Hanne Hukkelberg, Blood From a Stone

Norway, 2010

"For her third full-length, Hukkelberg decided to head north instead of south. A lot farther north, in fact, on the tiny Norwegian island of Senja, located some 180 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Living in such isolation would have one assuming the resulting album would be one of stark intimacy,(…) the songs themselves turn out to be some of Hukkelberg's most extroverted work to date."


Playlist:
1. Midnight Sun Dream
2. Blood From a Stone
3. Bandy Riddles
4. No Mascara Tears
5. Seventeen
6. Salt Of The Earth
7. No One But Yourself
8. In Here / Out Here
9. Crack
10. Bygd Til By

Link.

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Cynic, Re-Traced

US, 2010.

Cynic's latest EP, Re-Traced, features four reinterpretations from their album Traced In Air as well as one original song. A very interesting retake on old material.


Playlist:

1. Space
2. Evolutionary
3. King
4. Integral
5. Wheels Within Wheels

Link.

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Eyvind Kang, Virginal Co-ordinates

US, 2004

«Kang’s work is difficult to classify, but can broadly be seen as a classical approach to jazz music with punk, ambient, and traditional folk influences. However, each of his solo efforts is almost in a different genre. Kang has also worked with musicians including Mike Patton, John Zorn, Trey Spruance, Tim Young, Marc Ribot and Beck, supporting the latter during a 2000 tour of Japan. In addition, he has been a guest musician on many albums, including Bill Frisell’s Quartet (1994), Secret Chiefs 3’s Book M and playing the viola on five of Laura Veirs’ albums.»

Playlist:

1. Go In a Good Way to a Better Place
2. I Am the Dead
3. Doorway to the Sun
4. Occultum Lapidem
5. Harbour of the Nade
6. Virginal Co-ordinates
7. Sidi Bou Said
8. Innocent Eye, Crystal See
9. Marriage of Days

Link.

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Portland Cello Project, The Thao & Justin Power Sessions

US, 2009.

The Portland Cello Project is an “indie cello orchestra”, that is to say the combination of a group of classically trained cellists with different musicians and vocalists of the Portland indie scene. This album is the collaboration of the band with Thao (from Thao with The Get Down Stay Down) and Justin Power.

Playlist:

1. The Lamb
2. Beat (Health, Life And Fire) (Featuring Thao)
3. Cut The Rope (Featuring Justin Power)
4. Mouth For War
5. Tallymarks (Featuring Thao)
6. Por Una Cabeza
7. Violet (Featuring Thao)
8. Hungry Liars (Featuring Justin Power)
9. Geography (Featuring Thao)
10. Seeds May Fall (Featuring Justin Power)
11. Turkish Wine
12. Travel (Featuring Justin Power)

Link.

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Bark Cat Bark, Á Lífi

France, 2009.

Bark Cat Bark is the music project of multi-instrumentalist Josh Todd from Paris, France. His music is recognized by its use of a large variety of instruments usually in minimalist compositions, often with a touch of either European classical music or French folk music but has also included in his music; Post-rock, Balkan, Drone, Tropicália, Electronica & Latin Jazz.

Playlist:

1. Verona
2. Lac Pavin
3. Galatia
4. Iceland
5. Hóp
6. Père Lachaise
7. Intervalle
8. Á Lífi
9. Palermo a Larino

Link.

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Electric Wizard, Witchcult Today

UK, 2007

Electric Wizard are a legendary stoner/doom metal band from Dorset, England. Witchcult Today is their sixth studio album.

Playlist:

1. Witchcult Today
2. Dunwich
3. Satanic Rites of Drugula
4. Raptus
5. The Chosen Few
6. Torquemada '71
7. Black Magic Rituals & Perversions
8. Saturnine

Link.

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Matryoshka, Zatracenie

Japan, 2007.

Matryoshka is a Tokyo, Japan based band consisting of the track maker Sen and the female vocalist Calu. Their music is a mix of post-rock, shoegaze, ambient, electronic and modern classical.

Playlist:

1. Sink Into The Sin
2. Slowsnow
3. Evening Gleam Between Cloud
4. Viridian
5. My Funeral Rehearsal
6. Tyrant's Miniature Garden
7. Anesthetic
8. Ezekiel
9. Beyond
10. February Lifesaver

Link.

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Bo Becker, Of Vistula

US, 2010.

I don't know much about Bo Becker, but fans of Eluvium and Jacaszek will surely enjoy this album.

Playlist:


1. Morning
2. Pylon
3. Dream of the Red Chamber
4. Ikon
5. Of Vistula
6. In Human Endeavors
7. Fourth of July
8. The Power of Atom

Link.

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Cecilia::Eyes, Here Dead We Lie

Belgium, 2010.

Founded in Autumn 2004, Cecilia::Eyes is a subtle mixture of instrumental and dark music, with a taste for slow and noisy tunes.

Playlist:

1. Like Wolves
2. For The Fallen
3. Anthem For Doomed Youth
4. Four Lost Soldiers
5. The Departure
6. Fifty Years Under The Tent
7. No Prayers, No Bells, No Homeland
8. Death For Treason

Link.

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Al Di Meola, Elegant Gypsy

U.S., 1977

Al Di Meola is one of the most acclaimed guitar virtuosos alive, and Elegant Gypsy is a fine essay on latin/flamenco's fusion with lots of jazz and rock seasoning. Feels somewhat refreshing, even in spite of its age.


Playlist:

1. Flight Over Rio
2. Midnight Tango
3. Mediterranean Sundance
4. Race With Devil On Spanish Highway
5. Lady Of Rome, Sister Of Brazil
6. Elegant Gypsy Suite

Link.

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Mono & World's End Girlfriend, Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain

Japan, 2006.

A collaboration between instrumental post-rock band Mono and fellow Tokyo native and modern electronic composer World’s End Girlfriend

In 2006 they released Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain, a five-part sojourn of neoclassical grace and luminescence that defies lazy categorization. As dark as the bottom of the ocean and nearly as otherworldly, “Palmless” finds Mono inhabiting a magical world previously only hinted at in their most orchestral compositions.

Playlist:

1. [untitled 1]
2. [untitled 2]
3. [untitled 3]
4. [untitled 4]
5. [untitled 5]

Link.

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When The Clouds, The Longed-For Season

Italy, 2009.

When the Clouds is the recording project of artist and producer Francesco Galano. In 2007 he began working on several songs blending electronic elements with acoustic instruments creating a sound with extraordinary emotional impact. The songs are characterised by the use of acoustic instruments such as rhodes piano guitar, bass guitar, strings, mellotron, glockespiel and diamonic fluctuating along with a complicated structure of concrete sounds, glitch and noises that make up the rhythmic/percussive structure of the music. In 2009 he signed a deal with Drifting Falling for his debut EP “The Longed-For Season” a six track tapestry that reveals more and more of itself with each listen. Equal parts restraint, masterfully crafted tension and euphoric release that will leave listeners lost in thought.

Playlist:

1. The Dawn and the Embrace
2. Rise On
3. Flooding River
4. November Song
5. The Place Where This Path Leads
6. The House of Sleep

Link.

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Mike Patton, Mondo Cane

US, 2010.

"2010 release from the Faith No More vocalist, an Italian language rock-meets orchestra hybrid. Recorded at a series of European performances including an outdoor concert in a Northern Italian piazza, this album features traditional Italian Pop songs as well as a rendition of Ennio Morricone’s ‘Deep Down’. Patton worked with a 30-piece orchestra and choir to create the uniquely new Mondo Cane sound."

So goddamn awesome.

Playlist:

1. Il Cielo In Una Stanza
2. Che Notte!
3. Ore d'Amore
4. Deep Down
5. Quello Che Conta
6. Urlo Negro
7. Scalinatella
8. L'Uomo Che Non Sapeva Amare
9. 20 Km Al Giorno
10. Ti Offro Da Bere
11. Senza Fine

Link.

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Okabe / Ishihama / Hoashi / Nishimura, NieR Gestalt & RepliCant Soundtrack

Japan, 2010

I got recommended this soundtrack from a friend of mine and even though I felt reticent about this one, the choral works and orchestration had me convinced immediately. Apart from that, the songs are sung in a variety of languages, such as French, Japanese, English and Gaelic, though some people speculate a few of them are sung in a fictional language. It is a predominantly vocal soundtrack and even though it's not the most superb thing I've had the opportunity to listen it is, quite fairly, very good and beautiful.


Playlist:

Disc One
1. Snow in Summer
2. Hills of Radiant Wind
3. The Incomplete Stone
4. Blu-bird
5. Cold Steel Coffin
6. Grandma
7. Song of the Ancients / Devola
8. The Wretched Automatons
9. City of Commerce
10. Song of the Ancients / Popola
11. The Prestigious Mask
12. Temple of Drifting Sands
13. Gods Bound by Rules
14. The Ultimate Weapon
15. Deep Crimson Foe
16. Dispossession / Piano Ver.
17. Dispossession / Strings Ver.
18. Dispossession / Pluck Ver.
19. Dispossession / Music Box Ver.
20. Yonah / Piano Ver.
21. Yonah / Strings Ver.
22. Yonah / Pluck Ver. 1
23. Yonah / Pluck Ver. 2

Disc Two
1. The Dark Colossus Destroys All
2. Song of the Ancients / Hollow Dreams
3. Kaine / Salvation
4. Kaine / Escape
5. His Dream
6. This Dream
7. Repose
8. The Lost Forest
9. Song of the Ancients / Fate
10. Shadowlord's Castle / Memory
11. Dance of the Evanescent
12. Shadowlord's Castle / Roar
13. Emil / Karma
14. Emil / Sacrifice
15. Shadowlord
16. Ashes of Dreams / New
17. Ashes of Dreams / Nouveau
18. Ashes of Dreams / Nuadhaich
19. Ashes of Dreams / Aratanaru
20. Shadowlord - White-note remix

Link. (Disc 1)
Link. (Disc 2)

more...

Rosetta, A Determinism Of Morality

US, 2010.

"Philadelphia quartet Rosetta push the boundaries between metal, progressive rock, post-rock, space rock, and hardcore punk, employing an experimental songwriting technique filled with chaos and atmospherics. Their sounds range from Pink Floydian progressive rock sonic layering to walls of pure static ambience to crushing, sweeping sludgey riffage."

Playlist:

1. Ayil
2. Je N'en Connais Pas la Fin
3. Blue Day for Croatoa
4. Release
5. Revolve
6. Renew
7. A Determinism of Morality

Link.

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Toundra, II

Spain, 2010.

"Toundra is a band from Madrid, Spain emerged in 2007, as phoenix, from disappeared ones Nacen De Las Cenizas, who left a great (good) taste in mouth among national hardcore followers, despite the brief of his career. In this case, the new creature has decided to dispense vocals and provides us with an entirely instrumental sound where guitars, bass and drums take on the entire role."

Playlist:

1. Tchod
2. Magreb
3. Zanzíbar
4. Völand
5. Danubio / Danube
6. Koschei
7. Bizancio / Byzantium

Link.

more...

Glowworm, The Coachlight Woods

US, 2008.

Glowworm is a chamber rock/electronica band from Portland started by Kevin Davis with the help of Jesse Robert W. in 2006. The Coachlight Woods is Glowworm’s first full length LP.

Playlist:

1. Periphescence
2. Contrails
3. The Captive
4. Lux
5. Nightshores
6. Cracks in the Desert Sea of St. George
7. Lith
8. Into the Woods
9. Glow Scraped From the Earth

Link.

more...

Kira Kira, Our Map To The Monster Olympics

Iceland, 2008.

"Our Map to the Monster Olympics is a twisting, sometimes terrifying, often glorious and touching kaleidoscope of a record. Swarms of fragmented voices mouth melodies through home made microphones while contact-miced Kalimbas fight for breath in seas of beautifully damaged technicolour, granulated shotgun beats fire from sniper positions in foreboding atmospheres- AND YET armies of glockenspiels, brass and casios remind us that everything will, in fact, be ok."

Playlist:

1. Sjarmaland Intro
2. Melur Sjarmur
3. Ágústskot
4. Gremlin Holiday
5. Happahrolfur Salhsu
6. Bless
7. Langti Burtu Bua Vinir
8. One Eyed Waltz
9. Beach Box Disasters
10. Hjartafanturrin Skrajafur

Link.

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French Teen Idol, Enlightened False Consciousness

Italy, 2007.

French Teen Idol is an instrumental solo-project run by the Roman artist Andrea Di Carlo. An elegant mix of post-rock and electronic influences, French Teen Idol’s music provides the listener with cinematic landscapes, dramatic crescendos and striking vocal samples.

Playlist:

1. The Following Takes Place Between 0’00” And 57’30”
2. The Longest Night
3. Memento
4. Departure
5. The Fleeting Beauty Of A Butterfly
6. Compromise Your (He)Art
7. Ode To A Departing Friend
8. Enlightened False Consciousness
9. Stay
10. Rebirth

Link.

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C!ties, Self-titled EP

Ireland, 2008.

Cities is an instrumental band from Ennis, Ireland, formed in 2007. In November 2008, they released their first EP, which was entirely self-produced, and can be downloaded for free at their website.

Playlist:

1. 4+1=5
2. 15728
3. Dive Dive Dive!
4. !
5. Satellites
6. SuperMassiveBlckHls.rmx

Link.

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God Is An Astronaut, Age Of The Fifth Sun

Ireland, 2010.

Age Of The Fifth Sun, the fifth studio album by Irish post-rock band God Is an Astronaut, was released on May this year.

Playlist:

1. Worlds in Collision
2. In the Distance Fading
3. Lost Kingdom
4. Golden Sky
5. Dark Rift
6. Parallel Highway
7. Shining Through
8. Age of the Fifth Sun
9. Paradise Remains

Link.

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Lis Er Stille, The Collibro

Denmark, 2010.

Words cannot describe how amazing and powerful this album is.


Playlist:

1. All The Blood
2. Send In The Scouts
3. Recalling The Color
4. Like A Common Wave
5. Shards Of The Ending
6. Through The Quest Of Your Designs
7. Break Or Seal
8. The Real Children
9. The Painted
10. Behold The Remnant Parts Of Me
11. In The Seed
12. Beneath The Broken Country

Link.

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Souvenir's Young America, The Name Of The Snake

US, 2010.

Souvenir’s Young America is a three piece instrumental band from Richmond, VA. They create a very unique and interesting sounding - reminds you of the cinematic American desert - instrumental post-rock/post-metal.

Playlist:

1. Water (Forgetting The Past)
2. Vanishing (Remaining)
3. Dust (Erasing The Future)
4. Amnesia (A Victor's History)
5. 6:38
6. 3:17
7. 9:18

Link.

more...