Happy 2021!

 

OJP046 : Kazunori Okuno / Reconstruction

 

Cover art by Nobuhiko Akaba / design by Haruka Akaba

OJP046 : Kazunori Okuno / Reconstruction

Kazunori Okuno is a well known producer and composer in the Osaka area (see also his experimental 1 hour album 'Lotus' OJP015). 

Teaching and playing live a lot, he uses a lot of different techniques and plays a lot of different genres, from J-pop, to rock, to avant garde compositions and twisted electronics. 

This album is like a soundtrack of an imagining journey, close your eyes and let you travel in the various places and sounds from Okuno San!

A trailer:

Digital release on the 25th of December 2020. Merry X-Mas!

Track listing:

1: Nine

2: Patchwork

3: RHM

4: Blessing

5: Collapse

6: Recollection

7: Keitai Girl Marching (vocal by Noriko Yamaguchi)

And on Bandcamp:

OVD041 : Pierre Vervloesem / Lou Rick's Island

 Cover art by A.L.

OVD041 : Pierre Vervloesem / Lou Rick's Island

Last album from Pierre in 2020!

'Lou Rick's Island ' is the soundtrack taken from the exotico fantastic mini series that Pierre has in his mind. From the Theme of the first track to the end titles song, those 12 tunes will make you travel in Pierre 's imaginary TV show. 

Better than Netflix??? You bet!!!

Everything: Pierre Vervloesem
The drums: Alex Rodembourg

Digital release on the 18th of December 2020.

Track listing:

1: Rick's Island Theme

2: Rick's Indestructible Thing

3: Lemons Speak!

4: 15 Days of Liquorice Fog

5: The Morgloins No Longer Give Milk

6: The Island Is Moving

7: Everything Is Gone!

8: Furnell Dies Regularly

9: 12 Invasive Women

10: Wormholes a Gogo

11: Time Travel Makes You Lose Weight

12: The Special Episode

And on Bandcamp:

OUC022 : The Gray / The Gray

 

Cover art by Silas Plum

OUC022 : The Gray / The Gray

The Gray is a single person band and this is the only song he ever recorded up to now... found by accident by a cd-r collector in an attic a few months ago. 

The Gray sounds like the first few moments when you wake up from a bad dream, or into a hangover, or alone for the first time in years.  It waits in quiet places.  The Gray is patient, like time, or cancer.  It builds and decays.  

The Gray may take you when it leaves and it goes for on for 40 minutes if you dare!

Digital release on the 11th of December 2020.

Track listing:

1: The Gray

And on Bandcamp: 

OJP052 : Tetsuroh Konishi / Inner Winds

Cover art by Tetsuroh Konishi

OJP052 : Tetsuroh Konishi / Inner Winds

New album from prolific Japanese trumpet player Tetsuroh Konishi recorded in his home studio based on some travelings in the Gumma prefecture. 

As always with Tesuroh San, the music is a mix of ethereal trumpets using his very unique way of bleeding in the horn and using some electronics on the top to dress beautifully the ensemble. A very nice elegant way to finish 2020 and travel a bit in your head. (see also his solo previous works  on OJP001, OJP002 and OJP027, in a more experimental dance electronic duo with Ai Kisaragi on OJP021 and OJP034 and in collaboration with Morgen Wurde on OCD027, OCD040 and OCD045 or with Alinovsky on OJP050).

Tetsuroh San

What he's saying about the alum:

‘The album theme was written while visiting some of the most famous Japanese mountain peaks: 

Mount Myogi Arafune and Haruna in Gunma prefecture, Sakitama from an ancient burial site in Saitama prefecture. Only Unkai is not a mountain name but is a sea of clouds.

There are more than 200 famous mountains and sceneries in Japan that bring a lot of tourists and Japanese to travel when they have free times but my interest was more inside the inner mind connected with those places. I was following the call of nature more than the past history about those locations and tried to be as spontaneous with music as I could be. The final action was trying to be as pure as possible when recording those tracks.

When recording my trumpet, I used a very difficult technique of breathing that we call tokusyu / souhou which is a way of not using the mouthpiece trying to imitate bird songs, a few pedals and synthesizers on the track Sakitama and Unkai.'

Digital release on the 4th of December 2020.

Track listing:

And on Bandcamp:

OVD040 : Pierre Vervloesem / Saint - Guy

 

Cover art by A.L. , pic by Pierre Vervloesem

OVD040 : Pierre Vervloesem / Saint - Guy

If you ask Pierre about his new album 'Saint-Guy' he will simply answer you that this is his Dance Album! So this is not the first time but ultimately on a full album, Pierre making you get up and dance! So enjoy and move!

St Guy, what's in it?

Digital release on the 27th of November 2020.

Track listing:

1: Llwmgcrchstr

2: Gazgm

3: Jcpstrs

4: Trcdsds

5: Bsscr

6: Ftlbch

7: Schtrmpf

8: Zwrtpt

9: Gprdnghtmr

10: Sntg

And on Bandcamp:

OUW010 : Zmorro / Oksana My Queen

 

Cover art by A.L., pic by Zmorro

OUW010 : Zmorro / Oksana My Queen

Yuriy Zmorovych was born in Kiev. He has graduated from The Kiev State Art Institute (architectural and art criticism faculties) and Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinema. He worked in The State Museum of Folk Architecture and Mode of Life of Ukraine.

He is a scenario writer and film director on Kiev Studio of Scientific Movies and Central Studio of Scientific Movies and for The central TV studio (Moscow). He is the founder of Kiev Theatre AAA.

Yuri Zmorovych aka Zmorro

The writings and poetries of Zmorovych were published in various magazines like "Chernovik" ("Draft Copy" New York)," "Collegium" and "Samvatas" (Kiev), in the Anthology of Russian Vers Libre, almanac "Graffiti" (Kiev). " Metal hieroglyphics " is the name given by the author for spontaneously created compositions from old iron and other substandard materials ". He has also exposed in Kiev, New York, Helsinki and Moscow (AGASPHER, ARBATR, The Embassy of USA). In 1996 he also took part in the Birmingham Improv festival (Alabama, USA).

This album is dedicated to his daughter Oksana and was recorded back in 2002 and once again sees him improvising with various instruments while reciting some of his poetries or just on the spot out of nowhere texts... It's a real adventure with never released tracks from the original session.

Visit his very interesting site here.

Digital release on the 25th of November 2020.

Track listing:

1: Oksana 1
2: Oksana 2
3: Oksana 3
4: Oksana 4
5: Oksana 5
6: Oksana 6
7: Oksana 7
8: Oksana 8
9: Oksana 9
10: Oksana 10
11: Oksana 11
12: Oksana 12
13: Oksana 13 (Bandcamp bonus track)
14: Oksana 14 (Bandcamp bonus track)
15: Oksana 15 (Bandcamp bonus track) 

And on Bandcamp:

ODG126 : Ocean In A Bottle / Reimaging the Solar System - OUW009 : Ocean In A Bottle / Vocalising the Solar System

 

Cover art by A.L.

ODG126 : Ocean In A Bottle / Reimaging the Solar System

Hushing out across space to the worlds in our Solar System, 'Reimaging the Solar System' is the latest album from Andy N’s ambient / drone project Ocean in a Bottle with each planet examined in waves of sound, drone and ambient into a glistening mass of synthetic chords and haunting atmosphere.

'Reimaging the Solar System' is a journey across 8 different planets from just outside the Sun to wild storms on Venus and into a frozen darkness on Neptune, each track mixing emotions with a dream like quality giving each planet it’s own individual life.

'Reimaging the Solar System' is filled with deep vibrations and restless shimmers in its eight tracks designed to take its listener on a epic journey whether backwards or forwards, inside or out or into a deep spiritual exaltation.

Put your helmet on and jump on your rocket for a fantastic voyage!

Digital release on the 20th of November 2020.

Track listing:

1: Mercury

2: Venus

3: Earth

4: Mars

5: Jupiter

6: Saturn

7: Uranus

8: Neptune

And on Bandcamp:

Andy N is a 48 year old writer, performer and sometimes experimental musician from the North West of England. He was also vocalist and keyboardist in the spoken word collective 'A Means to an End' and does ambient music under the name of Ocean in a Bottle and is always interested in performing / new projects.

He also is Podcast creator / host of Podcast series such as Spoken Label, Reading in Bed, Comics Unity, Wrestle Up and the Koll, Andy and Amanda show.

He is the Author of 4 full length poetry collections, the most recent being ‘The Streets were all we could see’ and currently is mulling over several two more poetry books which are likely to be 'Robot Noir (2023) and 'Changing carriages at Birmingham New Street' (2022).

Andy N performing one of his lecture

Cover art by A.L.

OUW009 : Ocean In A Bottle / Vocalising the Solar System

Starting off as a one off companion to 'Reimaging the Solar System', 'Vocalising the Solar System' is not as much as a companion album but rather a completely different journey altogether.

Created over the first half of 2020, 'Vocalising the Solar System' is an album where Andy N (aka Ocean in a Bottle) with a number of guest fellow poets / writers all using spoken word over Ocean in a Bottle’s ambient / drone space like dreams to create something completely different.

'Vocalising the Solar System' is an album that reimaging space with words and sound to bring a different experience to the silence in space and everything in-between. 

Links for the writers / artists: 

Andy N :

onewriterandhispc.blogspot.com (His Writing blog)

oceaninabottle.bandcamp.com (Ocean in a Bottle – bandcamp)

https://www.facebook.com/Ocean-in-a-bottle-802773986422467/ (Ocean in a Bottle facebook)

Amanda Steel :

https://amandasteelwriter.wordpress.com/

Chris Bainbridge :

https://www.facebook.com/ChrisBpoetry

Ian Whiteley :

https://thecrowsofalbion.bandcamp.com/

https://www.thecrowsofalbion.com/

https://www.writeoutloud.net/profiles/ianwhiteley

https://soundcloud.com/the-man-at-the-back-1

Sue Proffitt :

https://thebelatedwriter.wordpress.com/

Reggie Agulha :

https://www.facebook.com/regi.agulha

Melissa Walters :

https://www.facebook.com/Melissa-Walters-Poetry-101970065079918/

https://www.instagram.com/melissawalterspoetry/

David Bond :

https://twitter.com/D_jamesbond

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dbond34

https://www.wattpad.com/user/DavidJBond

Digital release on the 20th of November 2020.

Track listing:

1: Planet Home (feat. Christopher Bainbridge)

2: Venus (feat. Amanda Steel)

3: Copernicus' Commentariolus (feat. Ian Whiteley)

4: Saturn (feat.Reggie Agulha) - Saturn Is That You?

5: Neptune (feat. Andy N)

6: Pluto (feat. Sue Proffitt)

7: Space Within a Dream (feat. Melissa Walters)

8: Conversing Comets (feat. David Bond)

And on Bandcamp:

 

Limite new video!

Taken out of the beautiful album 'Mountains Inside' is the second single 'Be not Sad'!

Enjoy:

Album and cd here:

OUC029 : Spiros Moschopoulos / Gallop

 

OUC029 : Spiros Moschopoulos / Gallop

Spiros Moschopoulos is a Greek Athenian dedicated performer, arranger and composer of music inspired by Argentinian tango and latin music in general. 

His new album 'Gallop' is composed of modern piano solo pieces in a nostalgic mood but also with jazzy and rhythmic elements are combined with ensemble music in tango nuevo style using various instrumentations. The composer, originally a classical pianist, depicts his appreciation to romanticism with some impressionistic elements. The classical music flavour is intermingled with passionate tango rhythmical patterns and a very discreet jazzy touch in all  his piano solo compositions. The ensemble pieces, on the other hand, provide a clear reference to tango nuevo but in a very personal and idiomatic manner. Please enjoy!

Spiros Moschopoulos was born in Athens in 1974. He received his Piano Diploma with honors from Attiko Conservatory, where he studied with the internationally renowned pianist Dimitris Toufexis. He obtained Bachelor degree from the American College of Greece, studying musicology and psychology. As a scholar of «Alexandros Onassis» foundation, he completed his Master in piano performance from Boston Conservatory under the supervision of pianist Michael Lewin. 

He has participated in workshops and made solo appearances in Greece and in USA. As an active member of many chamber music groups, he collaborated with the saxophonist Dimitris Vassilakis, the Athens String Orchestra Sinfonietta, the String Quartet «A Quartet», the pianist Thalia Athaniti, the violinist Petros Christides, the soprano Elena Kokka and many others. He created a music band, named Dueto Tango with the bandoneonist Lefteris Grivas which already numbers many appearances. Another of his remarkable duets is with the famous accordeonist and composer Zoe Tiganouria which resulted in many concerts all around Greece. One of the latest project is the collaboration with 3 other musicians creating the group Confesión Orquesta a tango ensemble that performs traditional argentine tango in milongas and festivals, based in Greece. He is a dedicated performer, arranger and composer of music inspired by Argentinian tango and latin music in general. He occasionally composes songs and/ or soundtracks for short Films. In May 2013 he was honored with a the highest distinction in a composition competition of Mikri Arktos publishing and recording company for instrumental music. (piano quartet, tango nuevo style) He has been working as a music teacher and he teaches piano privately and in various Conservatories and public or private schools in Greece. He also has been as a music professor in High School of Aylona Detention Center of juveniles for the last 4 years. He recently graduated from the Department of Music Studies of the Athens School of Philosophy. His latest stage performances include tango/ Latin arrangements for solo piano combined with his own compositions and some jazz original pieces of great composers like Bill Evans. 

Spiros Moschopoulos: piano, composition.

Peter Christidis: violin (Vangeli & Georgia, Siege )

Aldin Tanasi: viola (Siege)

Orfeas Zafiropoulos: cello (Siege)

Lefteris Grivas: bandoneon (Tango for Maria, T tango)

Kostas Boukouvalas: editing, mastering

Digital release on the 13th of November 2021.

Track listing:

1: Gallop

2: Siege

3: Fragments

4: Vangelis & Georgia

5: Floating

6: Confusion

7: Tango For Maria

8: T tango

9: Soil

10: Absence

And on Bandcamp:

OCD047 : Floy Krouchi / Vibrant Continuum

 

Cover art by by Jonathan Silverman, design by Elise Debouny

OCD047 : Floy Krouchi / Vibrant Continuum

An intrinsic individual experience to bring you on the edges of vibrant continuum!

VIBRANT CONTINUUM is a solo album from Floy Krouchi. The Parisian bassist and composer works with her fretless electric bass like it was a living body and then adds electronics. Influenced by Indian music which she studied with Pandit Hindraj Divekar, master of Rudra Veena, she thinks of this record as a contemporary electronic raga, deconstructed, and which unfolds into 10 pieces. 

Vibrant Continuum is a journey into low vibration, within sound, connected to the Universe, cosmic. An unprecedented exploration of the instrument, influenced by composers such as Alice Coltrane, Eliane Radigue. It plays with transpositions between modal and electroacoustic music, rhythms and noisy textures.

A teaser:

Another teaser: 

Floy Krouchi is a sound artist, bass player and electroacoustic composer from Paris.

She cofounded Mafucage, a collective ensemble of experimental women musicians in the end of the 90s.

She now leads her project "Bass Holograms" under several forms. Solo or collaboratively, forming the “Bass Holograms ensemble” as in New York with Chess Smith, Hank Roberts Mark Bingham or Emilie Lesbros, as well as in New Orleans or in duo with drummer Benjamin Sanz for various European festivals . She also plays with James Brandon Lewis in the Cliffs trio, and with Devin Brahja Waldman in Sonic Totem. 

Floy, pic by Ann Son Bas

Bass Hologram:

Floy Krouchi BASS HOLOGRAMS extended from floy krouchi on Vimeo.

She is  pursuing a work on radio art through sound pieces at the cross-roads of essay, fiction, documentary and sound poetry that won several international awards (Luc Ferrari Prize in 2010, Prix Italia in 2011, Phonurgia Nova in 2013).

Her vinyl albums and CDs are edited and released under European and American labels such as OFF records, Cry of Silence, Arboretum NYC, Magnetic Deer, Gracia Territori Sonor, Piety Street Files and Media Archives, and Radio France.

Her latest project FKBass consists of an augmented bass with built-in technology designed specifically for her musical creations and  her solo Bass Holograms.

She is also the designer of "Sonic Totem" an interactive sound sculpture, produced at the Hangar art center in Barcelona. 

Her work is shown wordly in places like Louvres Abu Dhabi, documenta 13, centre Pompidou, GRM or Ircam, and she performed her projects in venues and festivals in India, China, the Middle-East, Europe and Us.

Floy designed her own instrument, the FKBass: an hybrid bass with integrated sensors, designed specifically for her musical creations and her solos. You can read more on her site here.

An interview explaining her bass and how she creates with it:

More about her playing:

A review from Massimo Ricci in Touching Extremes HERE.

Vibrant Continuum : Floy Krouchi bass and electronics Artwork Jonathan Silverman, Graphic design Elise Debouny, Video Kinda Hassan Album mixed by Paulie Jan, mastered by James Plotkin featuring Vivien Trelcat

Physically and digitally released on the 6th of November 2020.

Track listing:

1:Electric Circles

2: Spiral of Time

3: Being Being in a Continuum

4: A Believer and a Storm

5: Dragon's Breath

6: At Arrival

7: Another Door

8: Transfigured

9: 100 Photons and a Void

10: There Is No Separation

11: Noise Elevation

And on Bandcamp:

CD here:

Price

World shipping €16,00 EUR

OUW012 : John Americus Witt / Pangloss

 

Cover art by Silas Plum

OUW012 : John Americus Witt / Pangloss

The new album from John Americus Witt (see also ODG115 and OUC026) is very much of its time. Long, ponderous soundscapes, with samples, which he has rarely used.

The 4 tracks contain all some important messages from different times but still sounding so important today:
1.  The Warning - Mostly a walk into the musical space. Peaceful, but with a small warning at the end.
2.  The Promise - Contains a small speech by William Jennings Bryan in 1908. He was a liberal statesman, with a vision of a progressive future.  Short and sweet.
3.  The Broken Dream - Contains a long speech by Mario Cuomo in 1984. Another liberal statesman.  Speaking against Reagan.  Same ideas, generations later.  it's hard not to be discouraged.  The music is rougher, more crack and gain, and sometimes drowns out the pretty words, as they seem hollow after all this time.  But there is some hope in the darkness.
4.  The Plain Truth - Contains a small speech given by Will Rogers in 1924.  He was a humorist, and cowboy, and general friend of the common man.  His speech is delivered to a group of bankers, and is mostly calling them out for being mendacious hyper capitalists.
Pangloss is a word taken from Voltaire's "Candide".  Means "Unjustified Optimism".  Call me a pessimist, but it's hard to imagine this all turns around without some hard, hard times.

John Americus Witt

Pangloss is a word taken from Voltaire's "Candide".  Means "Unjustified Optimism".  Call me a pessimist, but it's hard to imagine this all turns around without some hard, hard times.

The album is released just in time for the US elections! You can change the world! Don't forget to vote!!!

Digital release on the 2nd of November 2020.

And on Bandcamp:

 

OVD039 : Pierre Vervloesem / Haines

 

Cover art by Manu Ribot

OVD039 : Pierre Vervloesem / Haines

For once Pierre gives us not only an album where he sings, but where he sings in French! 

It was a long time since he had the idea but with all the frustrations accumulated in the last years, he finally had the opportunity to record this masterpiece. Each song turns around either something or someone he detests or is about one of his surreal encounters he did or had to deal with in the last few years as a musician / composer / performer. 

For who speaks French his words are a delight, often full of humour. For the others, his music is as always impeccable compositions which mixe such a variety of genre that you need 10 listening to understand all the subtleties of his music! A must!

Digital release on the 30th of October.

Track listing:

1: Je déteste tout
2:Incompétent
3: Jesue pour rien
4:Ze King
5: P700
6: Footomas
7: Accordéoniste
8: Fucking Birds
9: La contrebasse
10: Foutage
11: La la lul 

And on Bandcamp:

OCD048 : Limite / Mountains Inside

 

Cover art by Edmon Baudoin

OCD048 : Limite / Mountains Inside

First album for this young and talented Belgian band. Think DEUS, Marc Ribot, math-rock , touches of progressive rock and a typical Belgian mood in those ten clever and intense compositions. This band will become big!

Sinking stories, in life and dreams… “Mountains Inside” is an introspective rhapsody where dark chamber music meets alternative rock… Songs carried by free-flowing melodies with a psychedelic touch.

In December 2019, we recorded our first album “Mountains Inside”. Throughout this suite of songs, we are drifting along down tempo tremolo and acoustic guitar finger-picked textures; and the music occasionally veer into a harder, more propulsive sound, abstract psychedelia, grungy noise, or angular riffing.

All compositions and lyrics by Jordi Cassagne except Be Not Sad, composed by Benjamin Sauzereau, words by James Joyce and The Inside by Camille-Alban Spreng.

Members:

Kobe Dupont graduated the royal conservatory in Brussels in the class of 2017. He has released several recordings with diverse musical projects, as vocalist with Limite, as both guitarist and songwriter for the americana-collective Geppetto & The Whales, guitarist for dream-pop band Leonore and in theatre. 

Benjamin Sauzereau is a french guitar player and composer living in Belgium. He has been leading for some years the following bands, Les Chroniques de l’Inutile, Easy Pieces, Philémon, the Sauzereau/Roosens duo, and a Solo program. He co-founded the Brussels based Label ~suite. He wrote scores for film and worked with dancers (Meytal Blanauru’s “We were the future”).

Camille-Alban Spreng is a Swiss pianist and composer living in Brussels and trained by Emil Spanyi, Eric Legnini and Kris Defoort. Since 2010 he has taken part in and created projects in such varied fields as jazz, improvised music, art performance, and theatre. In 2011 he was featured in a performance of Adrien Barazzone’s Ni Fleurs, Ni Couronne at the Montreux Jazz Festival. He is now playing with various bands such as his quintet Odil, with which he released two albums on the German label QFTF.

Jordi Cassagne is a bass, double bass player and composer based in Brussels. Since his beginning, he is strolling over the course of his artistic collaborations. Jordi graduated both in Jazz and Early Music. He is performing his own music with the jazz quartet Nouroog, and with the alternative rock band Limite. As a sideman he is currently playing with Terpsichore, Julien Marga 4tet, Le Bal de Marie Galante, Haratago, Omega Impact, Bengalifère…

Théo Lanau is a French drummer, improviser and composer based in

Brussels. In constant personnal research, he is writing and performing his music with the band Grand Partir.  As a sideman, he is very active on the jazz scene (Amaury Faye trio, Terpsichore, Mobilhome, Petrole), as well as post-rock (Limite) and chanson (Nicolas Ankoudinoff).

Site here.

A great review in the US webzine Big Beautiful Noise' HERE : HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Limite, pic by Henri Ardui

Limite, pic by Henri Ardui

The Inside:

Simmering Water:

Recored and mixed by Dries Van Ende at Zinnema, Brussels, December 2019.

Mastered by Pierre Vervloesem.

Cd layout by Théo Lanau.

Physical and digital release on the 22nd of October 2020.

Track listing:

1: Simmering Water

2: Be Not Sad

3: Relief Failure

4: Skeleton Sky

5: Nerfs Lichen  

6: The Inside

7: Our Night is Landing

8: Tram

9: Acrid Lull

10: Falling Seeds

And on Bandcamp:

CD here:

Price

World shipping €16,00 EUR