonologyst, Stefan Schmidt, Fahmi Mursyid and Thomas Grenzebach appear alongside a slew of new artists whose career trajectory will be interesting to follow.
Another masterpiece of a comp.
[Music] Ilir Lluka – An Étude In Two Variations
Albanian sound artist and composer Ilir Lluka is one of a new generation of experimental music composers carrying the torch passed along by his forebears like Pierre Henry and Pierre Schaeffer. Each release has been outstanding, engaging listening for me, and this particular album is offered as a free download. It’s worth a few moments of your time.
[Music] Iamthemorning releases “5/4” from upcoming studio film ‘Ocean Sounds’
I’m becoming a big fan of the Proglodytes blog, and their articles just get better and better. In this post, they give us wonderful news that Russian Progressive Rock band iamthemorning have a new release coming!
Russian chamber prog group Iamthemorning, in anticipation for their newest studio album, have released a track titled “5/4”. Iamthemorning’s last album was one of our Proglodytes’ Picks for 2016, so we very much look forward to the new record! From the press release:
“Ahead of the release of Ocean Sounds, on Kscope on 19th October, the band have released a video to accompany the song “5/4”, which previously featured on the band’s first release for Kscope, Belighted.
“We usually say that 5/4 is one of the two cheerful songs we have in our discography, the second one being about burning houses down! To me, it feels that when you grow up and live in Russia, specifically in St Petersburg, everything you do is soaked up in this very special type of melancholy, which makes it difficult to write happy music.” Vocalist and songwriter Marjana Semkina muses…
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[Literature] The Fight of Their Lives: How Juan Marichal and John Roseboro Turned Baseball’s Ugliest Brawl into a Story of Forgiveness and Redemption
As the 2018 Major League Baseball season, this new book by John Rosengren talks about one of the ugliest incidents (and a legendary moment in their rivalry) between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants, and the redemption which occurred between the main protagonists of this powerful story. John Batchelor interviews Rosengren in a three part interview below:
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//embeds.audioboom.com/posts/7027482-marichal-steps-into-the-box-knowing-that-baseball-s-code-calls-for-koufax-to-throw-at-him/embed/v4?eid=AQAAAGzqsVsaO2sA
[Music] Durutti Column – Snowflakes
Autumns are quite short in Beijing, from what I understand. Winter is coming up here rather quickly, and this particular piece by the Durutti Column is making for a perfect soundtrack as I observe the grey skies from my apartment overlooking the Haidian area.
Happy birthday to The Hobbit
A wonderful book every child should read. Happy birthday to “The Hobbit.”
I discovered the other day that it’s 81 years this month since The Hobbit was published. I’d missed the anniversary.
Check out the battering. Is my copy of ‘The Hobbit’ much-loved, or what?
The Hobbit is just about my favourite book of all time. The other, naturally, is its sequel. I first read it around 1973, inspired by the Pauline Baynes map of Middle Earth – a wondrous place, it seemed, which set my imagination roaming. The Hobbit didn’t disappoint. I still have the copy I was given that year by my aunt – the Allen & Unwin edition with Tolkien’s own sketch of the death of Smaug on the cover. It’s, shall we say, very well worn.
The book has never lost its charm; Tolkien wrote it as a story for his children, but it speaks to adults and children alike. Looking back on it now, I can see…
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[Music] Le Mellotron: Paloma Colombe – Radio Amazigh #11 Hommage à Rachid Taha
The legendary Rock & Raï singer Rachid Taha passed away a few days ago at the age of 59 from a heart attack. Many writers and commentators have eulogized him in his passing, but the best the most fitting tribute comes from Radio Amazigh DJ Paloma Colombe.
Her program is mandatory listening for anyone into out-there music, but in her latest podcast, she combines not only Taha’s music but testimonies, as he not only influenced so many younger artists in France and the Maghreb, but was brilliant at synthesizing sounds in a catchy and energetic way.
The program is in French, so if you needed an excuse to practice, I can’t think of a better thing to inspire you with.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 