Category: Jazz

Ihä - Estructuras De Aire, Colonias De Soplo

ambient / drone

bandcamp

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

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...

August Rosenbaum - Rasa

classical

Tambourhinoceros

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

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.

The Human Race Is Filth - Liberate

grindcore / crust

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

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.

The Room in the Wood - Magical Thinking

new wave / alternative rock

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

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.

Corpsehammer - Perversión

black metal

Morbid Skull

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

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.

Mhönos - LXXXVII

drone doom

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

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.

Vampillia - Happiness Brought By Endless Sorrow

black metal / noise

Temple Of Torturous

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

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.

Serge

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Greg Sinibaldi - Ariel

22/2/2018

experimental

bandcamp

Imagine the following scene: Allan Holdsworth playing SynthAxe like Vangelis, accompanied sometimes by Dylan Carlson and sometimes by Buckethead together with a great multi-faceted drummer (Bryan Mantia, for example). A line-up like this would have a lot of probability to go wrong, would not? Well, this album didn't going wrong, it became very awesome! This "crazy" mixture of jazz, fusion, metal, technology, noise and free jazz surprised me a lot!!! The breadth "polystylism" of 'Ariel' had a REALLY big chance to go wrong, but all the musicians played every sound and every note meticulously where it should be, and the album became powerful and a kick ass work!!!

This album was recorded by Greg Sinibaldi (EWI and SuperCollider), Ryan Ferreira (electric guitar) and Ted Poor (drums). All themes were based on the poems' book called 'Ariel' written by Sylvia Plath, released postumante, because her private life was very troubled. and her suicide was carried out after she left bread and milk near the bed of her children, ingested a lot of narcotics and put her head inside the stove, with gas turned on. Realizing her writing themes, this was possibly her last and most melancholy poem. But Greg used five of her immortal works as the inspiration for his music: ‘Ariel’, ‘The Arrival of the bee box’, ‘Lady Lazarus’, ‘Wintering Cut’ and ‘Elm’.

Greg chose these poems and not only "translated them musically", he convey the sensation of the emotional charge that he had with each poem written by Sylvia. In this very sad book, you can clearly saw passages from something calm to obscure moments like in the song 'Arrival at the bee box'. Already in 'Lady Lazarus' and 'Lady Lazarus Part 2' the feeling of no future or no perspective ahead the humanity, is like in this excerpt from the poem: "Dying / Is an art, like everything else. / I do it exceptionally well". Her disenchantment with humanity is extremely evident in all the poems chosen by Greg.

Like the three songs mentioned, all the other tracks show an emotion that is incredibly consistent with the chosen poems, I even suggest that you read them before listen to this album, because all the emotions of Sylvia’s book can be perceived in a deeper way. Depressive moments are extremely dense and heavy, moments of doubt are puzzling and so the album goes on. This is a very interesting project and has managed to unite several different music idiomatics, creating sounds with an unbelievable cohesion!!! This album is available in digital format and in physical CD. Besides that, it has a special limited edition in Vinyl (300 copies). And to finish, I would like to say with all my sincerity: I loved this album because it surprised me a lot!!! So give yourself a chance to be surprised by 'Ariel'!!!

Glauber

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Brieviews 33

4/1/2018

Happy new year, dear reader, and welcome (back) to Merchants Of Air. To kick off the year in style, we prepared another heap of Brieviews and once again we're exploring many corners of the musical universe, from the heavy jazz of Dead Neanderthals over the fun folk metal of Nordheim to the soothing downtempo electronics of Build Buildings. Enjoy the read and let us know in the comments if you found something interesting.

Planetariet - Planetariet

post rock

An infatuated, but deeply calm and resourceful cosmogony amazingly inserted in an overwhelming ocean of clarifying thoughts, S/T by Planetariet, is an amalgamation of underlying vicissitudes brilliantly crafted at the harmonious line of a delicate and sensible planet of sonorous isolation. With a gentle touch of eternity, this interesting and refreshing EP is an intensely reverberating enigma of homogeneous synchronicity, that seems to revolve around the soul of its own reflexive and protuberating sincerity. With a calmer sound that apprehensively feels the underlying eccentricity of its profound and

densely acquiescent serenity, majorly entangled in a human emotional diagram of omnipotent infinity, S/T is a simple, yet complete sonorous conflagration of a melodic universe, whose imponderability is virtually attached to the most restless deliberation of a wonderful and honest expressive moment in time.

Wagner

Dead Neanderthals - Organ Donor

heavy jazz / grindcore

Dutch heavy jazz duo Dead Neanderthals come up with a late Christmas present: a fifteen minutes long improvisation with sax, synths and drums, accompagnied by some delicious looking artwork (unless you're vegan, obviously). Expect brutal sax drones, gloomy soundscapes and René's repetitive, almost ritual drums. I know, those are Dead Neanderthals' usual ingredients but like many bands they're getting better and better at this. So if you're a fan of these two deviant jazzists, you have absolutely no excuse not to download this track. Tip; serve loud !!!

Brosandi - Music For An Unknown Galaxy

ambient / post rock

Canadian one-man project Brosandi comes up with a sweet EP, containing three gentle post-rock tunes (and an intro). The music here is not overly complex. Instead it feels like watching and listening to a guitarist on stage, armed with only a few effects and loop pedals. The result is something gentle, something perfectly suited for these cold winter evenings. The artist claims to be inspired by Sigur Ros, Explosions In The Sky and so on, and yes, those references certainly apply, be it in a minimal, introvert and intimate way. I wonder how this would sound with a full band but this already comes highly recommended.

Boltzmann Brain - Sentences

jazz / noise rock / experimental

This German band has so much fun recording and release their debut in October 2017 ('Sind Die Echt') that they immediately decided to record another EP. What to expect? Well, something between Red Snapper and Add N To (X) or Black Dice getting a go at jazz and rock music. Jazz, noise, rock, soundscapes and psychedelic music come together in a weird but exhilarating orgy of indefinable music, perhaps that is the best way to describe this thing. The second track 'Come Join My Religion' is simply awesome, reminds me of Haus Arafna a bit. Not many jazz rock bands can do that, you know?.

Knight ‎– High on Voodoo

heavy metal

Heavy metal is far from dead and this band from India once again proves that. With flashing guitars, methodical drums and potent vocals, these guys deliver a solid EP. Think Iron Maiden, think Manowar, think Judas Priest think Helloween and you come quite close to what Knight sounds like. Everything about this album sounds and feels vintage, as it if comes directly from the eighties. For old school metalheads, this certainly is a band to keep an eye on, especially since there is still room for improvement, room to grow as musicians and as a band. I curious to where this leads to.

False Flag - EP

crust / hardcore

Here is a pulverizing three-track EP from Indian extreme music horde False Flag. Although the lyrics seem to be philosophical in nature, the music here is a scathing blend of crust punk, hardcore and black metal. Yet, in all their ferocity, they also leave some place for melody and variation, which is a huge plus in this genre. Now, don't get me wrong, this music will still torment you to the point where you can't take it anymore but I'm 100% sure that every fan of extreme punk will adore this. I mean, if both Oathbreaker and Exploited come to mind in only three songs, we're dealing with something promising!

Scarlet Phantom - Singleness

progressive metal

Haiming from Saint Petersburg, Russia, Scarlet Phantom delivers some interesting metal instrumentals. Although the music is based on black and death metal, you can easily classify this as progressive metal. Personally, I'm quite fond of this, partially because of its instrumental approach. It's as if Meshuggah, Opeth and Dream Theater gather in a recording studio and everybody keeping their mouths shut. I like that and I will definitely recommend this album to all you metalheads out there. If you want something refreshing, varied and impressive, you'd want to check this out.

Akadama Bros - Sunshine

hip hop / j-rap

Adaadat

And now for something completely different. We don't often review hip hop albums here but this one is neat. Akadama Bros deliver some decent and well varied J-rap. "J" stands for Japanese, should you not know that. On this 12", you get some well varied tunes, each obviously driving on hip hop beats and raps. Yet, they also seem to throw in some different influences, ranging from classical music over dubstep to indie, dub, noise and post-rock. The result is something intriguing and quite often surprising, reminding me of anything between Manu Chao, Cypress Hill and Xzibit. Hip hop yes, but rather enjoyable.

Build Buildings - Glass EP

electronic

Audiobulb

New York electronic music producer Build Buildings returns with a massively enjoyable EP, containing four new and well varied tracks. Opener 'Hebei Victory' is a brilliant blend of Autechre and Miwon while follower 'Honey Locust' brings Plaid to mind. So yes, downtempo electronics with heaps of microsounds, clicks, soundscapes and poly-rhythms, exactly the way I like my electronic music. 'Glass' is an odd ambient tune which could have been on Aphex Twin's ambient collection. Finally, there's a song called 'Cecilia' which is my favorite here, a slow but immersive piece of old school electronic music. Awesome EP.

Vantablack Warship - Abrasive Pulmonic Speak

black metal / metal / death metal

Back to the extremes where we find a pulverising hybrid between black, thrash, death and hardcore. Vantablack Warship hails from Canada and deliver some in-your-face riffs, some methodically tormenting drums and a bunch of fierce screams. The endresult is an intense and overwhelming album. Fans of bands like Gallows and Everytime I Die can surely find some fingerlicking good tunes on this one, like the brutal headbanger 'Blood On The Mat' for example. With short but abrasive songs, Vantablack Warship are certainly making a name for themselves and soon metalheads from around the globe will be onboard.

Mist of Misery - Fields of Isolation

black metal

Black Lion Productions

Swedish atmospheric black metal act Mist Of Misery has been around for a while and have always delivered high quality music. On this EP that is no different. In fact, with eight songs and over half an hour long, this EP is a sonic blackened adventure on its own. Unfortunately, I don't think I have a lot to say about this EP. It's top level extreme, depressive, atmospheric and somewhat progressive black metal and it would fit perfectly between your Dimmu Borgir, ColdWorld, Summoning and so on. If you're a fan of Mist Of Misery, you should already have gotten this EP. If not, check it out.

Hundred Year Old Man - Rei

doom / post metal

A harsh and somewhat chaotic blend of doom, sludge and post-metal, coming at you with severe intensity, that is what English sextet Hundred Year Old Man delivers. If you are into bands like Isis, AmenRa, Cult Of Luna and so on, this EP would definitely not misstand in your ever growing collection. 'A Year In The North Sea' is probably my favorite here, a dark and noisy piece of music that serves as a breather between the two massive slabs of slow musical aggression. For the record, closer 'Rei' is a brilliant piece of sludge doom, and I don't say that very often. So yeah, this comes highly recommended.

Obscene - Sermon to the Snake

death metal / thrash metal

Indianapolis based quartet Obscene claims to have been influenced by all the greats in the metal scene, including Death, Morbid Angel, Edge Of Sanity and Asphyx and yes, I have to admit, I hear all of them in these four tracks. Not that Obscene does not have their own sound. With thick riffs and deranged vocals, these guys deliver some good old fashioned death metal, something I can only applaud. Songs like 'Shadow Burial' and 'Blood Moon Rats' can easily make you bang your head and scream along. So yeah, this is some sick and twisted stuff, suited only for the seasoned death metal fans and thus recommended.

Nordheim - RapThor

folk metal

Hailing from some ancient forest in Canada, Nordheim simply wants to play folk metal and have fun with it. And there is no better description for this EP. This is a fun folk metal album with titles like 'Boobs And Bacon' or 'I Wish You Were Beer'. I guess all you can do is join the party, grab a beer and scream along with these tunes, just like you do when you listen to bands like Ensiferum, Finntroll or Korpiklaani. Although, I have to say, Nordheim take their black metal influences quite far and quite ferocious too, raging at high speed. So yeah, perhaps you should drink a bit more while listening to this awesomeness.

Project Renegade - Cerebra

alternative metal

Female fronted alternative metal from Greece, and I must admit that the first band that came to mind was Lacuna Coil, even before I actually listened to the songs on this EP. Although that reference still stands, I'm very glad I discovered this band. The music is interesting, laced with some mild electronics and it comes with excellent vocals by frontwoman Marianna. Opener 'Pressure' surely has hit potential, especially in the alternative charts. 'Natural Born Killer' grooves and crawls and 'One Of The Crowd', my personal favorite, is an irresistible headshaker. Buy this, it's awesome.

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SPIO (São Paulo Improvisers in Orchestra) - Conduction BR#5

26/12/2017

4 Comments

jazz / experimental

When I think about improvisation ensembles, a stereotype always comes to my mind... It’s a group with a "name + improvisers orchestra" and a work based, almost exclusively, on the contemporary academic music. Please, don’t get me wrong, I had the opportunity to listen to a lot of recordings from groups that follow this characteristics and still do a relevant work, but this saturation ended up forming a kind of "pattern" that have to be followed. However, this isn't - definitely - the case of SPIO (São Paulo Improvisers in Orchestra), which is great!!! The work of this group - at least in this recording - is much more comparable with a modern jazz big band than with a contemporary academic ensemble, which is a pretty good surprise!!!

With curatorship of Daniel Carrera - who also works on the event series called 'Improvise!', which carries big names of free music to São Paulo - this group recorded 'Conduction BR # 5' at the release of Lawrence Butch Morris' WoorkBook called 'The Art Of Conduction', at Trackers - a very important São Paulo's venue for underground music. All its four tracks are very interesting and bring musical memories from Miles Davies' Bitches Brew, John Coltrane's Ascention, Anthony Braxton's free jazz works and of course the Sun Ra Arkestra.

The Morris's methodology demonstrates that any kind of music, being it free jazz or academic, could be conducted and not directed by its conductor, because s/he literally "plays" the orchestra with some codes and other pre-agreements made with the musicians. This work is a real proof that Morris's methodology can be used in any aesthetic and, for me, is absolutely gratifying to see a group of contemporary/experimental music presenting such creative and "accessible" songs - even in consciously or unconsciously way - at their first record!!! I imagined myself in a venue listening to this kind of music during all night!!! Believe it or not, this was the image that didn't left my head during the whole listening of this album...

Glauber

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André de Castro & Leandro De Los Santos - Quinta do Lobo

26/12/2017

jazz / experimental

‘Quinta do Lobo’... These words in portuguese could be translated as 'wolf interval', or that Pythagorean scale's interval that was compared to a wolf's howl and constantly avoided in the compositions that were written when this tuning was practically the most used in western world. Undoubtedly this is a very interesting name - even if only for its "sonority characteristics" - for this album recorded by André de Castro and Leandro De Los Santos. Well, their recording was "so live" that you can even listen to the sound made by cars passing at their street (listen carefully to the beginning of track 6, and entire tracks 8 and 9)!!!

In addition, the attribute that draws more attention in this album is the highly comprehensive character in terms of idiomatic - or musical styles - that were used in all its tracks! Of course the "language" that unites all these diverse influences is free jazz, as you may listen in tracks 3/8/9/10, however, there is sound processing, drones, ambient music, and much more just acting as a "differentiated packaging" in tracks 1/2/4/5/11. As if this weren't enough, we can still perceive some sonorities that remit us to a past that, in some way, was constructed by our collective unconscious to answer the question about how would be the sound of our primitive music... A curious phenomenon that happens while you are listening to tracks 6 and 7.

All these characteristics hide another interesting fact: “Quinta do Lobo” is a conceptual work, but it wasn't born this way. When André was in charge of giving the songs' titles, he noticed a cohesion between them and decided to "make a link" with the Lupa capitolina's image from the album cover. He selected the most important cities of Ancient Rome, as a kind of "main concept", and named each track with a title in portuguese that was thought the most appropriate in relation to them. So, if music is made by a set of factors that go beyond itself, I have no doubt that this work is a big and welcome surprise for free jazz enthusiasts!!! If you consider yourself a fan of this style, let yourself be surprised by Quinta do Lobo!!! If you have a label, and are looking for something cool to release on physical media, this is an awesome choice for that!!!

Glauber

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Lotto - VV

21/12/2017

ambient / jazz / krautrock

My mind is an absolute mess these days. Not because of the holiday season, not even because there are so many releases that need to be reviewed. I guess it's just a creative generalist thing. I got worse since I decided to become a novelist and then it got worse when I started to work on my second book. It's absolute chaos up there with ideas and plots flashing through my brain. Usually, music makes it better but not this time. This time music just generates more ideas and plots. Oh well, I guess I have to learn to live with it. Luckily there are brilliant albums out there, albums that seem to calm my mental nerves. You guessed it, this is one of those.

Lotto is an instrumental and experimental three piece from Poland, formed by Łukasz Rychlicki (guitar, bass), Mike Majkowski (double bass, hammond organ and synths) and Paweł Szpura (drums). With 'VV' they deliver their third album, a fully improvised musical adventure that beautifully combines ambient, krautrock and psychedelic rock. Furthermore, elements of noise and jazz seem to present too, as if Einstürzende Neubauten met up with Tortoise and Kreidler.

What I like most about this album is the freedom that these musicians have given themselves. Noisy percussion? Sure, why not. Subdued techno beats? They're welcome. Eerie drones and sound sculptures? Absolutely. And meanwhile you're floating on an immersive bass sequence which Tangerine Dream would be proud of. Needless to say perhaps, but this is not your everyday rock album.

On the other hand, I'm damn sure that this stuff will appear in my day to day playlist a lot from now on. I just adore this continuous weirdness. It's no secret that I am a fan of all things improvised and I am definitely a fan of Lotto. So yeah, I can only recommend this album to all fans of experimental krautrock and experimental ambient. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to close my eyes and listen to the album again.

Serge

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Dead Neanderthals - Womb Of God

1/12/2017

jazz / noise / drone

Heavy jazz fans, rejoice, because Dutch combo Dead Neanderthals return with another in-your-face release. Ever since I saw these guys at Incubate some years ago, I've been a huge fan. Why? Well, probably mostly because I like all things original, inventive and entertaining. Dead Neanderthals came at exactly the right moment too. I've been a drone and doom fan since medieval times or so and in the year before that edition of Incubate I became interested in dark jazz. Then, suddenly, there were these noise makers, destroying the stage with their pounding, repetitive and hammering sound, like Sunn O))) meets Miles Davis during an LSD trip.

Otto Kokke (sax), René Aquarius (drums) and Colin Webster (sax) deliver two lengthy tracks which seem to turn back towards the harsh and abrasive sound of their live performances. Unlike their previous experiment 'The Depths', a slow album recorded in a massive tunnel, 'Womb Of God' comes with severe blasts of energy, intense saxophone sounds and unwearying drums. Part of it is still jazz, part of it is still related to death metal and grindcore but I also sense a massive krautrock element here.

Of course, 'Womb Of God' is not for the faint at heart as the album just keeps on going, keeps on raging these intense slabs of noise through the speakers. Personally, I don't really mind, on the very contrary and I'm damn sure that I'm not the only one who is quite fond of Dead Neanderthals. The fact that the white vinyl version of this record is already sold out on the release date confirms that theory. Anyway, anyhow, if you have ever loved Dead Neanderthals, this is the record you need. It's their most immersive and intense work so far.

Serge

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Graham Dunning / Dirk Serries - Live In The Lowlands

14/11/2017

ambient / experimental / jazz

Raw Tonk Records

Graham Dunning

The output of Dirk Serries seems neverending, which coincidentally can also be said by the length of most of his works. Not that I mind, on the very contrary. In a way, Serries has been in my living room more than any of my friends and family. His solo works and his releases with Yodok III are constants here, played on an almost daily basis.
To be honest, I cannot say that about Graham Dunning. This is actually the first time I see his name so I'm not familiar with his music. Yet, judging from what I'm listening to at this very moment, that might change soon. Dunning is a sound artist, always exploring the possibilities of music.

This album is a registration of two different concerts. The first one having taken place in Rijkevorsel, Belgium, while the other one recorded at De Ruimte, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Both tracks share a passion for experimenting with sound. Somehow, it feels like most of the experimentation comes from Dunning. Serries' lingering and droning guitar sound is not the constant here. The constant seems to be a form of free jazz and the chemistry of live improvisation, something these two artists know quite a lot of.

When I say "free jazz", don't expect confusing rhythms and over-the-top saxophone solos. The whole album maintains a slow and somewhat mellow tone. I guess "ambient jazz" is a better phrase. Drones, soundscapes, strange noises, turntables and unidentified object create a strange but constantly evolving sound that demands to be explored. Different sound float in an out, leaving the listener somewhat estranged and confused. In a good way, obviously. This is just a remarkable album, one every jazz/ambient/drone/experimental fan should own.

Serge

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Dictaphone - APR 70

13/11/2017

dark jazz

A few years ago, someone on a dark jazz forum posted a question: "does Dictaphone have anything to do with Dale Cooper Quartet and the Dictaphones?" The answer was a resounding "no", despite the name similarity. For starters, Dictaphone is German while their colleagues hail from France. Yet, people understood the confusion. Both acts roam in the world of dark jazz, a genre with few active bands. To make the confusion even more apparent, both bands now have releases on the same label too. After five years of silence, Dictaphone returns on Denovali with a brand new - and tremendously enjoyable - new album.

Although the music on 'APR 70' is slow and gloomy jazz, Dictaphone differs from their colleagues. The music is not as dark and doomed-out as Bohren, not as experimental and drone inspired as Dale Cooper, not as easy digestible as Radare and not as long winded as The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble. Instead, this seems to nudge more towards the darker works of Miles Davis, combined with a decent sense of electronic experimentation.

The three Dictaphone core members (Oliver Doerell (electronics, bass, guitar), Roger Döring (saxophone, clarinet) and Alex Stolze (violins)) have been working on this album for three years, which compared with their two decades of existence is not that long. It consists of nine tracks, nine slowly meandering rivers of jazz, electronica and ambient. In fact, the song 'Stanko' can somehow be compared to 'Die Moldau' by Smetana, being an equally narrative and flowing piece of music.

Of course, there is only a tiny gap between jazz and classical music, so it's rather easy to make this comparison. Yet, it also says a lot about the overall quality of this album. From the moment 'Opening Night' started, the mood was set for a hazy yet adventurous listening experience. Somehow, this music demands your attention and when it has it, it never lets you down. 'Lofi Opium' is a second highlight, and 'Sceance' is simply breathtaking.

In all, this is a beautiful jazz album, one that definitely earns a spot in your collection. There is more good news too, as Denovali are about to re release Dictaphone's previous albums. Some of them have been limited until now, so soon the world be able to enjoy the murky jazz splendour of Dictaphone, and that is a good thing.

Serge

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Nile On Wax - Bell Dogs

19/10/2017

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post rock / psychedelic