Skidmore College, Arthur Zankel Music Hall
Saratoga Springs, New York (USA)
6/10/2026
Saturday, September 26, 2026
GEOFFREY BURLESON - BEBOP TANGO (F. ZAPPA)
MOSTLY MODERN FESTIVAL
Skidmore College, Arthur Zankel Music Hall
Saratoga Springs, New York (USA)
6/10/2026
Skidmore College, Arthur Zankel Music Hall
Saratoga Springs, New York (USA)
6/10/2026
MORE INFO ON THE RESIDENTS' "ESKIMO FOLK TALES"
The Residents return with an all-new EP - Six new pieces picking up where their 'Eskimo'
masterpiece left off!
In the 1970s, as The Residents worked on their Eskimo masterpiece, their mentor The Mysterious N. Senada sent them a collection of handwritten Inuit folk tales, suggesting they incorporate them into the album. But the group shelved them, having gathered more than enough stuff themselves by that point, leaving them to gather dust.
Here and now, almost 50 years later, The Residents have revived those folk tales as part of their forthcoming 'Eskimo' live performance, blending them with familiar elements of the original 'Eskimo' album and new music to produce the soon-to-be-classic show.
Here is a studio recording of those new songs, alongside read-along stories, as written down by Senada almost half a century ago.
This is not a new side of 'Eskimo', but a modern interpretation of material which might, in another universe, have found its way onto the original.
In the 1970s, as The Residents worked on their Eskimo masterpiece, their mentor The Mysterious N. Senada sent them a collection of handwritten Inuit folk tales, suggesting they incorporate them into the album. But the group shelved them, having gathered more than enough stuff themselves by that point, leaving them to gather dust.
Here and now, almost 50 years later, The Residents have revived those folk tales as part of their forthcoming 'Eskimo' live performance, blending them with familiar elements of the original 'Eskimo' album and new music to produce the soon-to-be-classic show.
Here is a studio recording of those new songs, alongside read-along stories, as written down by Senada almost half a century ago.
This is not a new side of 'Eskimo', but a modern interpretation of material which might, in another universe, have found its way onto the original.
KVÅRK
KVÅRK are a four-piece instrumental progressive metal band from Marseille, France, building long-form journeys from rhythmic dislocation, death-metal weight and atmospheric transformation.
Originally created as a studio collaboration between longtime friends and guitarists Eric Lamblot and Christophe Gervasi, the project released the five-track EP "Here Comes Trouble" through Tentacles Industries in 2020.
The subsequent expansion into a full quartet fundamentally changed the scale and physicality of the music. Four distinct instrumental voices now interact in real time, turning a composition-led studio project into a collective organism.
Their forthcoming debut album, "The Astral Maze", documents that transformation. Its pieces move between rhythmic instability, dissonant experimentation, oppressive weight and sustained atmosphere, allowing tension, repetition and movement to perform the role usually assigned to a vocalist.
“Lost in a Quiet Place” is the first track revealed from 'The Astral Maze'.
Originally created as a studio collaboration between longtime friends and guitarists Eric Lamblot and Christophe Gervasi, the project released the five-track EP "Here Comes Trouble" through Tentacles Industries in 2020.
The subsequent expansion into a full quartet fundamentally changed the scale and physicality of the music. Four distinct instrumental voices now interact in real time, turning a composition-led studio project into a collective organism.
Their forthcoming debut album, "The Astral Maze", documents that transformation. Its pieces move between rhythmic instability, dissonant experimentation, oppressive weight and sustained atmosphere, allowing tension, repetition and movement to perform the role usually assigned to a vocalist.
“Lost in a Quiet Place” is the first track revealed from 'The Astral Maze'.
OZRIC TENTACLES - HARMONIC MIND
- Ozric Tentacles: Harmonic Mind
(2026, cd, --, kscope)
There are few constants in the psychedelic underground, but for over four decades, The Ozric Tentacles, have remained an unwavering beacon of cosmic exploration.
"Harmonic Mind", their latest release is another excellent instrumental space jazz album.
"Harmonic Mind", their latest release is another excellent instrumental space jazz album.
Recommended !
Ozric Tentacles are an English instrumental rock band, whose music incorporates elements from a diverse range of genres, including psychedelic rock, progressive rock, space rock, jazz fusion, electronic music, dub music, world music, and ambient music. Formed in Somerset in 1983, the band have released over 30 albums selling over a million copies worldwide despite never having signed to a major recording label. Throughout many line-up changes over the years, co-founder and guitarist Ed Wynne has remained the only original member of the band. The band is now credited as one of the major influences of the UK festival scene's re-emergence, becoming particularly associated with the Glastonbury Festival and their handmade series of cassette releases, mostly sold at gigs and through a fan club.
-- info: Danny Mathys
KING GIZZARD & THE LIZARD WIZARD - ALIEN METAL
- King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard: Alien Metal
(2026, download / streaming, --, bandcamp)
Released about a month ago, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's "Alien Metal" is quite different from their previous albums.
Not the complex progressive metal that we've enjoyed in the past, but a complete (modular synthesizer) electronic album.
I admire the urge to experiment, but this is not really my cup of tea...
MAGMA - RETROSPEKTIW I–II–III
- Magma: Retrospektiw I-II-II
(2021, 3cd, France, seventh rex 15/16/17)
I bought a copy of Magma's "Retrospektiw I-II-III" at a Brussels record shop a couple of days ago.
Originally released as two separate live albums in 1981 (the double LP "Retrospektïẁ I-II" and the single LP "Retrospektïẁ III)".
The primary source material for this release comes from three legendary consecutive nights—June 9, 10, and 11, 1980—at the Olympia Theatre in Paris. These concerts were explicitly organized to celebrate Magma’s 10th anniversary, serving as a massive homecoming that reunited core classic members and past alumni (including a staggering line-up featuring Bernard Paganotti, Didier Lockwood, Klaus Blasquiz, and Benoît Widemann).
While the bulk of the tracks are culled directly from these live recordings, there is a fascinating archival exception as this compilation includes a rare, 15-minute studio piece: 'Retrovision (Prima Materia)', captured as a pre-production mockup at Studio Ramsès on January 24, 1980. This acts as a fascinating time capsule, showing a piece Christian Vander had attempted to record for Attahk but never officially finalized in a studio format. Furthermore, history notes that while the tracks originated live on the Olympia stage, the final 1981 releases underwent meticulous studio overdubbing to refine and perfect the intricate vocal arrangements.
The primary source material for this release comes from three legendary consecutive nights—June 9, 10, and 11, 1980—at the Olympia Theatre in Paris. These concerts were explicitly organized to celebrate Magma’s 10th anniversary, serving as a massive homecoming that reunited core classic members and past alumni (including a staggering line-up featuring Bernard Paganotti, Didier Lockwood, Klaus Blasquiz, and Benoît Widemann).
While the bulk of the tracks are culled directly from these live recordings, there is a fascinating archival exception as this compilation includes a rare, 15-minute studio piece: 'Retrovision (Prima Materia)', captured as a pre-production mockup at Studio Ramsès on January 24, 1980. This acts as a fascinating time capsule, showing a piece Christian Vander had attempted to record for Attahk but never officially finalized in a studio format. Furthermore, history notes that while the tracks originated live on the Olympia stage, the final 1981 releases underwent meticulous studio overdubbing to refine and perfect the intricate vocal arrangements.
Beautiful.
Another fascinating piece of the Magma discography.
Friday, September 25, 2026
AN UPDATE FROM THE RESIDENTS
Eskimo Exploratorium! 
As the Fall arrives here in the northern hemisphere and the sun begins to drop towards the horizon, we bring you another update from the shared desk of New Ralph Too and The Cryptic Corporation. The Residents, you'll be happy to hear, are well. As ever, they're busy on multiple projects simultaneously, defying space and time by being onstage in Japan and in a San Francisco recording studio at the same time and suchlike. We don't know how they do it, but we're happy that they do.
Top of the list – the group's fantastic new 'Eskimo Folk Tales' 10" EP will be released this Friday, September 25th. Five more slices of the 'Eskimo' story, as heard at The Residents' recent shows in Hawaii and Japan. You can find out all about it and pre-order your copy right here:
https://cherryred.co/EskimoFolk.
The group's US 'Eskimo' tour will begin in just a couple of weeks in Chicago too – as ever, you can find dates and ticket information at residents.com/tourdates. European dates are expected to be confirmed and announced in the very near future as well – you'll be the first to hear all about that as and when.
In other news, the brand-new album has been finished and mixed, and The Residents are currently spending some quality time together figuring out a running order, kicking around artwork ideas and trying to find time in their already busy 2027 schedule to release 'The Lonely Wound'. Our best guess is sometime around February. Watch this space!
As ever, there's always more to say. But for now, we'd like to draw your attention to this month's giveaway, and it's a keeper. Back in October 2014, The Residents oversaw (and may or may not have performed) a live mix of the 'Eskimo' album at San Francisco's 'Exploratorium'. It was a wonderful, if chilly, evening, and of course The Residents caught it all on tape, then instantly forgot all about it. But HERE it is, revived and restored for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!
Your Pals @ New Ralph Too
PANZERPAPPA - EXERCISES IN STYLE - VOLUME 2
The physical version (= the CD) of Panzerpappa's "Exercises In Style - Volume 2" has been delayed but the complete digital Bandcamp version is already available on Bandcamp !
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