PUMICE Új- Zélandon két birkanyírás, két földrengés között, két sör közben, teddy hengerezés helyett as always

Kapható a SOFT ABUSE kiadónál.

Rural legend and outsider folk artist H.C. SLIM spent his formative years smoking cigarettes and playing his guitar, between distilling moonshine in an old empty factory in the Eastern-Finnish countryside. As an evangelical visionary and wayward preacher, H.C SLIM calls forth revelations of pastoral love and rustic abandoned buildings. His songs are both apocalyptic and illuminating, swelling between religious fervour and starless prophecies of biblical destruction. E.g.:

He had amassed quite a catalog of original songs he’s demoed on a tape recorder, deep in the Eastern Finnish countryside. Over the years cassettes and CDRs began to circulate with original copies selling for high prices before Svart Records drove out to his remote cabin to offer Slim a deal for his debut album.

Zagreb based trio SEINE is an ancient project of Ivan Ščapec – from melodic noise punk band Vlasta Popic – which finally turned into a band. They play strummy, acoustic, punky, noisy, alternative, psychedelic, folky, angsty and hearty music, defined by dreamy acoustic guitar textures, psychedelic bass lines and spirited drum patterns.

They are on Eastern Europen tour to promote their debut album Sno Sna. Don’t miss them: 27.5. Art Café Barakah, Kraków (PL) / 28.5. Hajovna, Žilina (SK) / 29.5. Klub Lúč, Trenčín (SK) / 31.5. Auróra, Budapest (HU) / 1.6. Grand Café, Szeged (HU) / 2.6. Slamanje, Osijek (HR)

Cadillac born New Orleans based American traditionalist LUKE WINSLOW-KING plays a mix of old, but maybe eternal American tunes with his band: ragtime, country, blues, gospel, dixie, bluegrass, jazz, rock and roll with minimal and occasionally brass band orchestration.

New album BLUE MESA out soon on BLOODSHOT RECORDS (US)

„BLUE MESA” on Bandcamp

LWK on Spotify

The Republic of Macedonia is a little country in the middle of the Balkans which has become independent during the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early 90s. And there is an underground music scene.

The Yugoslavian underground was very strong and rampant in the last decade of the South Slav confederacy with many great and strange artists like the Slovenian Laibach, Borghesia, the Serbian Disciplina Kicme, the Montenegrin Rambo Amadeus, the Croatian Satan Panonski, the Hungarian Bada Dada, and lots of others. But I heard about Macedonian underground artists nothing. Until recently when the various artists album „Magare i muzika” (Donkey and Music) has been released on BALKAN VELIKI RECORDS.

It’s a surprisingly good and colourful album about the Macedonian underground from indie pop new wave via psych-folk punk to electronic beats. And exception of Dj Zdena – who played at RNR666 Party in Budapest – and Bernays Propaganda – who makes tours in Europe often – there are totally unknown artists for me. But there are not just Macedonian artists like the Croatian Lutajuci Dj Zdena or the English Membranes because they were also released by BALKAN VELIKI. And at the moment  I have realized that hc-punk jazz fusion band Mnjenje is Serbian. So this album represents a wider region, what means the ex-Yugoslvaian underground is strong and rampant. But unfortunately there are two horrible hard rock songs in the middle of the album:

Anyway, I was curious about the Macedonian people, and it has turned out they are descendants of orthodox Slavs who did not run away and did not become Greeks, Bulgarians or Serbs during the last 150 years. After waves of different national proselytization some of them realized that anyway they are Macedonians. At first officially the separate Macedonian ethnicity was recognised by Communist International in 1934 because Soviet Russia wanted to use the network of Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization to revolutionize the Balkans. Funny, that year the organization was banned and dissolved in Bulgaria where it was state within the state. But after this they could manage to kill the Yugoslavian king and – if he already was there – the French Foreign Minister in Marseille same year within the framework of Croatian – Italian – Hungarian cooperation.

Albano-Macedonian prog folk rock band Blla Blla Blla…

Pic above: Mnjenje

This South-London honky-tonk band was able disturbed me
with messages through various channels within a very short time
about their first single, called Entitled to Nothing

For example they wrote that „a blend of South-London scuzz incorporating elements country, electronic, post-punk and lo-fi. File next to bands such as Goat Girl, Meatraffle, Warmduscher, peeping Drexels and the Rebel”, but also Country Teasers. „Using vintage drum machines, synthesizers, guitars, bass and male/female vocals.” And thye are really just „like a drunken boat.” With Keel Her in the title song. She nowadays also appeared in other bands as Bin Bags, Administrators and maybe more.

But now I ask Jim from Honkies

– Hey! What is your temper?

– My temper is dependent on two things: bullishly high crypto-currency share prices and Hank Williams cover requests.

– Anyway what things annoy you in the weekdays?

– Lesser Honkies gigs, lesser Honkies activity.

Next gig on 20 July at the Bible Club in London

Anyway the 4th commandment of crypto currency trading: Don’t Panic.

ALL OTHERS WILL BE TOWED

Strange. None the less he has been started his career in the early 80s I have been never heard about BEN VAUGHN before. His 16th album is the first I have listened. And I am impressed.

The album Piece de resistance has been released recently on French label KIZMIAZ RECORDS. It’s full of good old frenchy western swings and moods. Easy and elegant as this verse from the title song is

„sabotage, bon vivant, nouveau riche, je ne sais quoi, s’il vous plaît, c’est la vie, femme fatale, repertoire”

He made an album Cubist Blues together with Alan Vega and Alex Chilton in 1996. Chilton started his career as a teen star in Memphis in the 60s, then formed the band Big Star, moved to New York and played often at CBGB in the 70s, then in early 80s went to New Orleans at Louis XVI Restaurant to dish wash. Sabotage, bon vivant.

A lysergic mix of South-American tropical music with an out of control computer, or the „Southamerican psychedelic sound of the XXI Century” by Columbian trio LOS PIRANAS

La Diversión Que Hacía Falta En Mi País LP on Staubgold Records (France)

To live on the outskirts, still isolated in the digital age from outside trends and current sounds as Australian musician Dusty Anastassiou. His band is DAG. Dag means the dried faeces left dangling from the wool on a sheep’s rear end, but also refers to being unfashionable, eccentric and fool-like.

Debut album Benefits of Solitude on Bedroom Suck Records (AUS), Omnian Music Group (US) and Cargo Direct (UK)