The Latest From Free Albums Galore

Free Albums Galore has posted a handful of new links.

Ten and Tracer – Baker’s Blood
Genre: Electronica

The Zymogen netlabel continues to release exceptional electronica, usually in the area of experimental and abstract. One of their latest offerings is Ten and Tracer’s Baker’s Blood. The tracks overflow with electronic effects, field recordings, found sounds, and exotic percussion, yet manages to fit together into a tight irresistable groove. My favorite track is “The Church”. It moves along effortlessly daring you to ignore just how complex it really is. “Waltersben” mixes its glitchy beat with a spacy background while “Glad To Generalize With You” has African percussion mixed with sample sounds. “Vintage Airplane – Vintage Man” is the most abstract of the pieces but still mesmerizing in its layers of electronic sounds. There are lots of free electronic albums on the internet, but this is a stand-out effort.

The albums is available in separate tracks or album zip in 256kbps MP3.

Alexei Borisov — two albums
Genre: Avant-Garde, Improvisation, Electronica

Abstract electronics in the realm of the avant-garde is the forte of Russian sound artist Alexei Borisov. Two online albums feature live performances of this creative and sometimes perplexing underground figure.

The appropriately titled Abstractionist features two lengthy tracks of noise and tones. Often the sounds appears to have no real connection and are seemingly random although I suspect this is not the case. “Artworks” is the more abtract piece and requires your full undivided attention to appreciate it. However “Cakeshop” is a little more accessible. A melody can barely be deciphered among the odd electronic drone but even this is soon lost is a bewlidering by fascinating collage of electronics and found sound. This is a challenging but rewarding listen.

Live in Kaliningrad is an hour plus live performance divided into 4 parts. The artist uses fragments of his past recordings, alters them through a laptop and other devices then adds elements of voice, found sounds and other effects. The results remains interesting throughout the perfomance although again it is challenging and may confuse those who are looking for tone and structure. Personally I find it exhilarating when listened to in an quiet and uninterupted environment. My friends often ask me what I see in abstract music such as this. What I see is a way to look at the world in ways I haven’t been able to before. Our consumer society has taught us to accept music as background noise or to view it as a corporate product to use and discard. I urge you to find a quiet room, put on your headphones, and listen to this or one of the other experimental music albums you can find here and give yourself an truly revolutionary experience.

Abstractionist is available in 320kbps MP3 while Live in Kaliningrad is in 192 kbps. If you enjoy the music, you can find more information about his CDs and live shows from his MySpace page.

Aerotrio – Aerotrio
Genre: Jazz

Aerotrio plays jazz on the edge of electronic and rock. It is vaguely similar to the rock jazz experimentation of Bad Plus and Happy Apple. Paulo Guilherme alternates with keyboards and synthesizers to make a variety of genre bounching tracks. When on piano or electric piano he exhibits strong latin influences and a Ramsey Lewis afinity to a funky form of soul jazz. “Salamangaia” and especially “New Orleans / Brazil” are excellent examples of fairly mainstream jazz. His synthesizer work is quite intriquing on rockish numbers like “Diaz” while some songs such as “Analog Soul” and “Coton” are a bit heavy handed with the electronic experimentation. I definitely prefer the straight jazz side of Aerotrio but overall the album is quite interesting. Bassist Orlando de Freitas is equally fluid in this music as evidenced by the fine solo and backing on “A Insustentavel Leveza do Som”. Percussion and Electronics are handled nicely by Edmar Travassos.

Aerotrio comes to us via the the Japanese netlabel Bump Foot and is available in 192kbps MP3.

Transit – two albums
Genre: Post-Rock

Yesterday I featured a classic work by Olivier Messiaen, who also had a reputation as an ornithologist. I thought it might be a good time to introduce you to the post-rock band Transit, whose only real tie to Messiaen is that the group consists of three ornithologists.

Leaving the birdies aside, Transit has a rather casual sound for a post-rock group. Their first album. Broadleaves vs Conifers involves lanquid and pastoral lines such as on “Pilot’s Handbook” and “Long Song”. When the tension does builds, such as on “Matacabras”, the artists are able to move into Mogwai territory and still keep their own individualism. My favorite track is the beautiful “Reflections on the Asfalt” (what’s an asfalt?).

The three track Harmattan is a brief but continually interesting exploration into their music. It consists of two slightly extended versions of “Long Song” and “Mattoral”, both also on the first album, and “Maza”. The best track is “Maza”, a melodic treat that ends with a punch. The 19 minutes Harmattan is brief but, with three strong tracks, it makes a good introduction to this interesting post-rock band.

Both albums are available from the Lost Children netlabel. Broadleaves vs. Conifers is in 256kbps MP3 while Harmattan is in 192kbps.

Messiaen РCouleurs de la Cit̩ C̩leste
Genre: Classical

Couleurs de la Cité Céleste by French Composer Olivier Messiaen is an unusual composition. It was composed in 1963 and is based on passages from the Book of Revelations. Its instrumentation of piano, 3 clarinets, 3 xylophones, brass, and percussion sounds mystical and even savage at times. As in most of Messiaen’s works there are spiritual overtones. Messiaen’s unique influences and techniques are evident in this work. The use of ancient Greek and Hindu rhythms, the transcription of bird calls in his music (he was also an ornithologist), attempts to notate color into sound, all play a role in this outstanding composition.

This live performance is by the University Of Kansas Wind Ensemble under the direction of Professor John Lynch. Avguste Antonovhe is on piano. The performance date is November 18th 2004 and it is available on The Piano Society’s web site. The MP3 bitrate is 192kbps.

Necronomikon Quartett – Input
Genre: Rock, Other, Avant-Garde, Pop

WM Recordings’ write-up for The Necronomikom Quartett’s online album Input implies that the group’s music is close to free jazz or avant-garde. This may be true but for the most part Input is a highly accessible and listenable set of well structured pieces that exhibit high musicianship and a playful spirit.

The first two tracks are clearly endebted to the surf music genre. “Sofawende” rocks hard with its Dick Dale influenced guitar lines while “Wave Rider” evokes a 21st century Ventures sound. “Song of Tomorrow” is a light 60s romp that makes a case for the kazoo as a rock instrument.

Things are a little less clear in the next three tracks. “Tube Music Part IV” sounds like an extract of a film score. The guitarist contributes a jazzy but mysterious solo. The 6 minutes “Auf Stelzen durch die Wuerst” allows for a little stretching out and has some post-rock leanings. The last track “Future 03″ is the most experimental track of the six but its repetitive riff also makes it the weakest. Nonetheless, Necronomikon Quartett has given us an excellent album of creative sounds.

The album is available as separate tracks or full album zip in 192kbps MP3.