Tag Archives: fusion

Sinularia, Sonic Assault, Mad Fellaz, and Xiranda

by Dæv Tremblay

Sinularia – Subwater Beats


What if you mixed wonky beats hip-hop, jazz, and AAL-style compositions and technique? Well, you get Sinularia. The unique character of the music that’s shown on Subwater Beats is utterly fascinating. The band consists of a drummer, a double bassist, and an electric guitarist. All of them seem very fond of effect pedals and post-production shenanigans. Regarding the composition, the songs move from one section to the next like tides ebb and flow, and it’s a real rhythmic challenge at times to decipher what’s going on. It’s real fun when bands make rhythm their main focus,… Read more

Khalab – Black Noise 2018

by Dæv Tremblay

The Music

The Words

DJ Khalab just released Black Noise 2084 via On the Corner Records. The album is a wonderful blend of future bass and world fusion, merging into a sort of future world music, which stems straight from the afrofuturism movement.

With a varied range of collaborators, such as singer Tenesha the Wordsmith and saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, Khalab conducts an equally varied set of songs on the album. From dance to traditional, each track is pinned on a different part of the spectrum. The whole album feels like a middle grounds between Clipping and Namibian Tales, and … Read more

Asylon Terra – Blind Man Running

by Dæv Tremblay

French quartet Asylon Terra recently released Blind Man Running, their first, full-length release. Between contemporary jazz, ambient music, and progressive rock, the compositions of Pierre Lordet, clarinetist of the group, take shape on this entrancing album. Anne Quillier, about whose sextet we already wrote, takes seat behind the omnipresent keyboards – the Rhodes and Moog -, while Lucas Hercberg takes bass duties, and Clément Black takes care of the drums. The whole is an astounding result. Blind Man Running will take your breath away. The vast soundscapes played here will submerge you, and even the harder-hitting compositions – … Read more

Mammoth – Deviations

by Jeff Nixon

mammothIn the world of progressive rock and metal, instrumental albums are pretty common so it’s a bit hard to stand out. Mammoth absolutely manage to do this with their new album Deviations. Impressive playing paired with amazing production quality and beautiful tones prove that these guys are at the top of their class.

The first song, ‘Entanglements’ sounds like an entanglement of instruments weaving wonderfully through each other. Impressive guitar arpeggios and solos are complemented by ambient keyboards and intense drums. The middle section of the song calms down with a bright clean section that builds back up into … Read more

The Pitts Minnemann Project – The Psychic Planetarium

by Dæv Tremblay

coverpsychicplanetariumThe Pitts Minnemann Project released their first album in 2014 with the technical, fusion progressive metal album 2 L 8 2 B Normal, featuring keyboard virtuoso Jimmy Pitts and drummer madman Marco Minnemann, completed by a long list of musicians amongst whom are found Tom “Fountainhead” Geldschläger, Ray Riendeau, and Jerry Twyford. This album is basically a 52-minute, 27-part song of the best fusion progressive metal out there, and I keep going back to it quite regularly. Two years later, and we’ve got The Psychic Planetarium. Does it raise the bar for the future or does it fail … Read more