KAREN MANTLER - BUSINESS IS BAD

• Karen Mantler: Business Is Bad
      (2014, cd, Germany, xtrawatt)

Saying that Karen Mantler has a distinctive and minimalist style is an understatement.
I got introduced to her "Business Is Bad" album recently, where she continues on her same lovely path.

Nonchalantly and disarmingly, Karen sings of homeless people in the park, the disappearance of friends, the frustrations of being monolingual, the challenge of improvisation, music with a mind of its own, and encounters with bill collectors, lawyers, snowstorms, and ash-spewing volcanoes.

-- info: Danny Mathys

SETNA - GUÉRISON

• Setna: Guérison
      (2013, cd, France, soleil zeuhl)

French Zeuhl fusion band Setna released their debut, "Cycle I" in 2007.
Their second album, "Guérision" followed in 2013.

Although the band is classified as Zeuhl, the music on "Guérison" is also said to be more spiritual, ethereal and uplifting than the typical darker Zeuhl music.

Three long pieces: 'Cycle II', 'Triptyque', and 'Guérison', plus two shorter pieces from the same session.

Beautiful !!

Here's 'Triptyque':

-- info: Danny Mathys

XING SA - CRÉATION DE L' UNIVERS

• Xing Sa: Création De L’Univers
      (2010, cd, France, soleil zeuhl)

Nicolas Goulay (Keyboards), Christophe Blondel (Bass) and Nicolas Candé (Drums) are part of French Zeuhl fusion band Setna.
Xing Sa was a (one-off) side project.

"Création De L'Univers" got released in 2010 on the Soleil Zeuhl record label.
As the label name predicts, this is indeed music in the style of Magma / Zeuhl.

Instrumental (for the most part), and keyboard-driven.
A fine discovery.

-- info: Danny Mathys

FULANO - TRABAJOS INÚTILES

• Fulano: Trabajos Inútiles
      (1997, cd, Chile, private release / fulano)

Chilean jazz-fusion band Fulano included a piece entitled ‘Nadie Nos Conoce (El Cielo Tiene Su Escrutinador Central)’ (Nobody Knows Us – Heaven Has Its Own Central Scrutinizer) on “Trabajos Inútiles”, their third album.
The piece was dedicated to Frank Zappa.

Originally released in 1997, “Trabajos Inútiles” would get a re-release in 2003 (on the Brazilian Record Runner label) and in 2016 (on the Chilean El Templo Rekords label).

STEEL PANTHER - ON THE PROWL

• Steel Panther: On The Prowl
      (2023, cd, USA, private release / steel panther)

Steel Panther is a comedic, satirical glam metal band that parody 1980s Sunset Strip hair metal with highly profane, sex-heavy, and hedonistic lyrics. Their music is characterized by technically brilliant musicianship, featuring wailing solos, "gluey" melodic hooks, and authentic 80s-style rock production that simultaneously honors and mocks the genre.

"On The Prowl" was Steel Panther's final album. It featured Dweezil Zappa on guitar on 'Is My Dick Enough'.

XAVI REIJA ELECTRIC QUINTET - NU BREED

• Xavi Reija Electric Quintet: Nu Breed
       (2026, download / streaming, --, bandcamp / moonjune)
       (2026, cd, --, moonjune records)

Spanish drummer and composer Xavi Reija has a new album out.
"Nu Breed" got released about ten days ago and offers some exiting and energising music.

Featuring Xavi Reija on drums, Dusan Jevtovic on guitar, Tomás Fosch on Fender Rhodes and mini moog, Rafael Garacés on sax, and Brnat Hernandez on electric bass, the album presents 8 funky jazz fusion tracks.

Together they make high-voltage music that derives directly from the music of King Crimson and the freedom of Miles Davis. The result is a proposal of an uncommon emotional intensity, as the original compositions serve as fuel for a collective improvisation that gives the eye no respite.

Superb.
Highly recommended !!

Out on Bandcamp, but also on CD.
Released on the MoonJune Records label.

JOSH ADAM MEYERS DISCUSSES "FREAK OUT" WITH AHMET ZAPPA

The 500 with Josh Adam Meyers

Album 246 | Freak Out! by The Mothers of Invention with Ahmet Zappa

MIKE JOHNSON - THE GARDENS OF LOSS

• Mike Johnson: The Gardens Of Loss
      (2026, download / streaming, --, bandcamp / cuneiform)
      (2026, cd, USA, cuneiform rune)

Mike Johnson is the man behind Thinking Plague, the Denver, Colorado-based RIO / avant-garde progressive rock band.
Thinking Plague released eight albums between 1984 and 2017.

For some reason, Mike decided that his next release would not be credited to Thinking Plague, but to Mike Johnson.

Check out the nice review at Peinemmät Purot !

https://pienemmatpurot.com/2026/03/23/review-mike-johnson-the-gardens-of-loss-2026/

or just dive into the record :

(featuring Simon Steensland and Morgan Agren !)

JANEL LEPPIN'S ENSEMBLE VOLCANIC ASH - PLUTO IN AQUARIUS

• Janel Leppin’s Ensemble Volcanic Ash: Pluto In Aquarius
      (2026, download / streaming, --, bandcamp / cuneiform)
      (2026, cd, USA, cuneiform)

The Cuneiform record label recently released "Pluto In Aquarius", a new album by Janel Leppin's Ensemble Volcanic Ash quintet.

With Janel Leppin's cello at the central stage, the ensemble performs impressive, cinematic compositions.

Throughout "Pluto in Aquarius", the group’s language and interplay might seem leaner, meaner and grittier to veteran Ensemble Volcanic Ash fans. Leppin found a new pared-back feel for the ensemble — often less like a midsize chamber ensemble and more like a scrappy combo. “It’s a really raw sound and I love that,” Leppin says. “We had played some shows in this format and it was like, ‘Wow, this is a whole other thing now.’”

The five-piece group melds an illustrious array of D.C. talent into a glimmering expressive organism that surges, expands, ebbs and dances in multiple directions at once.

Quite different from "Slowly Melting", Janel's other recent release, but equally exiting.
Out on Bandcamp, and on CD.

-- info: Danny Mathys

DWEEZIL ZAPPA AND SOKLO

another YouTube clip by Dweezil Zappa.

THE LESSON is back! This episode features ELIJAH SOKOLOW, a guitarist and producer who is approaching the GUITAR in a very DISTORTED way.