The wonderful Japanese avant garde pianist Naoka Sakata (who lives in Sweden) has just released her debut solo album Inner Planets! This is a gem of an album and a one of a kind among contemporary piano players! If you like her solo album, check out the Naoka Sakata Trio, Malin Wättring 4 and Thomas Markusson’s ‘Open’. Naoka’s website is here : https://www.naokosakata.com/. Wonderful emotional, erratic, dramatic music!
There’s nothing like crossing cultures to push artistic boundaries and to help you experience something different and unique. Japan has long been a creator of some of the world’s finest jazz and has many wonderful experimental jazz artists, whose work spans the entire spectrum of jazz! Listen to Japanese jazz and hear what’s possible in this as yet barely tapped musical genre!
Any one who listens to this blog will know that I listen to all kinds of music but despite this I do have a few favourite songs. One of them is One by Metallica – which to me is a song of great power and one of the greatest anti war songs ever written. Look at the old boys rock recently and enjoy the original video.
More about why I hate war here : https://etandi.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/a-personal-story-about-why-i-hate-war-2/.
My Swedish friend Marcus recently introduced me to some Swedish Jazz and the music of pianist Jan Johansson in particular. Jan combined Swedish folk music with jazz in a very unique style of composition and piano playing, which I find very refreshing ! Jan’s music has great power and transcends many of the traditional boundaries of jazz ! Fans of the likes of John Coltrane and Thelonious Monk will enjoy Jan’s unique approach to jazz !
One of my favourite metal bands of the early 90s was the Australian band Disembowelment. Disembowelment were a band who were willing to go beyond established norms and break the rules. As a band they inspired many in the Oz metal scene and many people who played melodic, death and black metal in Europe and America. Of note throughout the bands short recording life, were vocalist Renato Gallina’s Tibetan Buddhist Chanting inspired throaty vocals, occasional polyphonic sounding vocals, the sublime lyrics (not that my ears ever understood them), the heavy down tuning of the guitars, the elegant but simple guitar melodies, rapidly changing tempos and the well woven double kick bass drum beat.
Renato (who was really the driving force behind Disembowelment) contacted me today to let me know that he has recently re-recorded and re-worked the track Nightside of Eden, which was the 4th track on their 1993 album Transcendence into The Peripheral. Feel free to enjoy or share with anyone who might like it !
More on Renato’s musical life (including his ambient/folk band Trial of the Bow) here : https://www.discogs.com/artist/577153-Renato-Gallina and Disembowelment here : https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Disembowelment/4213, https://myspace.com/disembowelment and https://disembowelment.bandcamp.com/.
One of my favourite metal bands of the last decade is without doubt Dethklok. Part fantasy, part real, all metal with attitude and balls. Dethklok are better than most real metal bands.
And Brendon Small’s spin off Galaktikon.
The AlphaSphere is a fascinating new electronic instrument with incredible potential for individual expression and the potential to create a whole new genre of electronic music !
There was only one John Coltrane and no one played like him. Even today people are still being inspired by Coltrane’s genius !
There seems to be a renaissance in the making and playing of ancient musical instruments and in the making and playing of new musical instruments. That to me can only mean one thing. That the world of sound and music is diversifying and blossoming.
Silentium et Musicorum 