I first heard this a couple of months ago and found it very good, but I never took the time for a 2nd listen until today. I'm even more impressed the 2nd time around. It's hard to categorize them, but I think the group describes their style as "transcendental folk." This is really an exceptional album. The farther you get into it, the better it gets. The lyrics are good quality (I think), but the music is so fantastic that I find myself not even able to really pay attention to them because I'm too distracted with all the amazing music going on.
The writeup from UK FolkRadio is definitely worth a read here.
Fire! With Oren Ambarchi - In The Mouth - A Hand - "For their third album Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin team up with Oren Ambarchi, a true explorer of the guitar, "re-routing the instrument into a zone of alien abstraction where it´s no longer easily identifiable as itself" as The Wire once wrote. As with Jim O´Rourke on the previous album this is not a mere guest appearance, Ambarchi is fully intergrated as a member making this a glorious monster of a record. With their heavy, hypnotic, psychedelic rock´n´jazz explorations they have carved out a monumental and different sound than any of the projects they are normally associated with."
- Rune Grammofon
- http://www.earthwindand.com/
"Whether singing and playing guitar for Bill Monroes Bluegrass Boys, opening for the Doors as part of Earth Opera (with David Grisman), having Sir George Martin produce his work while a member of Seatrain, or performing with Jerry Garcia in Old and in the Way, Rowan has been recording and entertaining for nearly 50 years with no sign of stopping. He is also the author of bluegrass classics like "Walls of Time, "Midnight Moonlight" and "Panama Red" for New Riders of the Purple Sage, and recorded two duo albums apiece with with Tony Rice and Flaco Jiménez. In the continuing partnership with Elk Run (the imprint of the Chelew brothers, Rick and John), which has brought the label Bert Janschs Heartbreak and Dave Van Ronk Live in Monterey, Omnivore Recordings is proud to present the next piece in Peters extensive and acclaimed discography, Dharma Blues." - from Guitar World.
Guest musicians on Dharma Blues include Jack Casady (of Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane), and Gillian Welch on backing vocals. It also includes a delicious array of Instruments - guitar, bass, pedal steel guitar, tamboura, banjo, bass sarod, mandola, oud, organ, harmonium, drums, marimba, glockenspiel, and flute. For me, It is one of the most impressive new releases this year without question. Rowan is diverse enough that even if you think you don't like bluegrass, give it a listen. A very good review of the album is at this blog.
A useful tip that I just gleaned from an Amazon review: the album The Everest Years by Jo Jones includes the Jo Jones Trio album I posted above as well as twelve more tracks...for the same price at emusic as the Jo Jones Trio single album ($5.99). Glad I learned that in time.
The new album by label-owner Dave Douglas who describes the title, Be Still, as aspirational. The continually evolving trumpeter and composer settles down for a ballad-like set that presents a series of hymns and folk songs with an intensely personal connection. Be Still brings out the most lyrical side of Douglas, and introduces both a newly configured Quintet Jon Irabagon, Matt Mitchell, Linda Oh, and Rudy Royston and an important new collaborator, vocalist Aoife ODonovan.
Did some trawling on the internet for people's opinions about the best jazz piano/bass/drums trio recordings. Have listened to half a dozen of them on spotify. So far, this one stands out.
- Most intriguing and seriously weird . . . Tomas Phillips & Jason Bivins - Blau
- "Influenced by painter Barnett Newmans solid color canvases broken by vertical lines of various shades, Blau showcases two stimulating talents with a fair degree of success. One assumes that the method applied by the duo involves the use of Bivins unsophisticated instrumental matter as the source for Phillips treatment. In the opening minutes a guitar-generated crackle sticks out like a sore thumb, raspy and sour; apart from a vague comparison to some of Gary Smiths infinitesimal rubbings, I thought about a classic noise vs ambient kind of ho-hum, here-we-go-again release. On the contrary, after the engine is set in motion and the right level of flexibility is reached, the music shifts towards more concentrated settings. Marvellous droning materials are born from peculiar resonances interspersed with glitches, pops and other types of scratching interference and additional string filth, only not as pointless as in the beginning. The gorgeous Ohne Titel 3 which summons up memories of Robert Hampsons Main is an ever-welcome moment of profound fusion within sympathetic frequencies for a listener who has been there and done that a hundred thousand times. Even in places where the guitar is immediately recognizable at first, something that sounds almost sacred emerges in subsequent evolutions; elsewhere, as in Ohne Titel 5, its just you and a series of unfamiliarly shaped strata. The pair shows persistence, their substances scent slowly spreading to give the idea of a serious preparatory work behind the music as opposed to the typical frivolity of Lexicon-brandishing nobodies dispatching a nauseating somnolence for fine art."
- Touching Extremes - Dragons Eye Recordings.
Other than a few edits and overdubs (and mixing of course), this is the actual recording used on the album. The video has some great commentary about the circumstances of the video and the album changes. This is amazing.
Comments
Streaming on Spotify. Melodious soft rock with lots of memorable hooks to get you singing along.
I first heard this a couple of months ago and found it very good, but I never took the time for a 2nd listen until today. I'm even more impressed the 2nd time around. It's hard to categorize them, but I think the group describes their style as "transcendental folk." This is really an exceptional album. The farther you get into it, the better it gets. The lyrics are good quality (I think), but the music is so fantastic that I find myself not even able to really pay attention to them because I'm too distracted with all the amazing music going on.
The writeup from UK FolkRadio is definitely worth a read here.
Fire! With Oren Ambarchi - In The Mouth - A Hand
- "For their third album Mats Gustafsson, Johan Berthling and Andreas Werliin team up with Oren Ambarchi, a true explorer of the guitar, "re-routing the instrument into a zone of alien abstraction where it´s no longer easily identifiable as itself" as The Wire once wrote. As with Jim O´Rourke on the previous album this is not a mere guest appearance, Ambarchi is fully intergrated as a member making this a glorious monster of a record. With their heavy, hypnotic, psychedelic rock´n´jazz explorations they have carved out a monumental and different sound than any of the projects they are normally associated with."
- Rune Grammofon
- http://www.earthwindand.com/
E.S.T. - Leucocyte
Ugh, my Klipsch X10s just broke. Cable issue - intermittent sound in one ear.
- (Got to grab the new one)
Participants:
Mariam Wallentin: voice, Nadine Byrne: voice, organ, Emil Svan
Thanks, jonahpwll.
This. Is. Excellent.
"Whether singing and playing guitar for Bill Monroes Bluegrass Boys, opening for the Doors as part of Earth Opera (with David Grisman), having Sir George Martin produce his work while a member of Seatrain, or performing with Jerry Garcia in Old and in the Way, Rowan has been recording and entertaining for nearly 50 years with no sign of stopping. He is also the author of bluegrass classics like "Walls of Time, "Midnight Moonlight" and "Panama Red" for New Riders of the Purple Sage, and recorded two duo albums apiece with with Tony Rice and Flaco Jiménez. In the continuing partnership with Elk Run (the imprint of the Chelew brothers, Rick and John), which has brought the label Bert Janschs Heartbreak and Dave Van Ronk Live in Monterey, Omnivore Recordings is proud to present the next piece in Peters extensive and acclaimed discography, Dharma Blues." - from Guitar World.
Guest musicians on Dharma Blues include Jack Casady (of Hot Tuna and Jefferson Airplane), and Gillian Welch on backing vocals. It also includes a delicious array of Instruments - guitar, bass, pedal steel guitar, tamboura, banjo, bass sarod, mandola, oud, organ, harmonium, drums, marimba, glockenspiel, and flute. For me, It is one of the most impressive new releases this year without question. Rowan is diverse enough that even if you think you don't like bluegrass, give it a listen. A very good review of the album is at this blog.
Matthew Collings - Stills
Fred Hersch Trio Plays
Horrible, horrible cover art. Nice music.
Then:
Sweet Basil Trio - St. Thomas
Jo Jones - Jo Jones Trio
Might have to abandon this one mid-stream. It's mid-tempo, but does it have rhythm. I am trying to work and I can't sit still listening to it.
Janek Schaefer - Lay-by Lullaby
Shivers - (Emusers link)[/align]
The Alvaret Ensemble - Skeylja
Found this on Bandcamp
The new album by label-owner Dave Douglas who describes the title, Be Still, as aspirational. The continually evolving trumpeter and composer settles down for a ballad-like set that presents a series of hymns and folk songs with an intensely personal connection. Be Still brings out the most lyrical side of Douglas, and introduces both a newly configured Quintet Jon Irabagon, Matt Mitchell, Linda Oh, and Rudy Royston and an important new collaborator, vocalist Aoife ODonovan.
Taylor Eigsti - Lucky to be me
Did some trawling on the internet for people's opinions about the best jazz piano/bass/drums trio recordings. Have listened to half a dozen of them on spotify. So far, this one stands out.
- Most intriguing and seriously weird . . .
Tomas Phillips & Jason Bivins - Blau
- "Influenced by painter Barnett Newmans solid color canvases broken by vertical lines of various shades, Blau showcases two stimulating talents with a fair degree of success. One assumes that the method applied by the duo involves the use of Bivins unsophisticated instrumental matter as the source for Phillips treatment. In the opening minutes a guitar-generated crackle sticks out like a sore thumb, raspy and sour; apart from a vague comparison to some of Gary Smiths infinitesimal rubbings, I thought about a classic noise vs ambient kind of ho-hum, here-we-go-again release. On the contrary, after the engine is set in motion and the right level of flexibility is reached, the music shifts towards more concentrated settings. Marvellous droning materials are born from peculiar resonances interspersed with glitches, pops and other types of scratching interference and additional string filth, only not as pointless as in the beginning. The gorgeous Ohne Titel 3 which summons up memories of Robert Hampsons Main is an ever-welcome moment of profound fusion within sympathetic frequencies for a listener who has been there and done that a hundred thousand times. Even in places where the guitar is immediately recognizable at first, something that sounds almost sacred emerges in subsequent evolutions; elsewhere, as in Ohne Titel 5, its just you and a series of unfamiliarly shaped strata. The pair shows persistence, their substances scent slowly spreading to give the idea of a serious preparatory work behind the music as opposed to the typical frivolity of Lexicon-brandishing nobodies dispatching a nauseating somnolence for fine art."
- Touching Extremes - Dragons Eye Recordings.
I watched Electroma over the weekend.
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Something else that's 30 years old now.
The actual live recording of "Purple Rain".
Other than a few edits and overdubs (and mixing of course), this is the actual recording used on the album. The video has some great commentary about the circumstances of the video and the album changes. This is amazing.
Craig
Now: Redfish - Redfish. From the retired SEMlabel.
Cool clip. Thanks, craig.
Craig
Chronovalve - Trace of Light
Dreamy ambience. Oöphoi territory.
Craig