Sun's Signature - Sun's Signature (2022)

This project managed to take the alternative music world by surprise: Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins and Echo & The Bunnymen and Spiritualized's drummer Damon Reece are a real life couple, but they decided to create something together in the music world as well. This EP is the result and it's as artsy and moody as could be imagined.

Fraser's theatrical voice and the music that balances between space rock, art pop and more experimental territories, together, bring this overwhelming feeling of higher art. And it doesn't matter if it's more about moody atmosphere in Underwater or about unassuming music fun in Golden Air. From Tori Amos- to Spiritualized-like, the music vibes here are taken from all over the place and it works. It does sound like music from a psychedelic, fairy-tale musical but it's only for the better. No wonder that it is being referred to as a "Alice in Wonderland journey through life and music" - everything checks: the weird, the psychedelic and the charming.  

Sun's Signature costs 5 USD.

Check: Underwater 

Country: UK

Genre: dreamy art pop

Label: Partisan Records

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Dagmar Gertot - Os Lacrimale (2020) EN

First time I heard about Dagmar Gertot while posting about Darja Kazimira's album last year. It quickly turned out that the two artists are a perfect fit and their fascinating approach to the art in general inspires me all the time. The Russian released a new album and it has to be said that Os Lacrimale fits so well to their unique style.

It's difficult to describe the artist's music. For sure there's something from the Balkan and Roma people folklore there, certainly a lot of dark ambient and folk the liveliness of which is washed out so only the extremely strong atmosphere prevails. A lot of experiments with vocals too because the compositions here are as minimalist as can be, except of various forms of vocals, there's only single instruments playing in the backgrounds. But those are widely represented, from accordion to Bosnian folk batalo.

Gertot's music is not a simple one - there's tons of improvisation here with this very theatre-like mood with grotesque, unsettling and art in general. The artist's experiments, just like it is in her visual art works, is well though through and extremely unique. This atmosphere of the higher artism is her characteristic trait.

Os Lacrimale costs 8 EUR.

Darja Kazimira & Dagmar Gertot - Ο θάνατος του Ταύρου (Death of The Bull) (2019) EN

Check: Nude Metamorph

Country: Russia

Genre: experimental dark folk

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Dagmar Gertot - Os Lacrimale (2020) PL

Pierwszy raz o Dagmar Gertot usłyszałem podczas pisania o płycie Darji Kazimira z zeszłego roku. Szybko okazało się, że obie artystki dobrały się idealnie a ich fascynujące podejście do ogólnie pojętej sztuki zadziwia mnie cały czas. Rosjanka wydała nową płytę i trzeba przyznać, że Os Lacrimale jest tak bardzo w ich unikalnym stylu.

Trochę ciężko opisać muzykę artystki. Jest w niej na pewno coś z muzyki bałkanskiej i romskiej, na pewno mnóstwo dark ambientu i folku wypranego z ludowej dożynkowości a zamiast niej a podkreśloną arcymroczną atmosferą. Dużo eksperymentów z wokalami bo przecież kompozycję są tutaj minimalistyczne do głębi, poza wokalami w przeróżnej formie, mamy do czynienia z aranżacją na pojedyncze instrumenty. Tych ostatnich jednak jest cała gama od akordeonu zaczynając na bośniackim batalo kończąc.

Muzyka Gertot nie jest prosta - mnóstwo jest tutaj improwizacji i bardzo teatralnej atmosfery z groteską, niepokojem i artyzmem na czele. Eksperymenty artystki, tak jak jej twórczość w sztukach wizualnych jest przemyślana i ekstremalnie oryginalna. Taka atmosfera wyższego artyzmu to jej znak rozpoznawczy.

Os Lacrimale kosztuje 37 złotych (8 EUR).

Darja Kazimira & Dagmar Gertot - Ο θάνατος του Ταύρου (Death of The Bull) (2019) PL

Sprawdź: Nude Metamorph

Kraj: Rosja

Szufladka: experimental dark folk

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2l8 - The Answer (2016) EN

Theatrical rock, is it a musical genre? Guitar music filled with stage expression, exaggerations and poetry that is made to influence. This is how I think of Greek 2l8 which after a great “Η Κλωστή (The Thread)” and albums with music written for, obviously, theatre plays Antigone and Don Juan came back earlier this year with their best album up to now, “The Answer”. The way they describe the album, next to its post-apocalyptic cover, does already sound as if it was declaimed from stage: “Good news! Τhe world has finally ended! (...) It is time to celebrate. For we still have each other, we still have the passion (...) We are post human, we are calling to send this last message to YOU. The future depends on that tiny bundle of energy you hide inside. Join us. The war is far from over. And we need you. Signed: He&She”.

The idea of post humans who gave up their souls and started to evolve in some frightening, apocalyptic direction appears throughout the album. Those people are never fulfilled (“The wolf in me, is still hungry” - Post Human), they have no emotions (“Since that day I can only see / From the eternal perspective / I grow colder” - Learning to Breathe) and are very lonely (“The nameless grave that I dig for myself on bad days / It’s a handwritten list of the people I once knew, the people that left me” - Desire! Desire! Desire!). It all speaks very clearly, directly into your frightened soul. And it’s supported with fantastic melodies, surprisingly catchy music and delicate electronic filings. And first of all, with several different vocals, including something that sounds like gregorian chorales sung alongside guitar riffs.

Equally important is the fact that the album was crowdfunded and all the income will be given to help solving the refugee crisis in Greece, the most tangible trace of 2l8’s apocalypse coming and our western societies’ posthumanization.

“The Answer” is available for free but as written above, I recommend paying something as it is worth in every way.

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