Fido Plays Zappa: Fembot In A Wet T-Shirt (2026, download / streaming, --, bandcamp)
Fido Plays Zappa released a second track from their 2026 Sud Basel concert on August 18, 2026. Is this becoming a series? Is this an announcement for a new live album?
The band featured Stef Strittmatter (guitar, vocals), Oli Friedli (keyboards), Martin Medimorec (percussion), Pascal Grünenfelder (bass, vocals), and Rémy Sträuli (drums).
Hawkestrel: Cover Ya Tracks (2026, download / streaming, --, bandcamp) (2026, cd, USA, cleopatra)
The ever-proactive former Hawkwind bassist Alan Davey is back with his Hawkwind-adjacent space rock vehicle, Hawkestrel, delivering a stellar sonic trip titled "Cover Ya Tracks".
Released via Cleopatra Records, this 11-track collection shifts the focus heavily onto cosmic cover versions and jaw-dropping archival guest performances, crafting an alternate-dimension tribute to both space rock royalty and classic rock heavyweights.
The roster of guest musicians assembled here reads like a dream lineup from the outer edges of the universe. Alan Davey masterfully weaves historic and newly arranged tracks, integrating contributions from legendary, dearly departed Hawkwind alumni alongside unexpected icons.
There is the celebration of Hawkwind with renditions of 'Hall of The Mountain Grill' and 'Brainstorm', but where "Cover Ya Tracks" truly surprises, is in its bold reimaginings of classic rock songs.
Check it out at Bandcamp. Also available on CD and on LP.
John adds: Blues, R&B, Pop Rock, Soft Quirky Ballads, Latin, Fusion and Musical Theater can be found on this collection. Very much a Clam Radio playlist. In other worlds... All over the place!
Over the past few days, I’ve been immersing myself in the music of the Søren Bebe Trio.
Recommended by my pal Mick and I am quite impressed.
Led by Danish pianist and composer Søren Bebe, the trio produces a nice balance of sparse piano chords, smooth percussion, and a powerfully gentle double bass, resulting in quite lyrical and melancholic voyages.
Tu-Ner’s Rendezvous Rodeo is a splendid example of hyper-disciplined avant-garde rock, capturing a high-wire live performance that blurs the line between tight structural math rock and raw, unpredictable improvisation.
Released on 7d Media, this third album from the power-trio - featuring King Crimson veterans Pat Mastelotto (drums) and Trey Gunn (Warr guitar) alongside Markus Reuter (Touch Guitar) - was recorded completely live in a single night at The Stone Church in Brattleboro, Vermont, on August 25, 2025.
I'm very happy with the download that I received over here at the United Mutations headquarters as this record delivers the exact kind of dense, boundary-pushing complexity we thrive on. That's exactly why "Rendezvous Rodeo" demands your immediate attention.
The Funk ‘n’ Blues Kitchen: The Funk ‘n’ Blues Kitchen (2014, cd, Germany, pottpeople)
The Funk 'n' Blues Kitchen's 2014 self-titled CD is an excellent, genre-bending masterpiece that seamlessly blends real instruments with modern digital samples and loops.
Released on the German POTTpeople label, this 13-track instrumental album is the brainchild of guitarist and composer Martin "Ludi" Ettrich.
Instead of capturing a standard live studio band, as he does with The Almost Three, Ettrich acts as a musical chef in his "kitchen," assembling a highly unique instrumental menu. He uses several distinct guitar and production techniques across the album. There's funky rhythms, a vocoder / talk box, Texas blues licks, nice jazzy octaves, ...
For "The Funk 'n' Blues Kitchen', Ludi recruited eight of his talented bass-playing friends (including musicians associated with progressive outfits like Birth Control, Helge Schneider, and N.O.H.A.) to record independent, live bass lines, adding different flavours to each track.
Perfect party and/or road trip music (although I enjoyed it through my headphones while working on my computer).
Pink Fairies: Never Never Land (2020, cd, --, bang records)
The Pink Fairies’ first and maybe also their most famous album, “Never Never Land”, has been re-issued several times.
One of these remastered CD versions included FZ’s ‘Trouble Coming Everyday’ as one of the bonus tracks, performed by Mick Farren who was part of the Pink Fairies for a very short time during their formation. It's the same version that Mick released on one of his solo albums.
Released on the Bang Records label in a limited edition of 500 copies.
The original 1971 LP was co-produced by Neil Slaven who would later write “Zappa, Electric Don Quixote”, a 350 page book.
