music review

Etran de L’Aïr: The Desert Blues Brothers

/ N. P. Ryan

To mark the commencement of a 2023 US Summer tour, Etran de L’Aïr—which translates to the Stars of the Aïr—have released two live tracks recorded in Seattle earlier in the year; available for digital download, they’re also NYP (name your price, which includes free if you need it to be).

Seattle is a long way—seven-thousand miles thereabouts—from Etran de L’Aïr’s hometown of Agadez, Niger; a city located in the Sahara desert and the country’s fifth largest.

Etran de L’Aïr’s sound is generally described as desert blues. It’s a genre description in much part originating from the epithet desert rock already being taken in the West by a bunch of stoners who liked recording while out of their trees while out in the deserts of the States—some groovy tunes coming from their endeavours, it should be said—while the sound coming from Africa has a vibe and undercurrent distinctive to musicians in the region. Continue reading →

Death Pill: the ferocious all-female face of Ukrainian Defiance

/ N. P. Ryan

353619397_716357817172717_7070565787862434601_nMonday the 12th saw a first visit to the Louisiana, Bristol. Knowing nothing of the headliner, it was another case of a flyer grabbing attention in the timeline and hitting interested on the event from there.

Then came a surprise a couple of days beforehand when finding an article on the BBC website singing the praises of Death Pill’s cause; this I didn’t know about.

Death Pill’s story is phenomenal; so much so, it’s humbling writing now to think I got to witness part of it. Continue reading →

Girls Like Us: Bitter ‘Til The Bitter End; a review

/ N. P. Ryan

343967369_256723436738244_6031534892293599719_nGirls Like Us (GLU) released Bitter ‘Til The Bitter End the same weekend I caught the band live at the Chelsea Inn, Bristol.

It was a blistering set, part of another top night there (In With the Inn Crowd), during which I was about to turn to a mate and say, ‘killer bass line’ only for him to beat me to it with the exact same words.

The debut album certainly lives up to its name with lyrics plenty raw enough to suggest lived experience fuelling its theme of two-timing, dickhead boyfriends/blokes more often than not from entitled backgrounds. Continue reading →

MOOR: Viper Kingdom; a review

/ N. P. Ryan

moorfullcvr_16MOOR’s first full length album Viper Kingdom opens strong and solid with track one ‘Lepers Among Us’ and only goes the direction of strength to strength from there.

Track 2 ‘Viper Kingdom’ would be a massive crowd pleaser live for sure and is my pick of the album; coming in at 7.02—the longest track by almost two minutes—it puts all aspects of MOOR’s talents on display, be it a straight-up demonstration of black metal credentials or showcase the unique aspects Halfdan Svarti brings. Continue reading →

White Hills: Mitosis; an interpretation

/ N. P. Ryan

Mitosis is an album that swings from completely submerging the listener within its own narrative realms to the rhythms synching the mind with any task at hand like an internal soundtrack of one’s own making so seamless it almost isn’t there because it feels like it always is.

The ability of Mitosis to detach the listener from itself while simultaneously never leaving their side is all the more incredible when knowing the meaning of the album’s name and song titles (something I didn’t on first listen).

To quote from the album’s bandcamp page:

‘MITOSIS (/mai’toUsis/) is a part of a cell cycle in white replicated chromosomes are separated into two nuclei. Cell division by mitosis gives rise to genetically identical cells in which the total number of chromosomes are maintained.’

Continue reading →

A Bandcamp Friday Beginner’s Guide to Sahel Sounds

/ N. P. Ryan

Every Bandcamp Friday the lovely people at Sahel Sounds make the whole back catalogue available at Name Your Price; a great opportunity for new comers to the label, especially in this cost of living crisis when picking up a new album for free if needs be might just be the difference between maintaining mental health and preventing a breakdown.

But with so many albums to choose from and all by artists never heard of before, where to start? Continue reading →

Mundo Primitivo’s Paisaje Interior

/ N. P. Ryan

I can’t remember what took me to Mundo Primitivo’s Paisaje Interior, but Holy shit I’m sure glad who/whatever it was did.

Track 1: ‘Intro’ is an instrumental with a rock ‘n’ roll swagger reminiscent of Duane Eddy’s ‘Peter Gunn’; there’s menace and purpose in the brooding prowl, a cat on the move but always taught and ready to pounce; it turns out to be the calm before the storm.

Continue reading →

A review of Ian Arkley’s second solo album via poetic journeys on the London Underground

/ N. P. Ryan

ArkleyII_COVERIan Arkley’s second solo album two is compellingly converse. Frequently touching on fiercely hunting, it equally remains subtle throughout. two picks up where one left of with bells on thanks to the addition of a dulcimer, lyre and pitched down acoustic guitar for bass. Mastering and layout are by Michael Shaffer of label Opa Loka Records, on which two is released; beyond that, Ian is responsible for all aspects including photographs and artwork. Continue reading →

Down and out to sea

/ N. P. Ryan

classy live studio 2021 editRich Brown wanted to draw a line under what was intended as a lockdown project, and having had enquiries about them, decided a CD—his first physical release—would do exactly that.

Revisiting old songs with a tweak here and there, plus adding three completely new, Down and out to sea contains ten tracks, all of which were recorded, mixed and mastered in Rich’s own home studio; a place that started as a duvet fort and has become something producing sound that one would be hard pressed to realise hadn’t been recorded in a real studio with all the engineering and mastering that goes with it.

Continue reading →