Charts and Maps is an instrumental progressive rock project from Los Angeles, CA. consists of: Daniel Melancon – drums, John Taylor – guitar, Jasper Crane – bass, Jay Watford – guitar and Mike Allison – saxophone and they are involved in other bands as Danger Bees, Random Patterns, Semiconscious Gloria and Pride of Kenya. Nominated their influences in bands such as Battles, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Deerhoof, Tortoise, Yes and Danger Bees. Their music is a nice blending of Jazz and Progressive Rock, including a large variety of shades and colors in a nice, dynamic pulse. Actually it’s pretty hard to balancing on this thin line between Progressive Rock and Jazz, but Charts And Maps managed to keep a positive groove and the equation of their roots and influences are mixed perfectly and Charts and Maps create their own colorful universe. Read more Charts And Maps – Dead Horse (2011)
fusion
Masami Akita, Mats Gustafsson and Jim O’Rourke – One Bird Two Bird (2011)
Limited edition of 500 copies vinyl release containing two tracks, “One Bird” 21.37 minutes, respectively “Two Bird” 13.38 minutes, this is the result of the clash of three twisted minded titans of experimental music in a studio session in Tokyo in 2009.
Masami Akita knowned of course as Merbow since 1979 has released over 350 recordings. Mats Olof Gustafsson is probably best knowned lately mainly by the trio called The Thing, but he first came to the attention of lovers of improvised music as part of a duo with Christian Munthe, started in 1986 and the band Gush, started in 1988. He has later played widely with musicians such as Peter Brötzmann, Joe McPhee, Paul Lovens, Barry Guy, Yoshimi P-We, Derek Bailey, Magnus Broo, Otomo Yoshihide, Jim O’Rourke, Thomas Lehn, Evan Parker, Misha Mengelberg, Zu, The Ex, Sonic Youth, Hamid Drake, Michael Zerang, Ken Vandermark and many others. O’Rourke Read more Masami Akita, Mats Gustafsson and Jim O’Rourke – One Bird Two Bird (2011)
Red Snapper – Key (2011)
This is absolutely bloody ass kicking! And I mean it. Don’t judge a book by its cover and a CD by its label. In this particular case the label was “hip hop” and well, maybe there’s some hip hop left-overs in it, but this have nothing to do with what usually we thought of hip hop. This is jazz, modern, alive, pulsing, experimental jazz without being kind of exclusivist, it’s avantgardist without being abstract, in not so many words: this is fucking music! Well, if we trying hard enough we may find some parallels with US3, eventually with the Fun Lovin’ Criminals, but still. If there some other band which reminds me of , perhaps that would be Morphine. Honestly I don’t know where I kept or what I did with my ears in the last few years, but I stumbled into Red Snappers only yesterday while it seems they being around since 1994. But I can take off “Key” from the player since. Read more Red Snapper – Key (2011)
Rolo Tomassi – Eternal Youth (2011)
A friend of mine from London bring to my attention this band from Sheffield, England, in 2009 and their debut album entitled “Hysterics” released one year earlier blow off my mind. Define as “progressive hardcore”, labeled as jazzcore, mathcore or simply progressive rock, Rolo Tomassi delivering a fresh and powerful mixture of hardcore, punk, post metal and avant-garde jazz which is quite innovative and brilliant.
The band was formed in 2005 and immediately began to perform at local venues and pubs to small crowds and released some of their first material, a “3 Track Demo” CD, respectively “4 Track Cassette” which they could sell at the shows they were performing at.
After a split EP with Mirror! Mirror! (limited to 333 copies and released through Speedowax) the band signed to Holy Roar Records and released a self-titled EP featuring re-recorded songs from previous demos and EPs along with new songs. Read more Rolo Tomassi – Eternal Youth (2011)
Garage A Trois – Always Be Happy, But Stay Evil (2011)
Garage A Trois was originally a trio founded in 1998 during the recording of Stanton Moore’s debut album “All Kooked Out!” by Moore, eight-string guitarist Charlie Hunter, and Skerik. The project grown to a quartet, the actual line-up including Stanton Moore (drums), Skerik (saxophone), Mike Dillon (vibraphone and percussionist) and keyboardist Marco Benevento. They play a variety of music including rock, funk and jazz. I stumble into this band a few years ago searching on YouTube for versions of the song by Hendrix “If 6 was 9”. Charlie Hunter it’s a killer guitar player and Moore is a color and powerful drummer, Skerik knows to blow his saxophone, so, Garage A Trois was an exciting discovery. Most widely known as a founding member of Galactic, Moore has also Read more Garage A Trois – Always Be Happy, But Stay Evil (2011)
Fluxious – Why So Serious (2011)
Formed in 2009 at Geneva, Switzerland, Fluxious bring to the surface an intense blending of rock and metal with jazz elements, it’s more heavy than jazz, but still at the border of fusion and to make things a little bit exciting, guitarist Germain, bass player Guillaume and drummer Maxence put to the microphone a girl called Joana. “Why So Serious” is dynamic, heavy and kind of complex material, still it’s not bearish, it flows alright, hard rock moments are shifted by heavy riffings or melodious choruses, and Joana singing in the style and manner of Sandra Nasić (Guano Apes). 12 songs, good tempo and rhythm, some interesting turns and a few good themes, in short words this is “Why So Serious” about. Read more Fluxious – Why So Serious (2011)
Kodjabashia And Foltin – Penelope X (2011)
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)
John Zorn – Nova Express (2011)
Zorn’s first release for 2011, another piece of the puzzle from his colorful, restless, dynamic and sometimes moody musical world. “Nova Express” is a very intense work where most of Zorn’s previous explorations comes to unite. It contains the depths of the Interzone conspiracy, the lyricism of Zorn’s classical works, the clear-obscure notes of Naked City and the virtuosity showed on the Masada songbooks. It’s an avant-garde journey where jazz and contemporary music collide in the most intense and vibrating way its possible. Dark, gloomy passages are nicely colored with subtle jazz interventions or expressive explosions of improvisations. “Nova Express” is a groovy and exciting collection of modern chamber music filled with beautiful details and dramatic passions, another borderless intercourse in the mystical and vibrating world of Zorn where every single note is worth at least a picture and together opens the window to another universe of deep shadows and bright lights, its the pure dancing poetry of a forgotten ancient world or just the shapes of things to come. This record have an incredible groove, the abstract trips and the sharp cuts of intense passages are overlapping and shifting each other incredibly fluently in a perfect balance and tempo. Read more John Zorn – Nova Express (2011)
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)
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)
