2. music
  3. 1318992020

"Hidden Gems"'

I listen mostly to jazz, jazz vocals,classical, old r&r etc. I never cared for nature sounds combined with music until I happened to come across the following pieces.

1. "Back to the Fluture". By: Erik Sampson. Sampson is a bamboo flute maker and the cuts on this cd are comprised of him on flute accompanied by a small selection of other instruments, IE, guitar, piano, drums, sax etc. There are some bird, thunder, rain etc. sounds that are incorporated perfectly. This is a hauntingly beautiful album.
It is very well recorded and throws a huge sound stage.

2. "the Smoke that Thunders". By: Hennie Becker. This album is perhaps better known. It has an African theme w/tribal drums, instruments and a few tribal vocals, again, accompanied by African bird sounds mixed with tropical rain etc. on some cuts. The music and nature sounds blend together seamlessly IMO and also throws a huge sound stage.

These two albums helped me get through 5 kidney stones, well, and of course, a little vicodin.

Maybe you can turn us on to your "Hidden Gems".

Thanks to fellow A`gon member Richard_stacy, who`s idea this originally was and I would hope for his input.

Dick
capt369
donjr
1,335 posts
 
Oh the kidney stones. I like the Rolling Stones a lot better. I only drink water now. No iced tea or dark sodas.

My hidden gems are Brazilian samba and tropicalia, such as Gilberto Gil, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Milton Nascimento (saw him in June and then met him on the street), Joao Gilberto and Cetano Veloso. If you like jazz, there's a good chance you'll fall in love with this music. You don;t have to understand Portugese. It just becomes another instrument as it's one of the romance languages. Try Antonio Carlos Jobim's 'Stone Flower' if you're just getting into it. If you don't like it, I'll buy it from you off Agon for a car copy.
qdrone
1,039 posts
 
For me the Anotherlatenight or Latenighttales series are my hidden gems. The series gives artists an opportunity to string together music that they enjoy in the wee hours,music to just gell too.They are very ecletic in nature going from song to song but still maintaing their cohesiveness. Some of my favorites in the series are by Zero7,Air,Snow Patrol ... When I want to hear music but don't know what I just put one of these on.
richard_stacy
686 posts
 
Danielsson / Dell / Landgren
SALZAU MUSIC ON THE WATER

This is a cool sorta chamber jazz record but have a read on how it was made. I really enjoy it.

http://www.actmusic.com/product_info.php?products_id=203&language=en

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/pnf9

I'll drop a few more in here if my head ever clears....
garn509
98 posts
 
Got this dirt cheap from Amazon -- The self titled 1956 vinyl, the Ahmad Jamal Trio. Too cool for words, capital M Mello, a dash of latin beat, and refreshing takes on a few standards.
richard_stacy
686 posts
 
I have a few hidden gems to add here. These are going to be atypical of the music often referenced here but thought some may enjoy a little exploration of some fresh genres...

Axs "Arctic Circles" - A beautiful ambient record with a touch of dub techno on Silent Season. Silent Season is a fantastic label with most of their releases being on par with this one.

Sven Shienhammer "Altostratus Translucidus" - More ambient/dub techno, this on Binemusic but could easily be a Raster-Noton release. I absolutely love this record and has been in heavy rotation for me since I stumbled upon it. He also records under the name Quantec, most also excellent but this is by far my favorite from Sven.

Kangding Ray "Or" - IDM/abstract electronic music on Raster-Noton. Another in heavy rotation for me. Writing this reminds me that I need to explore his other releases!

Alva Noto + Ryuichi Sakamoto "Summvs" - Beautiful mix of ambient clicks and glitches from Alva Noto and the modern classical piano of Sakamoto on Raster-Noton. They have several releases together, all very very good. This is their latest.

Atheus "Compile" - Another dub techno release on Silent Season. Much more straight dub techno than Axs, very cool record.

Ektoise - They have a few releases and all are available for free 24bit digital download on their Bandcamp site. Heavy post rock, with some free jazz, experimental and ambient stuff mixed in....a hard band to explain. I hear some Mogwai or God is an Astronaut stuff in their music but it's all over the place. In general, I like it and find it very original.

Lastly, if you feel like getting a little further to the edge, check out Demdike Stare's releases on Modern Love, a label I absolutely love. I'm a big fan of these guys. One of them also has a release, also on Modern Love, under the name Miles..also fantastic.

I realize these are not for all, they are releases that explore some unique boundaries. Many of you may sample them and find them unsatisfying (maybe even a little weird!) but I do think some will enjoy and maybe even become interested in the artists/genres. On the audiophile side, they are also very very well recorded as is most electronic music these days.

A very healthy and happy new year to all my Audiogon brothers and sisters! Peace.
More to discover