30 August 2022: Hoelderlin; Ikarus; After Crying

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 Hoelderlin were a German progressive rock band that was formed in 1970 as Hölderlin by brothers Joachim and Christian von Grumbkow with Nanny de Ruig, whom Christian was married to. They were influenced by rock, jazz, and folk music.

The debut album of the German band named after a German romantic writer, this does not fall into the Krautrock category of most bands of that era from that country. They can be categorized as folk prog with female lead vocals and mainly acoustic instrumentation:
- Nanny DeRuig / vocals
- Christian Grumbkow / guitars
- Joachim Grumbkow / cello, acoustic guitar, transverse flute, piano, organ, mellotron
- Christoph Noppeney / violin, viola, flute, piano
- Peter Käseberg / bass, acoustic guitar, vocals
- Michael Bruchmann / drums, percussion

The vocals are in German and are describing dreams (Traum is the German word for dream) but understanding the lyrics is not important since they are mostly illuminating what the music expresses anyway.
The band had a unique sound at that time (Renaissance as of Ashes Are Burning are the closest to compare) but they changed a lot until their next album three years later. The musicianship of all members with the variety of instruments is remarkable, especially on the longer tunes. 

---Roxanne Walsh

 


IKARUS played progressive rock that sometimes was in the vein of VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR. The sound is dominated by emphasis on guitar and organ interplay, but the use of flute, saxophone and clarinet add more color to their compositions. Far from perfect, but listenable enough for fans of 70's prog. A solid, but not essential album.   

Review by Sean Trane
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Prog Folk 4 stars Sole album from an early 70's German (from Hamburg I think) sextet Ikarus, whose reputation as a pioneer of jazz-rock is a bit over-done. Let's just say that they're a typical prog group with symphonic and jazz influences, a bit ala Crimson. Lead by multi-instrumentalist Jochen Petersen (guitars & winds), the group develops a wide soundscape in just four tracks (the shortest being well over 6 mins) that goes as far as electronic twiddling and string arrangements.

The 15-mins Eclipse starts out blues-like with a big guitar riff, but soon evolves into excellent phases of instrumental interplay, while Kohler's voice and accent being rather convincing, but the lyrics (not necessarily his when reading the credits) are not quite so. The opening track is quite interesting with its multiple movements including the organ-filled Scyscraper over symphonic layers (incl mellotrons) and ending in electronic birdsongs and other bruitist stuff. The following Mesentery is the weakest track of the album and disappears in a kosmic and spacey interlude before returning via string layers. The flipside opens on TV or Radio jingle ?like riff, which is the start of the other epic, the 11-mins Raven where Petersen's wind instruments soar, then suddenly (abruptly) morphing into a psych/space improv in its middle section before climbing back gradually via a an heard-elsewhere riff (Heep's Gypsy Woman) and ending in footsteps. The closing track (sung by guitarist Schulz) Early Bell's Voice is a strange trip through ether-modified soundscapes where the organ dominates until disappearing into a knell tolling its madness. Strange ending.

This was to be their only album (now very rare and expensive as a vinyl), most of the members continuing their musical foray, but not necessarily in prog circles, with leader Petersen becoming a record producer later in the decade after passing through Cornucopia. While I wouldn't call Ikarus essential to your collection, it is surely good enough to earn a spot in it and therefore deserving its fourth star. 


 

 

After Crying is a Hungarian musical ensemble, established in 1986, which composes and performs contemporary classical music or symphonic rock. They use instruments ranging from classical acoustical instruments like cello, trumpet, piano, flute to the instruments of a modern rock band. They sometimes perform with traditional chamber or symphony orchestras. Their studio albums contain numerous variations in instruments and composition.[1][2]

After Crying released a unique retrospective as their fifth album, a 2-CD set which combines alternates and out-takes with a live album. Included are Hungarian versions of songs from Overground Music, and the concert disc includes a telling King Crimson cover.  

 

 

23 August 2022: Broselmaschine; Popol Vuh; Visions of Darkness Vol II

 

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Bröselmaschine

From Prog Archives:

This is one of those rather obscure gems that is probably more folk than progressive, but the interplay of Celtic and Middle Eastern sounds atop a bed of what almost sound like Peter, Paul and Mary covers makes for a very charming album and a good use of a little more than a half-hour of your time.

Bröselmaschine was basically a one-shot German band who seem to have been heavily inspired by American folk singers of the sixties, plus featured the stunningly gorgeous and folksy vocals and flute of one Jenni Schucker. Amazingly Schucker doesn’t seem to have appeared on anything after this release.

This album was impossible to find for decades until it was reissued on CD in 2005. I just read this week that Akarma is releasing this on domestic CD in December 2007. I have the Ohr German import version that was released a couple years ago, which was the only other CD version I’m aware of. I don’t know if the Akarma release has the same tracks as this one or has some bonus material, so I will have to check into that one. But since Peter Bursch’s material after this release is generally considered inferior I’d be surprised if any bonus material amounted to much.

The tracks don’t range too far from my opening description, with the exception of the lengthy “Schmetterling” which does manage to blur the line between Middle Eastern-inspired folk (sitar, flute, zither, metallophon – you get the idea) and full-blown psych. There is even an extended flute solo that places this album squarely at the end of the flower-power era.

The rest of the album is much closer to rather tame hippy folk, although the presence of the zither, congas and tabla do manage to give the remaining tracks a bit of a dated sound.

On “The Old Man's Song” Schucker manages to come off sounding a bit like Grace Slick circa Jefferson Airplane’s Surrealistic Pillow days. This isn’t really a psych number though, as much as it is a rather intense folk piece accented with a light touch of slightly psych-and-blues guitar, tabla and the ever-present zither. Albums like Joe Byrd’s American Metaphysical Circus and the Comfortable Chair’s self-titled release also come to mind.

The sonic quality of the CD reissue is excellent, and while the liner notes are in German the overall package is quite decent. This is a very decent progressive folk offering that used be difficult to find but has been available in Europe for a few years, and is coming soon to America. Worth picking up and well recommended to prog folk fans. Four stars.

Studio Album, released in 1971

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Gedanken (5:06)
2. Lassie (traditional) (5:06)
3. Gitarrenstuck (2:03)
4. The Old Man's Song (5:26)
5. Schmetterling (9:31)
6. Nossa Bova (8:06)

Total Time 35:18

Line-up / Musicians

- Jenni Schücker / vocals, flute, bells
- Peter Bursch / vocals, acoustic guitar, sitar, flute
- Willi Kissmer / vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, zither
- Lutz Ringer / bass, metallophone
- Mike Hellbach / congas, tabla, spoons, Mellotron


 

Hosianna Mantra is the third album by German band Popol Vuh. It was originally released in 1972 on the German record label Pilz. The album saw the band blend elements of Western classical music, Asian music, and space rock.[1] For the release, bandleader Florian Fricke abandoned electronic synthesizers and instead employed acoustic instruments such as piano, oboe, and tambura. Prominently featured are Korean vocalist Djong Yun and electric guitarist Conny Veit.[1]

 


 

When the anthology "Visions Of Darkness (In Iranian Contemporary Music)" was released in 2017 and then co-published in collaboration between Unexplained Sounds Group and Cold Spring, it was immediately clear that the Iranian music scene was not just promising, but already a rich chest of treasures. Years later we have further confirmation of the creative richness and variety of musical languages that flourished in the Persian land. In spite of the title, this second volume of the legendary anthology also gives us a broad picture of the musical experience of the Iranian underground that is not limited to the dark ambient, but explores sonic territories that reach concrete music, electro-acoustic experimentation and sonic abstractionism. Persia, the cradle of a millenary culture, is teeming with young talents who continue their musical research with enthusiasm, pride and self-denial in the territories of drone music, as in electronic experimentalism and in the contamination of genres. To some names already present in volume I (Xerxes The Dark, IDFT, Reza Solatipour, etc ..), new discoveries are added that contribute to making the journey through the new Persian music exciting to the point that we can no longer speak of an emerging scene, but of a consolidated musical reality like others in the West.

Raffaele Pezzella

credits

Freeform thanks Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst) for providing us with a promotional copy of this release.

released July 29, 2022

Curated and mastered by Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst)
sonologyst.com
Graphic Design by Abby Helasdottir
Co-released by Unexplained Sounds Group and Cold Spring
© 2022. All rights reserved
experimental avant-garde drone improvisation musique concrete sound art Italy

 

 

 

16 August 2022: Guilt Machine; Nyarlathotep - A Tribute To Howard Phillips Lovecraft; Cousin Silas

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Guilt Machine is a musical project by Dutch musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, owner of other musical projects such as Star One, Ayreon and Ambeon. The project's debut release, On This Perfect Day, was released in August 2009.  The cover of the album was made by Christophe Dessaigne, an artist discovered by Arjen Lucassen on Flickr.[1]  The album features several audio messages sent by fans throughout the songs. The music deals with "the destructive psychology of guilt, regret and the darkest form of secret -- the secrets we hide from ourselves.",[2] and the music ranges "from dark and heavy to atmospheric and melancholic.",[2] as can be noticed via the preview track published at the band's MySpace page.

Since its release, On This Perfect Day has received strongly favorable reviews. Elements that were praised included Steverlinck's voice and the dark atmosphere developed by Lucassen; Metal Storm considers it "the darkest and most melancholic [album] the Dutchman has ever released".[5]

Metal Storm gave the album a rating of 9/10 while stating that the album enjoyed "a promising line-up" and "emotional vocal work that builds up intensity as it goes".[5] Metal Underground remarked that it is "a bold combination of grit, beauty, and strong themes riding the line between progressive metal and rock".[6] RevelationZ considers this album as "overall a great album and another worthy addition to the Lucassen catalogue."[8]

Reviews differ about its similarity with Lucassen's previous works. Metal Storm stated, "from all of his side-projects, this is probably the one closest to Ayreon"[5] and Dangerdog.com calls it "different, but the same".[4] However, Sea of Tranquillity stated, "I'm sure there are going to be plenty of Ayreon fans who might balk at the overabundance of atmospheric and mellow moments here and miss the more upbeat and bombastic elements of Lucassen's other releases".[9]

 


Eighth Tower is proud to reprint the rare and long time out of stock compilation “Nyarlathotep - A Tribute To Howard Phillips Lovecraft”, originally released in 1997 by the label KADATH. With this remastered release Eighth Tower brings to light a jewel of the Portuguese post-industrial tape culture, featuring some of the most interesting projects from the late 90’s Portuguese, Italian and French underground.

Special thanks to Nuno Loureiro (KADATH label mastermind) and all the artists who provided the original master tracks for the reprint project.
FreeForm Radio thanks Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst) for a promo copy of this release.

credits

released August 5, 2022

REVIEWS

Avant Music News
avantmusicnews.com/2022/08/10/amn-reviews-various-artists-nyarlathotep-a-tribute-to-howard-phillips-lovecraft-2022-eighth-tower-records/

Edited by Eighth Tower Records
Mastered by Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst)
Artwork by John Chadwick
© 2022. All rights reserved

ambient dark ambient dark chamber drone industrial noise Italy

 


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09 August 2022: Abel Ganz; 梁奕源 Liang YiYuan

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Abel Ganz has delivered what is bound to become a highlight of this already impressive musical year, I implore you to go henceforth and purchase this musical marvel! [Lady Obscure]

This reviewer has never to date given a perfect 10 for any album, but unquestionably, this is going to change on the back of this release. [DPRP] 
Abel Ganz is a Scottish progressive band that has existed in one form or another since the early 1980s.


Join our mailing list at abelganz.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=a93eb5743505d218335ce66ef&id=b7f4aa1357

credits

released July 8, 2014 
 

Those That Die In A Dream. A twenty years retrospective

by 梁奕源 Liang YiYuan

 

Liang YiYuan was born in Wuhan (China, 1977), and now living in Lijiang, Yunnan Province. He painted in his early years, and later turned to make music. So far, he has published more than twenty albums, frequently using instruments such as guitar, yangqin, violin, guqin, bawu, and showing a natural attitude to unconventional playing techniques and original timbre. He also creates music for films, plays, modern dances, architectural and environmental scenes, and exhibitions.
“Those That Die In A Dream” is a retrospective of his latest 20 years music creations, an eclectic kaleidoscope of compositions and improvisations spreading from the abstract electronic and dark ambient suggestions to the unconventional revisitation of Chinese music tradition. Among the most fascinating and aesthetically complete expressions of the contemporary “new music”, not only from China, but worldwide.
 
Our thanks to Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst) for providing us with a copy of this release.

credits

released July 1, 2022

REVIEWS

Avant Music News
avantmusicnews.com/2022/07/30/amn-reviews-%e6%a2%81%e5%a5%95%e6%ba%90-liang-yiyuan-those-that-die-in-a-dream-a-twenty-years-retrospective-2022-unexplained-sounds-group




Published by ©Unexplained Sounds Group

Curated and mastered by Raffaele Pezzella (Sonologyst)
sonologyst.com
Cover image: “A skeletons phantom drama”
Li Song (1166-1243,Southern Song Dynasty)
unexplainedsoundsgroup.bandcamp.com
© 2022. All rights reserved

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