Gallowbraid, Ashen Eidolon

US, 2010.

Another steal from soundweave, but this stuff is so damn good. This EP is like a mix of Agalloch and Wolves In The Throne Room... or something along those lines. See? This is why I don't write the descriptions myself.

Playlist:

1. Ashen Eidolon
2. Autumn I
3. Oaken And Aspen
4. Autumn II

Link.

more...

Seabear, The Ghost That Carried Us Away

Iceland, 2007.

Seabear is an experimental/folk band from Reykjavík, Iceland. Their music is subdued and mellow folk pop, with hints of piano, violin, acoustic guitar and atmospheric vocals, all carefully squeezed through a lo-fi filter.

Playlist:

1. Good Morning Scarecrow
2. Cat Piano
3. Libraries
4. Hospital Bed
5. Hands Remember
6. I Sing I Swim
7. Owl Waltz
8. Arms
9. Sailors Blue
10. Lost Watch
11. Summer Bird Diamond
12. Seashell

Link.

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Olivia Pedroli, The Den

Switzerland, 2010.

"This third album, at the crossroads between classical, folk and experimental music, was released on September 27th, 2010 under the musician’s real name, Olivia Pedroli. It shows the evolution of her compositions and voice towards more personal and enchanting horizons."

Classically trained Olivia Pedroli was born in Switzerland. "The Den", which was produced by Valgeir Sigurðsson, combines Olivia's enchanting voice with the most beautiful experimental folk compositions.

Playlist:

1. Bow
2. The Day
3. A Path
4. To Be You
5. Raise Erase
6. You Caught Me
7. I Play
8. Stay
9. House
10. Silent Emily

Link.

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Aranis, Songs From Mirage

Belgium, 2010.

Aranis is a Flemish septet, playing music across the borders of classical, folk and (post-)rock. This is their third release.

Playlist:

1. Ouverture
2. Fresia
3. Chamber Rock
4. Reprise
5. Lullaby
6. Airesym
7. Aynu
8. Lever In Plakjes
9. Jelimena
10. Keria
11. Out Ama
12. Enjuminenna
13. Ilah
14. Finale

Link.

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Renaud Garcia-Fons, Oriental Bass

France, 1997

This is what acoustics classes do to me. Garcia-Fons' music is overwhelming: inciding primarily on a jazz language – and this album being no exception – it is at most times ethnically-influenced and takes up a character of journey due to its themes and their development. The title by itself, helps understanding what elements will figure; handclapping as well as Eastern European and Northern African drumming combined with mediterranean orchestrations with are involving and beatifully played by this gifted composer and double bass player. And watch out for the bowed parts.


Playlist:

1. Oriental Bass
2. San Juan
3. Goodjinns
4. Oryssa
5. Ghâzali
6. Jullundur
7. Hommage à Ostâd
8. Bajo Andalúz
9. Jam Bulería
10. Djâni

Link.

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Cyann & Ben, Happy Like An Autumn Tree

France, 2005.

Cyann & Ben is a French post-rock band formed in 2001. Their sound is not a usual post-rock sound. They have a warm and mellow, almost pop-like sound and they have electronic influences too.

This album impressed me because it sounds completely different from everything else I've been listening to. It's very mellow and folkish, but can get psychedelic at times too. I really recommend it.



Playlist:

1. Circle
2. (Silences and Little Melodies for...)
3. Gone To Waste
4. Close To Discovery
5. A Moment Nowhere
6. (Tide)
7. Summer
8. Obsessing And Screaming Voice In A Shell


Link.

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Wildbirds & Peacedrums, Rivers

Sweden, 2010

Rivers is the latest album by this overwhelming duo, which comprises their last 2 EPs, Retina & Iris. Language is leaving me.


Playlist:

1. Bleed Like There Was No Other Flood
2. Tiny Boles In This World
3. Under Land and Over Sea
4. Fight For Me
5. Peeling Off the Layers
6. The Wave
7. The Drop
8. The Course
9. The Lake
10. The Well

Link.

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Gae Bolg & The Church Of Fand, John Barleycorn Must Die

France, 2000

Amazing, amazing, amazing martial-folk/apocalyptic band created by Eric Roger of "Sol Invictus" fame. Extremely compelling, amazingly orchestrated and with beautiful melodies this is truly compelling stuff, even for the ones who aren´t very keen on this kind of music. Fans of Dead Can Dance, Of The Wand And The Moon will eat this up.


Playlist:

1. Montsegur
2. La Marche Des Morts
3. Procession Nocturne
4. Jean Grain D´orge Doit Mourir
5. Le Jeudi Saint
6. Bruniquel
7. Le Gibet
8. Larmes De Sang

Link.

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James Blackshaw, All Is Falling

UK, 2010

James Blackshaw is one of my favourite musicians of his generation. With just 29 years old, he´s already created some truly breathtaking albums, "The Cloud Of Unknowing" (2007) and "The Glass Bead Game" (2009). "All Is Falling" is his most recent work, continuing and expanding his work on the 12-string guitar (this is his first work using an electric guitar, 12-string of course) and also expanding his pallette regarding the use of a variety of classical instrumentation (violins, piano, horns, etc.) giving his work a more neo-classical feel than usual. Amazing stuff as always.


Playlist:

1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Part 4
5. Part 5
6. Part 6
7. Part 7
8. Part 8

Link.

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The Tallest Man on Earth, The Wild Hunt

Sweden, 2010

The Tallest Man On Earth is the artistic moniker of Dalarna-native Kristian Mattson, a talented songwriter with a soulful yet edgy voice, tour companion of Bon Iver and such. And The Wild Hunt is soulful alike, filled with beauty and meaning.
Sing along, and you'll know for sure what I mean; it'll resound.


Playlist:

1. The Wild Hunt
2. Burden Of Tomorrow
3. Troubles Will Be Gone
4. You're Going Back
5. The Drying Of The Lawns
6. King Of Spain
7. Love Is All
8. Thousand Ways
9. A Lion's Heart
10. Kids On The Run

Link.

more...

Clann Zú, Rua

Australia, 2003.

Rua is the first full length album by Irish-Australian band Clann Zú. The album contains themes of resistance and desperation. The songs are sung mainly in English, though there is some use of Irish Gaelic. The production gives the songs a heavily layered sound, with prominent use of violin tracks and Declan de Barra's emotive voice.

Playlist:

1. Words For Snow
2. Five Thousand More
3. Hope This Day
4. All That You've Ever Known
5. Everyday
6. All the People Now
7. Rí Rá
8. Lights Below
9. Crashing to the Floor
10. You're Listening to a Dead Man Speak

Link.

more...

Fredrik, Trilogi

Sweden, 2010.

Fredrik, a songwriter/sound artist duo from southern part of Sweden, embodies some of the finest Scandinavian experimental pop aesthetics: captivating melodies, rich layered arrangements and complicated charming instrumentation evoking the sound of Sigur Rós and Efterklang. Without overloading the compositions, Fredrik builds layer upon layer of atmospheric, melodically overpowering and somewhat mystical soundscapes.

Playlist:

1. Vinterbarn
2. Milo
3. Holm
4. Densistafabriken
5. Vanmyren
6. Ava
7. Flax
8. Under Vattenverket
9. Ner
10. Tretusenvioler
11. Viskra
12. Locked In The Basement
13. Omberg

Link.

more...

Es, Kesämaan Lapset

Finland, 2009.

Es (Sami Sänpäkkilä) is the founder of the Finnish underground record label, Fonal Records. His music explains pretty much what most of Fonal Records’ music is about: experimenting with sounds, bound together by free-folk ambient and occasional huge drones.

Playlist:

1. Ennen oli huonommin
2. Kesä ja hymyilevät huulet
3. Säteet sun sielusta
4. Kesämaan lapset
5. Haamut sun sydämestä

Link.

more...

Emily Wells, The Symphonies: Dreams, Memories & Parties

US, 2008.

Emily Wells creates a unique kind of music by blending her many influences. She is a classically trained violinist with a penchant for hip hop production. Live, Wells creates a lush layer of “symphonies” by looping and live sampling everything from her violin and voice, to her many toys and electronics.

Playlist:

1. Symphony 1 In the Barrel of a Gun
2. Symphony 2 & the Click Boom Boom
3. Symphony 3: The Story (Featuring Count Bass D)
4. Symphony 4: America's Mercy War
5. Symphony 5 Was A Surprise
6. Symphony 6: Fair Thee Well and the Requiem Mix
7. Symphony 7: Dreams Memories & Heaven
8. Symphony 8 & the Canary's Last Take
9. Symphony 9 & the Sunshine
10. Symphony 10: Could This Really Be the End?

Link.

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Message To Bears, Departures

England, 2009.

Message To Bears is the moniker of multi-instrumentalist Jerome Alexander. Alexander creates beautiful soundscapes by overlaying acoustic guitar lines, piano, percussion, samples and strings.

Playlist:

1. Running Through Woodland
2. Hidden Beneath
3. Pretend To Forget
4. Hope
5. Autumn
6. At The Top Of This Hill
7. November
8. Snowdonia
9. Find Our Way Home
10. Lost Birds

Link.

more...

Espers, III

US, 2009.

Espers is a neo-psychedelic folk band from Philadelphia. Their music is reminiscent of late-sixties british folk such as that of Fairport Convention, Pentangle and The Incredible String Band as well as many contemporary folk acts such as Six Organs of Admittance, Marissa Nadler and Nick Castro and as such their work is often lumped in with the so-called new weird america movement or naturalismo as Devendra Banhart preferred to coin it in 2006.

"With new album III just released, Espers have continued to stretch the folk genre. There aren’t many bands who can blend the atmosphere of early Black Sabbath with finger picked acoustic guitars, and electronic flourishes, but this is the swirling domain that Espers so fittingly occupy."

Playlist:

1. I Can't See Clear
2. The Road of Golden Dust
3. Caroline
4. The Pearl
5. That Which Darkly Thrives
6. Sightings
7. Meridian
8. Another Moon Song
9. Colony
10. Trollslända

Link.

more...

Marissa Nadler, Ballads of Living and Dying

US, 2004.

Marissa Nadler is an American folk musician. Nadler studied painting at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she began her performing career after writing songs for many years. Nadler writes strange, yet classic, melancholy songs. Her voice is often bathed in a wash of reverb and space echo and creates a ghostly, atmospheric feeling to the music.

Playlist:

1. Fifty Five Falls
2. Hay Tantos Muertos
3. Stallions
4. Undertaker
5. Box of Cedar
6. Bird Song
7. Mayflower May
8. Days of Rum
9. Virginia
10. Annabelle Lee

Link.

more...

Les Discrets, Septembre Et Ses Dernières Pensées

France, 2010.

Les Discrets is a French metal/shoegaze/post-rock/acoustic project. It is the sole musical creation of Fursy Teyssier, a former member of Amesoeurs and an illustrator for bands such as Alcest, Amesoeurs, Arctic Plateau, Agalloch, Neun Welten and The American Dollar.

Les Discrets is the musical approach of Fursy Teyssier’s artistic research. Originally an animated film director, Fursy tends to evoke the same in both music and animation/illustration: contemplative and esoteric atmospheres, feelings, fears and sensations related to our life and world. His paintings, music or lyrics are mostly about Nature, the feeling of Love and his fear of Death.

This is Les Discrets' debut album and it's absolutely amazing.


Playlist:

1. L'Envol des Corbeaux
2. L'Échappée
3. Les Feuilles de l'Olivier
4. Song for Mountains
5. Sur les Quais
6. Effet de Nuit
7. Septembre et ses Dernières Pensées
8. Chanson d'Automne
9. Svipdagr & Freyja
10. Une Matinée d'Hiver

Link.

more...

Nils Økland, Monograph

Norway, 2009.

Nils Økland is a Hardanger fiddle player from Norway. In spite of being associated with the traditional Norway folk music scene, Nils presents a distinctive style heavily influenced by free jazz.

Playlist:

1. Mønster
2. Pas de deux
3. Kvelartak
4. Horisont
5. Mono
6. Rite
7. Ø
8. Snor
9. Slag
10. Seg
11. Dialog
12. Skimte
13. Nattsvermer

Link.

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Valravn, Self-titled

Denmark, 2007.

The first album by Danish folk/electronic band, Valravn. A bit more folkish than the following release, but still well worth listening.

Playlist:

1. Hedebys
2. Drømte Mig En Drøm
3. Krummi
4. Svend I Rosengaard
5. Marsk
6. Vallevan
7. Under Bølgen Blå
8. Olavur Riddararos
9. Kom Alle Væsener
10. Bialowieska
11. Harra Pætur Og Elinborg

Link.

more...