Makunouchi Bento - Himette (2003)

 Bandcamp

9.3

/Electro pop, IDM, Experimental electronica, Mood music, Ambient techno/

Comment: MB is a duo from Romania whose 13 piece album`s cornerstones are angular IDM beats and loosely dangling electro rhythms which in turn are embellished with glitch-y dust and industrial vapour. On the other side, the album includes fascinating emotive narratives and joyous reverberations or used to get involved in more experimental exercises (with shuffling drums and abrasive guitar riffs or built on voices which are reversed and treated) or exploring atmospherical realms with the help of  rhythmic structures and spoken word parts. In a nutshell, the listener can say the whole is a craftily balanced album drifting in between technological level and solid emotive approach. 

[Teaser of the day] Plastic Jazz Orchestra - Bye Bye Altai

[Teaser of the day] R Stevie Moore - Reefer

Archive

Troy Schafer – Supreme Happiness Forever (2012)

 Mine All Mine
Bandcamp

 9.8

/Drone, Ambient drone, Epic, Chamber music, Modern classical, Experimental electronica, Avant-garde, Avant-electronica, Post-rock, Noise, Experimentalism, Crossover/

Comment: Troy Schafer (Madison, Wisconsin, USA) offers up a set of 3 pieces which is highly recommendable. More profoundly, his vanguard-ish, violin-led soundscapes are craftily tense, accentuated with different, massively droning keys thus getting close to such masters as Tony Conrad, and John Cale, though, he is idiosyncratic in his creative process (The Breath Of Life Is But A Kiss). Or on the other side, he is able to leave the academical tradition and to get involved in more poppy traditions (flirtations with Americana, noise and epic post-rock-ish seeds at Hail, True Body). TS`s soundscape is hell-ish and solemn at the same time. Apparition is an example of how classical tradition meets successfully modern days thereby establishing new frontiers and frameworks for the listener to understand music on a new level. In a word, it is a very fine crossover issue.

Automassage - Saxophone EP (2012)

Birdsong 

Lastfm

9.4

/Doom rock, Covers, Acid rock, psychedelia, Experimental rock, Noise rock, Doomgaze, Fusion, Avant-rock, Experimental indie, Improvised music/

Comment: Automassage is a quartet which consists of Austrian and Slovenian musicians. Their 4-track album is issued on an Israeli label, entitled Birdsong. The compositions are made up of massive doom-ish guitar washes, buried a little threatening vocal layers, poignant drumming, and acidic synth whiffs, though, all these layers seem to be tied with each other in a loose way (it is OK anyway). More detailedly, if you like the following categorization, you would tag it "doomgaze" (though, it used to have reference points and hints at fusion, psychedelia/acid rock, and improvised deliberations either. Bardo Pond meets My Bloody Valentine meets Mahavishnu Orchestra is one way of how to approach the group. And there is no sign about saxophone! By the way, there are presented a pair of covers (Guns N` Roses` Get In the Ring; and - surprise, surprise - Holy Night). It is an astonishing release by any senses. Grrrt!

Testet Ölt - Untitled (2012)

 Bandcamp
Lastfm 

9.4

/Post-rock, Instrumental rock, Avant-rock, Improvised music, Ambient rock, Psychedelic rock, Alternative, Epic/

Comment: Testet Ölt is a collective from Temerin, Vojvodina, Serbia who provide a handful of tracks which used to wobble somewhere in between composed and improvised tendencies. More concretely, TÖ`s soundscape can stylistically be considered a hallmark of psychedelically treated post-rock whereas there is no vocal lines but instead of it involves a loads of key changes and half-crescendos oozing out of the slots backdropped with dreamy, at times even haunting synths, cohesive guitar lines, and mesmerizing drum sequences. There are some exceptions (Dèli Bàb) where Pink Floyd-esque influences are withdrawn and guitars and traded to vibraphones (or its emulators) thus reminding rather of the likes of The Dylan Group, Mice Parade, Mercury Program, and Tristeza. Another exception, called Biztos Alkony used to get quite close to the main theme of Twin Peaks, however, amalgamating it with solid guitar chords and catchy effects and tumultuous drum breaks now and then. The result is superb having enough potential to get a classic status sometime in the future.  

[Teaser of the day] Siiri Sisask - Ma Ei Maga Ma Ei Söö (Käärkäsi Edit)

Siiri Sisask - Ma Ei Maga Ma Ei Söö (Käärkäsi Edit)