Kalamine Records is an experimental music label out of Bordeaux, France. They have a very impressive roster of composers and groups who have a amazing command of studio techniques, making filmic, creepy compositions. This is essential headphone listening.
Avant-Garde
[Music] RuRaRo – Furioso (Live in Sound Museum)
I’m very happy to be able to announce this album of Russia’s finest improvisers collaborating on a live release in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The performance occurred on November 12, 2018, and featured by friend Roman Stolyar on keyboards and recorders, Nikolay Rubanov on tenor saxophone & bass clarinet and Alexander Ragazanov drums.
[Music] Vadim Petrenko – RIO-Collection /Rock In Opposition/
The Rock-In-Opposition movement had a very short shelf life, but produced some of the most amazing avant-progressive rock bands. Think of acts like Univers Zero, Henry Cow, Art Zoyd, the Art Bears, Stormy Six and others. Their influence was felt far and wide, and you can hear it in the work of former ZGA guitarist Vadim Petrenko. He has synthesized the influences of his favorite artists and added his own take on the genre. His work with ZGA was stunning, so I’m looking forward to hear how he develops as a solo artist.
[Music] Zan Hoffmann & Hubert Heathertoes – The Facets of Serendipitous Occurence (Boiro Saga)
Hubert Heathertoes collaborates with one of the most prolific figures in the history of experimental music, Zan Hoffman. The collaboration bears wonderful fruit, combining musique concrète, plunderphonics (reminiscent of Negativland), pops, scratches, clicks, and an unnerving feel to these compositions. These two compliment each other well.
[Music] Ciro Berenguer – El Mar De Junio
One of Eilian Records’ finest releases to date, Argentine-born, Barcelona-based composer Ciro Berenguer releases a very ambient guitar album.
From Eilian’s Bandcamp page:
Ciro Berenguer is a guitarist and composer from Argentina who has lived for many years in Barcelona, Spain. He likes both traditional and nontraditional ways of playing the guitar: processing the sound through many electronic devices or playing just the guitar alone. Two facets of his playing expressed in a handful of albums and collaborations, from standard guitar music to a more experimental and improvised way of making sounds, enjoying both approaches.
[Music] Various Artists – An Anthology of Chinese Experimental Music 1992-2008
Dajuin Yao, Dickson Dee and Xper Xr. are the only familiar artists to me on this compilation of avant-garde music from the Sinosphere. Sub Rosa Records outdoes itself with the marvelous (and quite long) compilation.
[Music] Iraida Yusupova – Faust 2CD
Iraida Yusupova is a Russian multimedia artist originally hailing from Turkmenistan. She works out of Moscow and is considered among the pre-eminent composers of her generation, scoring for voice, orchestra and Theremin.
[Music] Scott Walker – Farmer In The City
The loss of Scott Walker is about as monumental for many as was the loss of, say, David Bowie or Mark Hollis. Though I had known about his pop music (including the reinterpretation of Jacques Brel’s hit, Le Chanson de Jacky), this song was a revelation. It was so far removed from pop music that I figured it sounded more like a combination of cabaret music done by experimental or apocalyptic folk musicians. It was a brilliant career pivot, and he ended up working with some really intriguing characters until his passing yesterday.
[Music] “A-cute-cute in a stupid-ass way”
The last paragraph shows how devolved society has become if you can’t play a wonderful song by one of the most intriguing artists of his generation. So be it. Still, much respect to Ben Zimmer for the read of the day – commenting on the rendering of “stupid-ass,” which seems so non-offensive now, but which must have caused headaches for the censors back in the day.
With the passing of Scott Walker, who found pop-music fame as a member of the Walker Brothers before setting out on an inimitable solo career, the singer’s best-known work has been making the rounds online. One particularly memorable song from Walker was his first solo single, “Jackie,” released in December 1967. “Jackie” was an English-language rendering of Jacque Brel’s “La chanson de Jacky,” translated from French by Mort Shuman (a Brill Building songwriter who would go on to co-create the musical revue Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris). Both the French and English lyrics were quite racy for the time. The English chorus, as unforgettably delivered by Walker, goes:
If I could be for only an hour
If I could be for an hour every day
If I could be for just one little hour
A-cute-cute in a stupid-ass way
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[Music] Maryam Sirvan – Untamed Terror
Eerie is not nearly powerful enough to describe the hellish soundscape that Maryam Sirvan produces on this record. It is as if Pierre Henry decided to do an ethnographic recording tracing Dante’s footsteps inside of Hell. Brooding, powerful soundscapes.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 