Russia-based R.A.I.G. (Russian Association of Independent Genres) label seldom disappoints. The latest hit from under their wings is from German avant-garde progressive rock band Alex’s Hand, and their fourth studio album, Katatak – stylized KaTaTaK. Contrary to tradition, the songs don’t follow an overarching theme or concept, but the three main chunks – “Waterfalls”, “Epic”, and “Ghost Peppers” – each tell a story through convoluted long-form structures, atypical riffs and rhythmic patterns, and a generally rather aggressive take on progressive rock and jazz rock. Katatak is unsurprisingly very colourful, despite the overall bleakness of the concepts and songs; … Read more
Genevieve, Zombieshark!, Feasting on Scaphism Remains, Technopath, Spinifex, Ignis haereticum, Herd, 01101111011101100110111001101001 (Ovni), and Doomeye
Genevieve – Regressionism
Genevieve‘s experimental black metal is pretty widely known, now, thanks to their dedication. Regressionism is only their latest album, and it’s a great blend of post-metal and black metal, with a lot of Genevieve’s own idiosyncrasies embedded into their sound. It’s at times harsh and at times beautifully bleak, but it’s always sure to make you feel something.
Zombieshark! – The Digital Sea
Nintendocore is a very niche genre, where chiptune sounds are blended into hardcore or mathcore music to create a new kind of video game boss music. Zombie Shark is the latest iteration of … Read more
Qebrus – ◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙
Qebrus – also sometimes written as Qebrµs, capitalized or not – is one of these musical oddities that keep on giving. Earlier this year, we’ve covered the project’s latest release, ᐔᐌᐂᐍᐚ, and, after many single releases, we find ourselves once again in front of a full-length release: ◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙◙. The album, from here on referred to as A A(source) for obvious reasons, is in line with most of the cryptic glitch artist’s output, but feels more minimalistic, contemplative, even. It might be difficult to grasp the complexity and effort that goes into making these tracks, just because … Read more
Monthly Recommendations: November 2017
Çub – Musique actuelle
The collaboration actually turned out pretty amazingly well! You still find the core of Ça – whacky off-kilter and odd-time riffs supplemented with onomatopoeic vocal absurdities –, but you now find a side of electronic music that’s an uncanny match, but the two marry perfectly.
Ilevens – Transmitter
… Read moreAfter many demos, under both the 11ins and Ilevens monikers, Transmitter is ready, with two brand new compositions – “Solavai” and “Transmitter” – and re-worked versions of their earlier songs. While the uncommon pitches will surprise more than one person, the psychedelic, progressive, pop-rock style in which
Feeding Fingers – Do Owe Harm
Hello, it’s me again, writing about another microtonal album. And yet it seems there might never be enough of those so that any release that fits under this label and that is of decent production value deserves to be talked about. Which brings us to Feeding Fingers‘ sixth studio album, Do Owe Harm. While the band’s earlier releases incorporated microtones in some form or another, it takes centre stage here. 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- … Read more