avantgarde

The twitterverse is getting crowded, here are some of our latest finds: @Western Vinyl label home to Balmorhea, Composer @Rhys Chatham, @Sawako, @Hypnotic Brass Band, @Pauline Oliveros

We’ve always been late late in dealing with the passing year; but this time we’re way into the new one. God only knows what next year will bring but knowing that lots of readers are still hunting good albums from 2008 here’s one final post about 2008 with a cream of the crop selection and we go straight to 2009! Promise!

For some reason even though undomondo readership has been fairly stagnant (about 10K people a month if you wonder) somehow the amount of PR material we get has increased exponentially. These are the songs that has trickled down through over 200 emails we got last month.

Fellow Turkish guitarist and composer Erdem Helvacioglu has released a full length on the prestigious contemporary music label New Albion. His 2003 release “A Walk through the Bazaar” on Locust Music was part of the Met Life Series which focuses on field recordings & soundscapes.

It wouldn’t take a keen eye to spot newer dark noise acts like Boris & Sunn 0))) are redefining the black/doom concept mixing it with electronic noise and ambience. I used to listen to black metal a lot in the 90’s but I have to admit that even the Northern stuff didn’t sound half as evil as the 2000’s black metal..

German Stephan Mathieu and English Janek Schaefer are two big names from the “academic” sound composing scene. Their latest collaboration “Hidden Name” is an exceptional journey through ambient textures and field recordings.

Colorado’s IZ, formed by guitarist Michael Serviolo is a power trio, with bassist Tom Sublet and drummer David Kerman. Their 2006 album E-M remained below the radar somehow but I think it’s worth a few listens, if you’re into experimental heavy stuff. Progressive riffs, timechanges, abrupt stops and noise is abound on E-M released by the experimental household RERUSA.

* The second release of Musica Excentrica
* The Steve Reich exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art.
* Another experimental compilation by 12rec.