We’ve had our share in accessible music for the last few weeks, so now it’s back to experimental stuff. One CD that got my attention was 27 year old Italian artist Andrea Belfi’s “Between Neck and Stomach“. He’s been playing drums since he was 14, that gives you enough time to get bored of playing it the conventional way for sure!.

“Between Neck & Stomach is grounded on two core elements: the first is the material collected during the unique experiment of turning a house into “a living creature with its own voice” (just one example: a synth emitting one continuous note shaking a cupboard filled with pots, pans and plates). The second core element is the choice of just one thematic note per song, around which each track is built and balanced.”

Apart from the conceptual framework of the music, what really grabs you is the ambience from the beginning, the constant tension in “Sandglass” by Belfi’s snare and single guitar hits paint a truly picturesque scene. It’s dark but not spooky, doesn’t tell a story yet it’s totally cinematic. The last song, “Footprints” is more accessible and not as abstract as the rest of the album, which left me wanting more from both sides of his musical spectrum. Should easily be one of the top electro accoustic albums of 2006.

Let me also talk about Häpna, the label which presents us Andrea Belfi’s album and a slew of mp3s for download on their official site and is also selling their back catalogue through Klicktrack for 5.5E an album, which is a bargain. I’ve also gotten the “A Taste of Ra” album, which is some strange freaky folk psych, electronica melting pot. The offkey and offtopic flutes and symphonic samples in “37 Turns ‘Round You” sums up an interesting collage piece. Buy the album you won’t be disappointed.

Some other stuff for free download by electronica artists Tape, glitch / laptop music pioneer Pita, weird moog-pop/folk songs by Sagor & Swing, prepared piano/IDM by Hans Appelqvist and more are up on the page, so check & buy some music from these Swedes.

ADDED : Review on Monochrom.at

Andrea Belfi – Sandglass
Andrea Belfi – Footprints
A Taste of Ra – 37 turns round you
A Taste of Ra – Radhe-Shyam in bliss land
Sagor & Swing – Postmodernism
Pita – Babel
Hans Appelqvist – http://www.naimacmat.se