Bassist GS was once a member of the legendary rock-in-opposition band Univers Zéro, and he has continued on his incredible music journey with a new project, the Eclectic Maybe Band. From the Discus Records Bandcamp site: “Again Alors? is the third release by the band, which brings together detailed studio work with the creativity of real time improvisation. Using different groupings from within a…

Sophia Chen and Lemon Guo work together as Southeast of Rain (东南有雨), an electroacoustic/field recording project based in the United States, with one living in New York and the other living in the San Francisco Bay area. The album is the result of 42 days of mixing avant-garde experimental music, natural sounds, traditional Chinese instruments and improvisational techniques and sublime vocal work…

This release allows me to kill two birds with one stone.  First, it’s been a while since we’ve had a chance to review music by Jeff Gburek (one of the several venerable composers who always manage to find a welcome home on these pages), and this is a strikingly quiet and meditative album.  Second, I have sampled some of the wares of Muteant Sounds, a fine experimental label out of Florida in the…

My friends from trajedesaliva gifted me one of their older albums recently, and as I had some spare time to listen today, I indulged in Mima Blanca. It took me a moment to figure out what this reminded me of, but then it dawned on me – several incredibly good influences, or they’re on the same wavelength If you’re a fan of Tuxedomoon (especially the solo projects by Steven Brown or Blaine L.…

I’m delighted to share a piece from my old friend, the Siberian composer and multi-instrumentalist Roman Stolyar.  This nearly 20-minute improvisation was recorded live on July 30, 2021 at the MMMESSS studio in Saint Petersburg, Russia.  The piano-playing is quick, sharp, with each keystroke coming at you like waves of noise.  A great example of Russian free jazz.

Good music and good new labels are easy to find if you apply yourself.  Zhelezobeton is not a new label, per sé, but a lot of the bands they work with will be new to listeners who don’t normally follow what is happening in the Russian sphere of influence. This compilation is three hours of live recordings made by a variety of artists, including, intriguingly, an ensemble of 12-year-old…

Two legends from rather different backgrounds collaborate on this EP. Austrian-American DJ John Tejada is a legend in electronic music as has thrived in the scene as a sought-after remixer.  I had the pleasure of meeting him several times while working at a record shop in Los Angeles during the 1990s, and it pleases me to no end how far his career has taken off. Ulrich Krieger is a composer,…

After a few dark albums, I thought I would share something that, while also a bit darker than normal, shows shades of the Berlin School and rather gentle Industrial soundscapes.  Kaelin Bougneit is a composer and label owner (Subviolet Records) based out of Portland, Oregon, and this particular album has elements of not only classic ambient music, but of tones I tie to old TV programs like “In…

Our dear friend Zumaia has reached the mid-century mark in her life, which is, of course, a wonderful milestone.  We at Music You Need To Hear celebrate her birth, and the exceptional work she does with her label, the Bordeaux-based Kalamine Records.  In honor of this milestone, Linn Friberg, composer and curator of the INTENT series on the label collaborate on a sonic birthday present for fans…

It’s been a while since I had the pleasure to feature Robert Scott Thompson on our blog, though you will be seeing releases from a label he plays a large role in, Aucourant Records, in the future. Through Circle and Shadow is a 7-and-a-half minute piece of gentle ambient music which is dark and reminiscent of some Berlin School-related artists, and others like Robert Rich and Steve Roach. …

The first of two releases related to our friend Raffaele Pezzella (who performs under the name Sonologyst) for today. This release from Unexplained Sounds Group is part of a series of compilations of experimental and dark ambient music concentrated in different regions.  This one is particularly special to me as, though my birth city is Los Angeles, those who know me well know that the Balkans…

Source: The Guardian. By the time Jon Hassell became a revered figure – the kind of determinedly non-commercial, avant-garde artist whose ideas are …Jon Hassell Profiled in Memorium

Federico Balducci is an experimental music composer based out of West Springfield, Massachusetts in the United States.  The soundscapes he makes here are engaging, and it seems he’s not only influenced by excellent cassette culture forebears, but his style is rather cinematic in scope, a style that I think very highly of.  A very pleasant sonic experience, indeed.

We’re on the road today in Las Vegas, Nevada, but listening to music never ceases. Today we share a Slovak dark ambient composer called Tomáš Vrana. His style is very cinematic, and you can hear references to composers like Ryuichi Sakamoto, Hiroshi Yoshimura and Abeoji (아버지) among others.