Best of Nu Prog 2021


Let’s move on to nu prog, a genre that is somewhat obsessed with solo musicians and their guitars. Here are the album that I enjoyed the most out of 2021!


Number Five: Dzũng – Dzanca


On Dzanca, Vietnamese guitarist Dzung brings us eleven songs inspired by traditional Vietnamese folk songs. This gives the album a very distinctive feeling and sound, and I’m glad to hear these traditional songs, however transformed!


Number Four: Bodhi – Koans


Bodhi has been at it for some time now, and Koans is there to remind us why: melodies that stick in your mind, guitar … Read more

Best of Jazz Fusion 2021


Fusion, in this case, is when multiple genres blend together to form something new. Jazz fusion, then, is traditionally jazz mixed with rock, but I’m more generous than that, and I’m including any sort of genre-crossing in this list!


Number Five: Cory Wong & Dirty Loops – Turbo


This might be more cheesy than a Swiss raclette, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t have a ton of fun listening to this collaboration! As always with Dirty Loops, you can expect to throw your instrument in the trash and consider finding yourself a new hobby, but in the end it’s … Read more

Best of Folk 2021


Folk is the music for the people, from the people. And as our planet is pretty big, there are uncountably many different sorts of “folk” music. So many, in fact, that my top 5 cannot possibly cover all of the immense variety of sounds there are. Nevertheless, it does cover some decent part of it, and so here are the five best folk albums from 2021 in my opinion!


Number Five: Nika Mo – Of Cloven Hoof in Honey


On Of Cloven Hoof in Honey, Australian singer Nika Mo explores many of the lesser known Grimm tales, and turns … Read more

Dan’s Top 31 Albums of 2020

A bit late to the party, but here we are, nonetheless.

Let’s get the obvious out the way first. 2020 was a bad year, and this did have a knock-on effect with the amount of music that was released as well. While I personally would not say we had any absolute gamechangers this year, that doesn’t mean the year was an absolute waste. (At least, not in this one regard…) It was enough to bring me back from the dead, after all.

I may not have the same mettle for metal as Matt, nor the same dedication to deathlessly digging … Read more

Kamancello – II: Voyage

Comprising Canadian cellist Raphael Weinroth-Browne and Iranian kamanche player Shahriyar Jamshidi, Kamancello is the fruit of collaborative improvisation, with the dynamic skill sets of each player bouncing off each other in unique and enchanting ways. Weinroth-Browne has, in a sense, the more challenging job of delicately balancing low-end rhythmic richness with melodic lead performance and harmonization; Jamshidi, with all his talents, is restricted to the higher range of his kamanche (think Persian violin) and thus contributes almost exclusively higher leads and harmonies. The duo juggles their three modes (kamanche leading, cello leading, dual harmony leads) with precision and aplomb. Coming … Read more