Though this release isn’t breaking any radical ground musically, Hypnodial reminds me of some of the more solid ambient and electronic music releases of the late 80s and early 90s. Well done, well produced, and something quite nice to relax to.
[Music] Blake DeGraw – Electronic Duodecets for Humans
Blake DeGraw is a very interesting multi-instrumentalist and experimental music composer and improviser out of Seattle, Washington. On this album, he is deconstructing a violin, making some terribly pleasant noise along the way.
[Music] Rafiq Bhatia – Breaking English
[Music] 草莓救星 (We Save Strawberries) – Solar System
Taiwan’s 草莓救星 (We Save Strawberries) are dream pop which would make Hope Sandoval smile, I’d gather.
[Music] The Thing With Five Eyes – نور
The Thing With Five Eyes is the new project of Jason Kohnen of the Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble. It’s a good-sized EP of electronic music, the aforementioned darkjazz and a touch of drum & bass besides. A worthy release.
[Music] Female Musician Makes Waves in Male-Dominated Afghanistan
Global Citizen has launched a campaign called Chime For Change, and one of the first projects they promote is Fazila Zamir, a rebab player making waves in what was normally thought to be a man’s world.
Read more here on Fazila, courtesy of Global Citizen. For a sample of her work, check out the video here.
[Music] Keiko Shichijo – Six Dances (Komitas Vardapet)
Keiko Shichijo is a Japanese pianist based in The Netherlands. In this album, she interprets the work of the Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer, and choirmaster, Komitas Vardapet.
[Music] Funked Up East #28 – The Evolution of Czecho-Slovakian Jazz
A magnificent podcast out of Estonia, this current session by Funked Up East features smooth, sultry Czech and Slovak Jazz.
Track List:
Czechoslovak Radio Jazz Orchestra – Passacaglia
Karel Velebný – Ztráta Nalezeného Syna
SHQ – Epitaph for George Dillon
Jiøí Mráz – Danyáda
Karel Krautgartner – 31° ve stínu
Rudolf Dasek – Rambles
Václav Zahradník Big Band – Jazz Goes To Beat I
SHQ – Lori
Jazz Cellula – Zmoklá Voda
Jazz Ze Studio A – Ogarské Hry
Gustav Brom – If Only
[Music] Mediterranean Deconstruction Ensemble – Day De Senar
This is a magnificent find for me. The Mediterranean Deconstruction Ensemble is a solid improvisational/experimental troupe out of Moscow led by pianist Gregory Sandomirsky.
The music is a great combination of freaky jazz, Mediterranean rhythms, and Sephardic/Ladino time shifts. A very nice effort.
[Music] Katarína Máliková – Pustvopol
There’s not a lot of music I could compare Slovak chanteuse Katarína Máliková to. Her sound is utterly unique, and I could only imagine bands like Dead Can Dance as sharing her ethereal vibe. The instrumentation could fit somewhere comfortably between folk, fusion and Fourth World Ambient (think Jon Hassell).
For fans of these genres and of artists like Loreena McKennitt.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 