Hello everyone! Second post this year and already more than half of the year is gone!
Time certainly flies when one gets older (pushing 31 this year) and busy with traveling around (my work is mostly unaffected by traveling restrictions).
Since a couple of requested mounted over the months I've decided to make it a little special this time around in the sense that since most of these are super old posts I will reflect upon them in chronological order of requests. You can find fresh links in the original posts.
Piana - Ephermal
Original post here.
Oh God I was 17 when I posted this. Naturally I did not have much to say about it because (if memory serves) I was discovering a lot of new musical directions and styles in those days. I got fed up with metal which was my primary diet up until that year or somewhere around it. Synth pop this definitely is not but very relaxing it definitely still is.
The vocals, today, are a bit too high pitched for me to enjoy them fully. There are several layers of electronic and ambient music going on in the background with Piana's voice kicking in every now and then but never sticking around for too long. Short clean verses and melancholic passages. I probably spent a lot of time listening to this on the bus going home after school.
I never listen to this anymore, last time I gave it a listen it was in 2017 and that was just going through one album. Before that I was listening to it in 2010 on a more frequent basis. My interest in Piana obviously faded away but relistening to it now I can say that I still like it but does not captivate me as much as I it did before. Some of the layering can be a bit too much in certain songs. It definitely is, as mentioned in the original post, music for sunsets in autumn.
Hako Yamazaki - ハコのお箱
Original post here.
I still very much like Yamazakis music. In my pantheon of female Japanese vocalists she firmly holds the third place being behind only Morita Douji and Meiko Kaji.
Yamazakis best period is definitely during the 70s but she continued to be a very productive person throughout her career that went well into the 2000s. This isn't exactly an album of new songs but is rather a collection of her older songs reimagined by herself.
In my original post I was 19 at the time and I was most likely really fucking bummed out about being absolutely terrible in college. So depressing folk music that I can't understand definitely made me feel good. My guesses about the context of this release was on point despite not doing much research about it.
Today I rarely visit this album but I really should. Even though the songs aren't new they have a new approach that I'm liking a lot. Most of them are stripped down and vocals are more cleaner in production. Perhaps a bit too sterile on some tracks but overall really good stuff for the most part.
Ralfi Pagan - The Legend
Original post here.
Ah yes the sensual sound of a latino lover. I discovered this guy while at the age of 28 and I remember that year I was generally discovering latin and salsa music. Something I liked to avoid because my dad was really into it; he still is. Ralfi dude isn't very known or popular or very original but he does have a really good voice that I like a lot. His voice is quite feminine and music accentuates this a lot by being mostly slow love songs. This is great if you're in the mood for it but objectively nothing particular. Make It With You is the song that made me interested in him so you might also start from there (the song is linked in the original post).
Bix Beiderbecke - Anthology
Original post here.
Another post from 2018! The person commenting actually said it best so let me quote:
I find a lot of jazz of this period rather timeless even with the very primitive recording tech.
This pretty much sums up my opinion of Bix and the 20s-30s era in general as well. Jazz went on to evolve into many interesting forms but there is certainly something special and unique in dixieland jazz that will never be replicated again. Not in my lifetime at least.
And that's it! Sorry for not reuploading sooner. I read all of the comments and I do feel bad about not reuploading sooner but it is what it is. Some things never change.
I have a huge multi part post in the making for a while now, I hope to finish it this year. It's going to be a thorough look at one of my favorite (active) bands. But who knows when it will be don. I hope to do some shorter shares in the meantime. No promises!
Stay safe everyone and see you around!
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