The Swiss avant-garde black metal quatuor, not satisfied from having released perhaps the best triple-album ever just last year, is already back with The Maldoror Chants: Hermaphrodite. It’s sold as an EP, but crosses the thirty minutes threshold that is commonly used to distinguish EPs from full-lengths; it has seven tracks, but the whole thing feels like one continuous journey into the obscure places of our mind; it’s a work of art that goes above and beyond the traditional scope of black metal and the avant-garde… Indeed, the band themselves wrote that Hermaphrodite is an ‘artistic experiment’, and it’s … Read more
Tag Archives: experimental
Glass Bell – Glib Glab
Music is a wonky art form. It’s so ethereal and intangible, unlike poetry or sculpture. It’s just variations in the density of a medium – air, most of the time –: they pass you by and you try to grab enough to make sense of them. You don’t get a second glance, you can’t hold it and analyse it thoroughly unless it’s transformed; either as notation or spectrum analysis. That’s why, I suppose, the most popular forms of music keep their message simple; more people can comprehend what they’re experiencing. Even then, it’s messy, it’s blurry, and, most of all, … Read more
(ghost) – Everything We Touch Turns to Dust
(ghost)‘s newest album, Everything We Touch Turns to Dust, was released on June second via n5MD. It’s my first experience with this project, and I must say I’m pleasantly surprised. The record delivers atmospheric IDM with some glitch aesthetics. At times, it sounds like qebrµs, but a million times less experimental and abstract, rather staying on the approachable and relatable side of things. Now, my knowledge of electronic music is quite limited, but Everything We Touch Turns to Dust is a record that I enjoyed a lot. At first glance minimalist, this façade covers some very interesting choices … Read more
Exclusive Video Premiere: Ikarus – Ryuujin
We are pleased to present a live video of Ikarus performing ‘Ryuujin’ off their most recent album, Chronosome.
Ikarus is a Swiss contemporary jazz band with an interesting configuration. They take a typical acoustic jazz trio composed of piano, bass, and drums, and add two scat vocalists – one male and one female – to the mix. This results in a highly unique sound defined by sublime vocal interplay underlaid by dynamic compositions.
The human voice, unbound by language, is more versatile than any other instrument one might use. Ikarus certainly proves that with their stellar performance. The rhythm … Read more
EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE: Les chants du hasard – Chant I: Le théâtre
French avant-gardist black metal project Les chants du hasard release their debut, self-titled album on June twenty-third. We’ve already reviewed the amazing and forward-thinking album right here, but, today, we team up with the band and I, Voidhanger Records to bring you a new song in anticipation of the release.
‘Chant I: Le théâtre’ is the album’s first track, and it puts all on the table. You’ve got the whole orchestra with their melancholic and slightly dissonant beauty, the gravelly and pitiless vocals, as of a decadent opera, sing hopeless lyrics in this devoid of any light chant. It … Read more