humana 5/24/2020 12-inch, A Library
Metzger’s creativity permeates this release, from the modified 23-string banjo he designed to his compositions and arrangement of Debussy’s “Beau Soir.” The tone might be guessed from the album’s title, which means tombs, but even “Sepulchre” is not as doomy as you might expect it to be–there is a hopeful intensity to each of these compositions, and they last long enough leave you feeling satisfied.
humana 5/24/2020 12-inch, A Library
What sheer loveliness this album is! Haslinger, composer, keyboardist, guitarist, former member of Tangerine Dream, has created a scintillating aural delight for us with this one. Violins, cello, violas, bass, guitars, piano, keys play our emotions quite nicely. Exit Ghost itself sounds like staticky radio on top of s synthy bed. I love this.
humana 5/24/2020 12-inch, A Library
Adele H is an Italian experimental vocalist and percussionist (as may be gleaned from the picture of Rome on the album cover). Grant Corum joins her on drums, flute, and harp on a couple of the songs. Her voice is pleasing and the songs are mellow and spirit-expanding. The track titles mirror what the songs sound like. Enjoy!
humana 5/24/2020 7-inch, A Library
Bubbling, energetic electronic happiness emanates from both these tracks, the first of which was inspired by a place in Japan badly affected by an earthquake after the music was written. Play it to honor the place, play it to raise your spirits, play it to free yourself from the cage you may be in.
humana 4/28/2020 12-inch, A Library
This blast from 1978 (re-released in 2017) is a sonic treat from Zurich-based musician Spoerri. The liner notes are short and a must-read so you can learn how Spoerri went from piano to sax to synth and electronics. The space-themed songs are treasures that would add a nice touch to any show.
humana 4/28/2020 A Library, CD
These are lovely, spare, melodic atmospheres that are warm enough to bring tears to your eyes. The words printed in the booklet insert offer poetic guides to what you are hearing, and occasional vocalizations seem like features of the overall ambience. There are sounds of piano, bells, and electronics, and it is all beautiful.
humana 3/26/2020 A Library, CD
The Kleefstra Brothers hail from the Netherlands, with Jan writing the lyrics and Romke offering his guitar and effects. Other musicians join them to create the atmospheric sounds on this CD that are hinted at by the track titles. The vocals are like a voice-over to a fascinating film that is rather dark and haunting. A lot of people will appreciate this.
humana 2/23/2020 CD, International
Mikidache makes this Comorian music from Madagascar the treasure that is is. His rich vocals, percussion, guitar, and oh, yeah, the fact that he wrote most of the songs make them the amazing, uplifting works that they are. Accordion and flute are among the instruments that bring this traditional Malagasy music to your ears. Enjoy every minute.
humana 2/23/2020 A Library, CD
This is a collection of absolutely whimsical and delightful sounds from Ghostwriter (aka Mark Brend) and Michael Paine, every track of which leaves you with a distinct and nostalgic feeling. At any moment you may find yourself laughing or crying with the exquisiteness of the instrumentation, which uses celesta, dulcimer, found sounds, flute, marimbas, piano, synths, xylophone…So gentle and pretty and atmospheric. Just lovely. Listen and see for yourself.
humana 2/23/2020 CD, International
Named after their father, Njava, whose name means “lightning,” this band of three brothers and two sisters (who came from 15 siblings) had its origins in Madagascar and then moved to Belgium. The sisters are responsible for the majority of the rich vocals, while the brothers provide the amazingly upbeat instrumentation (Dozzy has the chops on guitar). The title track, Vetse, means to hope, to feel, to laugh, to share, and I can honestly say that most if not all of the tracks on this CD inspire this sentiment. I dare you not to dance.
humana 2/23/2020 12-inch, A Library
Nietzche and Huxley were early influences for Canary-Island-born Segura, and his intentionally off-the-beaten path musicianship reflects this. Eschewing the crass econony-driven music industry, Segura seeks to express his scripts with instruments. He uses guitar, Roland B3, percussion at times, and at other times ambient silences. On A2 and B3 you can hear the tribal beats that call to mind what it must be like to live in the Atlantic Ocean halfway between Spain and Africa. Segura’s primarily unreleased tracks are an expression of this unique artist’s vision. Read the liner notes and experience Segura’s unique perspective.
humana 2/23/2020 12-inch, A Library
Folk music, Donovan, the Beatles, and Joni Mitchell all form the musical tapestry that makes up the fabric of Japan’s first female singer-songwriter. Sachiko learned to play the guitar in an informal way, and she composed her lovely music that same way. This is the American release of her one and only album that came out in 1972, right after she headed to the United States. People kept playing it in Japan, so that when she returned decades later to sing the songs live, the fans compared her to E.T. and could barely believe this “cool lady” was responsible for the music they knew and loved. Read the liner notes as you revel in this mellow beauty that has thankfully been restored to us from obscurity.
I know nothing about this CD except what it sounds like, and it sounds like its title. Lots of short tracks with some longer ones sprinkled in that put you in mind of being inside of a video game. A drum machine is likely the source of the frenetic, upbeat, ricocheting sounds that reverberate through your brain long after the CD is through playing. It’s always Playtime, after all! (Oh, yeah, and the band may be from Oxnard, CA.)
humana 2/9/2020 CD, International
From out of obscurity comes this snappy samba CD from songwriter and singer Divo, whose original goal was not to sound like Jao Gilberto. With these samba de balanco songs, Divo succeeds in defining his own singing style and songs that pull at the listener’s feet instead of just appealing to the ears. Read the interview within the CD sleeve as you dance around listening to this gem.
humana 2/9/2020 12-inch, A Library
These amazingly mellow and pretty folk tunes come to us from Joseph Allred in Boston. Allred is a master at guitar and banjo, enveloping the listener in layers of comforting acoustic notes and occasionally adding his voice to sing along. The cute illustrations of the tracks and the clever album design are in keeping with the homey feel of these tracks. Definitely in my sweet spot.
humana 2/9/2020 12-inch, A Library
Million Brazilians have moved to Maine where Caleb Mulkerin of Big Blood is. He did the tape loops and treatments on this album, as well as the engineering, recording, mixing, and mastering. Suzanne Stone’s alto sax is pretty great in the way it keeps the jazz feeling going amidst all the weird wonderfulness that makes this band hard to pinpoint. Grant Corum is of course on board, bringing especially interesting vocal directions to “Ectoplasm Programmed Dream (with Guide),” and Tom Kovacevic adds piano and synth at the end of Side 1. This is an almost droning, building aural experience and just right for the KFJC library.
humana 1/5/2020 CD, International
Frank Tavares is Haku, Music and Drama Department Chairman of Maui Community College (at least at the time of the first release of this, in 1975). As someone who would love to be on Maui full time, I find this an interesting CD. It’s electronic and strange, with poems recited in Japanese and stories narrated, roosters clucking, and classical Hawaiian Ipu (a gourd percussion instrument). The last couple of songs sound Hawaiian to me, and bring to mind breezes swaying through palm trees and mellow feelings of toes digging into warm sand. Take a little trip and listen.
humana 1/4/2020 12-inch, A Library
This is freak folk with beautiful vocals and instrumentation. Think Marissa Nadler but with vocals that are distinct and lovely in their own way. Sondra Sun-Odeon’s voice delivers some thought-provoking lyrics that paint haunting pictures, some of which were inspired by the band’s love of Acadia National Park in Maine (“Acadia” on Side B). David Shawn Bosler wrote the songs along with Sun-Odeon, and he does some of the backing vocals. There are Tibetan water bowls, guitars, cellos, and other musical instruments that set the other worldly tone. Quite pretty and fanciful.
humana 12/9/2019 A Library, CD
From 2005 come the soothing sounds of English trio Marconi Union. The tracks envelop you in layers of electronica that lull you into a trance from which you can awaken by figuring out what the track titles might mean. For example, “Suburb27” somehow converted me from disliking suburbs into admitting that their generic blurriness might be just the challenge I need. The music may also seem blurry, but there’s nothing wrong with a soft focus in life, after all. Take off your glasses and enjoy.
humana 12/9/2019 A Library, CD
John Twells has created a concept album that will suck you into its drone, sea sounds, bells, strumming, harpsichord sounds and leave you feeling drowning in despair. But it’s pretty great nonetheless, because that is the point. The first six tracks have stories to go with them, and they’re printed in the liner notes. They read like a suspenseful tale. The feelings of isolation and paralysis in the face of utter doom (is it sea monsters or an attacking battle ship that sinks the vessel holding the doomed, exiled souls?) are conveyed exquisitely by the atmospheric music found on this disc.
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