The enigmatic artist’s work is the soundtrack to Brussel’s underground.
via The Mysterious Music of Belgium’s Benjamin Lew — Bandcamp Daily
Bandcamp
[Music] Jack Hertz – The Wind Speaks to Branches on the Hill
Bedroom ambient musicians should be a dime a dozen, but if you actually delve into their back catalogs, you find that they have a tremendous amount of talent. I don’t know much about Jack Hertz, but I’ve come across his work while looking for other favorites like Cousin Silas, Martin Neuhold and the late Wolfgang Gsell (may his memory be ever eternal). The cover art reeled my in instantly, so, as is my habit before beginning my work day, I spent my free hour with headphones in tow and jumped right into this release.
The sound is spacious, ambient in the pure sense of the word, and rather engaging at times, with pulses of low tones and what seems to be rather interesting instrumentation filling in any potential voids. This is a beefy release for an ambient record.
As an aside, you may wish to consider heading over to his record label’s Bandcamp page. Aural Films are offering 239 releases for the unbelievably low sum of fifty cents. All I’ve perused have been interesting.
[Music] Giorgio Tuma With Lena Karlsson – Little Dusty / Koko Tutu Mama
Think of a track with the horns of a 60’s Burt Bacharach hit with a 70’s aesthetic recorded on modern equipment, but produced with a touch of nostalgia. Giorgio Tuma manages to balance these all rather well, and he lets singer Lena Karlsson’s voice fly effortlessly through these tracks.
[Music] Mo’ Horizons – Rhythm Is A Dancer
Yes, that Rhythm Is A Dancer, made famous by the German dance group Snap! A damn good song given a cumbia feel by Mo’ Horizons, this pairing works just fine to these ears, and gives the dance classic a fresh twist.
[Music] Bevis Frond – Miasma
I don’t think The Bevis Frond will need much of an introduction to fans of psychedelic and garage rock music. Band leader and guitarist Nick Saloman released this debut in 1986 to vast acclaim. Quite a few releases are available so consider going to Nick’s Bandcamp page to peruse.
[Music] Noël Akchoté – Cranach (1472-1553) (For Dobro)
Noël Akchoté is a busy man. It’s been a while since we featured his work, but it’s definitely time to revisit his work. In this disc, Akchoté interprets the work of Adam of Fulda, a wonderful Renaissance composer.
[Music] Cloud – Live at Kulak’s Woodshed
Thanks to the wonders of Bandcamp, I am able to catch up on old friends’ bands from Los Angeles (like Tunnelmental, Farflung, The Secret Society of the Sonic Six), but it’s also quite pleasing to discover bands I missed out on. Cloud have a vibe that is not dissimilar to bands like Galaxie 500 or Luna, but add a touch of Los Angeles to their work. I’m not quite sure how I can qualify that, but growing up hearing so many bands in this area, there’s something in their music that makes it familiar. I’m really enjoying this band.
[Music] Jos Smolders – *.5O (for Frans de Waard)
Experimental music composer Jos Smolders is a friend of these pages, and it warms the heart a bit to see him pay tribute to Frans de Waard, the composer known as Kapotte Muziek and Beequeen who has also been one of the editors of the crucial Vital Weekly for eons. It is because of both Frans and my old friend, David Cotner, that I was inspired to start this blog. I am indebted to all three men.
[Music] Flowers Must Die – Montana / Nusrat EP
The freaks at Höga Nord Rekords release yet another monstrously good EP, this time from Sweden’s mighty neo-Kraut rockers Flowers Must Die. There are pulses and waves of heavy psych that remind one of Amon Düül II and Guru Guru. Lovely stuff.
[Music] Surrogate sigma – Topologie Algébrique
Fifty cents isn’t a bad investment for well over 400 releases on the Genetic Trance label out of Ohio. One of the releases caught my ear – this one by Surrogate Sigma. Unsurprisingly, there is no information on the band that I can find, save that they are from Ukraine and operate under a ridiculous amount of aliases. Still, this particular release reminded me of the works of old composers who were active during the 1980’s cassette culture days.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 