Friday, 20 December 2024

OUC048 : Vafa Vaghefi - Kasra Faridi - Houman Dehlavi / Seven Skies Vol.II

 

Cover art by Nasser Azizi Joshan - A. L.


OUC048: Vafa Vaghefi - Kasra Faridi - Houman Dehlavi / Seven Skies Vol.II

Second volume (see Vol.I here) with the new compositions from Iranian composer Houman Dehlavi. 10 tunes played by Vafa Vaghefi and 2 by Kasra Faridi.

Houman Dehlavi says:

"Volume 2 of the collection Seven Skies consists of mostly short pieces, prepared by means of various types of musical forms.
The pieces in this volume progress from simple to complex, each incorporating at least one specific technical focus and carefully presented in a distinct form.
The first five Theme -and -variation pieces focus on clarity and simplicity, laying a foundation of musicality and expressive articulation. The five short pieces that follow, enrich the collection with captivating themes and harmonies, adding depth and variety to the musical experience. They evolve in style and structure, reflecting a journey from the classical era through to impressionism.
The collection culminates in Sonata and Waltz, demonstrating well-defined forms from the classical and romantic periods, while bridging toward the neo-romantic and impressionistic elements featured in Volume I. This progression offers a thoughtfully curated and diverse repertoire.
This collection has been made available to music lovers through the kind collaboration of esteemed pianists Vafa Vaghefi and Kasra Faridi, to whom I would like to express my gratitude."

Houman Dehlavi was born in 1971. He learned music from early childhood under the supervision of his father, a famous composer and conductor, and his mother, who is a renowned Persian musician. He studied piano and violin under well-known masters, and learned the fundamentals of music composition from his father, Hossein Dehlavi, and later from Ahmad Pejman, an acclaimed Persian composer. Houman holds a bachelor's degree in piano and a master's degree in music composition from the University of Art. During his education, he benefited from training under masters such as Rafael Minaskanian, Emanuel Melik-Aslanian, and Thomas Christian David, an Austrian musician, by participating in master courses in music composition and conducting. He began his teaching career at various music institutes and privately, but shortly thereafter started teaching at the University of Arts.

Throughout his career, he has composed and arranged a variety of music for piano solos, duets, quaDrtets, string orchestras, symphonic orchestras, and other ensembles that include Persian instruments and vocals. His works have been performed in Europe, Canada, and the USA. Additionally, he has composed music for several theatrical plays and documentary movies. Houman has published two music books for piano and has released two CD albums.


Vafa Vaghefi, born in 1960, started his first piano lessons when he was a child at Mazandaran Center for Art and Culture where later in 1979, he started teaching piano. He entered the university in 1993 and he has received his bachelor's degree in piano performance.
Over the years, he has had a great number of collaborations with many musicians and on recordings of hundreds of projects as a piano soloist. He has also trained many piano students most of whom are now professionally active in artistic activities in different parts of the world.
His passion in teaching has driven him to record several collections of piano works for educational purposes, among which to be mentioned is the complete recording of the Burgmüller Etudes.
"Fantasy for Piano and String Orchestra" is his most recent work as a piano soloist, which was released by Hezardastan Publishing in a collection titled “Days of Not Being” composed by Houman Dehlavi.

Kasra Faridi is a professional Classical Pianist and Composer, born in 1992, Tehran, Iran. He began receiving piano lessons at a young age under the supervision of world-renowned instructors such as Houman Dehlavi, Tamara Dolitzeh, Arpineh Israelian and Gagik Babayan. Notably, Kasra performed his very first piano solo when he was only six years old.Over the years, Kasra has become a sought-after performer at numerous piano soloist festivals, including the prestigious Tehran Soloist Festival, Biennial Festival, Schubert International Music Festival, Youth Festival, Classic to Contemporary Festival and many others.In addition to his love for music, Kasra is also an accomplished theoretical physicist, having graduated with a master of science in theoretical particle physics from Tehran University. His mathematical background has come in handy in his passion for electronic composition and programming, which he received instructions from and taught by Joachim Heintz. Apart from that, he studied general and classical composition under the supervision of Houman Dehlavi and contemporary composition by Kiawasch Sahebnassagh. Kasra's ability to combine both art and science has allowed him to create a unique sound that is unparalleled in the world of classical contemporary music.

Vafa Vaghefi: piano 1-10
Kasra Faridi: piano 11-12
Houman Dehlavi: all compositions

Digital release on the 20th of December 2024.

Track listing:

1: Childhood Dreams Thema
2: Variation.1
3: Variation.2
4: Variation.3
5: Variation.4
6: Sound of Angels No. 1
7: Sound of Angels No. 2
8: Sound of Angels No. 3
9: Sound of Angels No. 4
10: Sound of Angels No. 5
11: Like a Waltz
12: Classical Sonata

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:


And on Bandcamp:

Friday, 13 December 2024

ODG202 : Jacopo Costa / Teachers and Demons


Cover art by Ilaria De Bona


ODG202: Jacopo Costa / Teachers and Demons


Italian poly-instrumentalist and songwriter living in Strasbourg for several years and active in different groups (such as Loomings and Oiapok), Jacopo Costa launched a new electroacoustic one-man band project in 2020. He sings while playing vibraphone, percussion, machines, and everything is processed in real time by electronics. The original approach to writing and playing that is created on this hybrid set results in an atypical mix, halfway between Robert Wyatt and Prince: dreamlike, daring and offbeat songs, conceived like the letters of an imaginary correspondence . 

'Teachers and Demons' is the project's first album to be released.

Jacopo, pic by Grégory Massat

Fascinated since childhood by the acoustic dimension of the world, Jacopo Costa's career has been deeply marked by his encounter with the music of Frank Zappa, the groups of the "Canterbury scene", the Rock In Opposition collective, but also Prince, Burt Bacharach, the avant-gardes of the 20th century, the Beatles, Paul Simon, it is more oriented towards amplified repertoires, especially music from the world of rock but which defies any categorization. His favorite instruments are the drums and the vibraphone; the love for vocal music motivated him to study singing, while the interest in production pushed him to delve deeper into MAO. He has collaborated with orchestras, contemporary music ensembles and groups of different types. He is the founder of Loomings, an art rock band active between 2014 and 2020, and he is currently a member of the projects Oiapok, The Juke Revue, La Bagatelle du Géant and Fracktal.




Put the candle back: 


Jacopo Costa: music
Romain Muller: Mix
Cover photo by Ilaria De Bona

Digital release on the 13th of December 2024.

Track listing:

1: Fun of Me
2: The old Man's Place
3: Demons
4: Sonnet
5: Page 46
6: Sweaters
7: December
8: P Douche
9: Through the Idle Orbits
10: When You're a Pro
11: Clear Colored Boulders
12: Put the Candle Back

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:


And on Bandcamp:

Friday, 6 December 2024

ODG201 : Un vrai semblant / Loin dehors, loin dedans

 

Cover art by Nicolas Marchant


ODG201: Un vrai semblant / Loin dehors, loin dedans


The second album (see ODG192) from Un vrai semblant is once again a deep electronic travel between experimental, noise, ambient and field recordings in 6 parts. 

'Loin dehors, loin dedans' is a perfect title matching the music which is exactly what the title says: Far outside, far inside. 

Listen with headphones to really appreciate the ins and outs!

Digital release on the 6th of December.

Track listing:

1: Part 1 - Cells
2: Part 2 - Surface
3: Part 3 - Earth
4: Part 4 - Faces
5: Part 5 - Walk
6: Part 6 - Waves

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:


And on Bandcamp:

Friday, 29 November 2024

 



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


OVD085: Pierre Vervloesem / Palm Bleach

Five new classical pieces written by Pierre Vervloesem for a ten pieces musicians.
Between contemporary, minimal, crossover but definitively 'Vervloesemesque' music!

Pierre says:
'
5 pieces written for a small volunteer orchestra.
Thank you to all the participants, especially three of them'.

Pierre Vervloesem: bass, composition
Thomas Mayade: trumpet 
Bruno Vansina: saxophones, flûte
Liesbeth Lambrecht: violins
Yves Ethorner: piano
Alain Telligent: percussions
Henri Golleau: vibes
Marc de Triomphe: xylophone, glockenspiel, vibes
Sebastien Vaumieu-Ktulora: marimba
Nicole Apoisson: harp

Digital release on the 29th of November 2024.

Track listing:

1: Palm Bleach, Pt. 1
2: Aboriginal Tango
3: Palm Bleach, Pt. 2
4: Pandas Go Home
5: Palm Bleach, Pt. 3

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:


And on Bandcamp:

Friday, 22 November 2024

ODG200 : Mycelium / Gateways to the deep

 

Cover art by Nicolas Marchant



ODG200 : Mycelium / Gateways to the deep

The Belgian trio Mycelium was founded around the desire to do free improvisation. 

Aurore Leloup is a guitarist and trombonist who plays in jazz and traditional groups.
Lydie Thonnard is a flautist, singer and body percussionist who plays in classical, contemporary, jazz and traditional groups. 
Nicolas Marchant (see also ODG192) is a composer with a background in electronic music; he has worked for the theater and dance companies.

Very quickly the improvisation sessions led them towards organic, grainy and minimalist soundscapes which inspired the name Mycelium. This first album is divided into 5 movements. 
Their electroacoustic sounds and electronic experimentations gives us an intricate and mysterious music partly ambient, partly noisy avant garde... Listen and judge for yourself!


Aurore Leloup : Guitar, pedals
Nicolas Marchant : Electronic, processing
Lydie Thonnard : Flutes, vocals

Digital release on the 22th of November 2024.

Track listing:

1: First pass
2: Second door
3: Third way
4: Fourth bridge
5: Fifth path

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:


And on Bandcamp:

Friday, 15 November 2024

ODG197 : Adam Majdecki-Janicki / Zoneout

 

Cover art by Justin Jackley


ODG197 Adam Majdecki-Janicki / Zoneout

 
Adam Majdecki-Janicki (1985) is a multi talented Polish artist with a penchant for creating mind-bending musical landscapes. His music is a captivating fusion of psychedelic rock, experimental sounds, and poetic lyricism, taking listeners on a journey through a kaleidoscope of emotions. With his DIY ethos and unwavering passion for music, he is a force to be reckoned with in the underground music scene.

He has previously released his work on labels such as Nebular Silence, Superspace Records, Engram Recordings, Illuminated Paths, Silent Method Records, Snow in Water Records, Father and Son Records and Tapes, attenuation circuit, Anticipating Nowhere Records, Fifth Section Records, nostalgie de la boue, Muteant Sounds (net label), Veinte 33 Records, Boiled Angel Records, Herby Records, and Argali Records Netlabel.

After 25 years of artistic work, his debut vinyl LP titled simply “Adam Majdecki-Janicki” was released with Herby Records on December 9 2023. It is a beautiful limited release with exclusive artwork by Justin Jackley.

In 2024, Adam is entering his 26th year of operation as an artist.

His new album, “Zoneout”, sees Adam exploring his more psychedelic and improv side. He uses primarily acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitar, and synthesizers, but also utilizes tapes in the spirit of his 2020 “Eimi” album complimented by Maurizio Bianchi himself. The music is a curious mixture of Kosmische Musik, noise, and folklore. Traces of drone and ambient can also be detected, as well as traces of free jazz, and punk.

“Zoneout” was recorded live January 31-February 5 2024 at the Via Kosmische home studio in Poznań, Poland. Only first takes were used for the final album experience.

“Zoneout” is a fine addition to Adam's long catalogue of works, and a fresh look at what is now 26 years of work as an audio artist.



Digital release on the 15 of November 2024.

Track listing:

A1: First Morning Jam
A2: Tape Structure
A3: Care for Earth
A4: Weird Pipe
A5: Der Schmiere
B1: Die Rauchfahne
B2: Szumy Uszne
B3: Ein Ding
B4: Zones
B5: Porozumienie Miedzyplanetarne
B6: Mindtripeye

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:


And on Bandcamp:
 

Tuesday, 12 November 2024

OUI047 : Daniele Morelli - Hadrien Santos da Silva / Cinema

 


Cover art by Raul Herrer



OUI047 : Daniele Morelli - Hadrien Santos da Silva / Cinema 

Daniele is used to play in solo, duo, trio or more, adapting his delicate guitar play to mostly 'jazz' compositions but loves also to experiment with unusual musicians ( glass music) or loved territories like his new album 'Cinema'. 

Daniele says: 
"I have always been a cinema lover, this is my personal homage to cinema, cinema music, Italian cinema and in general. 
Most of the music comes from the 1972 Italian film Pinocchio by Fiorenzo Carpi. I added other compositions from other films and invited a great friend, Hadrien Santos da Silva, an attentive and fine drummer who I have known for many years. Hadrien accepted the adventure without doubt. We met in a hotel room in Paris to mix it together and this is the result. Happy listening" 

Daniele Morelli has released already 6 albums on Off, see Catalogue page to discover all of them. 

Raised in Latin America (Peru, Mexico), Hadrien Santos Da Silva started with rock and metal, before training in jazz at the conservatories of Angoulême and then Lyon, where he stills live. 
After twenty years, he quickly turned to world music...  more

credits 

Daniele Morelli: guitars 
Hadrien Santos da Silva: drums and percussions 
Lucio Jiménez: mastering 
Cover by Raúl Herrera

Digital release on the 12th of November 2024.

Track listing:

1: Autostop per Rio
2: C'era una volta il West
3: Geppetto Theme
4: Il gatto e la volpe
5: Pinocchio
6: Lucignolo
7: Shindler's list
8: Ultimo tango a Parigi
9: In cerca di cibo
10: Turchina


Itunes, Spotify, etc.:


And on Bandcamp:

Friday, 8 November 2024

ODG199 : Fleur de Feu / In the Great Night

 

Cover art by Nicole Boitos


ODG199 : Fleur de Feu / In the Great Night

'In the Great Night' is the first single from ‘Weep’, Fleur de Feu’s second album to be released on March 7th through P.O.G.O. Records (CD) & Off (digital).

The song evokes a shamanic journey undertaken by Owl woman, a Cheyenne medicine woman who lived in the 19th century.

The track was recorded, mixed and mastered by Déhà and it features special guest Matthieu Safatly on cello.


Pre-orders for the album are available through Bandcamp:
With: Déhà - production, percussion, guitar, bass & synth
Teuk Henri - guitar
Matthieu Saftly - cello
Raphaël Rastelli - guitar & synth
Alinovsky - percussion
Dominique Van Cappellen-Waldock - guitar loops & voice
The album will feature special guests Homesick James De Backer - lapsteel guitar & Jacopo Andreini - yayli tambur

Digital release on the 30th of October 2024.

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:

https://bfan.link/in-the-great-night



Tuesday, 5 November 2024

ODG184 - ODG196 : Alinovsky / America decides + Decided



Cover art y A.L.


ODG184: Alinovsky feat. Dominique Van Cappellen-Waldock / America Decides

Alinovsky says:
'Dominique ( Baby Fire, Fleur de Feu...) provided me with some vocals to sample and play with. Finally I used the 2 tracks she gave me without any cutting and went directly on assembling beats, effects and synths... The result is strange and reminds me a bit of the Peloponnese voices... Hope you'll enjoy them!"

Specially composed for the day of the US elections on the 5 of November 2024.

Digital release on the 5th of November 2024.

Track listing:

1: The Dream
2: The Reality

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:


And on Bandcamp:

   



Cover art by A.L.



ODG196 : Alinovsky / Decided

After 'America decides' released on the 05/11/2024 for the US elections comes naturally 'Decided' on the 08/11/2024...
So be it!

PS: those 2 tracks were recorded in January while Biden was still the front runner of the Democratic party and while I was almost certain of the Trump victory...
Unfortunately I was correct...

Digital release on the 8th of November 2024.

Track listing:

1: Prepare your AK47! 
2: And the winner is...! 

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:


And on Bandcamp:

Friday, 1 November 2024

ODG198 : The Wrong Object / In and Outflown Takes

 


Cover art by Marc Atkins



ODG198 : The Wrong Object / In and Outflown Takes

The Wrong Object was born from various short-lived Liège-based groups formed in the late 1990s, including a duet involving Michel Delville and Andrew Norris (featured here on several tracks as a slide guitarist and a lyricist alongside singer Isabelle Doyen). Its infancy was marked by an effort to create musical objects and mobiles inspired by their current heroes, who, as the band’s first home-made flyers claimed, included Bartok, Mingus and Amon Tobin alongside Zappa and the Canterbury Scene. This release has no other ambition but to document ten previously unreleased or unavailable compositions, most of them rescued from antique flash drives, minidisc recordings and reel-to-reel tapes. These are pieces of original material recorded both in the studio and live (sometimes by the band themselves, sometimes by someone in the audience) in the prototypical phases of the development of the band’s music and aesthetics. This was largely before the band began to stabilize into durable, semi-permanent units around the personalities of band founder Michel Delville and tenured drummer Laurent Delchambre (the Stories from the Shed and the After the Exhibition line-ups lasted for ca. five and eight years, respectively), which is when Delville and his cohorts went on to explore more complex and intricate post-modal chamber jazz rock territories, recording and touring extensively across Europe in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. At that time The Wrong Object was still basically a musical collective rather than a band in the traditional sense (for a non-exhaustive list of musicians having contributed to the band’s development over the last twenty-five years click here), one whose goal was, as critic Jim Allen fittingly puts it, to “arrive at an amalgam of jazz, rock and prog with a wicked sense of humor … gleefully pulling the rug out from under you whenever the spirit moves them”.






All compositions by Michel Delville
Lyrics on 1, 4 & 8 by Andrew Norris 
Artwork © Marc Atkins: www.marcatkins.com
© (P) Michel Delville & The Wrong Object, 2024. 

Digital release on the 1st of November 2024.

Track listing: 

1: Space Debris 0:38
2: Icy Uncle 8:45
3: The Honeypump Riff 7:44
4: Halfway Back to Cyclops 3:47
5: Wet Weather Wet 4:58
6: Cogs Fate 4:07
7: How It Is 4:30
8: Waterlily 4:17
9: Besotten but Not Forgotten 10:10
10: Bellini June Treat 9:58 

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:


And on Bandcamp:

Friday, 25 October 2024

OVD084 : Pierre Vervloesem / Easy Solos

 


Cover art by Pierre Vervloesem




OVD084 : Pierre Vervloesem / Easy Solos

A Bandcamp only release for your pleasure!

Digital release on the 25th of October 2024.

Track listing:

1: Mosquito Nets
2: Folk Wrestling
3: Glass Tea Towel
4: First Walk In The Snow For Sam The Dog
5: Clearly Uncertain
6: It Must Be Free
7: Beauty In All Its Relative Glory
8: Sharing Of Territories
9: Viking Kung-Fu
10: Rock'N'Roll Beatitude
11: The Long Road To Veganism
12: Tcherno Deal

Bandcamp:

Friday, 18 October 2024

ODG194: John Americus Witt / VS The Sad Bandits - Sacalagrimas (remix)

 

Cover art by Silas Plum



ODG194: John Americus Witt / VS The Sad Bandits - Sacalagrimas (remix)

John who was part of helping the 2 brothers from The Sad Bandits' for their first album (see ODG167) is back this time with an absolute and complete remix of their second album 'Sacalagrimas'. 

Again injecting his usual electronics and talents and bringing the album in another more 'electronica' journey than their typical Chiapas/ world music vibes which make it a new discovery! Enjoy!

Digital release on the 18th of October 2024.

Track listing:

1: Yaxchilán (feat. The Sad Bandits)
2: San Cristobal de Las Casa (feat. The Sad Bandits)
3: Palenque (feat. The Sad Bandits)
4: San Juan Chamula (feat. The Sad Bandits)
5: Toniná (feat. The Sad Bandits)
6: Cañon del Sumidero (feat. The Sad Bandits)
7: Unión Juárez (feat. The Sad Bandits)
8: Tapachula (feat. The Sad Bandits)
9: Tuxtla Chico (feat. The Sad Bandits)
10: Metapa (feat. The Sad Bandits)
11: La Trinitaria (feat. The Sad Bandits)
12: Ocosingo (feat. The Sad Bandits)
13: Salto de Agua (feat. The Sad Bandits)
14: Coapilla (feat. The Sad Bandits)

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:


And on Bandcamp:

Wednesday, 16 October 2024

ODG193 : Baby Fire / The Red Robe 10th anniversary


Cover art by Alice Smith


ODG193 : Baby Fire / The Red Robe 10th anniversary 

In October 2013, upon invitation by ex Crass members Gee Vaucher and Penny Rimbaud, and producer Tony Barber (The Buzzcocks) Baby Fire set to record at Dial House - Crass’ legendary former headquarters.
The Red Robe was crafted in the Sheddio, one of the sheds on the premises. The album featured special guests Eve Libertine and Penny Rimbaud on vocals.

To celebrate the album’s 10th anniversary (see album here) Off is releasing two remixes: ‘The Red Robe’ - the album’s title track - by Déhà (Wolvennest, La Muerte…) and ‘Victory’ by Emmanuelle de Hericourt (aka EDH). 
We wish to thank Vincent from Cheap Satanism Records for suggesting the remix by EDH back in 2015.

The original artwork by Alice Smith has been revamped by the artist and is now blood red, reflecting all the more the title track’s raw intensity.






Digital release on the 16th of October 204.

Track listing:

1: The Red Robe - Déhà remix
2: Victory - EDH remix

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:


And on Bandcamp:

Friday, 11 October 2024

OJP079 : Miss Canine Hoe / B.D.S.M.

 


Cover art by Miss Canine Hoe


OJP079 : Miss Canine Hoe / B.D.S.M.

Miss Canine Hoe composed the album over a period of six months after a  live performance in July 2023.

Mytyl composed and arranged all the tracks in her room based on field recordings and sampling working with Ableton and modulars.

The title "B.D.S.M." may sound dubious but the content is not so much or rather contains eight tracks titled by borrowing only acronyms. On the other hand, it is also true that "B.D.S.M." is an inseparable theme from Mytyl and Elly (as much as LGBTQ is), and they hope that their thoughts and feelings can be heard, especially in the two tracks that Elly wrote lyrics.

Mytyl Sheena started Miss Canine Hoe with Elly Sheena in 2021.
They have been taking a “personal journey in search of sound” and developing “sonic experiments since then.
Second Life, one of the metaverse, is the base of their activities.


Initially, Mytyl started to make music in 2017 with her inclination toward modulars, noise oscillators and field recording. Her encounters with alternative genres such as contemporary music, noise music, and experimental music have now shifted her interest to the resonance and layering of sound itself, rather than commercial "music" production.

Elly always supports Mytyl both physically and mentally, while writing lyrics and promoting.



Mytyl’s Blog : https://mch.world/ (in Japanese)
Elly’s Blog : https://mch.promo (in Japanese)
Youtube Channel : https://youtube.com/@misscaninehoe

Digital release on the 11th of October 2024.

Track listing:

1: Belphegor
2: Dark Side of the Moon
3: Six Nine
4: Memento Vivere
5: Butterfly
6: Dimidium
7: Sol Omnibus Lūcet
8: Memento Mori

Itunes, Spotify, etc.:

And on Bandcamp: