Iva Bittová & Pavel Fajt - Bittová & Fajt

Label : Bonton - 71 0535-2

Country : Czech Republic

Year : 1997 (1988 orig)

Format : CD

Is there a more dynamic duo in the field of avantgarde reimaginings of cultural folklore? I think not. Truly some beautiful and soulful music, much less of an academic look into this particular world than some takes from their contemporaries; A homely offering.

That isn't to say that the vaguely generalized label I attributed to their so-called "contemporaries" (whom I probably couldn't name in the moment despite being sure of myself) is meant to diminish them in comparison. Tons of great music came from this arena of the avant music scene circa 80s.

You might recall the mesmerizing "Morning Song" from Fred Frith's encapsulating "Step Across The Border" verite film... It's in here!

I apologize a bit for the lack of activity for the past month or so, I got more stuff to post in time.

Here

Napalmed / Mood Nanamenicaca - Split

Label : Napalmed

Country : Czech Republic

Year : 1999

Format : 7 inch

What was a Christmas present to me is a Boxing Day gift to you, the reader. Hope you all have had a jovial holiday, and if not, I hope to at least spread some joy your ways. Here's some stirring sounds provided by Czech noise masters Napalmed and a sideproject of a blog favorite in Hachiman-Mae.

Now, I'm not sure if many of those who come by this blog read my reviews on rate your music, but I'll keep this brief so as to not create a retread of my review of this on there. This split was something of a surprise to me as it played along, shattering my expectations ov it. At first glance, I had thought this would be a coin of different sides in terms of sound: The harsh machinations of Napalmed and the lowfi junkfolk of Hachiman-Mae. But, as you may hear, it deviates quite a bit from my preconceived notions.

For one, the two sides do not present much of a radical difference from one another when it comes to general aesthetic. Two sides of electronic experimentation as it were. Though Napalmed's contributions fall more into the realms of industrial synth and Mood Nanamenicaca's in the ways of glitch collage, the aural arenas are not separated so much as they are in perpendicular realities. If that makes any sense at all.

Here