Ruheman is the monicker of Bristol-based producer Sam Bates. Today must have been a good day because bright, sweeping ambient music in the vein, ever so slightly, of Brian Eno’s “Thursday Afternoon,” with more atmospherics and a touch of field recordings, was precisely what I was looking to hear. I don’t know much about Sam’s background, but if this is his first proper EP, he has a rather good future ahead of him.
Bandcamp
[Music] Various Artists – Meticulous Midgets Magazine 2020
Meticulous Midgets is a magazine out of Russia who did me one of the kindest honors by doing a sketch on the blog. I am delighted to return the favor by covering their survey on not only the Russian electronic, avant-garde, experimental and indie music, but a few tracks from the United States, Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Croatia, The Netherlands and Great Britain as well. This is a compilation whose broad scope equals that of my colleague Raffaele from Unexplained Sounds Group.
I expected to hear good headphone music, and I am happy to say that the comp delivers handsomely. There are three standout tracks for me:
The whole comp makes for solid listening, but just by hearing these three tracks, you can hear the depth and scope of the sort of music Meticulous Midgets covers. They have made a fan out of me.
[Music] Kamancello – Of Shadows
Raphael Weintraub-Browne is a friend of our blog, and it’s a pleasure to present you with his latest work. The project, Kamancello, is quite a bit different from the last album reviewed, as Weintraub-Browne has recorded a wholly improvised album with Shahriyar Jamshidi, a Iranian Kurd who plays the kamancheh. I will pay these two a very high compliment, as the closest record I can compare it to is with the work of Kayhan Kalhor while working with the New York-based ensemble Brooklyn Rider. It might even be a bit darker, a touch more Western-leaning, but cinematic in scope, and so wonderfully well-recorded.
Glorious listening, absolutely.
[Music] H.J. Ayala – Haïku
Our friend Hector Javier (H.J.) Ayala hasn’t appeared on the blog for a while, but we rectify this issue today. He continues to create improvisational gems, with a nod to artists like Derek Bailey informing this release.
[Music] Khurmo Shirinova – Badakhshan
It looks like we’ve found an obscure little beastie upon our return. Khurmo Shirinova was a rather attractive singer from the Soviet Republic of Tajikistan who plied her trade and reached fame during the 1980s.
Sounds of Asia have done the world a fine service by reissuing this strangely charming Soviet pop gem.
[Music] START TRACK Blog
I’m a fan of the indie record label Z Tapes, run by Filip Zemčík out of Slovakia. He’s turned me onto some amazing bedroom artists, and now he has a blog, START TRACK, where he highlights interesting things he finds on Bandcamp. Consider following.
[Music] NERATERRÆ – Scenes From The Sublime
Our friend Alessio Antoni of NERATERRÆ is visiting us for the third time, and he brings along some of the finest composers in dark ambient music to collaborate with.
Some of the participants in this album include Alphaxone, Dødsmaskin, Leila Abdul-Rauf, Mount Shrine, Phelios, Phragments, Shrine, Xerxes The Dark, George Zafiriadis from Martyria and Yann Hagimont from Cober Ord. The variance of sounds and textures on this release corresponds well with the different paintings which inspired Alessio to produce this album. Such painters as Zdzisław Beksiński, Ilya Repin, Salvador Dalí, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Francisco Goya among others.
There is a ghostly quality that comes with the genre on each track, but they have more of a viscous feeling to them. They sound, and in a sense, feel, more substantial than others I’ve been hearing recently. There is no shortage of incredible ambient music going around today, but Alessio and his partners continue to impress and surprise.
[Music] Johan Troch – Bring Out The Stars
Mellow Sunday listening for your pleasure.
Belgian guitarist Johan Troch has released an elegant new album which strides somewhere between a Steve Roach-influenced ambient style, a sublime and relaxed Bill Frisell, and a warm, loungy vibe.
I really enjoy how relaxed this album is. Go through this track by track. It’s sumptuous.
[Music] Soyol Erdene – Soyol Erdene (1981)
Mongolia isn’t a place one thinks of when collectors talk about psychedelic music, but that’s exactly what Soyol Erdene, Mongolia’s cultural jewel (that’s what the name translates into) provide. They mix a light psychedelic sound with elements of Merseybeat and folk rock. A strange, but very satisfying, blend of genres.
[Music] Azu Tiwaline – Draw Me A Silence Part. I
A very pleasant surprise came into my inbox today. From Azu Tiwaline’s Bandcamp site:
Azu Tiwaline : It’s a new name for a new spirit. The one of a producer willing to find a new sound in her origins which take root in the Sahara and El Djerid region in the south of Tunisia. A sound from the desert, drawing on berberian and saharan transe music that connects human beings with Nature.
Peculiar translations and spellings aside, this album managed to hold my attention the whole way through. Thanks to being better connected to the world, we are beginning to hear more and more musicians come out of Tunisia and the Maghreb who are of an astounding quality. This is 21st Century Berber Music mixes techno, dub, and native Saharan rhythms. Fourth World music, updated.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 