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Mansur – Karma

13/2/2021

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dark jazz / electronic
Denovali
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Where were you when you first heard something unique? Something that you had never heard before. Sure, we can all accuse any band or artist of being derivative. There are only so many notes, so many combinations and so many instruments in the world… everything we hear is bound to have been done before, right? How about taking a mixture of darkjazz, then mixing in a pinch of metal vocals and finishing it off with a healthy handful of middle eastern spice?
Sounds pretty tasty, doesn’t it? Good news. It is.
Mansur is a project that takes full advantage of the talents contained within its confines; and believe me, there is a lot of talent at work here. 

Jason Köhnen, former supremo of the brilliant The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble, has joined forces with metal vocalist Martina Horváth and acclaimed Oud player, Dimitry El-Demerdashi. Despite only three people being involved, the feeling conjured up is enveloping, entrancing and warm.

Each member of the trio brings with them elements of their past work, but then push themselves further to create something unique. Dutch musician, Köhnen’s work with TKDE trod a definite evolutionary path in the way each album was made and produced. Each release brought electronics more into the spotlight, but very consciously aimed to lower the artifice of the sound and make it more “organic” sounding. Dimitry El-Demerdashi is of Russian origin, but has lived all over the world – notably spending the 6 years post the Arab Spring in Egypt, learning to play the oud under master player Naseer Shamma. Martina Horváth’s vocals should be well-known to fans of Thy Catafalque, appearing as they do on the band‘s albums “Naiv” and “Geometria”.

From the opening seconds, the album wears its elements like a badge of honour. The atmospherics blend perfectly with Horváth’s ethereal vocal, while Dimitry’s middle eastern scales and runs can either burst into the room or blend in with the furniture – but they’re always perfectly-weighted.

When it comes to thematic interpretation of the track names, there seems to be a definite lean toward Stoic Philosophy – the school of personal ethics informed by its system of logic and the natural world. Stoicism teaches that the path to happiness is found in accepting the moment as it arrives, to not be swayed, or controlled, by thoughts of pleasure or pain - accepting fate, helping the plan of nature, and treating others fairly. 

This makes perfect sense when listening to the album. There’s a very definite sense that each individual contribution to the tracks winds around the others, supporting and strengthening them, and helping to push the music forward, stronger and brighter. There is a real sense of being present in the moment throughout the album. Each passage of each track, each flex of its musical bicep, each twitch of its rhythmic eye, each moment captures a feeling and then moves on to stoically face the next.
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With “Karma” being Mansur’s debut album, the band members have successfully evolved each of their individual talents and woven them into an aural blanket. There appears to be no ego at work here – each musician seems to bring their talent to the kitchen and they’re mixed to perfection.


Ben

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Senketsu No Night Club – Ejiki

17/2/2020

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dark jazz
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Obscure Japanese movies can be very inspiring for musicians who love to create doomy atmospheres. Senketsu No Night Club was formed by Giovanni Leo Leonardi (guitars, bass, synths and electronics), Adriano Vincenti  (samplers & drones) and Ian Ferguson (saxophone). Ejiki is the third album of this Italian band. With the support of the Englishman Ian Ferguson, the band could bring their artistic expressions filled with passion and inspired by the ideas of Adriano Vincenti  to a higher level.

Ejiki contains ten constructions that guide you into a world of slow and bizarre ambiance. This soundtrack has a triggering film noir content. The darkened jazz vibes create visions of abandon residential areas, mysterious men lightning their cigarettes on half-lit street corners and stray cats wandering through sad creepy rows of houses. The images and concept of this intriguing album were done by the Japanese artist and film maker 不埒ライフ Furachi-life Fan. She also delivered one of the poems on band's debut album.

Senketsu No Night Club uses influences of trip hop, kraut rock to colour the lury moods. The Belgian guest player Izzy Op de Beeck (Detour Doom Project)shows his talents with soft but haunting adds of his flugelhorn and trumpet virtuosity. Electronic tunes are layered in the tracks and only show up after several deep listening trips. The album is detailed with gloomy precision while the sax dominates the slow dark romantic proclivity.

This is a quality dark jazz recording referring to Bohren & Der Club Of Gore, The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble and the Dale Cooper Quartet & the Dictaphones. Senketsu No Night Club released a doom ridden jazz trip (limited to 300 copies in a digipak) that will elicit grim moods any season or time of the year. We are hooked by the nihilistic sadness Ejiki generates.

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Patsker

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Macelleria Mobile di Mezzanotte – Noir Jazz Femdom

20/1/2020

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dark jazz
Subsound
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Electronica can be, sorry, but a pain in the ass. Repetitive as hell, stubborn in its atonal sound landscape, squeaky and high-pitched to the max. All of this applies to the worst kind of electronica, the stuff you will find in the mainstream charts, the EDM of the Tens and now Twenties.

But there is also the other side of electronic music, the one where you can feel that there are real musicians behind it, who used their knobs and buttons like a normal instrument and who are able to transport something via their arrangements.


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For quite some time now, Italian electronic artist Adriano Vincenti has been publishing music under the moniker Macelleria Mobile bi Mezzanotte. The name of the project means something like “Mobile Butcher’s shop at Midnight” - keep that in mind, we will come back to it in a moment. Since 2013, with the release of their album “Black Lake Confidence”, the band has introduced a more drone orientated kind of Doom-Jazz – also due to the final addition of Saxophone player Pierluigi Ferro; while Vincenti before published some kind of harsh noise electronica, the band is now compared to acts like Zu, Dale Cooper Quartet or Bohren und der Club of Gore – and interestingly, these comparisons are not far-fetched or too high for the quartet from Rome. 

The band has a particular soft spot for everything related to Film Noir and Hard Boiled detective literature, which is obvious when you look at the covers – this one features a cut-up picture of a classic pin-up girl with the whole colors being changed into different shades of red; actually this might be one of the nicest covers I have seen in the last few months. Song titles like “Devotion”, “Death was last to enter the Nightclub” or “Neon Lights Say you will Die Tonight” are quite explicit in their meaning. 

To give you an idea of the band’s sound (made up of synths, drones, saxophone and drum computers) you should listen to the title track “Noir Jazz Femdom” - a classical triphop beat is accompanied by harsh synths and drone sounds and the saxophone gives it some kind of erotic undertone which completely fits the lyrics about sex and violence. Imagine a spawn between Zu and Portishead but not with a soothing Beth Gibbons but rather with a disturbing, hushed version of Mike Patton. It sounds like a poppy description to a crime scene where the detectives find a slaughtered body that obviously had sex just before the massacre kicked in. 

This album is one of the late highlights in great (dark) electronica and something every lover of dark jazz should embrace. Welcome to the butcher’s shop!


Thorsten

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Brieviews Special: Winter-Light

29/12/2019

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Winter-Light is a Dutch label specialized in ambient, experimental and drone soundscapes. During the year 2019 the label released a number of high quality productions like Rapoon, Sysselmann, NIMH and Abbildung. We took with pleasure the time to listen further and deeper in their beautiful catalogue of 2019.

Seetyca - Trances

drone / dark ambient
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Trances is the sequel to the album Zwischenwelten of the German drone artist Seetyca. The album was conceived and recorded during several summers. No warm seasonal tunes appeared, on the contrary, deep and dark signals of winter spheres are introduced on this mysterious album. The drones and soundscapes shiver like sharp ice rain slicing away the last pieces of the so hopeful winter light. Trances is a hypnotic piece of work with a lot of hidden layers like piano sounds, distorted humming and floating soundscapes, proving that Seetyca is a sound wizard like no other.  We were very pleased with the mental climate change this album induced. Trances is a detailed beauty on ice.


Rngmnn – Arctic Interference

dark ambient
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With chiming bells on a bed of dark drones presented on the first track, Rngmnn introduces his new work. RNGMNN aka Ronny Engmann from Germany, previously released albums on Noctivagant and Reverse Alignment, as well as a collaborative release on Cryo Chamber with Dronny Darko. Arctic Interference contains eight tracks with polar ambiance ranging from drifting pieces to tight, rhythmic and dark pulsating soundscapes. The industrial moods lurk behind the corner of this sharp edged electronic release. The tracks were recorded in the month of December, over a period of five years. RNGMNN uses field recordings, elements of percussion, samples and darkened electronic paths creating a desolated world where the only orientation point is the silence behind the ocean of sound structures RNGMNN produced. An awesome album for the darker parts of life.


Kloob -  Unpredictable Signs

ambient
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The music of Kloob beholds profundity. Barcelona based Dani Kloob focuses his creativity in deep ambient music since 2010. Unpredictable Signs is a fascinating descent into a maze of cryptic caves. The ambient soundscapes howl like eroding winds against the damp walls. Kloob uses all kinds of manipulated voices and field recordings to detail his compositions. Perplexing sound structures amplify the feeling of never coming back to the surface. This recording feels like entering a bottomless chasm without beginning or end. Kloob created an irresistible mesmerizing world filled with soft drones and refined electronic tunes. We are obligated to say that this ravishing album is very addictive.


Atomine Elektrine - The Antikythera Mechanism

ambient / experimental
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Atomine Elektrine is a project of Peter Andersson, the artist behind the Swedish dark ambient project raison d’être. Inspired by the discovery of a mysterious analogue computer, Peter Andersson  bundles his experiences as a sound creator in a new project. The enormous variety in approach and experiment with electronic based sounds makes this album not that easy to absorb. The Antikythera Mechanism sounds like cosmic clock, not only questioning time with creative squeaking and ticking of sprockets, but also using soundscapes, exploratory accents, glitch and sequencing. The result is a unique multidimensional melting of enigmatic sounds with a slight dark and edgy punk attitude. The Antikythera Mechanism is also available on vinyl and CD.  


​Patsker

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Der Finger - Le Cinque Stagioni

26/4/2019

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dark jazz / free jazz
Toten Schwan Records
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I have an odd relationship with jazz. Since I discovered the darker version of the genre, with bands like Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore or Dale Cooper Quartet and the Dictaphones, I'm gradually growing into it. Today, I have a rather large folder with jazz releases on my hard disc, many of which often rush through my speakers.

However, there is a very thin line between adoration and distaste. When the jazz roams too free, it makes me nervous and uncomfortable. I'm definitely not a fan of extreme experimental solos, that's for sure. So when I select a jazz album to review I constantly worry about that thin line.

And then this album came in. According to the biography Der Finger create a blend between avantrock-noise, free/dark jazz and psychedelic improvisation. "Auwtch," I thought, "this is going to be a tough one. Luckily for me, Russian trio Der Finger deals more into the dark than into the free jazz. How dark? Well, the five tracks are based on the "Illuminati Calendar", appearing in Robert Anton Wilson novels and represent the eternal cycles of development to chaos and rebirth. And there is plenty of chaos to be found here, but highly enjoyable chaos.

While listening to these tracks, an eclectic parade of artists rushed through my head. Of course, there is the old fashioned jazz of Davis or Coltrane but also the earlier mentioned dark jazz acts. Then there is the often repetitive groove of Deutsch Nepal and the in-your-face heaviness of Dead Neanderthals. The list goes on an on, even Melvins come mind here and there. But eventually, all of that tumbles down into chaotic black holes of free jazz, while that thin edge between adoration and distaste slowly fades away.

In all, this is an adventurous and experimental jazz album, one that challenges the listener. I don't really know who to recommend it too. Jazz fans, obviously, but perhaps also people who are into sludge metal and noise rock. Anyhow, it's probably best to play it loud and let these five seasons overwhelm you. Try it out, you might discover a brand new favorite.


Serge

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Radare - Der Endless Dream

19/2/2019

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dark jazz / experimental
Golden Antenna
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Radare is back!!! And how!!! The four shy Germans deliver the next stunning phase in their continuous musical evolution. What began with heavy riffing and post metal elements, back in 2010, steadily grew into an enigmatic four piece which co-defined the dark jazz genre. 'Im Argren', released in 2015, placed Radare on a high shelf, along with Bohren and Dale Cooper. Their somewhat hesitant but beautiful and intimate gig at Dunk! Festival convinced many of their capabilities and 'Der Endless Dream' nails the next landmark in one of the most enigmatic genres in the history of music. Radare is back!!! The world is a better place now.

The album opens with 'Loup De Mer', a mid tempo tune that carefully opens the door to the new and improved Radare. The restraint modesty of the band has made place for a firm belief in their own musicianship, resulting in highly narrative and varied music. In a way, Radare has become the post rock band in the dark jazz scene, which in my opinion is a pretty neat thing. These are not merely Twin Peaks inspired tunes. These are pieces of music that Ennio Morricone himself would purchase in a record store. Yes, jazz, western music, post rock, krautrock, it's all here and it's pretty damn fascinating. 

I am incredibly impressed by this album. I discovered them back at Incubate several years ago. They were youngsters with a vision and with enjoyable music. Now they have grown up, they have listened to Godspeed! You Black Emperor and set their own standard to that very level. And would you believe it, they quite often reach that standard. 'Eternal Love' is a mind boggling piece of music and the short title track brings tears to my eyes. If it's possible to fall in love with a record... You get the idea.

'Der Endless Dream' is the result of years of meticulous songwriting but also one where Radare dares to experiment, cross borders and explore niches. 'Room' is indeed the jazz version of a glacial post rock track, slowly meandering and evolving. I never thought I was going to say this, but this album is even better than 'Im Argren'. Radare, I hope you are ready to say goodbye to the forest stage and hello to the mainstream media. This album is award winning material, brought to you by one of the most talented and hardworking bands on the planet.


​Serge

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A-Sun Amissa - Ceremony In The Stillness

30/7/2018

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dark jazz / post rock / doom
Consouling Sounds
Gizeh Records
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I don't really know how to start this review. I want to write about the short appearance of A-Sun Amissa in my book, 'Cecilia's World' (---->) but I also want to write about that breathtaking concert at Trix that inspired that particular passage. I want to write about how I immediately became a huge A-Sun Amissa fan and about how they expanded the entire dark jazz scene.

But I think the safest way to do this is to dig deep into this brand new album and see how this project by Richard Knox (Shield Patterns, Glissando, founder of Gizeh Records) has evolved in the past few years. 

'Ceremony in the Stillness', to be released September 14th, contains six tracks, all slow and compelling. On this follow-up to the highly acclaimed 'The Gatherer' A-Sun Amissa seems to dig deeper that ever before. The jazz elements faded to the background, making place for post rock and doom metal. On several of these tracks, including the immersive opener 'The Black Path', Knox twists the distortion knob a bit more.

Now, I can say a lot of things about this album, but there is one thing in my mind throughout the entire duration: a front seat at the forest stage of Dunk! festival. Now more than ever I see this band being a massive highlight on this Flemish post rock event, and all other related festivals around the world. With emotional rollercoasters like 'To The Ashes' or closer 'Remembrancer' , A-Sun Amissa will undoubtedly enchant audiences far and wide.

I guess it's not a surprise that bands like Mono, Stars Of The Lid and A Swarm Of The Sun come to mind more often than the Bohren or Dale Coopers of this world, which was the case on 'The Gatherer'. Lingering guitars and steady drum rhythms now make up most of the music, but the gloomy, intrinsic atmosphere remains a constant. Just listen to the fascinating anthem 'The Skulk' which does beautiful things with ambient, noise and avant garde classical music, often with the help of Jo Quail and other guests.

'No Perception Of Light' makes me realize that this project didn't really chance. It just continued its evolution towards ever more intriguing slow and murky music. Back then, I thought 'The Gatherer' was a highlight in the so-called "slowism" scene but this new work surpassed that, even though the much beloved jazz elements are now backgrounded. 'Ceremony in the Stillness' is a perfectly balanced album, one I would like to recommend to all fans of slow and dark. 


Serge

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Brieviews 44

30/5/2018

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An Evening With Knives - Serrated

post-metal / doom / alternative rock
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"Dutch three-piece band jumps on post-metal bandwagon", that would be the most negative way to describe this album by An Evening With Knives. But that would also be a bit lazy. I mean, everything Tool and Amenra inspired is popular these days and thus many musicians give it a shot. In this case, the result is an interesting set of songs, slow, doomy, fuzzy, somewhat psychedelic and bloody intense. I'm sure that fans of the aforementioned bands will appreciate these guys, even though I think they yet have to reach their best possible sound. An interesting future might lay ahead for them.

Autger - God Kissing Carrion​

dark jazz / ambient / experimental / trip hop
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Russian one man act Autger returns with a new full-length, a personal story based on Dante's 'Inferno'. With a captivating mix of dark jazz, trip hop and what feels like ritual dark ambient, this album is something quite unique within the dark jazz world. The music here seems to come from a completely different dimension, even though that old "sax player under a bridge" atmosphere is still present. My advice? I urge everyone who is into strange, unusual and mostly electronic music to give this a shot. I bet you have never heard anything like this before. This definitely nudges the bizarre, and that's a good thing.
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Lamirāl - This EP Has No Name And It's Alright

hardcore
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Right, time for extremities, courtesy of Belgian hardcore combo Lamirāl. On this EP, they catapult six heavy rocking hardcore tunes to your face, stuffed with broken glass, needles, sulphuric acid and bile. The overall tempo is suffocating, the riffs feel like sounds from behind the gates of hell and if that vocalist stands in front of you, you have exactly six seconds left to live. So if you want your miserable life crushed by the sheer intensity of music, this EP is an absolute must have. This is about as intense as a concrete boot to the teeth...

Gray Dog - The Deal

acoustic blues
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Now I need something to calm down and relax a bit. This five track EP by Belarus/Poland duo Gray Dog. Their music is a mix of blues and southern rock, brought to you in a minimal, acoustic setting. The result is an interesting late night bonfire soundtrack, best to be consumed with a cold beer. By the way, the fact that this is acoustic music doesn't mean that it lacks power. 'Why Did You Fuck Me And Leave?", for example is a damn heavy tune. Fans of everything between Muddy Waters, Johnny Cash and Pearl Jam can easily appreciate this. My favorite? 'The Pray Of Hangover'.
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Paulie Jan - Yukio (A Brief Sonic Evocation)

dark ambient / noise
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Composed as a tribute to Japanese writer Y. Mishima, 'Yukio (A Brief Sonic Evocation)' by French act Paulie Jan is a gloomy, haunting and often remorseless dark ambient release. These are deep sonic introspections, arranged by eerie soundscapes, deep but slow beats and a fearsome atmosphere. At first, I found it hard to get into this music but gradually the whole thing grew on me like only the best dark ambient anthems actually do. Now I can't get enough of these noisy skincrawlers. My favorite remains opener 'Kimitake' with title track 'Yukio' being a brilliant second. Recommended stuff!!!

Lachrymose - The Unseen

doom / occult metal
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Hailing from Greece, Lachrymose delivers an occult driven version of female fronted melodic doom metal. With influences from bands like Moonspell, Paradise Lost and Avatarium, these Greeks dwell in a dark and almost operatic region of the doom metal scene. Besides, 'This Sickness' rocks like hell and is a definite fan favorite. In all, this might best be compared to a heavy metal version of Inkubus Sukkubus or a female fronted version of Lacrimosa perhaps. All I know is that this is pretty interesting, mainly because it isn't overwhelmed with bombastic symphonic elements. This is raw gothic doom!
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Disowning - Battle of Neverness

death metal
Xenocorp
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I don't often pick out death metal albums to review so when I do something special must be going on. On this EP by French combo Disowning I'm extremely impressed by the old school sound and the by the vocals. I hear elements from some of my favorite bands from back in the day, including Suffocation, Dying Fetus and Carcass, but mostly I hear those awesome growls over a punishing array of drums and riffs. Opener and title track 'Battle Of Neverness is a massive kick in the cojones and my personal favorite 'Inner Emptiness' doubles the torment. So, old school death metallers, I think you need this.

Gravecoven - Coughing Blood

black metal / doom / death metal
Gods Ov War
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Some more vicious torment comes from Californian duo Gravecoven and their aptly titled EP 'Coughing Blood'. On this EP you will find four eerie and fearsome blackened death/doom metal tracks, mostly coming at high speeds and with a gruesome atmosphere. Personally, I would categorize this under black metal, especially the chaotic, occult driven version. I mean, with songs like 'Furious Fires' and 'The Ecstasy Of Hatred' leading the way, the path is one of total annihilation and utter destruction. So yeah, this is a massive, chaotic and punishing EP that deserves a place in every extreme collection.
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Vandal Moon - Wild Insane 

post punk / synth pop
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Also hailing from California but residing in a whole different musical universe is synthpop duo Vandal Moon. If you love acts like The Human League, Modern English or the synth pop escapades by The Cure, you have to check out this album. Eighties synths, romantic themes and a new wave breathing guitar, everything you love about the gloomy eighties dancefloors is here. My personal favorite is 'Computer Love' but I'm sure that every old goth, new waver and synthpop adept can easily add this album to his collection. This truly is as close as it gets and comes highly recommended for blackdressers

Sense Fracture - In My Escape I look For A Weapon

breakcore / industrial
Haunter Records
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Still completely electronic but from a copletely different level comes this little gem. Haunter Records co- founder, DJ, producer and writer Francesco Birsa Alessandri delivers a mindblowing EP in which "unpredictability" is a keyword. With harsh electronic beats, uncategorizable noises and eerie samples Sense Fracture creates a unique sonic universe, inspired by dark ambient, industrial, noise and breakcore. The five tracks on this 12" are relentless, harsh and abrasive. They remind me of something between Author & Punisher and Bong-Ra. Recommended? Only if you get stand musical insanity.
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Richard James Simpson - Sweet Birds Of Youth

alternative rock / blues
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... or dare we call them the bitter-sweet birds of youth? On his debut album, a compilation of older and more recent work, American guitarist and singer Richard James Simpson collaborates with friends (Joey Burns, Dustin Boyer and Theo Welch). He kicks the listener back in time to their wonder years, where one day you feel like an adult in a child's body and the other day things are vice versa. The variety in musical styles reflects this unsteady period; the majority of the songs has a stingy bluesrock feel but there's also a fantastic shoegaze track, some haunting dark ambient, some post-neofolk, experimentality in the 
style of Tool and quite a bit of grunge - vocals that remind of Cobain included. So go buy this one if you appreciate something that refuses to fit into one box.

Nhung Nguyen – Oblivion

ambient / experimental
Pany Rosas Discos
And we finish this edition of brieviews with a one-track EP by experimentalist Nhung Nguyen. In this twelve minutes lasting track, Nhung Nguyen explores everything from ambient soundscapes and loops over field recordings and found objects to weird electronics and noise. Needless to say then perhaps, but this composition is a complex and mesmerizing sonic journey. Don't expect sweet and comforting ambient, much like the real world, this track is full of grittiness and strange elements. So, this comes highly recommended but only for seasoned ambient experimentalists. 
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The Orchestra Of Mirrored Reflections - Narrow Escape

15/5/2018

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dark jazz
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I have just returned from another exquisite edition of Dunk! festival. It was a magical three days, loaded with post rock, doom metal and everything related. It was also quite exhausting, so for the time being I'm not going to get into heavy, fast and pummeling albums. 

Instead, I'll delve into the blissful sounds of dark jazz, courtesy of Ukrainian band The Orchestra Of Mirrored Reflections. Regular Merchants Of Air readers will probably know that this is one of our most followed acts, having appeared here several times in the past few years.

And of course, there is a real good reason for that. These guys are awesome. From day one their dark jazz has enchanted and inspired me. Their music was a constant in my writing sessions for Cecilia's World and it's basically the imaginary soundtrack to my new novel. That novel will be a gritty, harsh and dark thriller, one that can best be read while listening to these gritty and dark jazz sounds. To be a bit more specific, the title track of this album, 'Narrow Escape', has been playing while I wrote the key-scene and if they ever turn this book into a film, I want that song to be the theme song.

However, this album also contains the one Orchestra Of Mirrored Reflections track that I'm not that fond of. In my mind, there seems to be something wrong with opener 'Dissociative Fugue'. I think it's the mixing as the sax feels too loud. Yet, apart from that, I will undoubtedly recommend this album to all fans of Bohren, Dale Cooper, Radare, The Thing With Five Eyes and so on. This is pure dark jazz galore. Besides, the Orchestra easily makes up for that one mixing-misstep. 'Marvelous Journey' is exactly what the title predicts and already one of my favorite dark jazz tunes of the moment.

'Le Printemps arrive dans l'Hémisphère Nord' could as well be a part of Miles Davis' 'Ascenseur pour l'échafaud' soundtrack. It's a short tune but such a nice and atmosphere one. 'Stay Low' allows ambient sounds to take over the jazz atmosphere, making it another brilliant piece of slow and immersive music. Finally, 'Fire Burns Brighter In The Dark' delivers a classic and perfect ambient-jazz hybrid, adding a ritual element to the minimal but effective music. At the end, there is also a neat bonus track, a short jazz jam so it seems.

So yes, apart from that loud sax in the opening tune, this album is a fantastic example of dark jazz. I don't think that there is any more to write about this full-length. If any of the aforementioned bands appear in your day-to-day playlist, you definitely should give this one a shot, and while you're at it, get their previous work too. The Orchestra Of Mirrored Reflections is one of the most interesting dark jazz act on this planet. It's time the planet knows that...


​Serge

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Brieviews 41

15/4/2018

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Ihä - Estructuras De Aire, Colonias De Soplo

ambient / drone
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Chilean drone/ambient band Ihä return with a beautiful new four track album. Much like their previous release, 'Esperanza', this one focuses on minimal but atmospheric soundscapes. The result is a soothing yet immersive piece of work, something fans of everything between Brian Eno and Barn Owl can certainly appreciate. Furthermore, people with a hectic life, people who just want to ease down and relax for a moment, should also give this stuff a chance. Play it loud enough, not too loud, close your eyes and let this talented act guide you through the wonderful world of Ihä.

Spankraght - Spankraght EP

industrial / metal / drum & bass
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Antwerp is a crowded city. One day a metalhead and a drum & bass producer slammed into each other in one of our many record stores. Their respective Channel Zero and Netsky vinyl albums smashed into pieces and fell to the floor. Instead of fighting each other, they bought some gear and locked themselves in a rehearsal studio. Now they released a nice piece of crossover with a pounding five track EP. Heavy guitars meet electronic beats and synths in a whirlpool of musical energy. It's Pendulum meets Combichrist meets ... let's say Rammstein, or Metallica. Most of all, it's bloody awesome, although I have no idea how to both dance and bang my head at the same time...
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August Rosenbaum - Rasa

classical
Tambourhinoceros
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Back in November 2017 August Rosenbaum released 'Vista'. Now, as a little extra, he offers a six track EP, containing the stripped down foundations of that album, plus one brand new track, 'Milo'. What can I say about this EP? It's a man playing a piano, nothing more, nothing less. That alone makes this one of the most beautiful things to listening to, especially if that man is a talented and experienced composer. So, if you're into calm, soothing and blissful smile evoking piano music, this EP is an absolutely must have, nothing more, nothing less. 

Show Aniki - The Deep Blue Sessions

metal
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The EP by French hard rockers Show Aniki compiles four singles. Throughout the years, the band has suffered several line-up changes but that didn't seem to harm the energy. Influenced by everything between Metallica, Anthrax, Disturbed and Alice In Chains these guys deliver four solid and groovy rock tracks. This is perfect stuff for a hot summer afternoon on some big ass rock festival where the older generation of headbangers will often point at the stage and tell the youngsters how metal should be done. So yeah, this is edgy metal with a heavy yet melodic approach. Great stuff.
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The Human Race Is Filth - Liberate

grindcore / crust
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Right, that was nice metal and all but for true mental torment you'd have to turn toward this cute and friendly American duo. Thrif delivers their second set of chaotic grindcore pummeling, once again with the intensity of an atomic blast. Fans of bands like Dismember and Napalm Death will undoubtedly get a hardon from this stuff (I don't need photographic proof of that!!!). In eight tracks, mostly short blast of ferocious crust/grind, Thrif effortlessly destroys everything in their path, including your sanity, but who needs sanity when you can have grindcore, right? 

Misantronics vs Mint Narcosis - EPI

ambient / techno
bandcamp
Misantronics
Mint Narcosis
Ambient and dance beats mix quite well together. Just look at acts like early Biosphere or Psychic Warriors Of Gaia. In that aspect, it's almost weird that ambient act Misantronics and his EDM alter ego Mint Narcosis only now release a cooperative EP. On 'EPI' you can find four tracks, three of them delving deep into the world of ambient techno and one coming up with some breaks. 'Dragon' and 'Kepler' showcase the calm but danceable side of this EP while 'Kuba' is an hypnotic, trance inducing dance track. 'Unwasted Years' is the odd one here, a gloomy IDM track with haunting soundscapes. Certainly to be continued.
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The Room in the Wood - Magical Thinking

new wave / alternative rock
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Somewhere between the gloomy sound of new wave and the uplifting energy of alternative rock, we find Liverpool residents The Room In The Wood. Think acoustic music with a strong, distinct voice. In the title track the band shows an infectious blend between Leonard Cohen, Wall Of Voodoo and The Lemonheads. Yeps, that's possible. Johnny Cash fans will undoubtedly appreciate 'Baba Yaga' while The Doors lovers will pick out 'Dragonfly' as their favorite. My personal favorite is the opener. It's a track that makes me curious about their other work. I'll check that soon, but for now, this is good enough.

Twilight - Trident Death Rattle

black metal
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To be released on May 1st, this three track EP by legendary American black metal band Twilight, is perhaps one of the most epic blackened releases from that continent. These tracks, which feature Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore, are harsh, intense and chaotic songs. They showcase a massive sense of derangement and isolation. In fact, Opener 'This Road South' is currently one of my favorite black metal tracks. 'Weathered Flames' is a suffocating spiral of blackened nihilism and closer 'No Consequence' will haunt your dreams for decades to come. These are nightmares translated to music and I like that.
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Corpsehammer - ​Perversión

black metal
Morbid Skull
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Speaking about musical nightmares, allow me to plug this ugly little filth monger from Swedish extremists Corpsehammer. This EP is the third part in their EP trilogy, released by Morbid Skull. If you are a fan of old school black metal, and I mean old school in the form of ancient 'World Domination' compilations, this undoubtedly is your thing. In three tracks, plus an outro, Corpsehammer delivers a rancid, hardcore punk influenced approach to extreme metal, often at ferocious speeds. There's nothing pretty about this EP, on the exact contrary. This is the musical equivalent of crawling to mud and faeces, mixed with needles. Awesomeness...

Grim - Requiem

classical / post rock / jazz
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Equally awesome but in a completely different way comes this new EP by Belgian trio Grim. This band from Leuven turns classical music into post rock anthems with a gloomy jazz feel. This release is based on Frédéric Chopin, more specifically his Préludes and Marche Funèbre. the result is a cinematic and somewhat intimate sounding blend of post rock and dark jazz, something I'm pleasantly surprised by. I can imagine enjoying this in a small and intimate live setting, like a living room or a salon. However, it would also fit perfectly on a festival like Dunk!. Anyhow, this is pretty cool and certainly recommended.
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Mhönos - LXXXVII

drone doom
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This album by French ritual drone doom act Mhönos is a massive and epic undertaking. In a way, this is pure catharsis, driving on monolithic riffs, deranged vocals and a crushing atmosphere. What I like most about this, is that the band allow the music to take all the time it needs to grow and evolve. Although slow, I can certainly sense a punk attitude here, mostly in the vocal performance. That reminds me of acts like Winter and coincidentally also Phantom Winter. Yet, the music also reminds me of noise acts like MZ412 and Brighter Death Now. So yeah, this is a brilliant piece of work and it comes highly recommended.

Zero Theorem - Ataraxis 

hard rock / metal
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Some people are waiting for the new Tool album, others hope Disturbed will release their new record soon and still others are still going heavy on the latest Five Finger Death Punch or Papa Roach. All those people should turn their ears towards Los Angeles based metal band Zero Theorem. This six track EP easily draws comparisons with the aforementioned bands. All these songs are infectious modern day metal songs, with exactly the right doses of aggression, melody, riffing and electronics. It's been a while since I have been excited about anything nu-metal related but this EP definitely does the trick.
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Vampillia - Happiness Brought By Endless Sorrow

black metal / noise
Temple Of Torturous
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Legendary Japanese "brutal orchestra" Vampilia returns with a four track ep that will undoubtedly blast you into mental oblivion. With a furiously raging blend of black metal, grindcore, drone, post rock and noise, this ten piece smashes all competition. Obviously, that shouldn't be a surprise since this act has been on every extreme experimentalists favorites list for years. Although short, these tracks represent massive anthems and come laced with guitars, drums, violins, piano, screams, grunts and whatnot. This is absolute madness, in the best sense of the word.

The Orchestra Of Mirrored Reflections - Narrow Escape

dark jazz
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And to conclude, let me introduce you to one of my favorite dark jazz bands and their latest single. I have been following this orchestra for quite some time now and I'm always pleasantly surprised by their output. This time they deliver a long track that might as well become one of my favorites in the while genre. It's an eight minutes lasting and lingering piece of dark jazz with delayed bass, lazy drums and a free floating saxophone solo. In other words, this is perfect for a Sunday evening with wine and cigarettes, courtesy of The Orchestra Of Mirrored Reflections. 
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