“I guess there’s quite a dark side to me. It always comes out when I’m writing songs. I love Sylvia Plath, and I love listening to songs that have that haunting darkness that really pulls you in, so it’s probably something that I want to create in my songs.” She plays every instrument on her recordings, from bass to piano, from guitar to sitar. Strange bitter-sweet haunted folky pop songs or “grungy abstract folk with a playful darkness” by Marika Hackman

We Slept At Last album on Universal Music

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Seductive brooding jazz with an electronic twist. Baritone sax, double bass, drums, samplers and a whole lot of stomp boxes and effects.  Cozy melancholic cocoon in the midst of a looming, cold, unwelcoming metropolis of Moscow. Eight stories told by different people in different places. For a rainy evening and a bottle of vodka.

Fogh Depot debut album on Denovali Records (Germany)

The Dale Cooper Quartet is a trio, of course. But they never play as a three piece band naturally, because there’re The Dictaphones. The band originally formed as a quartet for an improvisation night in Brest (France) in 2002 in order to play a strange mix of Angelo Badalamenti and the German slow-core-jazz band, Bohren & Der Club of Gore style music. Mysterious, dark, smoky, jazz, exactly like a film by David Lynch. While they’re also under influence of Bretagne’s weather, landscape and people, of course.

from their first album „Paroles de Navarre” (2006).
It’s re-released by Denovali Records (Germany)

Denovali Swingfest, Oct 2-5, Essen with Frederico Albanaese (I), The Haxan Cloak (UK), Ensemble Economique (US), Pan & Me (F), Bohren und der Club of Gore (Ger), Never Sol (Cz), Thees Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra (Can), Ben Frost (Aus), The Samuel Jackson 5 (Nor) and more.

The program of Denovali Records varies from sometimes improvised darker experimental sounds, ambient, drone, indie and electronica to darkjazz, jazz or piano and string driven modern compositions.

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There’s a book by Judy Blume: Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. It’s „about a girl in sixth grade who grew up without a religious affiliation. Margaret’s mother is Christian and her father is Jewish, and the novel explores her quest for a single religion. Margaret also confronts many other pre-teen female issues, such as buying her first bra, having her first period, coping with belted sanitary napkins (changed to adhesive sanitary pads for recent editions of the book), jealousy towards another girl who has developed a womanly figure earlier than other girls, liking boys, and whether to voice her opinion if it differs from those of her friends.”

About these problems with really various style music from pop to punk by all-star girl group of Canberra, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. And surprisingly they’re so good than there we’re sold out shows only. Yes, were. The final show was on 15 Aug.

digital EP on Cinnamon Records (Aus)

The Denovali is a German record label which is interested in various styles experimental music from post classic piano music to metal. For example there are the polish strange jazz Contemporary Noise Sextet, the American ambient Ensemble Economique, the Italian metal Lento or the British composer Greg Haines.

They organize a music fest since 2007. In this year the Denovali Swingfest will be between Oct 3 and 6 in Essen. There will be the most various artists like Emika (Ninja Tunes), Barn Owl (Thrill Jockey), Kilimanfuji (Kilimanjaro Darkjazz and their friends) or Piano Interrupted. They have almost only one common attribute: their music to set the average man nervous.

Here is a free compilation from the line-up of 2013.

Például Philip Glass, Steve Reich és Gavin Bryers nyomdokain haladó fiatal angol zeneszerző, Greg Haines ad koncertet május 29.-én Budapesten az Akváriumban. Minden bizonnyal most megjelent lemezét fogja bemutatni, mely szintetizátorokra és ütőhangszerekre épül. Kitűnő háttérzene íráshoz, olvasáshoz, főzéshez, sziesztához. S mivel ülő koncert lesz, csak óvatosan! Mert például:
– Hát te? Mi van a fejeddel? Hol törted össze magad?
– Greg Haines koncerten.
– Akkora volt a pogó, vagy mi?
– Elbóbiskoltam és lefordultam a székről.

The Whole from Where We Were LP

Greg Haines is a young English musician and composer, who follow in (for example) Philip Glass, Steve Reich and Gavin Bryars’ tracks. He gives a concert on 29 May at the Akvarium in Budapest. In all probability he will perform his new album which focuses on synthesizers and percussion. It’s excellent background music for writing, reading, cooking or siesta. The concert will be sedentary, so take care! Or else:
– What happened with your head? Where you broke yourself?
– On Greg Haines concert.
– Was the pogo so large, or what?
– I have dozed off and fallen from the chair.

You can find more dates on his site.

The Piano Interrupted started as a computer manipulated piano project. It has been completed with cello and percussion. The quartet is playing eclectic contemporary music. Three tracks of the LP have Tunisian feeling, because of they were asked to write the score to ‘Papa Hedi’ – a documentary film about the life and times of Hedi Jouni, the ‘Frank Sinatra’ of Tunisia. They had access to Hédi Jouni’s original recordings, and samples of his music were used as starting point for the compositions. One of these:

Bulbus from Two By Four LP by denovali

The Blackout Beach started as a solo project of the Canadian guitarist, Carey Mercer (guitar, Frog Eyes, Swan Lake). He has made this album with his wife (drums, Frog Eyes) and Dante DeCaro (bass, Wolf Parade). The atmosphere of the LP reminds me of the 16 Horsepower, but instead of the prairie here are mountains.

Blues Trip Lp by soft abuse