The grand old man of psychedelic noise pairs with a rather powerful improv band I knew little about until today. Keiji Haino is up to his old tricks with his screeching vocals, chanting and brutal guitar playing, while SUMAC give him just enough structure to keep his madness contained. Powerful listening.
Downloads
[Music] Alemayehu Eshete – Alteleyeshegnem
Alemayehu Eshete has been considered the golden voice of Ethiopia for nearly sixty years. Thanks to Germany’s Philophon Records, we will be hearing more of his music. This is a old track which was re-done with Philophon’s house band, maintaining the spirit of the original but updating the sound quite a bit.
[Music] Juhani Silvola – Post-Biological Wildlife
Norwegian composer Juhani Silvola is the heir of the French electroacoustic music tradition, and he has managed to update the sound while maintaining its spirit. According to his biography, “Juhani’s music often explores themes circling post-humanism, nature and virtual reality, questioning the role of humanity in the near future, and painting varied scenarios without exclusively condemning or glorifying the techno-futuristic vision.” We’re in for a bleak future, folks.
Post-Biological Wildlife is his latest album, released on his own Eighth Nerve Audio.
[Music] Wings Of An Angel – Disgusted By The Monotonic Shortsighted Grayness Of Civilian Life
Wings Of An Angel is a mysterious one-man project out of Israel who release a new album VERY frequently, but manage to maintain good quality throughout. Long, droning, wandering ambient tracks with horribly long names in the finest post-rock fashion, but all in all, a decent and very engaging listen.
As an aside, WOAA is generously offering his entire back catalog, at least a couple hundred releases, for the sum of $1.50. A good investment.
[Music] Alexis Evans – I Made A Deal With Myself
The Anglo-French singer and guitarist Alexis Evans must have had one hell of a good soul and R&B collection growing up, because he sounds like he studied under the masters.
The last 5 years have been amazing for neo-soul music, especially with the likes of Sharon Jones (RIP) and the Dap-Kings, The James Hunter Six and Charles Bradley, and to thing that Bordeaux, France had such a scene is almost mind-boggling, but this track, from Alexis’ upcoming album, I’ve Come A Long Way, is a barn-burner!
Expect to see a lot more soul reviewed here!
[Music] Bulawayo Kwela and Albert Nyathi, Elliott Phiri, David Tapfuma & Esa – Bulawayo // Harare
Bulawayo and Harare are the cultural capitals of Zimbabwe. This EP, produced in part by Danalogue, showcases Bulawayo Kwela with Albert Nyathi and Elliot Phiri, while the last two tracks come from Harare’s own David Tapfuma, including a remix by ESA of David’s track.
[Music] Meng Qi – Span 跨度
Meng Qi is a Chinese experimental music composer based out of my current place of residence, Beijing. His music is unlike most of the genre, where one would expect to hear an avalanche of nearly pointless noise. There is a beauty to his compositions that I don’t find much in a lot of modern releases that purport to be ‘experimental’. He’s definitely an intriguing character.
[Music] Dorninger – Slide To Glide
Wolfgang “Fadi” Dorninger is something of a legend in my circle. When I was a teenager, I came across his work thanks to a very active cassette culture which was happening in Los Angeles, and was blown away by his project at the time, Monochrome Bleu.
He is still releasing rather amazing, tranquil ambient work, and it’s good to see a familiar name come up on my radar again. Give his work a good, deep listen on headphones. It’s good music to let your brain swim to.
[Music] Braderin – Anger Is A Gift
An unsolicited release came into my email box a few weeks ago from the band Braderin, and I finally have time to check it out. It’s a crunchy piece of ambient music, and EP’s worth of music that reminds me of the 1980s post-Industrial cassette culture. Somewhat occultish, perhaps influenced by sci-fi films.
A really good effort out of Turkey.
[Music] Lousberg – The Death Of Humanity
The record cover of this new EP by Lousberg, The Death of Humanity, gives it the aura of either a black metal band or a black ambient band circa 1990s-era Cold Meat Industry. It is neither of these. In fact, it’s a swelling, sumptuous piece of neoclassical music which would work as a soundtrack to many a movie. I quite like this!
Check out more releases like this one at Dunkelheit Produktionen out of Germany. They seem to be releasing a lot of quality material.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 