Nikola Kodjabashia is a London based Macedonian composer, audio artist, producer, electronic wizard, conductor, pianist and virtual instrumentalist. He studied with Sir Harrison Birtwistle, Anatol Vieru, György Kurtág, and Rolf Gehlhaar and he’s the composer of two critically acclaimed albums “The Most of Now” from 2008 and “Reveries of the Solitary Walker” released in 2004. He has scored and conducted music for numerous plays, TV productions & films, and he is a Musical Director and co-founder of The Diesel Orchestra and Meta4 ensemble. Foltin, far as I know, is one of the most important Macedonian bands. Additional contribution for this release comes from the drummer Goce Stevkovsk. Well, “Penelope X” is an exciting, colorful material where jazz and ethno (world) elements grows together and blooming into a powerful, expressive musical experience. Macedonian, gypsy and Klezmer reflexions are merged into jazz and contemporary music constructions, the result once again something particular and very alive. Read more Kodjabashia And Foltin – Penelope X (2011)
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Triptych – Physical Fitness for Better Tyranny (2011)
Best things in life comes for free! At least that’s what a buddy of mine used to say. And the best beer I ever drink was for free, the best whiskey was also for free, not to mention the best fuck. Well, sometimes free means that somebody else pay for it, that’s quit true, but what the hell?! life is full of shit enough to get lost in that kind of small details! 😀 “Physical Fitness for Better Tyranny” actually it’s for free for real. And it’s quit a nice piece of work. Well, definitively it doesn’t sound like a super sophisticated production, but it sounds very alive, absolutely honest and their music is balancing fluently from post rock experiments to jazz like solutions and turns, heavy and noise moments followed by jazzy improvisations or quiet breathes, their music swimming around in nice and colorful circles, raving and pumping without any annoying barriers. Complex and exciting journey into a very alive music.
I didn’t manage to dig out anything about this band, probably from San Antonio, Texas, but listening their 5 track material was a really nice surprise. Read more Triptych – Physical Fitness for Better Tyranny (2011)
Signo Rojo – Promo Album (2011)
Jonas Nilsson – bass and vocals, Hampus Henningsson and Elias Mellberg – guitars and drummer Pontus Svensson from Sweden deliver us a heavy material with roots anchored both in the deep sludge of southern USA and the other planted in the deep crevices of doom-metal. Signo Rojo’s promo album can be listen and download at their Bandcamp page and “name your price” means you actually can download their album even for free, but I believe any artistic effort deserves to be rewarded. (Giving one dollar for example it makes no sense, PayPal and Bandcamp having 40 revenue from any transaction and by transferring from PayPal to the current bank account the money the artist loose a few more percents, so, in the end to the band will not attain more than half of the original amount.) Read more Signo Rojo – Promo Album (2011)
Mathias Eick – Skala (2011)
Mathias Eick is a Norwegian jazz musician, his main instrument is the trumpet, but he also plays double bass, vibraphone, piano and guitar. He has performed with several famous music groups and musicians, Chick Corea, Pat Metheny, Jaga Jazzist, Trondheim Jazz Orchestra, Jacob Young, Iro Haarla, Motif, Trygve Seim, Jan Gunnar Hoff Group, Audun Kleive, Morten Abel, Bertine Zetlitz, Thomas Dybdahl, Julius Winger, Manu Katché and Lars Horntveths, etc.
Eick has a long and colorful list of influences: Miles Davis, Clifford Brown, Kenny Wheeler, Thomasz Stanko, Chet Baker, Arve Henriksen, Nils Petter Molv..r, Jon Hassel, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Bill Frisell, Jan Garbarek, Jon Christensen, Jaco Pastorius, Joni Mitchell, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Keith Jarret, J.S. Bach, Police, Sting, ECM, Chick Corea, Elvis Costello, Burt Bacharach, Metallica, Flaming Lips, Steely Dan, Rufus Wainwright and his music sounds like a nice blending of Miles Davis and Jan Garbarek. Read more Mathias Eick – Skala (2011)
Battles – Gloss Drops (2011)
Imagine the living room of a mental hospital where some guys left from the seventies high on some unknown substances are jamming with some drunk, but friendly aliens. Or anyway, something like that. It’s spooky, but controversially, it’s kind of exciting. And quit surprisingly, the guys from the band called Battles managed to control all that crazy sound battles. This is an experiment which sometimes sounds like the Nintendo games, but somehow simultaneously it’s goddamn serious. The band’s current line-up comprises guitarists and keyboard player Ian Williams (formerly of Don Caballero and Storm & Stress), bassist and guitarist Dave Konopka (formerly of Lynx), and drummer John Stanier (formerly of Helmet), and their benefit from the guest featuring of Matias Aguayo, Gary Numan, Kazu Makino and Yamantaka Eye. I think a permanent vocalist would do no harm, their music is kind of dense and more singing may bring some release and add a human touch. Read more Battles – Gloss Drops (2011)
Believer – Transhuman (2011)
What the hell is “transhuman”? Transhuman is “the study of the ramifications, promises, and potential dangers of technologies that will enable us to overcome fundamental human limitations, and the related study of the ethical matters involved in developing and using such technologies.” Shit, this are heavy stuffs. Believer is an American band formed in the late 80s and early 90s and from their thrash metal roots they grow into a post metal, progressive metal area and this “Transhuman” is their fifth full-length album which is set to be released on April 11, 2011 on Metal Blade Records. They put together 12 complex and intense songs, solid and strong thrash like guitar riffs and constructions are placed into a much wider progressive/post metal area, the technical elements are built in into a gloomy and atmospheric universe. Dream Theater back in 2003 on their album “Train of Thoughts” were kind of close to this sound and approach. Read more Believer – Transhuman (2011)
Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What (2011)
In reference to the new album, Simon says “It’s the best work I’ve done in 20 years”. Most artist declare things like that about their latest release, but I guess Mr. Simon this time is right. Anyway, in a beautiful springtime morning like that, a few weeks before Eastern, it’s pretty strange to star my day listening “Getting Ready for Christmas Day”… 😆 “So Beautiful or So What” is due for release on the Concord Music Group label on April 12, 2011 and contains 10 brand new songs, 38 minutes of music. Since April 5, the material it’s fully-streamable on its own site.
This is the 11 solo album by Paul Simon, best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair’s songs and in 1970, at the height of their popularity, the duo split, and Simon began a successful solo career, recording three highly-acclaimed albums over the next five years.Songs like “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” haunting me since my childhood… Read more Paul Simon – So Beautiful or So What (2011)
The Dark Sides of the Moon
“The Dark Side of the Moon” was a milestone, not only in the career of Pink Floyd, but in the history of the music and not at least, source for inspiration for many musicians since its release. There’s many tribute, cover and reinterpretations of “The Dark Side of the Moon” and I gathered here a few of the most intriguing and interesting of these releases.
Released on 10 March 1973, “The Dark Side of the Moon” is the eighth studio album by Pink Floyd and it was the record that moved, back or forward – it’s a matter of point of view – the English band from the closed circle of fans to the mainstream. “The Dark Side of the Moon” is a concept album that explore the themes of conflict, greed, the passage of time and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by Syd Barrett’s deteriorating mental state, but it lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterized their work following the departure in 1968 of founding member, principal composer and lyricist Barrett. The album was recorded in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London. The group used some of the most advanced recording techniques of the time, including multitrack recording and tape loops. Analogue synthesizers were given prominence in several tracks, and a series of recorded interviews with staff and band personnel provided the source material for a range of philosophical quotations used throughout. Engineer Alan Parsons was directly responsible for some of the most notable sonic aspects of the album, including the non-lexical performance of Clare Torry. Read more The Dark Sides of the Moon
Meat Puppets – Lollipop (2011)
Meat Puppets are back again. Started as a punk rock band back in 1980, the Meat Puppets established their own style, blending punk with country and psychedelic rock, featuring Curt’s warbling vocals. The Meat Puppets later gained significant exposure when the Kirkwood brothers served as guest musicians on Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged performance in 1993 and the band’s 1994 album “Too High to Die” became their most successful release. The band broke up twice, first time in 1996, second time in 2002, but reunited again in 2006. Beside the Kirkwood brothers – Curt – vocals and guitar and Cris – bass – in the current line-up featuring Shandon Sahm on drums.
This is the band’s thirteenth studio album and it’s set to be released on April 12 and the song “Damn Thing” is available for free download on the band’s official web site. Read more Meat Puppets – Lollipop (2011)
Henceforth – The Gray Album (2011)
Henceforth are another exciting band from Brazil, another nice surprise after MindFlow and The Tape Disaster. Formed in 1993, they released their first album (Full album on-line streaming) in Brazil in December 2005 via Voice Music, label owned by Silvio Golfetti, guitarist of the Brazilian thrash metal band Korzus. The current line-up is made up by singer Frank Harris, guitarist Hugo Mariutti, bass player Luis Mariutti, drummer Fabio Elsas and keyboard player Cristiano Altieri. Luis and Hugo were former members of the band called Shaaman, and Luis is a former member of power metal band Angra – as of 2007 they are no longer in Shaaman having left the band with singer Andre Matos in order to pursue new projects. Fabio has played in the past with bands Skyscraper and Firebox. Their experience is clearly mark positively the sound and compositions of Henceforth. Read more Henceforth – The Gray Album (2011)
