Eclectic Vibes

by Andrew Frey

Reviews From: L
Filastine - L00T

Filastine - L00T

Filastine
L00T
Label: Muti Music

Splitting his time between activism and artistry, Filastine has melded together a blanket of polyrhythmic input assembled at street level from Bangladesh to Bornio. Using gritty acoustic inputs and modded-out metal shopping carts as “the perfect modern instrument”, he rides the intersection of unabashed globalism and bass music as an audio-visual nomad and percussionist. Whether bringing a spectrum of instruments into a low-frequency dubstep grind or sampling multilingual tales of environmental implosion, this artist has a lot to say and says it his own way. Brilliant! 

Filastine WebsiteFilastine Facebook

Freak Kitchen - Land of the Freaks

Freak Kitchen - Land of the Freaks

Freak Kitchen
Land of the Freaks
Label: The Laser's Edge

Touted as ‘Europe’s best musical secret’ due to limited distribution, Freak Kitchen has just had their back-catalog released and this one from 2009 is the first in line. The progressive power trio consists of three renowned virtuoso musicians - Mattias “IA” Eklundh (guitar/vocals), Christer Ortefors (bass), and Bjorn Fryklund (drums). When these hard-working musicians are not performing in a band, they are out teaching clinics. The music contains creative progressive rock elements with a healthy dose of Frank Zappa influenced humor plus musical shenanigans and acrobatics galore.

Freak Kitchen WebsiteFreak Kitchen FacebookFreak Kitchen Wiki

Lionize - Superczar and the Vulture

Lionize - Superczar and the Vulture

Lionize
Superczar and the Vulture
Label: Pentimento Music Company

Great grooves! Very successfully weaving together reggae elements with over-the-top 70s groove-rock, this DC quartet really has evolved into a force to be reckoned with. “It’s definitely the most complete, distinct Lionize record so far,” notes bassist Henry Upton, who established the group in 2004. So there ya go.

Lionize WebsiteLionize Facebook

Cas Haley - La Si Dah

Cas Haley - La Si Dah

Cas Haley
La Si Dah
Label: Easy Star Records

Successfully funded through the crowd-sourcing website Pledge Music, La Si Dah jumps into your eardrums and consciousness via gently woven reggae beats and vocal-heavy melodies. Cas is a fun entertainer and although he didn’t win America’s Got Talent, it set the stage for his career to achieve new heights and depth.

Cas Haley WebsiteCas Haley FacebookCas Haley Wiki

Alwoods - Long Life Forest

Alwoods - Long Life Forest

Alwoods
Long Life Forest
Label: Altar Records

Beautiful artwork and restrained melodies combine with driving bass lines on this down-tempo dance floor delectation, inspired by the Greek mountainside. Alwoods AKA John Rigas offers us 8 epic length tracks (none shorter than 7 min!) to morph, meld and find inner vision with.

Alwoods WebsiteAlwoods Facebook

Lords of Acid - Lords of Acid

Lords of Acid - Lords of Acid

Lords of Acid
Lords of Acid
Label: Metropolis Records

After 12 long years the mighty Praga Khan, along with longtime collaborator Erhan Kurkun, bring us a new full length orgy of punky electro industrial deliciousness. This is a fantastic, feisty, fun, booty shakin’ party album with great grooves, wide stylistic variances and witty lyrics plus an ever apparent sex appeal. Yummy!

Lords of Acid WebsiteLords of Acid Facebook

Lance Lopez - Handmade Music

Lance Lopez - Handmade Music

Lance Lopez
Handmade Music
Label: MIG Music

Starting in New Orleans and mentored by Buddy Miles (Band of Gypsys) this ballsy blues guitarist has been a professional musician since the age of 14. At the age of 18 he became Lucky Peterson’s band leader. Now on this, his second solo release, he starts off jumpin but gets gritty, soulful and introspective in the middle.

Lance Lopez WebsiteLance Lopez Facebook

Little Fyodor and Babushka - Truly Rejected

Little Fyodor and Babushka - Truly Rejected

Little Fyodor and Babushka
Truly Rejected
Label: KEN ROCK

Nothing gives me a hard on more than Little Fyodor and Babushka releasing a 7”! And after 20 years of musical self dejection and fatalistic floundering the duo emerge with another round of hopeless cynical caterwaulings certainly capable of creating an aneurysm in less than one bat shit crazy chord or confounded utterance. You won’t find another like this.

Little Fyodor and Babushka WebsiteLittle Fyodor and Babushka Facebook

lespecial - Omnisquid

lespecial - Omnisquid

lespecial
Omnisquid
Label: CD Baby

Vascilating between intense Tool level prog metal, and ambient electronic glitches this truly IS the Omnisquid! Weaving a path of ever morphing grooves and rhythms occasionally popping into King Crismson level tinkering and tweaking on their guitars, lespecial delivers twists and turns a plenty, but not so many that the music suffers. Bristling with activity and inspiration there is much to absorb and observe here.

lespecial Websitelespecial Facebook

Heilung - Lifa

Heilung - Lifa

Heilung
Lifa
Label: Season of Mist

Neofolk can take on many forms, but few are as decorated and enthralling as the spectacle that is Heilung. Lifa was recorded live at Castlefest 2017 and is the auditory compliment to the truly transformative performance given there. Throat singing, drumming, chanting and exquisite attire create a compelling Viking visage and platform for this music and group as they transport you through time and space with their bleak ritualistic ambiance and spiritual drone.

 

Heilung WebsiteHeilung Facebook

Living Light - The Great Attractor

Living Light - The Great Attractor

Living Light
The Great Attractor
Label: Desert Trax

After perfecting her keyboarding craft in the pioneering live electronic hybrid Psylab, Eartha Harris created the Living Light project in 2012. Several years and releases later, in between playing at festivals around the world plus teaching nutritional workshops and yoga classes, she brings us The Great Attractor, a delightfully dreamy psydub offering that bounces global beats amid multitudinous layers of consciousness infiltrating psychedelia and soothing succulent star struck melodies.

Living Light WebsiteLiving Light Facebook

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Infest The Rats’ Nest

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - Infest The Rats’ Nest

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Infest The Rats’ Nest
Label: ATO Records

Imagine you are in a quirky psych-pop band. Then someone turns you on to Slayer, Black Sabbath, Metallica and Motorhead. You decide to write an old school metal album. That’s what seems to have happened to KG&TLW (who are well known for genre hopping tendencies). This album is thrashing and heavy, with gruff metal vocals about environmental impact amid zany Slayer-ish solos. The Gizzard will never be the same. (8)   

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard WebsiteKing Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard FacebookKing Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard Wiki

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