This has to be one of the most poorly tagged albums I have ever encountered on Bandcamp, and I’m happy for it. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I first played Quick Dreams, a release by Georgian composer Gacha Bakradze, but I knew about 20 second into it that it wasn’t going to be techno or house. It’s definitely an ambient record, and quite a shimmery and pretty one as well, but you find acoustic guitar, rock-ish structures, and a very calm, warm air around this disc.
Georgia
[Music] NUM – False Awakening
Only a fool would believe we’re not living in a great time for music. The world of pop is banal, and should only be seen as entertainment. Actual music, that which is trying to continue breaking borders, bending (or snapping) rules, is doing quite well.
Iranian-born composer Maryam Sirvan has been featured on the blog before, having her powerful solo album reviewed here, but this is a newer release where she teams up with fellow composer Milad Bagheri and saxophonist Rezo Kiknadze. Few composers of this stripe are able to combine the intellectual rigors of electroacoustic music, especially that of the INA-GRM variety, with the gritty, ghostly feel of 20 Jazz Funk Greats-period Throbbing Gristle.
This is a brilliant work, and I hope to see more composers appearing out the of Caucasus soon.
[Art] Vakhtang Kakulia – Smoker Woman
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Modern surrealism by Vakhtang Kakulia, a young Georgian painter. For more on this particular painting, look here.
All credit and thanks go to my old friend Artemiy Artemiev, who posts wonderful examples of art daily on his Facebook page.
[Video] Ensemble Mtiebi – Zamtaria (from Soinari: Folk Music From Georgia Today)
This is one of those songs I’ve searched for on Youtube for years, having no luck in ever finding a copy of it. Today, after digging through my own personal archives, I found this gorgeous track, which is apparently a folk song of some note in Georgia, even appearing in films.
To find this version, order the CD here from Wergo Records.
[Video] Bani Ensemble – Kavkasiuri Balada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hyWIBQv1P4
Bani are a folk music band from Georgia who sing, at least in this song, in Georgian and Nakh. Interesting, and extremely energetic music from the Caucasus!
[Video] Hamlet Gonashvili – Orovela
Hamlet Gonashvili possessed perhaps the most beautiful voice to ever come out of Georgia, which is no simple thing to claim. He died far too young after falling from an apple tree in 1985, but left an admirable body of work from his native homeland. This is, to me, his best work.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 