SENEGAL JAZZ: This classic 1982 piece (Ndiaga Niaw) starts out in an ordinary way with vocals, but at the 2:30 minute mark, when the saxophone introduces a new theme, the whole piece transforms. It becomes a pulsating circus of saxophone, guitar, drums and voices masterfully weaving in and out.
Eurovision
hello
Library/Freegal and Creative Commons
While organizing my music collection on my PC, I was astonished to discover a few albums which I apparently bought but never listened to or even knew that I have.
I have this magnificent compilation by Brainticket, which was a Belgian Krautrock/psychedelic rock band from the 1970s. Their first album Cottonwoodhill (1971) is a real trip and unlike anything I’ve ever heard. (I’ll be reviewing it later).
Pirates Choice by Orchestra Baobab. (1982). This milestone 1982 recording (released in 1989 and re-released in 2002) showcases the Afro-Cuban fusion coming out of Senegal in the 1970s and 1980s. It started with Star Band of Dakar, eventually splitting into the more dance-oriented mbalax and traditional jazz played at Club Baobab. Orchestra Baobab was the club’s house band that later become an internationally famous after Pirates Choice was re-released. A saxophone is front and center of almost each performance, and singers alternate between Spanish and Oolof. This recording was magical and equally balances the sax, percussion, electric guitar and two voices. This album includes both slower and lyrical songs (Soldadi, Ngalam) and more lively gumbos. Ndiago Niaw starts out in an ordinary piece with vocals, but at the 2:30 minute mark, when the saxophone introduces a new theme, the whole piece transforms. It becomes a pulsating circus of saxophone, guitar, drums and voices masterfully weaving in and out. Although the saxophone leads for a good while, it hands off beautifully to the relaxing & uplifting guitar and eventually to the two singers. The similarly intense Ray MBele brings a melody and tugs at it relentlessly throughout the song. Although the guitar introduces a gentle breeze midway through and the instrumental sections are just amazing, the back-and-forth between instruments and voices bring an intensity to the song. (Initially I regarded OB as simply a great jazz band, but now I savor the singing just as much — if not more so). Utrus Horas begins so lackadaisically that one is inclined to overlook it, but the singing is so beautiful and the guitar solo is so slow and questioning. The song is both restrained and yet at the end all the elements meet and blend together. The remaining tracks (Toumaranke, Foire Internationale, La Rebellion, Werente Serigne) are faster lowkey pieces. Overall, this collection provides a well-balanced diet of jazz and singing that makes the album timeless and always surprising.
Introduction: Archive.org and the Death of Standards
I hate to be the one to break the news, but as I use archive.org more often, I have noticed that it hosts a lot of unauthorized or infringing audio or video. I mean a LOT!
I always knew that any nonprofit organization that hosts content will feature uploads that shouldn’t have been uploaded there. Frankly I am glad that audio & video uploaded from the 1920s-1940s are available because often they are not available for elsewhere, often not even on the used markets. I expect that was mainly a manpower issue and that eventually volunteers will block items that were obviously infringing. For music, I thought that eventually albums will be streamable but not be downloadable; that seemed like a fair way to address infringing content.
Also, I knew that some types of audio and albums never were digitized and often were originally CD compilations of dubious origin. Look at this “album” on archive.org which actually consists of 1800 mp3 tracks. A quick look reveals that there’s a lot of unknown 90s Eurodisco tracks on this collection (well, unknown to me). But there’s also a bunch of extremely well-known tracks as well (such as Haddaway’s What is Love, Mariah Carey, etc). This seems to come from a lot of Russian compilation CD’s (I know them well). Although the zip file (13 gig) is probably too big to download directly, you probably can download the torrent (I haven’t tried).
I have significantly less scruples about downloading music from the 1960s and before — if only because of the importance of discovering and preserving our cultural history (and the fact that many of these albums — while available for streaming and for sale–often have inflated prices because of their obscurity). That’s a rationalization of course, but that’s the story I’m running with. Practically speaking though, almost none of these titles are available via library interlibrary loan, so there’s little other option.
Here’s another reason to love and rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Performances at the Bronze! Here’s Cibo Matto in a prolonged performance of Sugar Water. (YT). Here’s T.H.C. singing Wild at Heart. (YT). Here’s a YT playlist. (YT)
Aha, T.H.C. (W) is the work of George Sarah (BC) and Sarah Folkman.
Obit for William Orbit by Ben Beaumont-Thomas. “Orbit’s astonishing range of sound – heavy breakbeats, acoustic guitars, trance synths and more – was put to use on everything from sweeping ballads to the pell-mell acid house of the title track, re-establishing Madonna’s credentials as a vanguard pop star and earning her first non-video Grammy award wins.” (Speaking of the iconic Ray of Light album).
I have been sifting through Orbit’s legacy and learning about the British singers like Katie Melua, Beth Orton and others.
Before she become a global musical superstar, the Greek singer Nana Mouskouri came to the US in 1962 to record a jazz album with Quincy Jones. It is absolutely lovely — here it is on archive.org. Here she is singing A Force De Prier in 1963 Eurovision. She didn’t win (idiots!) but her performance is remarkable! (YT)
Klaus Heinrich by Proffen. Great electric jazz, with female vocals. That opening title song is really catchy! (All the songs are similar)
YouTubey Stuff
2026 Eurovision had “Professor Eurovision” segments on Eurovision 2026 which tried to address perennial contest hard questions. Like: 1)which songs are the most successful? 2)Are there too many gays in Eurovision?(!) and 3. which country have received 0 points most often? (YT)
Here’s a great 1990 live performance of “Groove is in the Heart” by Dee-Lite months before they released it. (YT) The dancing is as crazy as you would expect.
I’ve always been a fan of Ladytron. Here they are talking about their musical influences (YT) This comes from the great “What’s in my Bag?” video series where musicians talk about their favorite albums.
Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir’ also does a What’s in My Bag video. (YT) She’s done a lot of movie scores, and I first heard about her from the amazing score she did for HBO’s series Chernobyl. (YT) The “Turbine Hall” track was particularly harrowing.
This delightful nonsense duet song (From Three Little Words movie) shows Debbie Reynolds 2 years before Singin’ in the Rain came out. Reynolds was 18 years old at the time! (YT)
Adriano Celentano sings the Ciao Ragazzi Ciao (YT)(tr. as Hey, Fellow, hey). Here is on archive.org the Non Mi Dir album released in 1965 where it came from.
Sammy Kane Kraft (W, Home) was an actress/athlete/musician who tragically died in a car accident at the age of 20. Here’s a great funky country song “Wasted” she performed at the LA Hootenanny (her last show).
I never thought that live versions of Cibo Matto Songs would do them justice, but here’s their 1997 live performance of Birthday Cake.
In 2014 they released another album called Hotel Valentine. Here are two live performances they did at the time (Live on KEXP, Summer Sonic Japan 2014).
Chocolate Cherry by Joe Tex Band. (YT) Texas was a Texas R&B singer popular in the 1950s and 1960s whose bands occasionally performed instrumentals.
ROCKING ITALIANO: Lately I have been watching lots of Italian singers on 1960s Italian TV (many of whom are still alive!) Here’s a killer song (Ciao Ragazzi Ciao, YT) by Adriano Celentano (who is a combination of Elvis and Weird Al Yankovic).
WEIRD AL’s latest song and video (with an unusual celebrity cameo!) provides a delightful biology lesson. (YT)
Marsh Family –a singing political parody group located in Faversham, Kent (UK). Here’s a wicked anti-Trump political parody (YA) based on Morissette’s song Ironic. This time it’s named “Isn’t it Moronic?”) Here is their BC page.
After hearing the Irish singer CMAT perform on SNL UK, I can’t get enough of her album EURO-Country. Here’s her crazy song Jamie Oliver Petrol Station and the title song. (YT) Yes, the first 30 seconds of the song is sung in Gaelic. Here’s a long interview she did with the Daily. (YT)
Eurovision
Given my obsession with Eurovision (and now Eurovision Asia) I suppose it’s only appropriate to create a section for it.
A Eurovision thread about strange/unsettling EV songs mentions Justyna Steczkowska’s 1995 entry “Sama” (YT), and I gotta admit, it’s the weirdest, most interesting song I’ve heard in a while. Justyna was 22 years old when she did that one, and 30 years later, she competed in EV 2025 with Gaja (YT) which is better and more mainstream — but still terrific. She placed 18th out of 23 in 1995 (not surprising), but 14th out of 26 in 2025. Jeezus!
You may already know that I have owned tons of music CDs and also have checked out a ton of CD’s from the library. I realize that it is slightly anachronistic to spend so much time accumulating music files, and sure it consumes a lot of time sometimes, but I have stumbled upon lots of amazing stuff. But honestly, I still haven’t listened to a lot of it, and often I listen to albums only once and then forget about it. So it’s probably a good idea to write about rediscovering albums already in my music collection.
Here are some digitized CDs I have gotten into recently:
Albums by Cibo Matto. Holy cow she is good and strange and jazzy and eclectic.
Trance stuff by Jes. Jes sings a lot of tracks. She has a lovely voice, and she seems to produce her own tracks (I love Memento).
Fastball. Iconic Austin rock band (whose song “The Way” is one of the most melancholy-nostalgic songs I have heard,
Analog Africa albums. Some German company compiles lots of niche Africa bands from previous decades. Eclectic crate-digging stuff — always great.
Reviews
Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey. Lana Del Rey has a sultry, syrupy artificial singing style which lingers on a lot of notes. These slow and overproduced songs add all kinds of unnatural reverberations and multitracks, so Del Roy’s vocals almost never appears in isolation. This makes the songs sound multilayered, trembly and almost psychedelic, with the instruments giving the songs extra fiber. Great melancholy lyrics and amazing expressive vocals give the songs emotional heft (especially in songs like Pretty When You Cry and Money Power Glory). The title song, Ultraviolence plods along beautifully, and Shades of Cool (probably the most conventional song here) soars slowly as the guitar crashes away until it starts to soar some more. The only thing I can compare it to might be Low or Goldfrapp or maybe Pink Floyd (!) This is a great indefinable album; all I can say that everything blends together beautifully, even if it is densely packed.
Jes‘ Memento. Collection of trancey or rocktronica tracks either by Jes Brieden or collaborations Jes had with other trance luminaries (like BT, Tiesto, Markus Schulz, etc.) Jes has a lovely & iconic & soulful voice (you hear it, and say, hey, that’s a trance song). One great collaboration is Sunrise (with Aly & Fila) where Jes actually has meaningful lyrics to sing (and isn’t merely sampled in myriad variations). (Two other tracks to showcase her voice is the forlorn “Fall into You” and the first track, “All or Nothing”). I absolutely love “Awaken” (a sole Jes production that starts with a verse and then gradually builds up with a steady beat — out of the versions I’ve heard, this is my favorite). “Under the Midnight Sun” is a fun upbeat Jez production that has the lightness of a mainstream pop song. Although this album has lots of bright spots, it can be fatiguing to listen to it straight through. (Here’s that kickass remix of Awaken YT and her being interviewed YT on a local news show).
Cibo Matto: Viva La Woman. This first genre-bending concept album by this punk/rap/jazz band used eclectic samples, trip hop sound and female yells and chants to produce a soft mysterious sound. The downtempo tracks like Sugar Water, White Pepper Ice Cream and Theme are lovely and brooding, while the more upbeat and punky Le Pain Perdu and Know Your Chicken have an absurd postmodern craziness. Don’t get the food themes, but the melodies and textures and juxtapositions are always fascinating even if it sometimes feels disjointed and improvisational. This works more as a concept album than as a showcase of pop songs.
Cibo Matto, Stereo Type A. This second album by this genre-bending group has more fun and danceable trip hop tracks while preserving the eclectic Japanese style and jazzy arrangements (horns pop up in several places). They certainly do a better job of showcasing the range and personality of Miho Hatori’s soulful singing style. The first few tracks (Working for Vacation, Spoon, Flowers) are strong, tight electronic songs reminiscent of Komeda or Ladytron. Some tracks are so funky and elegantly produced that they might have been done by Fatboy Slim, and the spacey “Clouds” recalls David Bowie or Gary Newman. Three rap songs (Lint of Love, Sci-Fi Wasabi and Speechless) sounds contemporary and upbeat. The last few tracks are more experimental: some hard rock (Blue Rock) , dreamlike (Mortming, Sunday Pt 2). Great album, though it offers so many flavors that a certain fraction of the tracks will disappoint.
Peru Selvatico: Sonic Expedition into the Peruvian Amazon 1972-1986. A delightful compilation of fast easygoing tropical cumbia guitar melodies with galloping percussions which are mainly instrumentals (although vocals pop in occasionally). Without the usual Latino brass, the dance tunes feel low-key and relaxing, like a psychedelically colored smoothie. Most of the tracks are short and full of reverberations, organ and repetitions. These instrumentals are so gentle that one could even fall asleep to them.
self-titled by Tarkovsky Quartet. This lovely debut album by the French piano quartet was inspired by the spirit of filmmaker Tarkovsky. They are slow, impressionistic and full of lingering pauses and brief melodies. Consisting of a piano, cello, sax and accordion, they don’t so much blend as interweave. The structure feels loose and improvisational although I’m confident that everything was meticulously composed in advance. L’Apocalypse is slightly mad, but energetically swerves from instrument to instrument; the accordion provides nice reverberations; it almost feels like a woodwind instrument. Doctor Faustus is slow and mysterious, with the cello providing a secret passion. Putting these 4 instruments together doesn’t make sense, but it works extremely well here. Despite the slow tempo, complex melodies, pauses and occasional dissonances, this album is very listenable. Great for concentration or even sleep.
Hello Waveforms by William Orbit. British music producer Orbit is mostly known for producing the phenomenal Ray of Light album by Madonna. Here’s a understated downtempo electronic album full of pleasant moments fluttering tones and relaxing interludes reminiscent of Brian Eno (especially in “Fragamosia” and “Firebrand”). If one were not paying attention, these low intensity melodies would seem ordinary, but all the songs have fine textures and nuances crammed into 4 or 5 minutes. Surfing and You Know Much about Flying Saucers have gentle upbeat melodies, almost no crescendos, but a steady beat. Spiral introduces vocals by the Sugababes, and “They Live in the Sky” has airy cooing vocals by Annette and Paulette Morris. It’s surprising and refreshing that a pop producer would make such a slow minimalist album without a dance beat; it seems created to relax the mind and body and escape the noisy urban world.
Dandelion Gum by Black Moth Super Rainbow. This unusual album prominently features a vocoder and various kinds of chip-electronic music paired with a conventional rock band and organ to produce a series of psychedelic instrumental riffs and occasional melodies which feel like KraftWerk or Stereolab. At times it is zany and fast-paced (Lollpopsichord, Rollerdisco ). At other times it is slow and wistful (Untitled Roadside Demo, which is a real gem). At other times it is glitchy, choppy and very percussive (Caterpillar House, Melt Me, Sun Lips). Normally I would cringe at these artificial electronic effects, but it overall effect seems closer to contemplative jazz fusion because it blends so many strange and eerie effects into something calming and even transcendant. Described as “hypnagogic pop” (or “pop music refracted through the memory of a memory”) it really grows on you.
Girl from Greece Sings by Nana Mouskouri (1962). This early English-language album by Nana Mouskouri (produced by Quincy Jones) features American jazz standards. The torch songs are gentle, slow, deliberate, and absolutely beautiful. Nana’s tones are pitch-perfect; her singing style reminds me sometimes of Streisand or even Fitzgerald, but it’s more subtle and toned down. Although the arrangements have lush moments, mostly it stays lowkey with quirky embellishments (like the drums in I Get a Kick out of You). Songs like “Touch of Your Lips” and “You Forgot All the Words” are slow and dreamy, but the light string arrangements are divine. All the songs sound familiar, but Mouskouri’s slight accent and unconventional intonations give it a distinctive, charming flavor. All the songs are winners, and this is great relaxing, sleep-inducing music.
Secrets by the Human League. 2001. This later HL album really captures the original 80s synthpop sound that made them famous. In between several short electronic interludes (which are catchy, funky and pleasant), HL offers a bundle of peppy sounds with Philip Oakley singing lead and the two female singers (Catherall and Sulley) singing background and harmonies. The synth sound feels like Ladytron, Depeche Mode or Tom Tom Club, but the melodies themselves feel more like mainstream pop (esp All I Ever Wanted, You’ll Be Sorry and Sin City). Although I like the weird & grungy Reflections and Sin City, other tracks Liar and Love Me Madly just gallop along. With the synthbeat and electronic flourishes this almost feels like a retro-dance album.
Подарю Тебе Полмира by Nepara (2006). The lovely duo (Alexander Shoua and Daria Khramova) that comprise Nepara (“Not a Couple”) sing pleasant upbeat danceable songs with a retro-disco beat. But this compilation (which include many of their earliest hits from 2003 and 2006) also has lots of ballads (Развлечься, Бог тебя выдумал, Взлетай) that soar beautifully. The understated arrangements remind me of El Kravchuk or Mummy Troll. Finally, several oddballs are thrown in (a Russian version of “Sunny” and techno versions of Ukrainian folk song Chervona Ruta and their own Другая Причина).
Canyon Trilogy by R. Carlos Nakai (2014). Nakai is a famed performer of the Native American flute, and this is his most famous work. These pieces are solo pieces with multrack of the same instrument, creating a multilayered effect of reverberating sound. These slow pieces are solemn, spiritual and surprisingly intricate even though they all sound similar. I love almost every moment, and this is ideal for sleeping music. Nakai plays a lot of classical music and founded a jazz quartet, which is kind of mind-boggling.
Lowell Davidson Trio by Lowell Davidson (1965). These intricate energetic improvisational jazz pieces consist of piano, bass and drums. Although Lowell Davidson’s piano provides a melodic body, in fact all 3 instruments play off each other equally well. Davidson’s choppy playing sounds like a Barber piano piece; at times it flutters around like a butterfly or a rambunctious spirit. Stately L and Dunce have a slow almost mysterious pace. In contrast, Ad Hoc provides an exhilarating rush of excitement (in true virtuoso fashion), and the bass — while overshadowed by the other two instruments throughout the 12 minute — springs to life midway through to provide emphasis and mood. These experimental dissonant pieces remind me of Lars Johan Werle‘s rapid and turbulent intro to Bergman’s Persona. Every minute of this album captivated me — never becoming banal or repetitive — though there is hardly a melody there. Despite the avant-garde sensibility and dissonance, everything holds together well, especially because of Davidson’s astonishing inventiveness on the piano. Sadly, this is Davidson’s only recording.
Onuka is an electro-folk Ukrainian band led by Nata Zhyzhchenko which mixes pop singing with electronic effects using a variety of instruments. Their stunning interval act during 2017 Eurovision introduced their amazing sound to a larger audience. This studio album has a variety of styles and tones. Some songs (Guns Don’t Shoot, Golos, Animal) are brassy and bombastic and almost angry; they seem like epic music for a dystopian war movie. Strum (Currents) is a slow and lovely poetic song about overcoming emptiness and hopelessness (a brave sentiment for the war that would overtake her country a few years later). Golos (Voice) is more of a Zen anthem about finding truth eventually. The final track, Vatra, is a bubbling trancey instrumental that has a fairy tale quality vibe (like Robert Miles?) and midway through changes to a slower transcendent flute-infused moment of uplifting magic. Nata Z.’s poetic experiments remind me of Laurie Anderson (especially in songs like ALL FRIENDS), but it’s more solemn and sorrowful, less absurdist, more focused on electronic sounds and pounding rather than surreal lyrics. To be honest, this album’s lyrics and melodies seem less remarkable than the stirring and clashing musical styles which have an almost cinematic grandness. The talent and ideas here are undeniable, but I expect later albums to be less pounding and emphasize the personal and melodic.
Greatest Hits by Lee Ann Womack. This outstanding compilation album collects Womack’s unassuming country pop songs that are slow, humble and heartfelt. They are about surviving and pushing through heartbreak (A little Past Little Rock). The lyrics are simple and direct, yet meaningful and embued with metaphor (Why do they Call it Falling, Something worth leaving behind). The album is full of sweet instrumental interludes with violin, harmonica, organ, guitar and steel guitar when linger after Womack’s golden voice has found a shining moment. (I hope you dance). I hear a lot of Dolly in these songs (which are written by a variety of well-known singers), but Womack’s voice can bring energy and soul to so-so songs (Ashes by Now). This early compilation has a lot of polished mainstream songs that are friendly and avoid deep or dark things. These winning songs from the 1990s and 2000s don’t have much depth, but have lots of replay value. But later albums should be more expressive and personal.
1965 Update
I have put off posting for my 1965 project, but I have been busy collecting 1965ish music. Lots of it! I look forward to finding time to write about it, but parts will trickle here (such as the Lowell Davidson Trio review I posted above.
Of course, the big news is that Asha Bhosle died last week (Obit, W). Here’s a fun and catchy song “Sanam Tum Jahan” from the 1981 movie Kaalia (with dance moves and lipsyncing from Parveen Babi).
I was looking up something on my old Music Discoveries columns, and I realized how fun and revealing they were to read. Really, I just dash these things off, but it always manages to have fun stuff.
1965 Update
I still am focused relentlessly on cultural artefacts from the 1965 period, and added a few musical things.
Absolutely delighted that the wacky Bollywood dance number Jaan Pehchan Ho from the 1965 film Gumnaam (YT) Of course, the tune is very familiar to me, and I remembered that it appeared in the recent US movie Ghost World. I think I will watch Gumnaam eventually.
I just realized that the avante-garde jazz label ESP-Disk was really busy in the mid 1960s, and I in fact bought a a number of their albums a few years ago. Here’s their discography. Sonny Simmons, Burton Green Quartet, Sun Ra, etc.
Eurovision Coverage
EUROVISION FOR AMERICANS: For the first time ever, Americans will be able to watch the Eurovision finals on YouTube without being geo-blocked. The finals start Saturday at 2 PM CST & lasts 3 hours. (PS, also streamable on Peacock).
These German twins (the Kessler Sisters) made a splash in the 1959 Eurovision contest. (YT) They became a hit in the USA as frequent guest on 60s TV shows like the Ed Sullivan Show, singing with Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Perry Como, etc. Here’s their lavish dance number Quando Quando (for Italian TV?)
ELECTROSWING AT EUROVISION: I’ll say more about the competition later (overall: terrific!), but I was blown away by the noncompeting interval act — an electroswing song by Austrian DJ & producer Parov Stelar — with stellar singing from Moldovan-Bulgarian Elena Karafizi (who is on Bandcamp btw). I just love it!
All singers in Eurovision were outstanding — really! But often the songs themselves were not particularly memorable. The winner’s song (Bulgaria) was certainly memorable (and infectious!), but so were songs from Israel, France, Poland, Cyprus, Italy, etc. I just love Sal Da Vinci’s traditional pop song with an elegant disco sensibility. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNpFNJLhSfA
Of course, Dara (Bulgaria) had a great, funny & iconic & infectious song, Bangaranga (YT) But the choreography with chairs was incredible — and I noticed only later that the stage crew spun the room around. She definitely channels the energy of Ruslana, Netta & Verka Serduchka. It’s so great that (finally!) a Balkan country will be hosting next year. Here’s the original music video (not live) which is equally great.
Fans are Gaga about the Bangaranga song, but watching how they staged it without slipups is also incredible (YT)
OLDER STUFF BY DARA: Here’s a catchy 2019 song “Darbie” by Eurovision winner Dara. (YT) Some of her YouTube vids were already racking up millions of hits long before Eurovision brought her to the public spotlight.
Here’s an amazing 1992 Nirvana concert they did in Buenos Aires (YT) at the height of their fame. Their opening act
Articles and Interviews
Related: here’s the 2025 winner of Innervision (Russia’s Eurovision clone). Song was average, but maybe I’m not Asian enough for it.
The news about a new Eurovision for Asia really blew my mind. 10 countries have signed up so far. The first competition will be November 2026. I would bet that at least Japan or Indonesia will sign up before the deadline.
Several albums by feminist and pop cellist Unwoman. That includes IF YOUR RAGE CAN’T BE BEAUTIFUL (the most recent) and Desire Paths (which she calls her best). As part of a duet called Beauty Queen Autopsy, she made an album called Lotharia a while back. All good stuff.
Kharybdis by syn.terra (Home) Instrumental atmospheric jazz by a NY composer Sam Lerner. Upbeat and melodic instrumental rock whose brassiness recalls the KPM tracks from the 1970s. Also Mechanical Jazz,
R202RB by Raidio Tony. Jazzy guitar jam sessions loosely based on classic rock styles. Aha, this is AI music..
Horizons by Brian Jo. St. Louis singer-songwriter.
Concierto de evocación sonora para conjunto instrumental by Senogul. Remarkable experimental Spanish 2008 jazz-rock album from the Astronomy Recording Music label.
Northern Kingdoms by VA (Fangorn). Compilation of “Dungeon Synth” recordings, which sound like traditional British Tolkeinesque melodies with a synthesizer. This slightly resembles early Doctor Who music, but it is always melodically interesting.
ELECTRONIC. Vol. 1: Digital Time Paradox by Michael HERTER. Herter is a German electronic composer who creates a lot of instrumentals suitable for content creators (filmmakers, game designers, etc). So they are not exactly earth-shattering, but they are pleasant enough.
Little Epiphanies by the Kind Hills. Laid back slacker pop by a Brisbane band consisting of people from different countries. “In a series of subtle shifts, this international indie-pop collective presents a work that conveys the dull ache of lost love without unnecessary embellishment. It also offers a remedy to such pain as ‘simple pleasures’, an argument it conveys through an unhurried, unfettered, jangly indie-pop that never strays into the fluffier realms of contrition.”
A Curious Collection by Old Moth Dreams. Slow and dark ambient album labeled “dungeon synth.” Good sleep music; it’s ponderous but straightforward. “It is macabre, yes. It is unpredictable, certainly. It is schizophrenic fun from a parallel crypt—the sort of delirious sonic artifact you find only once in a lifetime, trembling in your hands, wondering how it got here… and why it seems to be breathing.”
11 Songs by Liberty Belle. Jangle-pop from French singer Jean-Francois Cantot. “a heartfelt homage to The Go-Betweens.”
Youtubey/Podcasty Things
Here’s a rare 60s recording by Curt Boettcher (who went on to start several sunny California bands).
College students would steal and hoard their parents’ copies of his records. As it stands, Boettcher — a pop-music producer whose heyday was the late ’60s — now survives in rock history mostly as a liner-note credit. He could have been, but never was. Yet he enjoys a godlike status among a select group of music fans, for whom obscurity is more enticing than fame.
Freegal and Library CDs
Here’s a pretty amazing collection of free/downloadable/streamable 1980s Italo-Disco and Euro-Disco tracks. Euro-Disco provides a fun and semi-mindless listening experience. Cover versions of many synthpop songs, lots of German and Italian singers singing in English (!) and long techno remix sections for just about every song! This treasure trove of 80s music is certainly going to change my generally negative impressions of 80s music.
Happy to see that Freegal has some albums by Dara and Parov Stelar. Also I have been using Freegal to collect some odds and ends from 1965-6.
Ever since I started to listen to a satellite radio station about 1940s music, I have been learning about that decade of music. Turns out archive.org has lots of high quality recordings, some of which appear to be from CDs of earlier albums. I am going to explore them in depth. For now, I merely need to link to this amazing URL which contains tons (and I mean tons!) of 1940s music.
There are two services for finding free bandcamp codes for albums and singles:
Getmusic.fm which allows artists to show FREE coupon codes for albums and singles. (You can also browse by labels and by genre.). Gemusic posts on bluesky preview links + 1 sentence descriptions several times a day. This has a lot of singer/songwriters and more established artists.
Band.codes, which basically does the same thing (but doesn’t charge musicians money). It’s more of a community of fans and artists with a higher percent of electronica/ambient/glitch, etc.
Some Notable Bands and Albums
(All are — or were — Name Your Price. I am putting the most recent finds at the top. These are the ones most likely to still be name-your-price. )
Various albums by Lithuanian ambient/electronic artist Paulius Kilbauskas, who is a Lithuanian composer who often does movie soundtracks (and pseudo-soundtracks like Music for Non-Existent Movies). I recommend Vanduo (which consists of longer ambient pieces. Also check out Elements and some of his live performances.
Various albums by Isaac Martinez.
We Stay Ugly ‘Til the Pretty Decays by Mara Calder. slow, dainty, spooky, moody. Just love this woman’s voice! Terrific & totally unique debut song collection that belongs in a night club or dark musical. Calder’s voice whispers & croons & soars. She brings drama, sadness and beauty to every song. The lyrics are fun & clever & cynical (SAINTS DON’T TIP, LOST PROPERTY OFFICE). Although most songs are slow and deliberate (with subtle piano arrangements), Calder surprises you with upbeat fast-paced numbers (DOORS OPEN, NO QUESTIONS) & angry bombast (IF THIS GOES WRONG, LET IT). A delightful BC gem. Update: Patient Zero EP here.
Unwoman is a prolific singer/cellist/electronica artist Erica Mulkey (Home) from San Francisco whose albums are all priced in the 1-3$ range. She calls her 2023 Desire Paths her best work, Also Beauty Queen Autopsy by Lotharia is a 2015 collaboration between Mulkey and Matt Fanale.
Two by The Nothing: Junk Space and Dekard’s Tale (I really liked Junk Space, which sampled lots of speech and melodies).
Ricco Label of contemporary Japanese label of classical/ambient music. (Artist catalogue). There’s a lot of cool stuff there (I returned the next day to buy several more things). Alas, I am only scratching the surface.
films is a dark fantasy group with two female vocalists. Beautiful textured cinematic sounds. Albums from the early 2010s. Messenger, a Forbidden Garden, plus some others not NYP.
RILF is an “alternative/electronica rock band with a slow mysterious sound. Occasional triphop elements, but mostly overlapping female voices. Ferris Wheel is an earlier eerier sound, while Three Stories for Numbers is post-rock dissonance, with slow sounds alternating with guitar and drum-pounding fury.
Monk Turner. I actually have written a lot (here and here) about this song-writer/producer known for making wacky concept albums. I would start with Emergency Songs (sung mostly by Fascinoma) and God Complex. His 25th Album compilation consists of very early stuff, but is still awesome!
Mutual Aid Fundraiser by FCK Ice. Protest album about ICE. Several songs are great, especially that first one.
Stargazing by Expert Timing. Getalternative.com says in a review: On their perpetually peppy and deeply endearing second LP Stargazing, the Orlando pop-rockers in Expert Timing turn existential pain and personal dread into foot-tapping, body-moving bursts of energy. Fronted by duo Katrina and Jeff Snyder, the endlessly fun songs on Stargazing feel like invitations to dance away the uncertainty — at their best, this band makes it feel like such a thing is possible. I also bought Glare.
11:28 by Dragons & Astronauts. Middle of the road Ohio rock.
Variations on Fripp & Eno’s “Eve… by Cloudland Blue Quartet. Good album in Eno’s style, but it contains a lot of extra (and I would say unnecessary) tracks.
s/t by Namian Sidibe. (Mali) Female singer with melancholy guitar.
At Pioneer Works by Les Filles de Illighadad. 3 female Tuareg singers sing rhythmic, hypnotic songs with guitar. (Niger)
s/t by L’Orchestre National de Mauritania. Long lost recordings from 1968-1975 during a period where a military coup ordered all cultural remnants of the former regime be destroyed.
Zerzura (OST) by Ahmoudou Madassane (Niger). 14 movie tracks. Most begin with 5-15 seconds of natural sounds, followed by the actual music. Described as “Saharan Desert Blues” or psychedelia.
Anou Malane by Abdallah Oumbadougou. (Niger/Benin). Reissue of 1995 studio recording by legendary composer and creator of Tuareg guitar music.
Acturus (DiN 19) by ARC. 2005 release on the UK DiN label. Three live tracks from a trance/EDM performance. I actually love this sound!
Khraniteli 2024 by Blackout Princesses. A collection of one man electronic/synth prog rock/kraut rock. Apparently the composer cleaned up the sound from an earlier release.
RippleFest Texas by Ripple Music label. Recordings from various heavy metal artists during a 2021 concert. Traditional sound with hints of ZZ Top.
Dreams Long Forgotten by Polarcoaster. Downbeat ambient soundscapes by Spanish ambient artist.
Sallaw by Porya Hatami, Aaron Marin, Roberto Altanasio. ($3) I’ve bought albums before of Iranian sound artist Hatami. Four ambient tracks, each representing a different season.
Listen by Tryad has always been one of my top 10 favorite albums of alltime. I interviewed the two people behind this album. Vavrek is a really amazing multi-talented musician and it’s great that he’s produced music for the creative commons community.
Tracing by Richard Chartier. 40 minute minimalist soundscape compared to “strange mist.” From one article: Created initially as his contribution to a mooted duo project with William Basinski, the latter rightly declined to add any contribution to what he insisted was already a finished piece.” (The Wire, UK) RJN: Maybe a little too dull for me.
Jabee (BC, Youtube) is an Oklahoma-based rap singer. Very versatile and has lyrics which tap into calls for social justice.
Gently but Firmly by Joyce Delaney. (Consisting of Chrissy Barnacle and Nyla) NYP Scottish dada-punk duo produces lots of minimalist fun songs with screwy lyrics.
Various NYP EPs by Nyla (from Joyce Delaney). All are minor fun — she plays the ukelele as well as guitar.
Now by 19 Wiosen. NYP. I loved this rock band by this electro-punk album by this Polish group. Surprisingly chill for a punk band that’s been around for 2 decades. Other albums are more raw, not as well put together. This one is terrific. Other albums by 19 Wiosen. Cesarstwo Zwierząt, Piękno, Pożegnanie ze światem.
Two albums by Kekal:Audible Minorityand Autonomy Indonesian Experimental heavy metal. Occasionally it’s too much and too noisy, but this veteran performing group is definitely trying to push the boundaries of what rock music really is. A for effort, unsure if I really sold on it yet.
Tough Love by Hamell on Trial. Songs with an Attitude. Actually about half of his albums are NYP. I really love the guitar jamming; these are real bluesy rock songs! Update: Ok, there’s some bluesy rock, but there’s also punk a la Violent Femmes. Versatile, never know what to expect.
Business Casual (Full Digital Discography of Vaporwave stuff for only $2) This is a gigantic collection, most of which is only so-so, but there are some magical moments in the vaporwave genre.
Hors-Jue by Hinn. France’s answer to the Clash, U2 and the Cure, etc which channels a lot of the same energy and excitement.
Wild Goats and Useless Heroes by Freak Fandango Orchestra. Zany and joyful multi-ethnic Spanish jazz band which probably are incredible live in concert.
Night in Berlin by Acid Carrots. I love the title song (which was also included in That Seventies compilation. Other tracks are so, so, but there’s a lot of promise in this Swedish rock band.
Crescendo by Novanta. Italian synthetic pop. Some of the synth sound is almost glitchy, but still these are interesting, minimalist, meditative songs with some vocals.
Exotic Instrumentals by Junk Shop Guru. Surreal 60s elevator muzak from Hawaii. Junk Shop Guru digitizes/collects a lot of incredibly strange 60s lounge music with themes (Bachelor, Empty Bed Music, etc).
訪問した (Visited) by Rasterphonics. Really strange/cool/soothing vaporwave music by a Denver artist. I also immediately snatched up the equally lovely MegaUpload. Wow, I really need to snatch the other two NYP album as well.
Not Old, Not New by Carsie Blanton. Mostly jazz standards with piano accompaniment. Still lovely. (She has some great original albums on BC — check out Buck Up).
Bloody Winter by Les Becasses. Recent French punk girl pop with great energy and fun.
Sweeter Sounds by the Rurals. (UK 2001) Triphop, EDM with dance grooves and occasional “soul-drenched vocals” (that’s how the band describes it).
Grow by Dendrites. Bombastic Greek heavy metal which is closer to Sammy Hagar or Van Halen than what passes as heavy metal these days.
Kuuhaku by Morimoto Naoki. Slow meditative Zen pieces by Japanese electronic composer.
Coercion of Deities (compilation by Neotantra) . Basically a big compilation of ambient, minimal music.
Broke by Baychimo. Danish drum and bass explorations
Seeing Inside by Serena Gabriel and Steve Roach. New age musician Steve Roach teams up with Gabriel who has a heavely, ethereal voice. Home run.
Albums by Tanya Donnelly (free). Donelly is the half-sister of Kristin Hersh and they both sang wild stuff in the band Throwing Muses, then Donelly moved onto other bands and projects (Breeders and Belly). I’m happy to see a good number of freebies here.
Black Mountain Blue Sea by Many Birthdays. I’ve been following this Austin band for more than 15 years, and only recently learned that John Dixon has been doing a sidegig as an experimental art rock musicmaker. His new group Bass Earth Sun focuses on making experimental instrumental pieces. I’ve only started to listen.
NYP Friendly Labels
(These labels have been known to have NYP specials. Sometimes it’s only for a week, but often it’s longer. I would recommend subscribing to their mailing list/newsletter to stay informed of the latest NYPs.
Project Records has a lot of high quality ambient musicians. They cycle though their NYP albums, and luckily they arrange their discography page so that NYP albums are at the top.
Bandcamp Fridays are usually the best time to find deals; during those designated days, the artist gets an extra percent of payments (BC charges no fees). But musicians are always discounting their albums.
As I mentioned above, I usually search for Name Your Price on my preferred social media (Bluesky) and hope for the best. But that is very hit-and-miss. I pay special attention to artists who are permanently NYP /Creative Commons. About a decade ago I wrote a series of articles (start here!)about creative commons musicians which I found on Jamendo or Archive.org (all are incredible!) Jamendo still has a lot of great stuff — especially on the European side. In the last 5 years I have focused more on Bandcamp, especially after hearing about Name Your Price.
Usually you can put zero in the Name-Your-Price amount on Bandcamp and still download it. The downside is that you have to wait for an email with the download link and that doesn’t get added to your permanent streaming collection. I usually put $1 or its equivalent in the price amount.
But compilations are a different matter. Sometimes these compilations are just ways to promote other artists on the same label or genre. For this reason I have stopped adding an amount for promotional compilations. (Otherwise, I would blow a lot of money on promotions and never have money left over for individual albums). In other cases, when labels are unearthing rare recordings never found elsewhere, I continue my usual habit of contributing $1 for each NYP albums.
Get Music Musical Finds
Get Music is a brand new service where artists voluntarily share coupon codes so that consumers can “purchase” the album without having to pay any money. Obviously, they do this for promotional reasons and hope to receive reviews or newsletter signups or additional purchases. Perhaps this is a pipe dream, but this is a great way for listeners to get exposed to lots of
Getmusic is also a great way to learn about and obtain compilations of all sorts. Here are some getmusic finds:
Two albums by Lunar Isles (from Scotland)
Pondering the Compensation Problem
I have lots of deep thoughts about this matter (and it’s relevant that I am an indie ebook author and publisher who is barely scraping by).
Over the decades we have learned how labels are screwing musicians, how Ticketmaster is screwing musicians and venues and how distribution companies are screwing everybody and how Spotify is screwing distribution companies. At the same time, a lot more music has become available, and personal incomes haven’t exactly been growing exponentially.
So what you do? Just pirate the stuff? Send donations directly to the artist? Buy their goods at concerts? Support only indie musicians? Make sure to write reviews or share your purchases on social media? Check out stuff through the library?
Bandcamp seems to be the best solution for everybody, but that exposes another problem — the unrealistic sense of what the market value of an album is. Sure artists are talented and probably put a lot of effort into producing albums — recording studios and equipment are not cheap. But I recoil at albums that cost $10 or more. It’s very rare that I can afford to drop that much cash for an album. Maybe if I made a lot more money, I might feel differently. Spending $5 for an album is probably my upper limit for most artists I am learning about for the first time.
But a lot of Bandcamp albums are priced well beyond that high price point. It is frustrating. Maybe I just enjoy scraping the bottom of the barrel, but I like to think that my penurious approach to album purchasing allows me to diversify my tastes and find music that most people would otherwise overlook.
If I could make any wish, it’s for all music albums under the sun to be priced at $5 or below. $5 is just the cost of a dozen eggs or a big carton of yogurt or a big tube of toothpaste. So we are used to spending that much money on mundane things.
But music albums (like ebooks) are discretionary purchases and kind of risky too. How do we know that we are going to like this digital thing that much? And how many other musicians and artists and authors are competing for that same slice of your discretionary spending?
In hard economic times, it is tempting to cut down on discretionary spending. On the other hand, it is comforting to know that you are giving your money to a larger group of artists than you would be able to do if album prices were higher.
MEMORIES OF PEACE TIME: Here’s a magical (and hilarious) 2013 performance of “Let It Be” by Russian pop star Zemfira singing in Kiev — joined by Ukrainian rock star Sviatoslav Vakarchuk (of Okean Elzy)– they don’t remember the English lyrics so they have to sing while looking at the screen of Zemfira’s phone. Zemfira’s second song, (an anti-violence song which translates as “Don’t Shoot” ) was the same song she later sang at a Moscow concert two days after Russia attacked Ukraine in Feb 2022. (After being harassed and labeled as a “foreign agent” by the Putin regime, Zemfira eventually moved to France). (YT)
My favorite Zemfira song is Не отпускай (Don’t let go). Here’s a live performance (YT) Here’s the original music video and song from 15 years earlier (YT)
I’m the Baby song from the Dinosaurs TV show (YT). Now that’s an earworm!
I have always been a fan of the Eurovision Interval number Made in Switzerland (YT). Wow, here’s an alternate video showing all the staging and behind-the-scene antics. (YT)
Here’s a fun Hello song from Book of Mormon Broadway play (YT) Here also is a Youtube channel of classic Broadway songs being performed, usually by original cast members (YT)
I’ve been finding lots of great articles on Rebeat Mag, especially sixties stuff. Here’s a great profile of Dickie Goodman who created comedy/novelty songs like “Mr. Jaws” (YT) which told a story by using clips from pop songs.
Variations on Fripp & Eno’s “Eve… by Cloudland Blue Quartet. Good album in Emo’s style, but it contains a lot of extra (and I would say unnecessary tracks).
Year of the Hare, Year Of The Tiger and Year of the Pig by Fucked Up. Post-rock/heavy metal soundscapes. Really amazing. Unfortunately I left 3 or 4 other NYP albums by this group; maybe next time?
