Grimény - Die Große Enttäuschung
Grimény are a progressive/post-rock power trio from Germany who play a tight, heavy, not-so-metally form of post-rock. Dense, deep, mellow, and rather good listening.
Li Jinhui (黎錦暉) and Yellow Music
Li Jinhui (黎錦暉) is considered to be the father of shidaiqu, or Chinese popular song. He was skilled at mixing traditional, perhaps vulgar, Chinese folk songs and making them fit inside the jazz idiom thanks to working with trumpeter Buck Clayton, who was in his Shanghai band for two years. You can read more about him on Wikipedia in English or in Chinese.
[Literature] Philologist Irene Vallejo: ‘Alexander the Great’s library was the first step towards the internet’
From The Guardian: The Spanish writer on how Papyrus, her bestselling history of literature in the ancient world, changed her life at a difficult moment, and why it’s a mistake to undervalue books. Thanks to my colleague Jacob for introducing me to Irene Vallejo, a philologist whose work El infinito en un junco (the title in English is Papyrus: The Invention of Books in the Ancient World)…
Hybrid Rain and Liquid Paper by Hans Castrup + James Hill - Each Star Pulses Two Colours
Imagine a gorgeous trumpet and piano sound immersed inside of electronic blips and beeps. It’s eerie, sounding something like a film-noir film soundtrack as performed by improvisational or experimental musicians (think Jon Hassell or Toshinori Kondo). That is what you have with this collaboration by Hybrid Rain and Liquid Paper. Our friends at Mahorka Records continue to hit the mark.
Deficit - Elämä Toisesta Paikkasta (With Marcelo Diaz / Mads Records)
Deficit is a project of Vyacheslav Ismagilov, an author of electronic experimental music from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, so says his Bandcamp site. The drones are rather gentle for noise music and made for a fascinating listening experience. This is one you want to use your headphones for. His collaborator, Marcelo Diaz, who plays synths, is a new name for me as well. His contributions are equally…
Hermeto Pascoal - Sinfonia do Alto Ribeira (1985) - Filme Completo
Mid-terms are almost over, so I should be posting again regularly starting Tuesday. For now, I wanted to send over something to enjoy. “This film, directed by Ricardo Lua and first released in 1985, exemplifies a non-hierarchical, ecological, and playful approach to music developed by Hermeto Pascoal—one of the most prominent multi-instrumentalists, composers, and experimenters in the Brazilian…
Housekeeping Note
I will be away for a few days thanks to having a very busy mid-term schedule at the school. Nothing to worry about, health is good, but the kids need a good prepping before exams start. See you quite soon.
Dean & Britta & Sonic Boom - A Peace of Us
Dean Wareham is someone who could be called Shoegaze royalty. He has been partnering with Britta Phillips for some time now making some fine records, but this is a different, even more interesting beast. The Spacemen 3 centerpiece Sonic Boom collaborates with Dean & Britta for an album which combines authentic 60’s psychedelia with a cold-wave sound reminiscent of very early New Order.
Karolina Ossowska & Jeff Gburek - Witch-Hazel
We have another elegant experimental/electroacoustic album by violinist Karolina Ossowska and her partner in this release, Jeff Gburek. There is a Nurse With Wound-meets-György Ligeti vibe to this release, maybe even references to Krzysztof Penderecki’s earlier avant-garde works, but given a gritty, ghostly treatment. Another glorious release.
Tinariwen (+IO:I) - Sastanàqqàm
Today is a ceremony day at the school, so there will be no reviews. Enjoy Tinariwen in our stead!
Throbbing Gristle - Thirty-Second Annual Report
Don’t let anyone ever tell you differently. Ministry, Front 242, Frontline Assembly, as much as I love all of those bands, are NOT Industrial music in its purest form, nor are any of the ghastly ‘industrial metal’ bands. Only Throbbing Gristle and associated bands, such as SPK, early Cabaret Voltaire and Monte Cazazza are among the handful of bands who deserve that monicker. This is a classic…
George Christian - Requiem para Minha Mãe Cigana, Margarida
Our old friend George Christian has released a two-track album for Post Orientalism Music out of Berlin, Germany. Though some will bill this as experimental, I hear more of a wild psych-influenced space rock mixed together guitar improvisations that works wonderfully well. It is best to let George tell the story, the rest of which you can read at his Bandcamp release site: “This recording was…
Reverse Image - Towards the Nocturnal Sun
This is the second Reverse Image album we have had the pleasure to review (you can read the first one here). Whereas the first album was more experimental in nature, this one continues on that vein, has has an even more sophisticated take on electroacoustic music sitting well inside an ambient music paradigm. There are drones in places, but the calm is shaken up frequently, making for an…
The Resian Folk Group - Resia Valley: String-Band Music from Eastern Alpine Italian Villages ca. 1978
The Resian Folk Group were from the Resia Valley in the Italian Alps. What sets them apart from their countrymen are their folk traditions and language, which seem to have a strong Slovene influence. Canary Records does their usual outstanding job remastering this collection. It sounds absolutely gorgeous considering the age of these recordings.
Tears For Fears - Songs For A Nervous Planet
One of the greatest of the new wave bands, Tears For Fears return with an album bearing four new tracks and many live versions of their hits.
Various Artists - Light in the Attic Records: Even the Forest Hums: Ukrainian Sonic Archives 1971-1996
Ukraine has always been a rich vein when it comes to music. Our friends at Light In The Attic Records have put together one of the best introductions to Soviet folk, disco, rock and alternative music to come out of Ukraine during their musical 70’s, 80’s and partially, the 90’s. A worth comp.
Al Wootton - Lifted From The Earth
From the Bandcamp site: “Guess-again shapeshifter Al Wootton continues a fertile streak of releases for ZamZam, Livity and his own Trule label, as well as an acclaimed collab with Susumu Mukai and Valentina Magaletti as Holy Tongue, on a killer new album for Berceuse Heroique’s tape series, a screwed navigation of mood pieces and hypnotic club inversions primed for the low lights.”
