Calvary, the latest work from the Japanese project Mimamamis, is a deep dive into the abyss of harsh noise, a true auditory calvary that pushes the listener to the limits of sonic endurance.
The album, consisting of just three tracks, brings chronic feedback, massive distortions, and extreme saturation. Each track is an attempt to force the listener to confront the discomfort of repetitive, brutally compressed sounds.
Mimamamis makes no concessions, and the result is a work that approaches the concept of calvary: an unrelenting journey that is difficult to endure, yet fascinating at the same time. In terms of structure, the tracks of Calvary are minimalist, but not in a conventional sense. They slowly build in heavy layers of noise, creating a sense of suffocation and oppression.
In summary, Calvary by Mimamamis is a radical work within the harsh noise genre, distinguished by its ability to provoke discomfort, pushing the listener to confront their own emotional resistance to the brutality of the sound.
Hyakunenme EP is the latest release from Gnyonpix, who dives into the world of chiptune in an innovative and engaging way. Combining the retro aesthetic of 8-bit music with a contemporary production style.
The four tracks are a true journey through time, capturing the energy of classic ’80s and ’90s video games, but with an added layer of sophistication.
While chiptune is often associated with instrumental themes, Gnyonpix incorporates vocals in a subtle yet effective way, as seen in the title track “Hyakunenme,” which also gives its name to the EP.
Hyakunenme EP is an album that captures the essence of chiptune and 8-bit music, offering a true tribute to the digital aesthetic, but with a forward-thinking approach to the future of electronic music.
download album / download flac / donate to zaman international*
release date: October 5, 2024.
Saxophone and objects: Raymond MacDonald
Saxophone and objects: Robert Burke
Double bass: Una MacGlone
Theremin and cello: Jessica Argo
Percussion: David Robertson
Piano: Maria Sappho
Recorded by Murray Collier on April 10th 2024 at La Chunky Studio Glasgow
Mixed and Mastered by Robert Burke
I remember from childhood; my favorite section of a river walk we’d do most Sunday afternoons. The path became stonier, it started twisting, the trees and undergrowth became taller and denser, enveloping the space. I loved the feeling that I was leaving the familiar. I would always imagine that the path itself could decide to change and then I could move to a different river, a new town.
Rob is coming from Australia to stay with me, and we make preparations to record together. Emails and phone calls ensue as I try to confirm where and when to record, and who is available. The dates, times, location and personnel evolve and change, and even on the day itself I am not quite sure exactly who will be there and what instruments will be played. As the day unfolds people come and go as their schedule permits. Surprise appearances are made, and the music ebbs and flows in response to the arrivals and departures and, of course, the banter.
My train was canceled so I find myself in Glasgow for an extra day. I need some clean clothes and more importantly some piano preparations… Off I go to the local friendly hardware man who is baffled by my explanation of looking for things for inside the piano. I find a lovely orange three piece suit in the charity shop. I spill coffee all down the front of said new suit and I dig about in the piano with clothes pegs and steel rods… grateful there are string players with some rosin to share.
Going out to work with my bass is moving down three flights of stairs, making tiny changes in angles, carefully carrying, left hand tracing the wall on the way down. We move together.
My experience of this collaboration feels like an extension of friendship. It began with Raymond through our ongoing musical and research collaborations, then extended to Maria, and more recently to Jessica and Una. I met David on the day of the project! The lead-up was centered around the idea of coming together to create something – improvisation is how we function, and that’s exactly how it unfolded. We improvised every step of the way, from planning to recording. The music we created was entirely improvised, with each of us bringing our shared belief that improvisation lies at the heart of our creative expression. We thrive on the chaos of getting the studio organized and then arriving. Excitement about what is possible. Creating new extensions and understandings of our relationship with one other. Total trust in the music, the process and each other. Is there any other way?
Out of the door, one of hundreds of ritual journeys walking towards the space, not knowing, never knowing exactly how it will be. The walk is time traveling, the space connects to all of the other improvisations, and creative connectivity. The people, the stream of music.
Searching over a bridge crossing the river, a tunnel over the trains, bike over the road, following a feeling and a burrito.
I returned to lachunky, or as I call it “my living room” for what must have been the 100th time. I am used to rehearsing and recording fixed repeatable protest songs for activism… but I was so excited as the room filled with string instruments, synthesisers, saxophones, hardware store contraptions, childrens toys, world instruments and multiple saxophones to play whatever arises – playing the theremin led me to weave my arm over, round and under other players, our limbs tangling like branches, the cables like vines…
From start to finish two constants keep our confidence and spirits high. The friendships that we all share, and our trust in the process of improvisation. The music is improvised, and any situation that arises becomes an emergent feature of our recording and gently folded into the music. We trust this process completely and implicitly. Our friendships not only mean we trust each other with our artistic vulnerabilities and give each other permission to be what we want and need to be in the moment, but our friendships also facilitate the music to flow from the joyful community we are part of. We look forward to and revel in the joy of being together in the music. Improvisation and community are what makes this encounter joyous and rewarding.
Crossing the road, through the tunnel, the cobbles are uneven. On the wall someone has graffitied ‘shaking voices raised together are loud and beautiful’
As I dash off to my new train I realize I have forgotten my purse… another missed train.
New side project by Insatiable Void.
Album available in lossless format at artist bandcamp:
https://insatiablevoid.bandcamp.com/album/shadows
Released by Dawn of Darkness Netlabel.-
released November 14, 2024
Květy:
Ondřej Kyas – kytary, klávesy, zpěv
Jiří Habarta – baskytara, klávesy, slide kytara, perkuse
Aleš Pilgr – bicí, perkuse, ukulele, zpěv
Martin E. Kyšperský – zpěv, kytary
+ hosté:
Petr Venkrbec – saxofon
Pavel Rajmic – housle
Veronika Anna Dvorská – zpěv
Autorem všech skladeb je Martin E. Kyšperský
Aranžmá Květy
Smyčce napsal Ondřej Kyas
Základy natočil Ladislav Mirvald
Produkce a mix Jiří Habarta
Mastering Ondřej Ježek
Fotografie Martina Morávková
Grafika Jakub Horský
A new freshman has arrived at MiMi Records. Shikisokuzemu, is a Japanese electronic music producer, and brings us a fascinating album that mixes breakbeat rhythms, vocaloid vocals and otaku influences.
Known for intricate production, Shikisokuzemu’s work here is meticulously, pairing the frenetic energy of breakbeat with voices from imaginary anime series.
With its seamless blend of breakbeat, Vocaloid and Japanese otaku elements, Shikisokuzemu offers a new perspective on electronic music, fusing past and future in a fascinating sonic journey.
A true gem for otaku music lovers.
released November 7, 2024
Nahráno březen-červen 2024 v Richtigmusic studiu v Praze a Tetově
Pavel Richter – el. kytara, kytarový syntezátor, klávesy, samply, elektronika, feeld recording. Nahrávka, mix a mastering.
Foto – Jonáš Richter
Pavel Richter o albu:
Na začátku roku 2024 jsem byl tak trochu osloven pro mě dosud neznámou elektronickou hudbou, se všemi těmi drony, škrábáním, šušláním, praskáním apod. Což mě popravdě nijak zvlášť neoslovilo. Posléze jsem byl vyzván k účasti na projektu, který se však nevyvíjel podle mých představ. Nicméně inspirován, jsem vytvořil tuto nahrávku. Takže vznikl, ne programově, jakýsi pohled z dronu, který se vznáší nad smutnou krajinou. A raději beze slov.
Pouze bych dodal, že se nejedná o ambientní hudbu, ale o hudbu k spíše zadumanému poslechu.
Many thanks to all artists who make this compilation something very special with their track.
In the symphony of a distant world, seasons were played in chords.
Spring arrived as a light, gentle hum, its notes shimmering through
the air like a distant echo. Summer roared with vibrant,
esonant chords, filling the sky with heat and harmony.
Autumn fell in rich, slow minor scales, leaves swirling
in its fading echoes. Winter, a quiet, hollow hum,
pulsed through frozen air, each note sharp and distant.
The planet turned, its seasons woven in endless cycles
of sound—chords stretching through time, echoes bouncing
softly across the horizon, never fading completely.
Any proceeds from this album will be donated to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund: www.pcrf.net
You can also donate directly here: pcrf1.app.neoncrm.com/forms/gaza-recovery
www.abstraktreflections.net/releases/va-vision/
Tiago Morais’s latest work is a bold exploration of minimalist and contemporary classical music, drawing deeply from the influences of iconic composers Philip Glass and Terry Riley. With an intricate and meditative approach, the album traverses a landscape of minimalist patterns, cyclical rhythms, and rich harmonic textures. This release is a culmination of Morais’s profound connection to classical traditions, fused with his ongoing experimentation with new sonic possibilities.
The album is a showcase of varied instrumentation, combining string quartets with solo violin performances and experimental re-interpretations of modern classics. Across its eight tracks, Tiago Morais presents a sophisticated interplay between structure and intuition, offering both technical brilliance and emotive depth.
This album is not just a reflection of Tiago Morais’s influences but also a statement of his evolving artistic identity. Drawing from the minimalist masters like Glass and Riley, he creates a sound that is both meditative and immersive. The inclusion of pieces by contemporary artists Nick Cave and Michael Gira adds a layer of modern resonance, bridging the gap between classical tradition and modern experimentalism.
Tiago Morais’s approach seeks to break the boundaries of traditional classical forms, offering listeners an opportunity to engage with music on a deeper, more personal level. Whether through the tightly interwoven lines of the string quartets or the raw intimacy of the solo violin pieces, this album resonates with the spirit of contemporary minimalism while pushing it toward new emotional and intellectual heights.
Cinnabar Club has returned with a four-song EP titled “Machine Magick”. The tracks have a menacing industrial atmosphere and strong motorik rhythms—first energising and then hypnotic—with a dose of satire and humour in the vocal performances.
The vocals and music evoke scenes reminiscent of a beleaguered dictator delivering a last frantic address from a barricaded radio station as ominous synthesisers and mechanical clangs signal the impending chaos. Cinnabar Club uses the format of electronic dance music to create a dramaturgy in which the keen listener can get lost.
The mysterious “Great Artist” is none other than one of Nuno Maltez’s (a.k.a. Fm-Ra, Klyven) alter-egos, and now he brings us a new album of ambient electronics, with sounds blowing in various directions.
Nine themes focused on I.D.M. electronics, but also on repetitions and sound layers.
This is one of those albums that is perfect to listen to while traveling, whether literally or figuratively, so relax and put on your headphones.
![[Notsch] – Re-Rejected Works (22-24)](https://f4.bcbits.com/img/a3510954268_10.jpg "[Notsch] – Re-Rejected Works (22-24)")
You start something – and stop it – but don’t finish. Unceasing conclusions linger, demanding an addendum of effort and tailpiece of thought. But the end is final, even if incomplete, and we are not afforded such supplementary luxuries. Experience, create, and accept.
Featuring clarinet.
Nine months later Takuro Takeda returns with another beautiful EP with just 4 tracks.
These are deliciously down-tempo arrangements, which, when allowed to stretch to five minutes lock the listener into a deep and fantastical daydream.
A collection of four tracks that’s more like a kind of therapy, if that doesn’t sound too New Age – Takeda’s music is much more epic and expansive and emotionally reflective than New Age.
In other words, if you listen BoC you’ll like Takeda’s music.
In the time we have, there is much to appreciate. Fresh angles are precious, as it is easy to fall into a seeming sameness. Though ultimately we tend to opt for comfort, the journey to other perspectives is what gives contentment context. Music is multifaceted.
Featuring clarinet.
released September 22, 2024
