Apse, Spirit

US, 2006.

Apse was formed in 1999 in Newtown, Connecticut as a three-piece while the members were still in high school. The group made purely instrumental ambient rock until about 2003, when reverberant lead vocals by Bobby became a regular part of the band’s songs.

Amidst a shifting lineup, the group moved away from the trappings of “post-rock” territory to write and record its debut full-length album – the tribal, atmospheric Spirit, released in 2006.

Playlist:

1. (Intro)
2. From the North
3. Legions
4. Shade of the Moor
5. (Transition)
6. The Crowned
7. Wind Through the Walls
8. Blackwood Gates
9. Earth Covers Us
10. Spirit

Link.

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Aufgang, Self-titled

France, 2009.

Aufgang is the reunion of two acoustic grand pianos and electronics. "They blend pianos, live drums and techno-inspired electronics into invigorating displays of virtuosity."

Playlist:

1. Channel 7
2. Channel 8
3. Barock
4. Sonar
5. Prélude du Passé
6. Good Generation
7. 3 Vitesses
8. Aufgang
9. Soumission

Link.

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The Abbasi Brothers, Something Like Nostalgia

US, 2008.

The Abbasi Brothers are, coincidentally, two brothers from Manhattan who make beautiful ambient/electronic/shoegaze/post-rock inspired music, akin to Hammock. This is their debut album.

Playlist:

1. Stacy's Day Parade
2. Kompa
3. Something like Nostalgia
4. Camera Flashes Blue
5. The Way of the Wanderer
6. Dreams of a Graffiti Artist
7. The Social Evening (in 1992)
8. Mr. Boe
9. A Long Weekend
10. In a Field
11. Playtime in Spacetime
12. Approaching the End
13. Fragments of Memories as a Child
14. Reprise
15. Clouds are Sleeping

Link.

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Let There Be Light, The Setting Sun EP

Italy, 2009.

Let There Be Light is an Italian duo based in Toronto, formed by Marco Porsia and Piero Frenguelli in 2007. Their first self-released product is this 5 track EP. Their sound can be described as "post-gaze" with a drive aiming to break assuring ways of doing things. Willowy like cobwebs yet steely like shiny metal. Experimental and external. Digital and dedicated, Let There Be Light lifts you up and gently lays you down.


Playlist:

1. Dawn
2. Fear + Desire
3. In Silence
4. Black Stars
5. Coda

Link.

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Sunwrae, Autumn Never Fall

Australia, 2009.

The exquisite Sunwrae Ensemble perform a grand spectacle of stunning chamber music on piano, vibraphone, string quartet, alto flute, clarinets, harp, double bass & drums. Dynamic, engaging and visually stimulating, Sunwrae stylishly captivate audiences, performing instrumental music by Artistic Director Rae Howell, textured with persuasive rhythms and spectacular improvisation.

Playlist:

1. Autumn Never Fall
2. Chinook Winds
3. Poly
4. The Machine
5. Soluble Sun II
6. Disappointing
7. Drawn Down

Link.

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R.L. Burnside, Come on In

US, 1998

Blues you can rock out to. Nuff said.


Playlist:

01 - Been Mistreated
02 - Come on In (live)
03 - Let My Baby Ride
04 - Don't Stop Honey
05 - It's Bad You Know
06 - Just Like a Woman
07 - Come on in, Part 2
08 - Rollin' Tumblin' (remix)
09 - Please Don't Stay
10 - Shuck Dub
11 - Come on in, Part 3
12 - Heat

Link.

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Leech, Instarmental

Switzerland, 1996.

Leech was formed in 1995 by Marcel Meyer, Urs Meyer and Serge Olar. Right from the start the band devoted itself to experimental instrumental music - rhythmic figures are developed and connected with floating melodies - this all fuses in an epic sound landscape where time becomes irrelevant. Just one year after the formation of the band, the first Leech album, Instarmental, was released.

Playlist:

1. Oscillator Train
2. Shooting Star Memories
3. Psycho-Em
4. 500 Miles Daytona
5. Unknown Horizons
6. Disco Fearer
7. Demonic Voices
8. Galactic Run (Into My Self)

Link.

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Interstellar Overdrive, Hibernation

Greece, 2009.

This is a band first formed in Athens in 1999. Their genre is, however, very hard to define: it's somewhere between ambient, experimental, jazz, progressive, indie, folk and alternative rock.

Playlist:
1. Music To Swim In
2. The Man With A Shattered World
3. Sweet Nothings
4. Echo
5. A Short Piece For The Poison-Man
6. Pensees Du Pays Des Milles Automnes
7. Not A Soul Around
8. Nervous Happy
9. Tumulte
10. Gadgetry
11. Music Without Trees
12. Happy Hour
13. Welcome Stranger
14. 32.4 Channels For A Mono Piece
15. Untitled

Link.

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Uniquetunes, 8

Russia, 2009.

Uniquetunes are an instrumental band from St. Petersburg, Russia, whose unique style blends jazz, electronic, downtempo and experimental rock with a 70's-inspired psychedelic mood.

Playlist:

1. 88
2. Paper Shoes
3. Linza
4. Dr. Sartor
5. Mexico
6. Birdy
7. Style Kings
8. Blue Mood

Link.

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Ereb Altor, By Honour

Sweden, 2008.

Ereb Altor is an "epic viking doom metal" band influenced by Bathory and Candlemass. After a 2003 demo called “The Awakening”, their debut full-length “By Honour” was released by I Hate Records in March 2008. I think that this album is so damn good that even those who don't appreciate the genre will like it.

Playlist:

1. Perennial
2. Awakening
3. By Honour
4. Winter Wonderland
5. Dark Nymph
6. Wizard
7. Ereb Altor

Link.

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Woburn House, Monstrous Manoeuvres In The Mushroom Maze

Germany, 2009.

Woburn House are a three-piece sludge/progressive/psychedelic metal band hailing from Bonn, Germany.

"Beautifully crafted, adventurous and inspiring - this unique band are always tough to pin down. Levitating between the bliss of the finest European avantgarde metal, epic song structures and earthy, organic post-rock tones, "Monstrous Manoeuvres In The Mushroom Maze" unfurls layer upon layer of beautifully textured melody that is driven by a bass drift that reminds us of classic early Lungfish in parts too. And all wrapped up in beautiful artwork painted by Toby Driver of Kayo Dot and mastered by the sound genius of Tom Kvålsvoll (Strype Audio)."

Playlist:

1. Omega
2. Oil
3. Globus
4. Transmitter
5. Transformer

Link.

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Adolf Plays The Jazz, Dirty Waters

Greece, 2009.

Adolf Plays The Jazz are a Greek post-rock band formed in Athens in the year of 2002. They started creating music for soundtracks of films their friends made. Their music combines a 70's art/experimental rock attitude with post-rock, shoegaze and jazz.

Playlist:

1. Dirty Water
2. Ad Funk
3. False Trail
4. Matter of Fact
5. Mos[cow]
6. Black Flags
7. Lush
8. Ungdomshuset
9. No Return
10. Trap
11. Drive

Link.

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Collapse Under The Empire, Find A Place To Be Safe

Germany, 2009.

Collapse Under The Empire is an instrumental/electronic/post-rock band from Hamburg, Germany. This is their second full-length, and it's pretty damn awesome.

Playlist:
1. Captured Moments
2. Crawling
3. Find A Place To Be Safe
4. Tranquillity
5. Angle Of Incidence
6. Decay
7. Far To The Past
8. A Smell Of Boiled Greens
9. Intelligence
10. Conscious Of Thirty-Nine
11. Take A Shot On Me

Link.

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New Century Classics, Natural Process

Poland, 2009.

New Century Classics are an instrumental post-rock band formed in Krakow, Poland in March 2006. This is their first full-length album. Their sound resembles Collapse Under The Empire and Immanu El.

Playlist:

1. Post-Cards
2. Congratulate You, Where?
3. Hedgehog
4. Drift Motion
5. Sandbox Love
6. Children of an Uncertain Future
7. Seven Days
8. Buddha Pilot
9. Fish Went
10. Is
11. A Small Misunderstanding
12. Spiders in the Attic

Link.

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Trilok Gurtu, Massical

India, 2009

I have to admit I don't know that much about Trilok Gurtu, except that he is, aside from a world class percussionist, a frequent collaborator of great musicians such as John McLaughlin or Jan Garbarek.
This was an album that got me right away. Sure, it has your usual jazz stuff too, but it is still a beautiful fusion effort. And what a gorgeous cover too.


Playlist:

1. Seven Notes To Heaven
2. Bridges
3. Mumbai Shuffle
4. Havatight
5. Dive In
6. Monk-E-Desh
7. Kuruksetra
8. Pathri
9. Etnosur
10. Massical


Link.

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Mick Karn, Each Eye a Path

U.K., 2000

This is an amazing album by Mick Karn, who was the bassist for the now extinct band Japan. Coloured but also dark, this is an album in the true sense, where each track takes you in an unique travel and paradigm. It can be strange – and in that sense, a strangeness that reminds me of David Bowie, for no specific reason – but it is wonderous, truly felt and almost perfect music.


Playlist:

1. Up To Nil
2. The Salmon of Knowledge
3. Latin Mastock
4. The Forgotten Puppeteer
5. My Mrs T
6. Angel's Got a Lotus
7. Serves You Rice
8. The Night We Never Met
9. Venus Monkey
10. Left Big


Link.

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