Loading
Here we have a sourly slurred, decidedly moody, yet eventful new hour-plus composition from Stockholm based improviser/composer Magnus Granberg. The release comes in the form of CD, on the always rewarding & worthy Sheffield based Another Timbre- who really are the go-to label for the best & most intriguing in modern composition/ edgy improv fields.
From May this year here’s a reissue of one of the more popular & sort after titles on UK modern classical/ improv/ modern composition label Another Timbre. Originally released back in 2015 Two Pianos And Other Pieces, 1953-1969 is a two CD collection of relatively short, often piano-focused works by modern classical/ minimalist composer Morton Feldman.
Synthwave whiz-kid Ryan Shaw (Anachronist) is back with is follow-up to his 2016 debut, RGB, with Self-Titled Album. Originally self released, this sophomore effort is being released by Ektro Records on limited edition cassette. Capturing the feel and vibe of the synth fueled times gone by, the cassette adds to the aesthetic and makes a nice statement for all fans of retro synthwave.
Here's the third in the series of CDs featuring Avant Garde/experimental performers who have featured at the In progress live events that take place in Poland. These events feature a combination of music, theatre, dance, film and audio/visual arts. The tracks that feature on this third album in the series provide an interesting overview of the experimental musicians working in the Avant Garde music scene in modern day Poland.
German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen is seen as one of the most influential, daring, and revolutionary modern composers of the late 20th, to early 21st century. He is known for his ahead of its time electronic composition, Musique concrète blending with formal instrumentation, and generally daring modern composition. Unfortunately, unlike the likes of Cage, Feldman, or Glass- Stockhausen body of work is not widely available, as most of the rights for his it is owned by his trust- who often charge a pretty penny for releases. Here on El Records, one of Cherry Red Sub-labels, is a three-disc compilation focusing in on Stockhausen, and related early innovative modern composers. And while it’s far from the most definitive or focused Stockhausen releases, it does offering up some key early works from the composer
Proud Trash Sound is a noise release that is literally knee-deep in sonic Americana. The ten track album is a scatterbrain, but mostly fairly coherent bringing together of formal noise elements such as jarring electro noise stretchers & sears, noise guitar chugs & sudden feed-back engulfed vocals elements- with all manner of western/ American sound elements such as a galloping guitars, yea-ha vocals( both male & female), pig grunts, yodelling, gunfight sound effects, horse glip-glops, speed-up 50’s easy listening music, and all manner of decidedly American sonic debris.
As part of Artus Films growing ‘Collection Jess Franco’ series here’s a region two DVD release of this classic late 1960’s exotic thriller from Mr Franco. The films an extremely heady blend of arty sensuality & moody surrealism, with moments of 60’s grooving atmosphere & trippy revenge kills- all sound-tracked by a blend of smooth-to-darkly moody jazz.
Golden Temple Amazon is another slice of 1980’s jungle-bound sleaze ‘n’ cheese from Jess Franco- bringing together lots of female flesh, cheaply looking gold mine, PG humour & animal action, and an upbeat funky score. Here on MVD Classics is a recent Blu Ray release of the film.
Challenger Deep sees the very welcome return of highly respected & skilful British wall noise artists James Killick- here under the banner of Flood. The C60/ digital download sees him offering up two thirty minute examples of building & shifting wall-noise creativity.
Swedish project Desiderii Marginis is often referred to as solely a Dark Ambient venture. However, in his work, Johan Levin – the founder of this project, has often combined a large number of styles of experimental music into his sound - such as dark ambient, industrial, drone, dark folk and even elements of noise.
Death metal cornerstones, Deceased, are back after seven long years with Ghostly White on Hells Headbangers. Forming in 1985, King Fowley and the boys have thrashed and grinded incessantly despite a sparse release schedule, and Ghostly White is proof of their unwavering dedication to the scene. With eight songs clocking in at around fifty-five minutes, Deceased stick true to their legacy of long, grim, death metal yarns.
Thisquietarmy is an experimental improvisational guitar-based drone project hailing from Montreal, Canada. It is the solo project of Eric Quach, guitarist with Canadian shoegaze heroes Destroyalldreamers. Originally released by Foreshadow Recordings in 2008 Unconquered was the project’s first full length release. This new tenth anniversary edition from Midira Records adds an extra disc of material, most of it live, however it also features the thirty-minute epic Into Dust/Out of Dust which is inspired by Californian dream pop legends Mazzy Star.
Espace is a recent collaboration between two of Paris experimental sound denizens. KTT (aka Kasper T. Toeplitz) is polish born sound artists known mostly for his creation of BassComputer- an electric bass with 5 fretted strings and 4 unfretted strings, which is interfaced into a computer. And Vomir( aka Romain Perrot) one of the most widely known creators of the HNW form. This three track CD release sees the pair blending their sounds together to create a hellishly dense-yet- unsettling sonic form that sits somewhere between searing & subtle shifting industrial-tinged drone matter, and soul crushing HNW.
Abraded is a recent two track CDR from this highly prolific French walled noise project. The disc takes in two examples of relativity active noise craft that sits somewhere between pummelling HNW, and creatively textured static noise making.
Session 05/08/18 is seemingly the first physical release from this Russian noise/HNW project. Obscure Heaven began life at some point in 2017, and have thus far amassed around 50 or so digital releases. The release appears in the form of a CDR/ digital download on British HNW/ noise label Void Singularity- it takes in two sixteen-to-twenty minute tracks, and what we have here is urgent & rapid walled noise.
C.3.3. is a project of Paul Jamrozy, original member of TEST DEPT. This record, originally self-released in a slightly different form in 2011, takes as its subject the now closed HM Prison Reading, formally Reading Gaol, which held Oscar Wilde in the late 1890s after his conviction for homosexual offences. Unsurprising for a member of TEST DEPT, politics is mingled here with historical reflection. Wilde's incarceration, and his poem The Ballad of Reading Gaol is the entry point for Jamrozy into an exploration of incarceration, capital punishment and state power.
Trumpet player, keyboardist, composer and bandleader Simon Millerd has released a lush masterpiece of an album, "Lessons and Fairytales", on Songlines, a label which has proven a haven for artfully crafted melodic modern jazz. Nearly all of my recent favorite works of jazz come from the Songlines catalogue, from Michael Blake's "In the Grand Scheme of Things" to the Bruno Heinen Sextet's reinterpretation of Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Tierkreis".
Following on from the recent Blu Ray reissue of Antropophagus on Severin, here’s Absurd- the second 1980’s horror film collaboration between director Joe D'Amato, and George Eastman( aka Italian actor Luigi Monterflori). Originally released in 1981- the film is a gored-up Halloween rip-off, blending in once again elements of classic horror, with 80’s euro campiness. Here we have the double-disc reissue of the film- taking in a Blu Ray, and soundtrack CD
Zombie 4 appeared at the end of the 1980’s- offering up a more action-focused take on the Italian zombie cycle. Here from Severin is the double disc CD soundtrack & Blu Ray release of the film.
Here we have a recent CD reissue of the first two albums from reggae legend & dub innovator Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. The Upsetter is from 1969, and Scratch- The Upsetter Again is from 1970. Both albums show the seeds of Perry’s later highly creative production skills, and each album is a good example of mainly mellow & playful proto-dub.
Hungarian experimental sounds are rather sparingly represented in the worldwide music scene. Necrotik Fissure is perhaps the most famous Hungarian project in the Harsh noise /Harsh Noise Wall genre. It was founded by Daniel K in 2012, but after releasing four albums and a split with French iconic HNW project Vomir, Necrotik Fissure was silent for 4 years. But, in 2016, the project resumed its activities and became one of the most productive HNW projects in recent years. It is also worth noting that Daniel K has a fairly large number of other projects, the most famous of which, in addition to the Necrotik Fissure, is Halalnihil. Also, Daniel is the founder of the fairly successful DIY label The Level Of Vulnerability, which has released an large number of albums from all of his projects, as well as many famous and talented projects working in styles of extremely experimental music.
'Communion Is A Sacred Word' is the debut release from 'Red Cliffs', a collaborative project between labelhead Jan Warnke and Thorsten Soltau, which comes as a c30 in a light blue shell, with a multi-panel translucent artwork.
Soundscapes, like landscapes, can range from sparse and minimal, to dense, heavy, and jarring. Italian sound artist Attilio Novellino understands this wide range, and applies many different approaches to his creations to produce thoughtful, evocative sonic landscapes. This is no different on his latest, A Conscious Effort from Midiria Records, and fans of well constructed atmospheres would do well picking up this limited release.
The Space Inside is a two-track album from renowned Australian percussionist Vanessa Tomlinson. The release comes in the form of either a C30 cassette or digital download- and each of the fifteen-minute tracks here highlights the different sides to Tomlinson talents.