Dissonants
Hands like Houses. Matty P Cooper, lead guitar; Joel Tyrrell, bass; Trenton Todd Woodley, lead vocals, keyboard, programming; Alex Pearson, rhythm guitar and backing vocals; Matt Parkitney, drumsContemporary, Experimental Music, Rock
Rise Records
http://handslikehouses.net
Reviewed by Mandy Stefanakis, March 3rd, 2016
With their third album Dissonants and eight years under the belt, Canberra-based band Hands like Houses have well and truly ‘arrived’. Hands like Houses have toured extensively over the last couple of years, boosted by the support of the Oregon-based label, Rise. They are quickly impacting on audiences, rising through the ranks as support bands… continue reading »
Stasis Ecstatic
Decibel. Cat Hope, Lindsay Vickery, Stuart James, Malcolm Riddoch, Tristan Parr, Aaron WyattClassical, Electronic Music, Experimental Music, Improvisation, New Music
Self-release. LP recording
http://decibel.waapamusic.com
Reviewed by Daniel Blinkhorn, December 1st, 2015
Certainly if the first bite is with the eye then Stasis Ecstatic by Decibel promises to be an attractive and sleek release. Part of the appeal is the retro charm afforded through the physical presentation of the work in LP 33-inch vinyl. I suspect one of the benefits of this format was to highlight the… continue reading »
Piano Inside Out. Works by Gyger, Vines, Rojas, Young, Whale, Page and Moles
Zubin Kanga, pianoClassical, Experimental Music, New Music
MOVE Records MD 3391
www.move.com.au
Reviewed by Gordon Kerry, June 1st, 2015
An American composer of my acquaintance is great fan of preparing, or as he prefers to say, ‘fortifying’ the piano. He once remarked to me that he was surprised that composers had taken such a long time to appreciate many ways in which the instrument’s palette can be extended by plucking and stroking the strings,… continue reading »
Suspicion
The Tango SaloonExperimental Music, Jazz, Pop, Rock, Tango
Romero Records and Newmarket Music NEW3342.2/ROM010
http://thetangosaloon.com
Reviewed by Peter Winkler, June 1st, 2015
Any band that describes itself as experimental tango meets spaghetti western with a dose of film score, rock, pop, gypsy, jazz and electronica thrown in for good measure is going to grab my attention. The Tango Saloon makes music that is indeed Piazzolla meets Morriconi and Equivel. I first came across them when they appeared… continue reading »
Giraffe Solos
John EncarnacaoExperimental Music, Improvisation
Psychopajama Records #PJ 4911/ PJ4911CD
Reviewed by Eugene Ball, May 1st, 2015
Giraffe Solos is a collection of wholly improvised pieces performed on a prepared steel string acoustic guitar. To help contextualize this, the latest release from John Encarnacao, it may be helpful to consider a little background on the link between the practice of preparing musical instruments and free improvisation. Since the middle of the 20th… continue reading »
to your poverty quietly go
UmlautContemporary, Experimental Music, Rock
Newmarket Music and Romeo Records
http://newmarketmusic.com/album/To-Your-Poverty-Quietly-Go.html
Reviewed by Joseph Cummins, May 1st, 2015
The second album by Melbourne experimental rock ensemble Umlaut is a cinematic, restless and beautifully arranged collection of songs. At only 32 minutes long I was definitely left wanting more – I wish I could walk around in the film-world scored by Umlaut, a place built with slightly distorted dimensions. At first it seems like… continue reading »
Can You See with Two Sets of Eyes?
Marc Hannaford, piano, with Ellery Eskelin,Tom Rainey, Scott TinklerExperimental Music, Jazz
Self-release
http://www.marchannaford.com/buy
Reviewed by Dave Goodman, March 1st, 2015
If you have ever had the pleasure of conversing with Marc Hannaford, or of reading his regular blog ‘Dualism aside…’, you are likely to have been quick to establish for yourself that he is extremely serious about life and music. In listening through his latest album – beautifully recorded in New York City and released… continue reading »
Malign
Forenzics. Matthew Syres (guitar and effects), Joe Cummins (trumpet and electronics), Dirk Kruithof (guitar and fretless bass), John Wilton (drums)Experimental Music, Improvisation
Self-release, CD and digital download
https://forenzics.bandcamp.com/album/malign
Reviewed by Alistair Noble, March 1st, 2015
Forenzics is a Sydney-based collective of improvising musicians with a changing line-up of members and collaborators around the core group of Matthew Syres (guitar), Joe Cummins (trumpet and electronics) and Dirk Kruithof (guitar, bass). In this, their fourth album, the trio is joined by drummer John Wilton. Admirably, the album was recorded without overdubs or… continue reading »
Open Polar Sea. Works by Col Fuhler, Salvatore Sciarrino, Morton Feldman, Damien Barbeler, Daniel Blinkhorn and Anna McMichael
Anna McMichael, solo violin, with Col Fuhler on one trackClassical, Electronic Music, Experimental Music, Improvisation, New Music
unsounds 46u (digital download)
http://unsounds.com/shop/open-polar-sea
Reviewed by Alistair Noble, February 1st, 2015
Not so long ago, the fashion was for completeness in CD recordings: the complete works of Morton Fledman for violin and piano, for example. In the past several years, however, we have seen a growth in the popularity of the anthology-recital; albums of often short pieces (sometimes only parts of larger works) by different composers… continue reading »
Not Music Yet by David Young
Zubin Kanga, pianoClassical, Experimental Music, New Music
Hospital Hill HHCD06140743
Reviewed by Alistair Noble, January 1st, 2015
Imagine you had to play a piece of music that was not just a graphic score, but a watercolour painting. For many musicians, this would be a nightmare. For some audiences, the listening might be a challenge too. This CD is a recording of a particularly interesting and wonderful painted-score piece: David Young’s nicely titled… continue reading »
Between the Keys
Ensemble OffspringClassical, Experimental Music, New Music
Self-release
http://ensembleoffspring.com/releases/
Reviewed by Michael Hannan, October 1st, 2014
The use of tuning systems other than the acoustically unnatural division of the octave into 12 equal parts, which has dominated the modern era (both in the classical and contemporary popular music fields), has long been an underground movement in experimental composition, although it is worth saying that in the renaissance and baroque music periods,… continue reading »
Colophony
Jon Rose, Meinrad Kneer, Richard BarrettExperimental Music, Improvisation
Creative Sources Records CS229
Reviewed by Tony Mitchell, October 1st, 2014
This is a European collaboration of free improvisers by Australian violinist Jon Rose, who also plays tenor violin, with Meinrad Kneer, a German double bass player based in Amsterdam, and UK composer/improviser Richard Barrett. Barrett divides his time between London and Berlin, and is also a member of the Australian International Elision Ensemble, noted for… continue reading »
