Even in Tehran, one can find good-quality alternative music. Here’s Comment Band, one of the better acts in town.
Music
[Music] Adorable – Sunshine Smile
Adorable were an English band made up of band members Pete Fijalkowski (vocals, guitar), Robert Dillam (guitar), Stephen ‘Wil’ Williams (bass) and Kevin Gritton (drums). They produced, to my ears, one of the best shoegaze songs of the early 1990s. A truly gorgeous, shimmery track!
[Music] Ethan Diamond, Bandcamp – XOXO Festival (2014)
If you haven’t heard of Bandcamp, you really need to catch up. Artists and record labels are using this absolutely wonderful platform to sell vinyl, fan merchandise and other objects as well as high-quality digital downloads in a host of formats.
Ethan Diamond, the founder of the company, is seen here speaking about the many uses of Bandcamp. We wish him and the company continued success, though I’m mad that his invention is cleaning out my wallet!
For a sample of his music taste, check it out here.
[Music] Kismet – Love Will Tear Us Apart
Every time I go to Skopje, there is always someone who asks why on Earth I’d bother to come and stay such long periods of time in what they feel is an insignificant city in the heart of the Balkans. You can thank this song, the disc it came on, and a friendship with Gorazd Capovski and Ilija Stojanovski, for this.
I had worked at Tone Casualties records as an A&R Manager, and came across this disc while at my evening job, buying weird music for Aron’s Records (RIP). I had passed through what was then Yugoslavia a few years past, and knew a bit about Macedonian music, but the combination of goth/darkwave and an ethnic, Byzantine sound, came as a huge revelation. I never, in a million years, thought Love Will Tear Us Apart would sound perfect with bagpipes. A pleasant surprise which still strikes a chord after 20 years.
[Music] RIP Dieter Moebius
Extremely sad news today. The Quietus reports that Dieter Moebius, one-half of the legendary Cluster, along with Hans-Joachim Roedelius, a collaborator with Michael Rother in their Harmonia project, as well as Brian Eno, and a source of influence for so many musicians who delved into making electronic music, passed away today at the age of 71.
I had the pleasure of meeting Dieter and Achim a few times as they would pass through my home on tour. I wish his wife, Irene, Achim and his family, and all those who worked with him, much comfort in the days ahead.
[Music] Gloria Jones – Tainted Love
Everyone knows the great cover Soft Cell did of this classic 60s slab of soul, but few remember that this cut by Gloria Jones is the original!
[Music] Susumu Yokota Has Died
Terrible news from The WIRE. Susumu Yokota, ambient DJ and composer extraordinaire, passed away from complications in March of this year, but the family only recently made a public announcement of his passing.
You can read The WIRE obituary here, as well as notes from FACT Magazine, The Leaf Label and Natalie.mu.
To hear some of Susuma’s work, check out Gekkoh below:
[Music] Mohamed Hassan – Lesh Beta
He may have been a shill for Muammar Gaddafi, but Mohamed Hassan was and is one of the best representatives of Libyan music.
[Music] Iconoclasta – Suite Mexicana Part 1 : Mestizaje
Mexico is known for great garage rock bands, avant-prog, and neo-prog bands. But my favorite is the symphonic prog band, Iconoclasta. This piece comes from their crowning achievement of an album, Soliloquio, long out of print, unfortunately.
Much respect to my friend, Domenico D’Alessandro, for reminding me of how good an album this truly was, and what a crime it is to know that it’s still out of print.
[Music] Giovanni Guidi Trio – City of Broken Dreams
I trust ECM Records immensely, as their musicians never let me down. Giovanni Guidi continues that streak wonderfully.
A Miscellany Of Tasteful Music 