Extended Album Art: The Often-Forgotten Sides of Album Covers

by Dæv Tremblay

Just this month, at least two amazing albums were released that have extended album arts. What counts as extended?, you ask. Quite simply, it’s when an album cover derogates from the perfect square image usually shown on sites like Bandcamp, Itunes, Spotify, and many others. Such artistic eccentricities can be caused by the album art wrapping around more than one panel on a physical release, which leads to two- or even three-panel artworks. These extended forms usually show more of the concept behind the art, and, most of the time, are an absolute joy to behold.

On this website, I … Read more

Monthly Recommendations: January 2018

by Dæv Tremblay

Feeding Fingers – Do Owe Harm

“Through post-punk aesthetics intermingled with synthwave and experimental pop, Feeding Fingers shine a new light on xenharmony, and convincingly make use of different tuning systems, such as 15- or 22-EDO, Bohlen-Pierce, and Carlos’ ɑ, β, and γ tunings, showing a good grasp of microtonal music theory and practice. On that point, at no moment during the forty minutes that the album lasts is the choice of going beyond twelve-tone a distraction to the enjoyment of the music.”

Read more.

Garrett Wingfield’s Octopod – Monoliths and Sepulchres

“The album moves from free jazz during the

… Read more

John Hollenbeck Large Ensemble – All Can Work

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

Twenty-one. That’s how many people play in this so-called “large ensemble”. This jazz orchestra is noticeable in many regards, but the most important of which is their musical output. All Can Work came out on January 26, and it represents over an hour of amazingly well put together modern jazz compositions that often remind me of some of the best prog rock out there. I’ve got to say this might be due to Theo Bleckmann’s voice, which is perhaps the most reassuring thing in this quite avant-garde environment. While the aim of the work here is … Read more

Kami Octet – Spring Party

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

We truly are well treated in this early 2018. So much great music has been knocking on my eardrums that it’s difficult to keep track. Although a late 2017 release, France’s Kami Octet, an avant-garde jazz eight-member ensemble, and their album Spring Party, was only just now heard by yours truly. The release is an adventurous and thorough experiment on contemporary jazz, sharing similarities with Fire! Orchestra and other such modern artists like Jaimie Branch. I’ve noticed the former mainly due to the vocal eccentricities of Christine Bertocchi, who at times recall moments of … Read more

Death Drag – Shifted

by Dæv Tremblay

The Sounds

The Words

Iluso has a great track record for providing us with some of the wildest, most adventurous jazz albums out there. I think I’ve become acquainted with the label through dMu’s Synaptic Self, which was a true revelation to me! Today, they’re back with Death Drag‘s debut album, Shifted.

Shifted is like a free jazz album built with the tools of noise metal. The trio consists of drummer and composer Mike Caratti, aided by Santiago Horro on heavily distorted bass guitar, Roberto Sassi on guitar, and Luke Barlow, who plays keyboards and Rhodes. Each … Read more