OVD045 : Pierre Vervloesem / Don't

 

Cover art by Thierry Mondelaers

OVD045 : Pierre Vervloesem / Don't

'Don't' is the album that demonstrates what Pierre can do with a bucket, a dictaphone, a guitar, a bass and a fascination for Jon Hassel. 

6 tracks that will open a lot of unravels pads in your brain! Have a nice journey!

Digital release on the 30th of April 2021.

Track listing:

1: Don't
2: Wild Boar Dance
3: Catania
4: Bite One's Tail
5: The Makay Formation
6: Empty Stomach

And on Bandcamp:

OMT010 : Tchala's Band / Coexistência

 

Cover art by A.L.

OMT010 : Tchala's Band / Coexistência

Tchala's Band  was formed a few years ago around the compositions and endearing personality of its singer, Tchala Almeida. 

This Cape Verdean singer, composer and great cavaquinho player, transmits in his music all the warmth of the Cape Verde Islands. He played, among others, alongside Césaria Evora. The group of excellent musicians who surround it strives to bring this typical music from the island of Cape Verde to life, festive and mixed, while mixing it with a certain jazz colour.

‘Coexistência’ is the meeting between Cape Verdean music and jazz, the tradition of cavaquinho and rowboat rhythms embellished with a little improvisation. 

It’s also the music of a crossbreeding between everything that makes the identity of Cape Verde and Tchala’s various encounters in Europe.

Tchala’s texts are a variety of little stories telling about Leginha beach, day to day life in Sao Vincente, the search of a job, the encounters of friends at the end of the week or the political problems of the system in Cape verde.

Tchala Almeida

The band

Laginha:

Mosca Rondera:

Musicians:

Marcelino 'Tchala' Almeida  - Singing and Cavaquinho

Benjamin Ramos - Double bass

Désiré Somé - Guitar

David De Vrieze- Trombone

Nicolas Kummert - Sax

Alexandre Cavalière - Electric violin

Marc Derbaix - Percussion

Octave Agbekpenou - Percussion

Recorded by Antoniio Pujante at La Playa Studio - Brussels

Digital releaseon the 23rd of April 2021.

Track listing:

1. Mosca Rondera

2. Testôd

3. Laginha

4. Coladura

5. Fim De Semana

6. Na Nha Sombra

7. Zidorinha

8. Fim Do Mundo

And on Bandcamp:

OJP056: Alfred 23 Harth - Nicola Hein - Joshua Weitzel / Schraubensuche in Tokio

 

OJP056: Alfred 23 Harth - Nicola Hein - Joshua Weitzel / Schraubensuche in Tokio

In the summer of 2017, the three German musicians Nicola Hein (back then based in New York) and Joshua Weitzel (back then based in Japan) were on a small tour in Japan. For a few concerts and sessions they were joined by Alfred 23 Harth, who came over from South Korea. 
The days they spent together are filled with quirky anecdotes about searching and finding, which themselves find their way into the music. The first day Nicola and Joshua were late, and supposed to meet Alfred at Tower records, but while searching Joshua lost Nicola and found Jim O’Rourke instead. Later and re-united the trio played in a brutally loud venue full of Aquariums, accompanied by a European colleague who went on a journey across town to find a g-string. 
Alfred and Nicola also went on a discovery expedition in Shibuya with Ken Ikeda. 
The next day the trio came together, it had trouble finding each other due to problems with the communication infrastructure. The resulting late start in Studio Pit Inn was compensated by the next discovery in the form of a time-extension. 
While playing, Alfred lost a tiny screw from his bass clarinet and as a result three people searched the small studio room but without success. Luckily in the same building, there was a Yanagisawa Workshop that provided instant help. It was there, where the three also found Ned Rothenberg who happened to be around too. 

Schraubensuche in Tokio (German for „searching for a screw in Tokyo”) is a musical document of this time. 

Alfred 23 Harth is a musician and multi-media artist who has been active since the 1960s in well-known groups such as Just Music, Duo Goebbels/Harth,, Cassiber, Vladimir Estragon, Otomo Yoshihide New Jazz Orchestra or his duo with Carl Stone. Originally from Frankfurt/M, he is based in Seoul for the last decades, which awarded him honorary citizenship.  

Nicola L. Hein is a guitarist, sound artist, composer and researcher in music and aesthetics. He plays the guitar with physical and electronic extensions, aiming to transcend existing sonic paradigms. As a sound artist, composer and media artist he works with sound installations, instrument building, conceptual composition and integrates philosophical theories into his artistic practice. Inter-media works with video art, dance, literature and other art forms constitute another focus of his practice. 

Joshua Weitzel is mostly active in the field of experimental music, jazz and the grey areas in-between. His instruments of choice are guitar (acoustic and electric) and shamisen, which he plays both employing traditional and extended/invented playing techniques such as using circular breathing on stringed instruments, preparations and scordatura. His music is primarily concerned with spaces, contrast, harmony, timbre and interaction between players.

Tokyo boys!

Alfred 23 Harth – Bass Clarinet and Clarinet


Nicola Hein – Electric Guitar


Joshua Weitzel – Electric Guitar and Shamisen

Recorded in July 2017 at Studio Pit Inn, Shinjuku. 
Mastered by Joshua Weitzel.

photos by A23H

Digital Bandcamp only release on the 16th of April 2021.

Tracklist:

1: Futari

2: Issho

3: Tower Aquarium

And on Bandcamp:

OJP055 : Ayako Ogawa / Sanatorium

 

Cover art by Ayako Ogawa

OJP055 : Ayako Ogawa / Sanatorium

Ayako lost her husband and her father in a short sequence of time and had just recovered from her sadness while painting pictures and making music.

Daisuke, lived near Lake Toya but for half a year traveled to climb mountains and do pilgrimage and had just returned from Switzerland because of the covid situation.

Yowichi lives a self sufficient life in a place called Oshamambe, a name derived from the Ainu people of Japan.

Oshamambe

The idea behind recording the album was to remember, whatever the difficulties encountered, to go ahead and live your life fully. It was recorded in the quiet environment of Yowhichi’s place.

Aya Ogawa, born in Japan in 1962, spent her early childhood education learning about nature and art and did (and still does) a lot of picture book paintings.

She’s a voice piano improviser and performer, touring a lot in Europe from 2016 to 2019 and in Poland in February 2020 for a  Butoh Techno tour celebrating the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Poland.

Ayako Ogawa

Daisuke Watanabe, born in Japan. in 1974, is a guitarist, pakwaj and sitar player, devoted to Indian classical music since 2012. He learned pakwaj under the teaching of Tetsuya Kaneko and travelled in 2017 to train and learn more in India.

He performs a lot with a huge variety of instrumental players.

Daisuke

Yowichi, born in Japan in 1970, is a bio farmer / percussionist who plays with lots of pro or amateur bands when he is not farming in the countryside.

Yowichi

Digital release on the 14th of April 2021.

Track listing:

This is a brief explanation of each song by Ayako:

1: Sanatorium -  depicts the image of cheerful sick people.

2: Tori (bird) -　

Japanese:

　　爪を脱いで　Tume o nuide

　　指を脱いで    Yubi o nuide

　　手を脱いで    Te o nuide

　　身体を脱いで Karada o nuide

　　とうとう　鳥になりました    Toutou tori ni narimashita.    

English:

　　　Take off nails

　　　Take off finger

　　　Take off hands

           Take off body

           Finally, I became a bird

3: Singing bowl - singing bowls are usually used for Buddhist preys, but we used them as musical instruments.  Daisuke hits the bowl with a stick and bring his mouth close and open to make it resonate. Yowichi plays the drums and Ayako sings this short and simple song.

  

4: Red snake 　　

Japanese:

　（パジャマを着た童女窓ガラスに伝う雫を指でなぞりながら謡う）

　　赤い蛇が

　　草の上を

　　とびはねている

　（看護婦　ささやくようにセリフ）

　　よくみて

　　転ばないように

　　この奥にサナトリウムはあります。

　　この部屋は窓からの眺めが一番良いんです。

　　ジャングルの夢をみました。

　　虫柱が立っていました。

　　具合はどうですか？

　

English:

     (One kid in pajamas sings while tracing the drops on the window）

　   One red snake is jumping on the grass

     (One nurse is whispering)

　　Look carefully

　　Don’t fall

　　There is sanatorium over there　

　　I dreamed of a jungle

　　Insect pillar standing

　　How is your condition?

And on Bandcamp:

New Spotify Off playlist: The Best Belgian Music from Off

 

Finally an Off playlist with almost 50 tracks from the best Belgian acts from Off for your pleasure! 
Subscribe, it's free or listen non stop in your bedroom, at work, in your car! Share a max!

ODG139 : Domenico Solazzo / Deadend

 

Cover art by Domenico Solazzo

ODG139 : Domenico Solazzo / Deadend

First album released by talented and obsessive Belgian musician Domenico Solazzo (see also his sumptuous album 'Kino' ODG113), 'Deadend' originally published in 2009, is an obscure concept album about God and death. 

At times dark but also bright (The Day of My Rebirth is a perfect pop song), it finds Domenico playing all the instruments but the saxes, empowering all his forces and energy in what could have been maybe his first and last album! Definitely worth checking out.

Nice reviews in gutsofdarkness and RifRaf.

Recorded at Goddess Studio, Brussels, Belgium,

November 2008 - December 2008

All songs and lyrics credited to Domenico Solazzo

Domenico Solazzo: ballaphon, bass, bells, keyboard, drums, e-bow, electric guitar,

electronica, grand piano, keyboards, korg ds-10, mellotron, organ,percussions, samples, shakers, tambourine, vocals.

Jean-Jacques Duerinckx: baryton and sopranino saxophones

Matthieu Duvault: mastering

Digital release on the 9th of April 2021.

Track listing:

1: Mr. Kewl

2: Length of Time

3: Mulunde

4: WWW Help Coma

5: Too Many Suns in My Sky

6: Mescaline

7: In the Womb

8: The Day of My Rebirth

9: God's Evil Machinery

10: March

And on Bandcamp:

ODG144 : Von Stroheim / Bucketful of Bile

 

Cover art by David Crunelle

ODG144 : Von Stroheim / Bucketful of Bile

First single of the forthcoming new ep from Von Stroheim (see also ODG101 and ODG116). Self recorded in their basement during covid and, as ever, powerfully telling the rest of the world about their feelings! It's rock, it's hard, it's doom, it's good!

Digital release on the 2th of April 2021.

Track listing:

1: Bucketful of Bile