R.I.P. YOUNG PUMPKIN

I don't have that many friends, but I lost a dear one earlier this week.
Melomaniac, guerilla taper, friend.

Rest in peace, Eric.
Zappacheers !

FRANK ZAPPA

The May 27 edition of Belgian magazine Knack Focus included the a full-page illustration as a promo for the new Zappa album, "Dance Me This".
Illustration by Karl.

NEW ALBUM BY HANS ANNELLSSON

Hans Annéllsson has a new album out.

It's available from CDBaby.

http://cdbaby.com/cd/hansannellsson14

NEW JOE SATRIANI ALBUM WILL BE RELEASED NEXT MONTH

• joe satriani: shockwave supernova
      (2015, cd, usa, sony legacy recordings)

Featuring Mike Keneally, Bryan Beller and Marco Minnemann.
Out on July 24, 2015.

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STEVE LAWSON, ANDY EDWARDS AND PHI YAAN-ZEK

promo video for "Ley Lines", new album by Steve Lawson, Andy Edwards and Phi Yaan-Zek.

ARISTOCRATS - TRES CABALLEROS

• aristocrats: tres caballeros
      (2015, cd / dvd, usa, boing! music) 

The Aristocrats are Guthrie Govan, Marco Minnemann and Bryan Beller.
Their latest album is called "Tres Caballeros" and it's excellent.

On the bonus DVD, they explain how the album came about.
Usually, each of them writes a couple of songs and sends it to the others. Everybody learns the songs and then, afterwards, the three of them meet in the studio, record the album and start touring.
This time, Guthrie, Marco and Bryan were able to play a couple of gigs at the Alvas Showroom in San Pedro, CA, a couple of days before they went into the recording studio.
Meaning that they were able to get more comfortable with the songs and to try out and to adjust certain things.
It shows.
This is excellent.

ED PALERMO BIG BAND

Playing Zappa and more !

ADRIAN BELEW - LIVE AT ROCKPALAST

• adrian belew: live at rockpalast
      (2015, cd/dvd, uk, repertoire)

Adrian Belew's "Live At Rockpalast" finally arrived.
Released by the U.K. based Repertoire Records label, this CD / DVD set brings the Adrian Belew Trio on the screen of your choice.
I love it.
Adrian Belew, Julie Slick and Eric Slick.
Recorded at the 2008 Leverkusener Jazztage.
Playing a set of material by Adrian Belew and by King Crimson.
Superb.

In the interview snippets that appear between some of the tracks, Adrian talks about meeting Julie and Eric, and also about his time with Zappa.
Nice.
Very nice.

PATRICK SOUZA

Steve Vai inspired madness by Patrick Souza, performing Guns n' Roses' 'Sweet Child O' Mine'.

THE ARTAUD BEATS - LOGOS

• the artaud beats: logos
      (2015, cd, uk, bonobo's ark records bar004)

The last couple of years, Yumi Hara has suprised me a number of times. There was the excellent "Upstream" album with Geoff Leigh, the impressive soundscapes on "Dream Of The Gryllidae" with Tony Lowe, and the more psychedelic "Mitsugi - Esoteric Rituals" release by Mammal Machine, to name just three.

One of the more recent projects that Yumi Hara took part in is called "The Artaud Beats. It also features Geoff Leigh, Chris Cutler and John Greaves. Check your Henry Cow albums if these names don't ring a bell.
The four of them met at the Avantgarde Festival in Germany in 2009, resulting in an inpromptu Henry Cow tribute concert.
Adopting the name The Artaud Beats, the quartet did another gig at the Nodutgang Festivalen in 2011, followed by two tours in Japan.

The Artaud Beats released a box set and some CDR's with material from their Japanese tours, but now there's "Logos", the band's first studio release.

8 tracks. 8 compositions.
Experimental music.
Beautiful and intriguing.

Available from ReR Recommended Records (Europe), Wayside (USA) and DiskUnion (Japan).

Check it out !

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