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
[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.
[Music] VI!VI!VI! – II
Many thanks to Audion Magazine legend Alan Freeman for turning me on to this heavy French band who have Faust and La STPO connections. Very loud, and definitely acolytes of Faust!
[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.
[Music] Lynn Williams – It Takes Two
A bit of deep funk has been rescued by our friends in Glasgow, Athens Of The North Records. From their Bandcamp site:
Lynn Williams may not be someone you have heard of but her pedigree is strong. Her father was Hank Ballard (of King and James Brown Fame) and her mother was 60s Miami Radio Personality and dance group leader Vanilla ”Miss Boom Boom” Williams. Lynn cut 5 Excellent 7”s for various Henry Stone owned Miami labels in the 70s here we present her two most collectable. The first ‘It Takes Two’ is a smokey deepfunk killer that would cost you £1000 any day of the week for good reason. On the flip “Don’t be Surprised” is one of Miami’s best ever deep soul records period, a dark serious ballad pulled off with amazing emotion considering her young years at the time of recording.
[Music] Sublamp – Lianas
Los Angeles based sound and video artist Ryan Connor has quite a reputation behind him, appearing on labels such as Serac (USA), Pehr (USA), SEM (France), Dragon’s Eye Recordings (USA), Friendly Virus (Portugal), Ahora Eterno (Argentina) Hibernate Recordings (UK) and Felt.
According to the composer:
“Every Sublamp record has been about an imaginary space, so the concept of pinning each release on Eilean to a fictional continent was exciting; the perfect excuse to indulge myself in layered textural sound again. Inspired by the cloud forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica, Lianas is an audio map of a densely wooded mountain range, shrouded in fog, where fern and vine drip with condensation and small animals slip quietly through the undergrowth. Very little computer manipulation was used in the creation of these tracks. Most of the sound on the record is simply looped guitar through various pedals and a nice warm tube amp, sometimes recorded through an old reel to reel tape machine for extra crackle and hiss.”
[Music] Bing Satellites – Twilight Sessions Volume Eight
Brin of Bing Satellites has to be one of the most prolific composers working on Bandcamp. He is constantly putting out quality ambient music, and though it’s difficult to keep up with artists who overwhelm you wish downloads, it’s good to see that they can maintain a high standard for each release.
[Music] Kryshe – Hauch
Experimental music can sound beautiful at times. Kryshe makes gentle, pensive music. This came as part of a package of free releases from Serein Records. From his Bandcamp page:
After the release of his album March Of The Mysterious for Serein in 2017, Kryshe (Christian Grothe) returns with Hauch – an album of eight nocturnal pieces that will ease you through the winter months ahead.Hauch began life shortly after Christian had moved home. With all of the chaos that entails, Christian sought a means of maintaining a daily practice with his music. The goal was to create and record something new every day in the most economical way possible, so Christian turned to his iPad microphone and tape recorder.
Phrases and fragments of sound were recorded and looped on an iPad and built upon gradually with piano, voice, guitar and more. Output from the iPad was recorded directly to tape for the warmth and natural compression analogue tape brings. The result is an album of immediate allure, musicality and soul. Gently looping piano phrases emerge from blankets of hiss and granular textures, swaths of guitar and washes of low vibrations envelop and submerge the listener.
It’s impossible not to give in to the soporific effect of listening to Hauch, especially with the nights closing in ever faster – undoubtedly an album for open fires and woollen blankets. Just listen.
[Music] MARIANNE FAITHFUL’S DECCA YEARS. — dereksmusicblog
Marianne Faithful’s Decca Years. By March 1964, it was apparent that pop music wasn’t just a passing fad. The Beatles were a global phenomenon, and the British Invasion of the American charts had just begun. Britain was a musical powerhouse, that the world envied. Despite this, many labels weren’t resting on their laurels. Record companies […]
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 