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Dead Neanderthals - Craters

24/3/2017

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heavy jazz / grindcore / noise
Consouling Sounds 
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Time to prepare for another slab of ruthless jazz aggression by Dutch combo Dead Neanderthals. The question is, how do you prepare for something like this? I mean, this is not the kind of music you usually listen to when you begin digging into the immense world of sound design. You got to have a certain history, some stepping stone bands, so to speak. For starters, you need to know your way around noise and experimental music. You should know something about jazz and then forget all about that. You should know about grindcore too.

A friend of mine once said that Dead Neanderthals "abuse their instrumental respectfully". I couldn't agree more. What they come up with sounds like pure equipment torture, but one that is only possible when the musicians is passionate about the music. 'Craters' is a thirty-six long extreme jazz composition, where sax and drums drag the listening into a cesspool of metallic, harsh and barely controlled chaos, for the occasion aided by a bass guitar. This album claws, scratches, screeches and gnaws, all in perfect Dead Neanderthals tradition.

I think it's safe to say that this is Dead Neanderthals darkest and moodiest work so far. In a way, it can compare to their previous work but also to acts like Barchan, Plaistow and Sunn O))). You know, jazz but heavy, overwhelming and perhaps a bit homicidal. Is it a recommended album? Well, obviously it is. Every Dead Neanderthals fan should have already got his hands on a copy of this album. Even if you're not a fan, check it out. You will either love it or hate it but you'll have to agree that it's something you don't hear every day. 


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The Julie Mittens - Soundcult

11/3/2017

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avant garde / experimental / drone / jazz / noise
Barreuh Records
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Well well, here is something you don't hear every day. That is, unless you are a hardcore free jazz fan who easily finds his way into the pummeling chaos that this genre is.  If you, on the other hand, are someone who loves his music to be easy digestible, controlled and somewhat predictable, you might want to think twice before hitting the "play" button on top of this review. Your world might be shattered.

Of course, the Dutch don't really care about shattered worlds and pulverised dreams. That little country has been throwing a lot of unexpected and weird things on the world, including gabber hardcore but also the awesome blend between grindcore and jazz that Dead Neanderthals produce. Well, it the latter region we find The Julie Mittens, for me now known as "the Skullflower of the jazz scene", and their haunting release 'Soundcult'. 

What  to expect from this release? Well, a lot of noise, inspired by the Japanese noise scene. The four songs, each lasting over ten minutes, are incoherent and dissonant slabs of drones, noises, percussion and unidentifiable sounds. This certainly is something for the trained and experienced ear but those ears might be overjoyed with these bizarre sounds. So who to recommend it to? Everyone, just check it out and allow The Julie Mittens to drag you into a whirlpool of noise. It'll be an experience you never forget.


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Jacaszek - KWIATY 

2/3/2017

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experimental / electronic / ambient / classical
Ghostly International
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I first discovered the wonderful and adventurous music of Jacaszek in a record store. 'Glimmer' and 'Catalogue des Arbres (feat. Kwartludium)' have been regularly played albums for years in this household. So when this new album was announced, I was immediately interested. However, like often happens with artists this talented and versatile, starting to write this review was a difficult task. So let's just begin by writing that this is an breathtaking piece of work.

For those not familiar with Michał Jacaszek: he is a Polish composer who combines electronically prepared sounds with acoustic instruments.  Over the years, he composed soundtracks and theatre music, plus a number of albums. His work blend classical music with experimental electronics and jazz. He knows little to no musical borders and continuously drags in seemingly strange influences. 

'Kwiaty' means flowers and in a way that is exactly what you get on this album; blooming pieces of music that look and feel familiar yet mysterious. The album was inspired by Michał Jacaszek’s discovery of an English anthology of metaphysical poetry from the 17th century by Robert Herrick, which to him — somehow-- sounded songlike when read out-loud. The album contains guest appearances by Hania Malarowska (Hanimal), Joasia Sobowiec-Jamioł and Natalia Grzebała.

The songs on this album are strange pop-ballads or jazz inspired classical pieces or electronically rearranged folk songs, regarding on how you feel about them. I hear influences from all these genres, including trip hop, dark jazz and the soundtracks to Tim Burton's movies or even Twin Peaks. There is a gloomy atmosphere, a mysterious feel but also musical ingenuity and beautiful vocals.  In short, this is Jacaszek at his very best.

Once again I refuse to pick a favorite track. I'm not even going to mention separate songs. I'm just going to recommend buying the album. Take the weekend off and enjoy 'Kwiaty' non-stop. Allow Jacaszek to guide you on an introvert but epic journey, one you will not regret. It will definitely be worth the effort. If you are into anything between Dead Can Dance, Bersarin Quartet and The Nightmare Before Christmas, you will easily get addicted to this thing...


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Brieviews 18

14/1/2017

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Hurray, the first edition of Brieviews of 2017 is here and once again it's a damn varied one. From shoegaze to grindcore and from techno to djent, it's all in here. I'm sure that there is something you like in here. Enjoy...
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Blushing - Tether

shoegaze / dreampop
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Two husbands and wives making music together, that's always a better idea than go on a joint bicycle trip while wearing similar fluorescent bike-wear, not? Well, it certainly proved to be an excellent time spending idea for these four Americans, making blissful dreampop and shoegaze. In these four tracks, they easily please fans of Slowdive and Cocteau Twins while also coming with with some gritty grunge sounds. Opener 'Tether' is a damn catchy tune, one that might easily get stuck in your head. The other songs are perfect shoegazing tunes, once again highlighting in 'Mess'. This truly is a recommended ep.

88 Mile Trip - Blame Canada

stoner rock
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Another neat idea comes from Canadian stoner rockers 88 Mile Trip. During a beer drinking and record spinning session, they discovered some awesome songs from their home country and decided to cover the ones they like the most. That results in groovy stoner rock versions of songs by Bachman Turner Overdrive, Red Rider, Doug and The Slugs, Neil Young and Stampeders. Yet, the band manages not only to cover the songs but to make them their own, eventually resulting in a surprisingly coherent sounding ep. Although, as good as the ep is, I can't help but continuously singing South Park's 'Blame Canada'. Perhaps a cover idea for the future? 

The Empire Line - Syndicat de la Couture

electronic / ambient
Avian
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Scandinavian multi-disciplinary artists Jonas Rönnberg & Christian Stadsgaard come up with some haunting electronic ambient like only experienced techno producers can do. Opening with the creepy 'Fragrance Arpege', this ep is as atmospheric as it is varied. 'Cafe Anglais' drives on electronic percussion and unidentified noises while 'Jewelry Armoire' is post-apocalyptic soundtrack material with eerie soundscapes. Closer 'Syndicat de la Couture' eventually brings out the analog beats and techno influences, but in a good way, a trancy and somewhat hypnotic way. Nice little gem, certainly recommended.

Movement Of Static - Novelty Seekers

post rock
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We also have something nice for fans of post rock, namely the Greek band Movement Of Static who have released their quite promising debut ep. Although, ep, the whole thing last over half an hour, which gives us plenty of time to get acquainted with these beautiful tunes. In four songs, Movement Of Static provides the listener with an excellent blend of post rock and ambient with some heavier passages and loads of atmosphere. Opener 'Telomeres' is a brilliant piece of work, dark, creepy and immersive, like Godspeed meets Deftones.  If you like well-varied post rock music, you just can't go wrong with this ep.

Cowards - Still

black metal / hardcore
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Somewhere in the extreme spectrum of the musical universe, we find French horde Cowards and their brand new ep 'Still'. With a blend of black metal, hardcore and sludge, this act plans a vicious assault on your sanity. The music is gritty, noisy and more in-your-face than you can imagine. Pulverising riffs, blasting drums and a vocalist who seemingly feels like he doesn't need his lungs, this thing is out for nothing less than utter destruction. However, they do have a sense of humor, brilliantly covering The Horrorist's 'One Night In NYC', which actually is one of the coolest covers I've ever heard. Anyway, if you want music to murder you, this ep might be worth a shot

Dead Neanderthals - Dolphin

heavy jazz / noise rock
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Dutch heavy jazz combo Dead Neanderthals are seemingly doing everything in their power to make something unique. As a gift to their fans, they uploaded this eleven minutes lasting epos of sax, drums, chaos, intensity and insanity. It's stuff like this that connects the jazz scene with the grindcore and noise rock scenes and I have no idea what most jazz fans will think about this. That aside, I would recommend checking it out, preferably at a ridiculously loud volume and start throwing things against the walls. It therapeutic, I promise, you'll feel a lot better when it's all over. Rare jongens, die Nederlanders...

The Stone Cox - Blackboard

alternative rock
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Hell yeah, time to rock 'n roll  and for that French combo The Stone Cox are the perfect companions. On this ep, they come up with three high energy rock tracks, influenced by everything between Led Zeppelin and Foo Fighters. The first two are heavy and groovy rockers that can get every party started. Closer 'Not Going Home (Hard Red Sun)' somewhat reminds me of a band like The Scabs and shows a more musically gifted side of this band. Anyhow, rockers of all ages can easily appreciate this ep and I hope that soon this will be followed by a full-length. 

Death Metal Pope - Harvest

doom metal
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Imagine that, a death metal pope, growling his yearly "urbi et orbi" from a black and red painted Vatican. Would be funny. However, this Death Metal Pope has nothing to do with Christianity and just barely with death metal. This is a doom metal band which often comes very close to Black Sabbath and on other occasions blasts some guttural grunts and some psychedelic passages in your face. Although I still had my doubts in title track 'Harvest', 'From The Dust Returned' convinced me that this is an awesome ep, one that is certainly worth your attention if you're into old school doom. A must-have for doom fans, that's for sure.

Ben Blutzukker - Analog Blood

heavy metal
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German one man electro band Blutzukker becomes German one man metal band Ben Blutzukker and comes up with something surprising. As you can see on the cover, one of the influences is Guns 'n Roses but the whole thing sounds more like an Abbath side project, exploring the massive history of heavy metal. The four songs on this ep are quite gritty metal songs, reminding me of acts like Venom or Motorhead. Not bad for songs that were initially electro/industrial tunes. My favorite is 'Red' but I'd certainly recommend every open minded metalhead to check this out and compare the songs to the originals.

A Cunning Man - Practical Applications Of Theurgy

power metal / heavy metal
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Another one man project, and one with a quite unusual twist. A Cunning Man describes his act as "One man metal project with a strong Scottish accent", something I can't deny. Of course, the Scottish accent makes the whole thing sound somewhat weird and drags it into the world of pagan metal. Yet, the music feels like a mesmerizing amalgamation of metal styles, from the power metal of bands like Hammerfall over black and death metal to modern day arena rock. The ep contains three songs which certainly deserve your attention, especially if you want something familiar yet unique. 

Beneath A Godless Sky - ​Beneath A Godless Sky

hardcore / progressive
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French djent-act Beneath A Godless Sky comes with a debut that will pierce you in more ways that you could possibly imagine. Now, personally, I'm not a connoisseur of the whole djent scene, which to me makes this whole ep sound like something between Meshuggah, Periphery and Tesseract. I guess that's not a band list of bands to be compared with. I do know that the songs on this thing are loaded with energy, intensity and brutality. Besides, some passages here are damn immersive and most riffs are well-worth of an intense headbanging session. In its entirety, I know that this is nothing for me but for fans of progressive hardcore and djent, it is definitely a must-have.

Elusion - Desert Of Enticement

symphonic meal / gothic meal
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This debut by Belgian band Elusion does not sound like a debut, far from it. If you told me that this was a new effort by After Forever or Epica, I might have believed you. The three songs on this ep are high quality symphonic metal songs, played by seasoned musicians and sung by a talented  woman. What's more, these songs rock, making them perfect headbanging material. Personally, I didn't really follow this particular genre anymore but I'm damn sure that these three tunes, especially the folky closer 'Facade' will appear in my day-to-day playlist quite often from now on. They should appear in yours too if you're into this genre.

Rumah - A View To The Sea

techno
Wolfskuil
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At festivals, I often wander into the dance hall, even though I do not consider myself a techno fan. However, I usually enjoyed these sonic adventures for a while, which is exactly why I sometimes decide to review a techno ep This one comes from English producer Rumah and contains four high energy dance tunes, mainly inspired by the Detroit scene of the nineties. The first act that came to mind to compare this ep with, was Joey Beltram and you can add people like Jeff Mills or Dave Clarke to that list as well. So yes, this is a recommended release if you're in for some decent, old school dance music.

American Anymen + Lise - Oui

alternative / singer-songwriter
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From the United States comes a nice cooperation between anti-folk act American Anymen and singer-songwriter/keyboardist Lise. In four songs, both acts seem to explore the possibilities of this get together. Opener 'Nobody Made Me Smile Like You Did' is an excellent ballad while 'Less Complex' and 'Does Anybody Still Think Of Me' are uplifting rock songs, driving on acoustic guitars. Closer 'H' is another ballad, but probably my favorite track on this album. I wouldn't really know who to compare this ep with, Beck maybe? But then again, nice pop songs like these don't need comparison, they just need to be listened to.

The Vomiting Dinosaurs - Exoplanets

death metal / thrash metal
Grimoire Records
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And we end this edition of Brieviews with a short but destructive assault by American thrash-death horde The Vomiting Dinosaurs. In mere  fifteen minutes this trio blasts nine songs of gore and brutality over their listeners and I'm sure those listeners will enjoy the abuse.  Most of the songs drive on fierce hardcore punk tempos and issue an array of guttural growls and screams. If this stuff doesn't get your grindcore party started, you are not having a grindcore party, that's for damn fucking bloody sure. A favorite? Nope, this whole thing is only fifteen minutes long, which makes the entire thing well suited for a session of audible SM.

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Brieviews 17

17/12/2016

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Ummagma + A.R.Kane - Winter Tale 

dream pop
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A.R. Kane
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The one thing I dislike about Christmas, is the music. From those appaling bells to the 'Frohe Weihnachten' by The Wiener Sängerknaben, it's all horrible. Luckily, this year, there's a decent alternative, a little cooperative single by shoegaze / dream pop acts Ummagma and A.R. Kane. 'Winter Tale' is a gentle, dreamy and quite minimal song, guaranteed to get you into the wintery atmosphere. If you're into stuff like Cocteau Twins, 'Winter Tale' could easily guide you through the darkest days of winter. I also really dig the two remixes, taking on an ambient approach. Nice work...

Verein Freude - Schnappschuss

jazz / krautrock / post rock
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Somewhere between the immersive atmosphere of post rock and the psychedelic approach of krautrock we find the inspiring music of Verein Freude, a German band. On their facebook page, this quartet mentions Miles Davis, Avishai Cohen and several other jazz-musicians, and with good reason too. The music on this ep is a perfect combination of jazz and post rock, well, the mild, subdued version of post rock that is. The end result is a nice relaxed piece of music, perfectly suited for the quiet winter evenings and the lounge bars at the summer beaches alike. Check it out, this is a pleasurable listen.

dy - Flip Side

electronic / idm
ampbitifgo
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On to the electronic scene then, where we meet a project named Dy and his weird, gloomy electronics. In a way, I think it's safe to place this ep between your Aphex Twin and Autechre albums. Dark, haunting soundscapes and broken rhythms make up most of this release, brilliantly highlighting in 'Flipped Out'. Although, I have the say, that eerie opener, 'Cheap Seats' is a great piece of electronic (dark) ambient as well, reminding me even of Deutsch Nepal's percussion rich works. In all, this is a splendid effort, containing five original and immersive pieces of electronic sound art, definitely good enough for my daily playlist.

Architectural - Cubismo

techno
Triple Vision
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Time to put on your dancing shoes and join me in the discotheque. Spanish producer Architectural comes up with an ep containing four dance tracks, seemingly inspired by the early industrial techno scene of Detroit where strange soundscapes and noises meet repetitive beats and minimal percussion. For me, the ep highlights in the second track ('Cubismo 8.2 (Lost in Buenos Aires)), probably because of those awesome ambient soundscapes. Yet, I just might recommend this one to everyone who isn't afraid of some electronic dance music once in awhile, especially those who nudge towards industrial.

Guruzsmás - Üst A Gríz Felett​

rock / experimental
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Back to the world of rock music, more specifically the experimental corners of that industry. Guruzsmás is a band from Hungary, four guys playing some complex, confusing and fascinating music. It's just as alternative as it's psychedelic and reeks just as much of jazz than it reminds me of Frank Zappa. There are flashes of surf rock, post rock, math rock, noise rock and so on. Hell, there is a didgeridoo and it's mainly instrumental, apart from some troath-singing. Yes, this is a weird album, but nonetheless one that deserves your attention if you want something else, something unique. This is something unique!!!

Crimson Tusk - Crimson Tusk

stoner / doom
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Driven by the sheer power of the riff, Oxford quartet Crimson Tusk come up with a heavy but groovy four track ep. On this, they deliver a solid blend of sludge metal, stoner rock and heavy blues, obviously resulting in delicious fuzzed out rock songs in the vein of Dopethrone, Bongzilla, Weedeater and so on. My favorite track is 'Stray Dog', a guaranteed party started, but I guess that could easily be said about all four of these tunes. Even more so, throughout the album, the party seems to intensify. 'Rollin' made me start a little head-banging session. What a fine stoner doom tune that is. Stoner doomers, you have got to buy this one!!!

Cities of Mars - Celestial Mistress

psychedelic doom
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Swedish doom masters Cities Of Mars take us on an interplanetary mission. With heavy riffing, psychedelic passages and firm, intense vocals, this trio comes knocking on the doors of Yob, Conan, Mastodon and The Obsessed. The three tracks on this ep are simply epic doom metal anthems, with title track 'Celestial Mistress' being an eleven minutes lasting highlight, both on this ep and in the whole doom metal scene. Fans of the above mentioned bands can easily trust Cities Of Mars to deliver the goods so it'll be no surprising that this galactic gem comes highly recommended.

Ur - Hail Death

black metal / doom / thrash
Arachnophobia Records
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Another shocking piece of extremism comes from Polish horde Ur. They present a six track ep with a grim blend of thrash, doom and black metal. The result is a damn varied piece of work with some fierce headbanging potential. Bands that come to mind include Voivod, Venom, Sodom, Absu, Marduk and so on. Yet, it does feel like a coherent effort. 'The Tongue Of Fire' is probably my favorite song on this one but that's a difficult choice to make. Whom I'd recommend it to? Well, obviously  all those old school black & thrash metal fans out there. This is the real shit!

Dark Messiah - Dark Messiah

thrash metal
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Hailing from Canada, Dark Messiah blends metal, metal and metal into metal. The band was formed in the summer of 2015 and already come up with their debut ep. In a way you can actually hear that. Although the five songs here are decent metal tunes, they're not yet close to the heroes that influenced Dark Messiah (you know, Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera...). But who knows, give time, effort and a professional producer, the future might shine bright for these Canadians. If so, in a few years, many fans will start looking for this debut, so you might as well just buy it now...

Stillborn Slave - 7 Ways To Die

metalcore
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Formed in 2009, French melodic hardcore combo Stillborn Slave have a lot more experience under their belts than the band above, and you can actually hear that. In seven songs, with a total of twenty-eight minutes, these guys blast some brutal metalcore, deathcore or whatever core through your speakers. The absolute highlight is 'End Of Everything', a song that sounds destructive enough to deserve such a title. This definitely is something for the younger generation of metalheads. However, I'm sure seasoned metal fans can easily appreciate the high level of musicality on this one.

Expo Seventy - America Here & Now Sessions 

drone / ambient / psychedelic
Essence Music
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After all that metallic violence, it's time for something completely different. For that, this massive jam session definitely is a highly recommended piece of work. Like we're used to from Justin Wright, this album is an hypnotic trip through cosmic music and psychedelic rock, something between acts like Om, Earth and Barn Owl, along with the jam bands from the sixties and seventies . This time, two drummers have been added to the mix, giving the whole something jazzy and psychedelic. The end result is a mesmerizing album that will definitely accompany my late-nite writing sessions from now on.

Tellma - Swansong

folk / rock
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Tellma is a French duo, dedicated to playing elegant rock music and that's exactly what you get on this ep. The acoustic guitar is the central instrument on which a number of calm, emotional pop rock songs are written. The songs are not complex, not overly distorted, not rocking your socks off but they are certainly a pleasure to listen to. The music reminds me a bit of Radiohead, David Bowie and Jeff Buckley. The title track remains my favorite, followed by the tearjerking version of Queen's  'The Show Must Go On'.

Deathblow - Demolition Deployment

thrash metal
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While preparing their upcoming full-length, Salt Lake City thrashers Deathblow throw this short but brutal assault in our faces. The ep contains two songs and a cover version of Motorhead's 'Mean Machine'.  Obviously, this is stuff to bang your head to. Think Overkill, Kreator, Testament, any of your eighties thrash favorites and you'll be very close to what Deathblow delivers. It's fast, varied and relentless, exactly what this kind of music is supposed to be. So thrashers of the world, what are you waiting for? Get your hands on this ep or are you not a true thrasher? I mean, it's only a dollar...

Deep Fryer - Deep Fryer

punk / hardcore
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Songs about hangovers, groundhogs and whatnot, recorded in a basement by a band constisting of members of other Fredericton, New Brunswick based bands, a band with the seering hot name Deep Fryer. I'm not sure if this is all too serious, but that doesn't really matter. What matters is the fact that these are four fierce, aggressive and fast hardcore punk songs that will even make your chamber plants start a moshpit in your living room. My personal favorite? The band's name. I know, I'm not really a hardcore fan but if you are, you have to download the shit out of this. Besides, it's free so you have no excuse not to.

Parallel Colors - Inoculation

post rock / psychedelic / progressive
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Also free, and certainly worth the effort is the very first single by American progressive rockers Parallel Colors. Inspired by everything between Tool, Caspian and Russian Circles, these guys come up with an immersive, technical and varied eight minutes lasting track. If this really is the harbinger of things to come, like a full-length, Parallel Colors might become one of thé discoveries of 2017. I certianly hope that they will send me the album when ready and come over to Belgium and the rest of Europe for some magnificent gigs. This truly is promising stuff...
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Virta - Hurmos

3/12/2016

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jazz / post rock
Svart Records
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2016 will go down in the history books for a lot of things and most people will have mixed feelings about this year. I do too because a lot of stuff has happened over the past eleven/twelve months. Musically, this was a great year. Lots of brilliant albums have been released, which turns my end-year list from a difficult task into a giant problem. But, as a little hint of lists to come, I noticed one important thing this year. I'm finally a jazz fan.  2016 is the year that jazz bands finally managed to pull me over. Of course, the "dark jazz" scene has already delivered me a lot of awesome albums, but the more traditional version of the genre hasn't, until this year.

One of them is Virta, a trio from Helsinki, Finland. They have been working on this album for three years, which is actually a decent test to see if the music maintains its vibrant sound. Undoubtedly, several passages changed throughout the writing-process. I think that's inevitable with this kind of music. Yet, the endresult is an impressive whirlpool of jazz, post-rock and electronics, a sometimes confusing but always satisfying journey through the world of instrumental magic. 

I think the correct term is "Nordic jazz", a variant of jazz that is known for its narrative atmosphere and its immense musical landscapes. Virta delivers exactly that and, luckily for me, mostly stays away from the nervous freestyle solos some other variants are known for. There are some of these to be found here, but they only come out when the rest of the music is strong enough to carry them. And believe me, dear reader, the music definitely is strong enough. When played loud enough, the heavy passages on this album are compareable to post-metal anthems.

Speaking about post-stuff, there is also plenty of that to be found on 'Hurmos'. I think this album can add a lot of musical value to the collection of post-rock and -metal fans, right in between your Godspeed You Black Emperor, Wang-Wen and Sigur Ros album for example. Furthermore, I'd suggest this to any fans of Boards Of Canada, Plaid, Dale Cooper and  Mono fan out there, just because this album just might help you discover something new, something beautiful.

My favorite tracks are 'About To Fly', 'The Landing' and 'Uni' but I guess I'll just keep doing what I have been doing in the past few days: shove the album into my media player and put it on repeat. I suggest you do the same, especially with the winter coming up. It's time to crawl under a blanket, light the fireplace, get a glass of your favorite beverage and enjoy the musical scenery, gracefully delivered by Virta. 


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Svin - Missionær

18/10/2016

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jazz / experimental / drone
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After three gruelling days of stoner rock, doom metal, hardcore thrash metal and more heavy psychedelic music at DesertFest, I really needed something calm and relaxing. I searched through my heap of albums to be reviewed, looking for that one album that was presented as a jazz and experimental one. I fed the disc to my cd player, ready to submerge myself in the soothing sounds of jazz music. 

That relaxation session lasted exactly forty-four seconds, then the distortion came in and shortly after I found myself in a whirlpool of drums, guitars, saxophone and noise that reminded me a lot more of some sludge metal bands I had seen in the past few days than it reminded me of people like Miles Davis or Dave Brubeck. From then on, Danish quartet Svin threw surprise after surprise in my face, taking experimental jazz to a whole new level.

Perhaps it might be interesting to mention that the album was recorded in the legendary Sundlaugin Studio, established by Sigur Ros. Inspired by recordings of the majestic nature of Iceland, including gushing waterfalls but also by the harsh noise of the industrial surroundings, like repetitive machines, Svin improvised and recorded for ten days, and the result is a strange but epic masterpiece.

I already mentioned that opener 'Dodskontainer' has an atmosphere and sound quite similar to doom and sludge metal. Well, 'Faergen Ellen' drives on an industrial overtone while 'V' beautifully blends post-rock with jazz. Yes, real jazz. This track is the first one I would categorize as such, and I definitely like it. I'm not sure if it's my favorite one on this album, but definitely one worth checking out. So is 'Japser', which throws some ambient influences into the mix as well. I'll leave the other two tracks up to you, but rest assured, they're equally brilliant and surprising. 

Because why the hell not? After all, music is meant to be explored and that is exactly what these guys are so damn good at. It seems like they want to explore every single possibility, every single aspect of their instruments, as well as their cooperation as a band. On this album, their fourth one to be exact, they certainly succeeded in creating something glorious, mystifying and epic, something I would recommend to...

Yeah, who? That's a tough one. I mean, most jazz fans are stubborn elitists who might frown on the distortion and the eerie soundscapes. So doomers, sludgers and stoners maybe? Well, they might be open to it but this stuff might still be a bit to odd. Perhaps it would be best to push the album towards fans of Dead Neanderthals, Zu, Naked City (or anything by Zorn for that matter). Fact remains that this is one damn interesting piece of work, one that you need to check out, whatever stuff you usually listen to.


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Seven Impale - Contrapasso

28/9/2016

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progressive rock / jazz
Karisma Records
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What do we have here? This is something that doesn't often reach our inbox. Come to think of it, I don't think there are many bands left in the progressive jazz rock area of the musical universe. But that's ok, we don't need many bands, we just need one or a few good ones and in that aspect, we're being quite pampered with this little gem. It's an adventure in rock music, loaded with elements that you just don't hear a lot these days.

Seven Impale is a band from Norway, formed in 2010. They released their debut 'City Of the Sun' in 2014, which is now followed by 'Contrapasso'. On this new album, they explored their unique and varied sound much further, resulting in an album loaded with unexpected hooks, contrasting rhythms and strange melodies. Furthermore, there are some brilliant vocal lines and hypnotic psychedelic solos.

That being said, perhaps this album is a bit too experimental for some people. Too much rock and metal for jazz fans and too much jazz for metalheads. I think the real target audience for this full-length is somewhere in the middle, where fans of Frank Zappa, King Crimson and Van Der Graaf Generator live. Yes, "live", for that kind of people, music is a safe haven in a world that isn't competent enough to control its own noise.

For me, personally, 'Contrapasso' is a great album, highlighting in the opening track 'Lemma' and in 'Helix'. Again, that's a tough decision to make since every song here contains massively impressive passages, like the jam-session in 'Inertia' which is hypnotic as hell. Other elements seem to come from post-rock, psychedelic rock, krautrock and whatever it is that people like Tangerine Dream or Klaus Schulze made.

Then again, you can also bang your head a little to 'Langour', if you're an experienced progressive metalhead that is. A short headbanging session to some heavy part of a Dream Theater concert is that least you should have done before you're ready for the musical ingenuity of Seven Impale. Yes, this stuff is way more interesting that Dream Theater, but that might be personal opinion.

To end this review, I'd like to mention Sleepytime Gorilla Museum to emphasize the theatrical and often cabarettesque feeling of the whole thing. This atmosphere mainly comes from the vocals and the use of the sax. It's a weird combination but it works pretty damn well. It adds a lot to the variation of the album, which is already highly varied to begin with. So yeah, I think you should check this out.


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Krishna - Ascend To Nothing

6/9/2016

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I don't know, experimental jazz techno noise?
Silken Tofu
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Dead Neanderthals
Drvg Cvltvre
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Since I experienced Dead Neanderthals at Incubate a few years ago, I've been trying to follow whatever these guys are doing. I admit, I can't keep up with everything but I do my very best. So when I saw that name on the sticker attached to the album, I didn't hesitate. I ripped the plastic off the digipac, fed the cd to my cd player and turned up the volume. Before I realized, I was dancing my ass off and the patients from the plastic surgery hospital across the street were looking and laughing at me. Needless to say, I cannot dance but I will repeat these spastic movements every time I hear this music again.

This album is a collaboration between heavy jazz combo Dead Neanderthals and Dutch psychic house act Drvg Cvltvre. It contains one track, which is a thirty-five minutes lasting dance track, driving on a solid beat and containing loads of soundscapes and tiny variations. It's an immersive jamsession with techno beats, drones, saxophone and guitars, guaranteed to get your butt moving. Unfortunately, there is little else to say about this release, apart from the fact that it's a massive psychedelic and hypnotic trip that you definitely should try out. I hope that this release is followed by a few live performances real soon. I'm absolutely positive that it will get entire audiences in a deep state of trance.


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Aidan Baker & Tomas Järmyr - Werl 

29/8/2016

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drone / ambient / freejazz 
Consouling Sounds
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I received this album a few  week ago, shortly after I published Tomas Järmyr's 'Songs With Stories' (read). I know both artists quite well, one from his massive oeuvre, both solo and with Nadja, Caudal, Hypnodrone Ensemble and the other one for his work with Barchan and Zu. I was extremely intrigued by the possible outcome of this cooperation and I immediately formed an idea about how this whole album would sound. The opening track only confirmed that idea, Aidan's drones and Tomas' free jazz drums created a wondrous musical adventure. However, soon after, a question popped up, being "can they make this stuff interesting for an hour and a half"?

Apparently, they can.

After I listened to the whole album for the first time, I turned to Mike from Consouling Sounds and asked him "whose idea was it to lock these two geniuses up in a recording studio". Mike said that is was all their own idea and added the the fact that he was immensely pleased to be able to release the end result. If I owned a record company, I'd be damn pleased too. You get two seasoned musicians who clearly put their mark on a certain genre. I mean, Aidan has been doing this for centuries and Tomas has been responsible for a landmark album with James Welburn (Barchan - Soliton). Yes, landmark, I regard that album as the breath of fresh air the drone-scene needed.

'Werl' is ninety-five minutes of experimentation, a continuously evolving and thus highly varied masterpiece. In fact, the typical initial idea I had about drones with free jazz was forced to expand. There are industrial passages, there is a strange and psychedelic guitar solo from Aidan, there are elements of ambient, noise, krautrock, psychedelic rock and doom. It's impossible to pick a favorite track, as they all float in and out of one another and create a new atmosphere each time. I mean, 'III' is noisy, 'IV' has something Godspeed-y, 'V' is minimal as hell, 'VII' could be a psychedelic sludge noise rock track from the sixties if that existed back then and so on. 

My advice? Let me put it this way: if nobody is going to send me a physical copy of the album, I'm damn well going to buy it myself, even though I already have the flac-version. 


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John Ghost - For A Year They Slept

21/6/2016

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jazz / post rock
Consouling Sounds
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In the past few weeks, we have been listening to this album quite a lot, much more than usually happens with albums before I actually start writing the review. I'm sure the count will increase a lot in the months to come. And that is quite strange, considering the fact that I'm not a jazz fan. Dark jazz, sure, but jazz-jazz? Not really. However, I notice that I'm slowly being lured into the jazz-scene and albums like this one certainly help.

John Ghost is an adventurous band from Ghent, Belgium. Their music could be described simply as jazz, perfectly suited for the upcoming festivals like Gent Jazz or Jazz Middelheim. I don't think many fans of the genre will dislike this album.  Opener 'Hypnagogia' and follower 'Period Of REM' incorporate all the needed elements and instruments, such as reeds, vibes, bass, piano, rhodes, energetic drums...

But shortly after, the other influences start kicking in. 'Prologue H-H' comes up with the drones and the experimental electronics while 'Head-Habitat', one of my personal favorites, nudges towards dark jazz and post-rock. From there the album rolls on, here and there nudging towards free-jazz but never in an obtrusive, nervous way. Instead, the focus remains on immersive music. You can almost feel to joy of playing this.

'Concrete Trees / Wooden Ants' is another great highlight and another classic jazz-tune, driving on a dynamic tempo and featuring a wide array of playful solos. The breather 'Blue Rooms' feels like a ritual ambient track, you know, the ones will singing bowls and other unusual instruments. That being said, yes, there is plenty of variation to be found here. From typical jazz to elaborate musical landscapes, somehow reminding me of acts like Sigur Ros or composers like Olafur Arnalds and at times even of Laraaji.

So yeah, this is a great piece of work, certainly one of the best jazz albums in 2016. Like I said, I'm gradually getting into the whole genre and this album definitely is a gateway to other stuff. For many people, including me, anthems like 'Head-Nomad' and 'Day One' can be pleasant discoveries, guiding them into new territories. For others, also including me, John Ghost is simply a talented jazz band with a very strong album. Highly recommended...


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Shadowdream - The Sunsettler's Motel

2/6/2016

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ambient / (dark) jazz
Epictronic
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If you are one of those people who think black metal artists can only produce inaudible chaos, please continue reading this review. If you're want to know a little something about "gateway-albums" keep reading. If you're a fan of dark jazz and ambient, go ahead, read on. If you want to know why this album surprised the hell out of me, stay focused. Or just skip to the last paragraph of this review, only to find out that I will recommend this stunning piece of work to all of you.

Somewhere in 2004, a man named Rastko Perišić started a black metal project and named it Shadowdream. Yet, from the very beginning, it was clear that this project was more than another one-man black metal act. Elements of ambient, jazz and classical music quickly infiltrated the music, starting a vast musical experiment. Then (or better, "now") this act returned with a completely new sound. Out went the black metal and in came "midnight jazz".

Obviously, influences from Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore, The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Orchestra and Dale Cooper & the Dictaphones often shine through on this album. But Shadowdream does what none of those bands have succeeded in: making me a jazz fan. I love dark jazz, but I always needed one more push to make me appreciate smooth, free or experimental jazz. This album finally built that bridge between the two and finally made me "crossover". 

And that's not even the greatest thing about this album. There are plenty of other influences, from dark ambient of acts like Raison D'Etre, over the vintage electronics of Delia Derbyshire to the joyful flute sounds of what I call "Island music", all submerged in a gloomy atmosphere, which unsurprisingly brings the suspenseful soundtrack of Twin Peaks to mind. That's not a bad set of influences for a black metal musician, right? Oh, there's also a bit of post-rock.

Why the album surprised me? Well, to be honest, I have been listening to it six, seven times now and I always imagined a full band, firmly rooted in jazz. I admit, I didn't read the biography before I started listening. Judging from what came out of my speakers.I was expecting a bunch of trained musicians. This is one guy, one dude from Serbia, one damn talented man too. I don't know his musical background, apart from what I wrote in this review, but he's got skills.

That brings me to the final paragraph where I will recommend the hell out of this masterpiece. Just like last year, suddenly a dark jazz album pierces itself right into my best-of list. I don't mind. I'm absolutely positive that 'The Sunsettler's Motel' will become one of the most played albums in this household in 2016. Simply brilliant...


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April Fishes - Carpe d’Or

21/5/2016

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experimental / jazz / post-rock
Atypeek Music
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How about some more musical weirdness? This time we're in France, listening to a band featuring Sylvain Darrifourcq who has been featured on this website before. With this band, founded in 2014, he got the company of Manuel Adnot, Adrien Dennefeld and Romain Dugelay. Inspired by Chinese writer Mo Yan and impressed by the vastness of the deep sea, they created this strange and dynamic aquatic journey.

The foundation for this album clearly is jazz music but it wouldn't be jazz if it was just jazz. The songs on this album sound quite different from each other. There's the opener 'Offshore' which featured distorted guitars, somehow reminding me of the grunge sound. Probably because of  the saxophone, this track reminds me a bit of acts like Morphine, Zu or Red Snapper. Obviously, that's a very good thing.

Second track 'Nori et Wakame' shows more traditional jazz, be it enhanced by the use of electronics while title track 'Carpe D'Or' leans towards atmospheric post-rock, as if it's a jazz version of Sigur Ros. 'Tendance Brique' brings back the pulsating heaviness of the grunge scene and adds some psychedelic stoner rock in the mix. I think this is my favorite track here but I'm not sure. Fact is, this whole album is a mesmerizing trip.

One of the strangest songs here, is 'Les eaux du gouffre aux tortues'. It seems to make no sense, musically speaking, but once you delve deep into it, it becomes narrative, adventurous and quite immersive. By the end, things even start leaning towards Godspeed You Black Emperor by using an array of drones, soundscapes and subdued melodies. By now, I want to see this live and if so, I hope they play 'Nishiki', an inspiring piece of music.

There's one more track to go, one which I've enjoyed quite often in the past few weeks. It's true, I've played this album a dozen of times, each time discovering new sounds, new atmospheres. And I'm not even consider myself a jazz fan. Then again '
La fosse des Mariannes / Pays de neige' is a brilliant piece of work, a perfect closer for this album. Perhaps here I'll finally throw in the tag "post-jazz".


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Danielle Liebeskind - Little Acts Of Rebellion

21/5/2016

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experimental / noise / avant-garde / jazz
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"Hello, this is the first album by avant rock / experimental band Danielle Liebeskind", that's how the accompanying note for this album opened. I remember thinking "experimental, avant rock, that sounds a bit arty-farty, a bit pretentious possibly". I mean, I've heard a lot of "avant" stuff in my life and sometimes the self-glorification of the artists is massive, certainly compared to the non-coherent manure they produce.

But I tried the album anyway, because the exact opposite is also true. I've heard a lot of "avant" stuff which takes the listener on beautiful, strange and unexpected journeys. Besides, Danielle Liebeskind is a Dutch band, a trio and some guest musicians. For some reason the Dutch seem to know how to make experimental music interesting. Apart from their "shlagers" and their awful carnival music, the Netherlands are one of the greatest countries to discover new sounds.

And yes, Danielle Liebeskind is something to discover. They're mostly an improvisation act, so it shouldn't be a surprise that this debut is a registration of improv sessions, recorded in March 2014. They seem to be influenced by jazz, classical music, ambient, drone and noise artists but I can also hear elements from Pink Floyd, mostly in the guitars on 'Equilibrium Of Make Believe'. Those guitars also seem to be hiding behind a wall of weird sounds and odd percussion.

The whole thing does indeed feel like an experimental jazz performance, a very experimental one. You know, like when Sonic Youth, Keiji Haino and Merzbow decide to to make a jazz album together. I'm not even sure which instruments were used but I guess they include spoons and singing bowls next to more traditional instrumentation (piano, drums, guitars...). On the other hand, in the first part 'Little Acts Of Rebellion / I Saw Your Light' I recognize absolutely nothing, except for the narrating voice.

That track is one continuously changing piece of minimalistic music, that's for sure. So is opener 'Kimya Dawson Tribute', a song that perfectly fits in with the natural and human sounds around me. In fact, it often happens that I have no idea which sounds come from the LP and which come from in and outside of my house. I like that. It gives the album something extra. It makes it sound completely different every time I listen to it. 

And I think I will be listening to this quite a lot from now on. It's an album that deserves deeper exploration by curious and open minded music fanatics. The way it turns from gentle noise into a piece of classical music into a dark jazz tune, accompanied with what sounds like typewriter sounds, is brilliant. I can only applaud this approach to music and I do recommend this album to all you experimentalists out there.



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In Love With - Axel Erotic

12/4/2016

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jazz / avant garde / noise
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Well, since we're dwelling in strange and absurd music, how about an avant-jazz record that will awe and confuse you? In Love With is a project by French drummer Sylvain Darrifourq, aided by the string instruments of Théo and Valentin Ceccaldi. The album is named 'Axel Erotic' and it's a weird thing, but what would you expect from experimental jazz, something radio friendly? Forget about that. This will kill your radio...

Yes, experimental jazz, I guess many people will know what that means and I guess many people will know exactly what to expect: incoherent rhythms, non-conventional sounds and a nag to take everything to the absurd. Those expectations truly come true, even though the album opens quite friendly with an experimental modern classical piece. 'Bien Peigné En Toute Occasion' is probably the most listener friendly track here, and quite frankly also one of my favorites.

Yet, from then on, things become stranger. 'A Saveur De Très Beurre' nudges towards experimental and pretty dark ambient while 'Asil Guide' becomes utterly chaotic, certainly in the drums. 'Sexy Champagne' takes on a more gentle approach, a bit ambient-jazzy if you like. 'Les Flics De La Police' is a repetitive and polyrhythmic piece of experimental music, not really my cup of tea but not all records can be, right?

There are a few more songs to be discovered on this album, to be discovered by a seasoned jazz fan that is. I cannot imagine that any music lover will be able to appreciate this without the necessary foreknowledge of avant garde jazz music. But that doesn't mean it's a bad album. I quite enjoyed the weird and mesmerizing trip and the many surprising hooks and edges. Perhaps you can too, so check it out. At least it will be something you never heard before...


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Yodok III - Legion Of Radiance Live At Dokhuset

23/3/2016

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ambient / drone / jazz
Consouling Sounds
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Roadburn is coming up in a few weeks and I'm sure many people are looking forward to that. I know that the good people from Consouling Sounds are, because they are about to release this gem upon the world to coincide with Yodok III's appearance on the mother of all fuzzfests. I wish I could go to Roadburn this years, but unfortunately, I can't. However, I'll comfort myself with the knowledge that I'll be seeing Yodok III at Dunk!Festival later this year.

Yodok III is the enthralling cooperation between Tomas Järmyr (Barchan, Zu), Kristoffer Lo (Trondheim Jazz Orchestra and others) and Belgium's own drone-guru Dirk Serries (Microphonics, Vidna Obmana, Fear Falls Burning). Their work has previously been released on Tonefloat's 'New Wave Of Jazz' series, which crossover jazz and experimental ambient. So yeah, these guys know a thing or two about exciting music.

'Legion Of Radiance' is a one track album, lasting almost seventy minutes. It combines the unique drumming of Järmyr with Lo's deep tuba sounds and Serries' recognizable soundscapes. The result is a gloomy and adventurous piece of music, which is best to be enjoyed with your eyes closed and your mind open. At first, the music is silent. In fact, it took me awhile before I realized that the album was already playing. 

But, like all good drone and ambient albums, gradually the music swells and gains momentum. It becomes darker, deeper and more intense, minute after minute. It gets heavier, experimental and jazz-like, certainly with those energetic drums. In the end, it because every drone fan's dream: a mature album which floats in a similar way than Smetana's 'Die Moldau'. Or maybe that's just me. Fact remains, this is a brilliant album which you should definitely buy.


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Azure Mortal - Duivels

18/3/2016

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ambient / avant-garde / experimental
Consouling Sounds
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Here in Belgium, everybody knows the name Dirk Swartenbroekx, or at least one of his projects Buscemi or Radical Slave. Well, some years ago, Swartenbroekx created a little spin-off in the form of an ambient and soundscape project, mainly for art installations. Today, after a few ep's and singles, he gathered some seasoned musicians to make Azure Mortal a full blown band, including members of Nordmann, Fifty Foot Combo, Daan, Maya's Moving Castle...

In a way, it seems like Azure Mortal is the dark side of Swartenbroekx. Ambient, jazz, drones and soundscapes make up this album, but all in a gloomy, kind of eerie, manner. Yet, somehow I'm still reluctant to place this album between my dark ambient collection. There's much more to it, even though 'Waai' and 'Gene Krupa Goes Bananas' are great pieces of dark minimalism. Azure Mortal feels more like a band I would place between Dale Cooper and Bohren.

Other influences I can hear seem to come from Throbbing Gristle, Steve Reich, Nurse With Wound, Angelo Badalamenti, Nils Frahm and so on. So yes, there are a few layers of old industrial, mainly in some of the rhythms, as in the brilliant song 'Deadweight' and the poetic 'Nacht'. There's also a bit of classical music, as in the joyful piano piece, aptly named 'Piano Piece' and even some Tangerine Dream and Klaus Schulze.

While most dark ambient acts focus on creating deep drones and mystifying atmospheres, 'Duivels' seems to be a collection of songs, varying massively in sound and style. 'Raven' for example is a strange jazz piece, perfectly suited for a David Lynch soundtrack while 'Pro Create' drives on mild techno beats and repetitiveness, somehow bringing Chris and Cosey to mind. Odd but nonetheless very interesting.

In all, this is a highly surprising album, a well-varied one too. I never expected something like this from Dirk Swartenbroekx but I'm very happy this album reached me. I will recommend this to dark ambient fans, even though this goes a lot further and a lot deeper. So check it out and allow yourself to dwell in the wonderful and mysterious world of Azure Mortal. You'll be in for an inspiring journey...


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Yves Peeters Gumbo - The Big Easy

6/2/2016

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jazz / soul / funk
De Werf
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When this album arrived last week I had no idea what to do with it.  Before I even started listening to it, I was scratching my head and wondering what to write about this.  After all, this is not our usual cup of tea.  So last night, I brought this album with me when we were going to visit a friend. He is a jazz fan and has a bit more knowledge about jazz and related genres.  In the end we ended up getting quite drunk and reminiscing about music history. Result: I still didn't know what to write about it, but I am going to try anyway.

Yves Peeters is a Belgian drummer who has been fascinated by the rich musical history of New Orleans.  With his project Gumbo he tries to blend jazz, gospel, blues, funk and parade bands music together.  He also got help from some well-known musicians, including Francois Vaiana & Bruce James (vocals), Nicolas Kummert (tenor sax); Dree Peremans (trombone) and Nicolas Thys (bass).  

The album opens with the groovy 'My Gombo's Free', a warm and soulful song which somehow reminds me of world music festivals in the midst of summer.  That feeling continues throughout the first three songs.  It is as if this band is playing, much to the enjoyment of a big smile wearing audience, while the sun is heating up all the souls in attendance.  Funk, groovy, soul and jazz are being blended into a joyful Mardi Gras.

'Force Of Nature Part 1' takes on a full-on jazz approach with solos and complex rhythms while 'Part 2' suddenly comes up with what seems like African chants and immersive percussion.  I guess this second part is my favorite tune on this album.  Both songs also show the versatility of this project, making music that sounds familiar but never hesitates to experiment a little, I quite like that about this album.

'Lighthouse' suddenly goes a lot darker, driving on piano, bass, lingering wind instruments and minimalistic soundscapes. It nudges towards the darkjazz scene, which I like a lot.  Perhaps this is also the most radio friendly song on this album, but to be honest, I have no idea about the music they play on the radio nowadays.  I prefer to ignore that medium.  Nonetheless, this is a strong piece of music.

'Masquerade' shows the big band approach and 'No Hero' is a calm ballad, driving on almost droning bass.  Both are again two quite different songs on an already highly varied album.  But the key question is, 'who am I going to recommend this to?'  Well, if you're into jazz, funk, soul and groove, this certainly is something that you want to check out.  If not, do it anyway, it wouldn't be the first time you're pleasantly surprise by something beyond your own scene.


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CTM - Suite For A Young Girl

4/1/2016

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Classical / Experimental
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One thing I've always admired in music is the strong tendency to survive and to blend with whatever is popular during certain eras.  Classical music has been around since the sixteenth century and is still massively popular.  It also mixes perfectly with other genres and certainly with electronics.  An excellent example is this album by Danish act CTM, which stands for Caecilie Trier Musik.

Caecile Trier is a composer, vocalist and cellist, active in the wonderful region between classical music and minimal electronics.  It's a world where people like Nils Frahm, Sebastian Plano and Olafur Arnalds also like to dwell, but in a different way.  On this album, the piano is not the main aspect, the song is.  The piano is present, along with a number of different instruments and electronics, but they all seem to serve on goal: making decent songs.

And decent these songs are (I know, that sounded like Yoda a bit).  These are quite dark pieces of music, often containing deep droning basses and minimal but effective electronic percussion and trippy beats.  They support the distinct voice of Caecile, which somehow reminds me of something between Tracy Chapman and Sade.  This voice gives the whole something warm, folk-related perhaps. 

This album certainly is something unique and there are some brilliant songs here, including 'The Way The Mouth Is A Mouth' and closer 'Escored/The Road'. The latter has something jazzy, which by the way is mildly present throughout the entire album.  So yes, I will recommend this to jazz fans, and to fans of classical influenced pop ballads.  Try it out, you'll be pleasantly surprised. I know I was...


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 Louis Minus XVI - Kindergarten

3/12/2015

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jazz / noise rock
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Well, since we're dealing with strange music today, we might as well throw this odd fusion album in the mix.  Lately we've been receiving more and more jazz-inspired albums and most of them are quite confusing to me.  The first time I listened to this one, it was no different.  I kept on wondering what to write about it, hell, up till now I don't even know if I really like it or not.  Yet, it would be a shame to ignore this album because there's definitely something interesting going on.

Louis Minus XVI is a band from Lille, France. Instruments used are drums, bass, alt sax and tenor sax.  'Kindergarten' is their second album, after 'Birds and Bats' in 2011.  On this album, they present a number of compositions, five to be exact, and each one is as strange and unsettling as the previous one.  Blending free jazz and noise rock, these guys have come up with something that might just be a massive blast live.

Opener 'La Marche' brings back memories of bands like Zu and Dead Neanderthals.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this song would be a blast when played live at a festival like Incubate. The constant repetitive pounding and harsh sounds of the whole even brought the phrase 'The Godflesh of jazz' to mind.  That should give you some indication.  'More Friends' takes on a bit more of a jazz approach and is somewhat calmer that its predecessor.

Personally, I can't stand 'Sugar Od' as it's way to free jazz for my nerves.  Yet, I do know that some people will definitely regard this one as their favorite on this album, especially of course the die-hard free jazz fans.  But then I prefer the wall-varied and quite beautiful 'Columbine's Twin' or closer 'Bain Atlas'.  Those songs might appear often on playlists in this households. So yes, check it out, try to get used to it.  You might be pleasantly surprised...


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