Debut EP of “Portugese project doing cinematic postrock”. Special treat: excellently crafted melody lines.
What I like about post rock as a genre is how consistent it is. Once you have heard 3-4 albums, you immediately can recognise it and start concentrating on subtle differences, or bath your ears in the never-ending chord progressions above percussive loops that slowly build up to a loud, but modestly self-restrained instrumental finale. And that’s what awaits you here, as well…
Continue reading “As Above So Below – [2016] Ritos I”Old swing samples meet instrumental hip hop loops. Both casually and dancually enjoyable.
Back in 2013, Belgian (surprise!) producer Boogie Belgique published Vol. 1 of this series (ojdo reported). Only one year later, this gem followed. Time for me to follow up: like before, modern percussion arrangements are woven together with vintage recordings, carefully curated, sliced and spliced to create a tasty blend that could be described as instrumental hip hop. But this is only half true. Listen to hear for yourself:
Continue reading “Boogie Belgique – [2014] Nightwalker (Vol. 2)”Musical guitar-focused post rock. Spacy in more than one sense.
This release at Cologne-based netlabel Der kleine grüne Würfel comes from ESA’s communication officer, who produces music for a hobby; what a nice surprise! 8 tracks of laid-back, slightly trippy instrumental post rock want to be discovered: Continue reading “Marco Trovatello – [2018] Not At All”
Ambient acoustic guitar. Very musical 2 track EP.
With only two tracks, this short EP by artist Fellirium makes it easy for me to select my habitual two tracks for you. Airy guitar tones with noticeable reverb calmly meditate over beautiful riffs with minimal synthetic background drones: Continue reading “Fellirium – [2017] Bill A & 24/7”
Cinematic instrumental post rock. Like an alternative soundtrack to Magnolia, this slow-paced exercise in wackyness.
The inspiration taken from Air cannot be overheard, and is clearly stated in the album’s release notes. So if you like the alternative sound of the French pop duo, give this album a try on a train ride. Continue reading “Wacky Southern Current – [2011] In a Realm of Uncertain Summer”
Piano meets glitch electronics. Hybrid sound of live recording and studio production.
This is more on the artsy side of the spectrum I am reviewing here, but some broccoli from time to time is good for the taste buds, or so I heard… but sketchy metaphors aside: this release won’t make you dance, but instead tickle your musical senses where they are rarely touched by radio music. Continue reading “Luis Marte & Roger Delahaye – [2017] MOVIL/INMOVIL”
Playful electronica. Synth pads and drums fight against bad weather.
Netlabel Phonocake is a constant source of slightly quirky, but always fun electronic sounds. This album by US artist transient is no exception: happy bleeps and upbeet rhythms fight for (mental) good weather. The full album has 7 tracks, like usual I present 2 noteworthy samples… Continue reading “beat.dowsing – [2012] trigger.melodies”
Jazzy postrock. A modern classic, surfing hard on genre boundaries.
This gem of a EP, released at now inactive Berlin netlabel 12rec is surprisingly hard to classify. Although it ticks all the boxes of instrumental postrock, the songs touch everything from pop music and jazz harmonics. Jazz in disguise, so to speak. Continue reading “jasmin – [2005] EP02”
Bassy classy instrumental hip hop. Vocal samples introduce each song, but then instrumental samples reign.
This blog has seen its fair share of releases from netlabel Dusted Wax Kingdom. Somehow, they manage to consistently select for artists that produce the label’s signature sound of vintage sound samples, mixed with contemporary beats and effects. So does this recent album by MEDL4. Continue reading “MEDL4 – [2017] Anima Mundi”
Portuguese guitar meets modern beats. Guitar and double bass, featuring electronic sounds.
This gem I found via the Enough Records mixed tape for the 2016 CC Europe Meeting in Lisbon. It features artists M-PeX (Portuguese guitar), André Coelho (double bass), and DJ X-Acto who provides the electronic part. It’s incredible stuff that deserves much more attention than the release’s view counter indicates. Continue reading “M-PeX – [2014] ODÝSSEIA”
