ODG132 : Jürgen Augusteyns / Bilderdämmerung

Cover art by Jürgen Augusteyns

ODG132 : Jürgen Augusteyns / Bilderdämmerung

Jürgen (see also ODG108 and ODG109) made this EP after a visit at the Dachau concentration camp. The 4 tracks resonate like the interaction between the place itself and the history of the place. 


In Jürgen's words:

"Bilderdämmerung is inspired by both a visit to the Dachau concentration camp and by the painting “Gaskamer” (1986) by Luc Tuymans.

Solemn and sterile the painting perfectly encompasses the overwhelming weight that I felt when in that particular place myself.

The title refers to a text by Stephan Berg from the book “Luc Tuymans - The Arena”. 

Much in the same way that Tuymans is incapable of portraying the worst aspects of human history, neither can I translate it into music.  

The worst is by its very nature always unimaginable and the moment in which the unimaginable occurs is pristine in its horror; no representation can come close. 

It would be perversely pretentious and plainly impossible to create a rendition of what happened there and then. Instead, “Bilderdämmerung” is an endeavour to take the listener to that place of unspeakable dread and an attempt to evoke what I felt when I was there.

Headphones are highly recommended."

A video for Versteintert. The timing of the track - 4:29 - is a reminder that the camp was liberated on the 29 of April 1945.

Digital release on the 30th of June 2020.

Track listing:

1: Eingang (resonanz 1) - 8:20

2: Brausebad (resonanz 2) - 10:18

3: Einschlag (resonanz 3) - 8:04

4: Versteinert (resonanz 4) - 4:29

A Bandcamp only release:

OVD036 : Pierre Vervloesem / Ponorogo (The Art of Going Somewhere)

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

OVD036 : Pierre Vervloesem / Ponorogo (The Art of Going Somewhere)

From his 'The Art of Going Nowhere' albums (see OVD019, OVD020, OVD021, OVD022, OVD023, OVD024 and OVD025) to his new album 'the Art of going Somewhere' Pierre is demonstrating again  all his craftsmanship when composing a 45 minutes piece of music. 

All his science and technique of mixing guitars, heavy basses and synthesizers is this time associated with Indonesian radios captations which add this time the spices to a road going Somewhere! 

A thrilling adventure as always with Pierre!

Digital release on the 25th of June 2020.

Track listing:

1: Ponogoro ( The Art of Going Somewhere) - 43:22 minutes

And on Bandcamp:

ODG125 : OdNu / Virtual Reality Reality

Cover art by Michel Mazza

ODG125 : OdNu / Virtual Reality Reality

After the beautiful  and organic 'Falling Down In Slow Motion (see OUC021) comes the intriguing and more complex 'Virtual Reality Reality'.

Each track on “Virtual Reality Reality” uses the midi guitar (without following the DAW’s grid) as the primary tool to organically record and layer a rich dialogue of melodies and textures.

The effect is rather orchestrally dystopian where there is a diverse array of musical influences from experimental electronic, jazz, tango, 1920’s orchestral recordings, 4th world music and more.
The listener of the album “Virtual Reality Reality”. will find themselves entering into a juxtaposition of feelings under an architecture of melodies that orbit each other independently integrating and disintegrating. 
Each song feels like it inhabits both the past and the future, is both familiar and alien where one feels lost and found and also equally hopeful and sad.

Headphones recommended  for a total immersion in sounds!

'Parade':



Credits:
All music composed, performed, arranged and recorded and mastered by Michel Mazza.
Artwork by Michel Mazza.

Michel

Digital release on the 19th of June 2020.

Track listing:

1: Not impossible
2: Thinning
3: Blank Paper
4: Another Friendly Reminder
5: Snowblower
6: To Know the Lies
7: Parade
8: Part of It





And on Bandcamp:

OJP043 : Shinji Kikuchi / Crow

                                                                               

Cover art by A.L.

OJP043 : Shinji Kikuchi / Crow

Guitarist and composer Shinji Kikuchi was born 50 years ago in Kanagawa Japan and is living now in Shimane prefecture. He lived also for 4 years in the US and 4 more years in Brazil and you can definitely listen that the musical scene of both countries influenced him when composing his songs. He had piano lessons when he was 7 and started to lear classical guitar at 15. 

17 was the year he started to compose and play in bands.
What he is saying about playing with people:
« I’ve played most of my life with Andean musicians from Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia… professionally, not because that kind of music was my favorite but because life works that way. I enjoyed to play with them but I always had the desire to play other kinds of styles to express different emotions.
That was the strongest reason why I was composing and recording when I had time working with them. I was mostly playing in Japan but we traveled around Asia, like Korea where we stayed 2 months. When in brazil I was in many different projects playing jazz ,bossa nova kind of things and I guess I learned a lot of different technics. In the Us, I was too young to play professionally but played and learned a lot as well.  I love listening to the cicadas insects as the melodies they do is like a message contained in their music and they are the reason I sing wishing I could have their spirit when I sing or play. »

Shinji

It was about time to rediscover this great spiritual musician and here is a compilation of some of his songs: 8 own compositions in the various styles that inspired him from his 17 till today and 4 covers of his favorite Japanese songs. 

Digital release on the 20th of March 2020.

Track listing:

1: Fukurou
2: Saru Ni Tuite
3: Haruka Kanata
4: Minn Minn
5: Inu No Fuun
6: Tokyo Dodonpa Musume
7: Karasu
8: Motto Koinno
9: Makirika
10: Imomushi
11: Everything
12: Namida Kun Sayonara

And on Bandcamp:

ODG129 : Ravi Padmanabha - Alex Glenfield / Niskam

Cover art by A.L.

ODG129 : Ravi Padmanabha - Alex Glenfield / Niskam

Niskam Karma , self-less or desire less action, is an action performed without any exception of fruits or results, and the central tenet of Karma Yoga path to Liberation. 

Alex Glenfield and Ravi Padmanabha have been playing in various groups for about ten years. Luckily a mutual friend realized their similar music backgrounds and set up a jam session. Many musicians dabble in world music by noodling on an exotic instrument and can have decent results, but Alex and Ravi have spent many years studying with master musicians and traveling in pursuit of authentic music. The combination of world, jazz and experimental music both musicians have makes for perfect collaborations. 
The Bul-bul Tarang Gang was a psychedelic world jam band that Ravi led and released a few recordings on SLOOW TAPES :Kali 2012, Purandara Dasa Day 2015. Ravi played the bulbul tarang and Alex played trumpet. Later they played in Ravi’s MY NADA BRAHMA. 

Ravi and Alex

In 2018 Alex and Ravi recorded “ TO A BLUE MIRAGE” and released it on ravi’s label , good karma, bad karma records. This recording was a improvised session concentrating on more traditional meditative vibes. 

After many of years of playing in large and small groups Alex and 
Ravi decided to do a one off improv session, but this time using more jazz elements with trumpet and drum kit. In the session, world music elements can be heard with usage of tabla and voice. The improv session resulted in NISKAM!. 
The session was pure improv with no discussions or game plans, just letting the music flow and the musicians reacting in real time. Every take was used in the session. There were no 2nd takes. 

Ravi and Alex recording

Ravi Padmanabha is composer, improvisor and multi-instrumentalist. He has spent many years studying and playing a wide variety of music including: jazz, world, Indian, and experimental music. 
He has studied with many masters from India including Pandit Samar Saha, Pandit Sharda Sahai ,and Pankaj Misra. Ravi is on many recordings and has led various musical projects such as :My Nada Brahma, the Bul-Bul Tarang Gang and most recently the Transindental Karmacist and Americana Raga. He has performed in Duo with Steve Baczkowski , Tom Chess , Alex Glenfield and Brandon Terzic for many years. Ravi has performed with many others including; William Parker, William Cole, Junni Booth, Robert Dick, Daniel Carter, Cooper Moore,Arrignton DeDionyso, and Paul Flarherty ( www.ravip.net) 

Ravi

Born in Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, Alex Glenfield left home to play the trumpet and flugelhorn in Toronto. While there, finding more to do than just brass and jazz, Alex studied music composition, with James Tenney, and Hindustani khyal singing. Simultaneously, he taught himself to perform multiple styles of overtone singing. With a focus on the throat-singing styles of Tuva and Mongolia, Alex completed a Ph.D. in ethnomusicology at York University after performing fieldwork in Central Asia. Presently, Glenfield resides in Buffalo, New York, where he performs and composes music that has resonances of jazz, Indian classical music, and American minimalism.

Alex

Digital release on the 12th of June 2020.

Track listing:

1: Gopi Ma

2: Cortège des esprits

3: Aikyam Mundus

4: Niskam

5: Maha Alap

6: Nisus

7: Dadra

8: The Pearls of Bahrain

And on Bandcamp:

ODG119 : Arowan / Sense Data

Cover art by Arowan - A.L.

ODG119 : Arowan / Sense Data

This album was made in Arowan’s bedroom, Irishman and soon-to-be 20 year old graduate philosophy student. 

It continues with Arowan’s intention to explore the phenomenology of sound design, and follows the release of Welträthsel on Somewhere Cold Records and Common Quale on Histamine Tapes. 

The tracks explore the highs and lows of emotional subjectivity through a vignette style 13 track cycle, mostly instrumental but some with texts read like poetry lost in kinds of soundtracks. 

There is a rare balance between some of the almost noise tracks, some which sound like they were written to be performed in huge cathedrals and subtle almost classical folk guitar ones.

Arowan may be only 20 years old but he does bring to his music the maturity of an already seasoned composer.

Digital release on the 5th of June 2020.

Track listing:

1: Sense Data

2: Man-Child

3: Always Curious

4: Institutionalise

5: Cloudy Days

6: Hangman God

7: 1000 Oceans

8: Alchol Proof

9: The Lesser Man

10: Preconceptions

11: We're Nothing

12: Thy Fearful Symmetry

13: Transfiguration of Sorrow

And on Bandcamp: