Islaja/Tarrantulla/Svart Records/2017 CD Review

  Islaja  is  a  solo artist  originally  from  Finland  but  now  residing  in  Germany  and  plays  a  mixture  of  synth  pop,  experimental  and  neo-folk  and  this  is  a  review  of  her  2017  album  "Tarrantulla"  which  was  released  by  Svart  Records.

  Female  vocals  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  atmospheric  synths  a  few  seconds  later  while  stringed  instruments  are  also  use  at  times  and  also  bring  elements  of  folk  music  onto  the  recording  along  with  a  brief  use  of  male  vocals  and  at  times  the  music  gets  very  avant  garde  and  experimental  sounding.

  All  of  the  tracks  sound  very  different  from  each  other  while  some  songs  also  bring  in  a  small  amount  of  saxophone  solos  and  as  the  album  progresses  more  elements  of  80's  era  synth  pop  can  also  be heard.

  Islaja  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  experimental,  synth  pop  and  neo-folk  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a sound  of  her  own,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  are  written  in  a  mixture  of  English  and  Finnish  and  covers  themes  from the  Kalevala.

  In  my  opinion  Islaja  are  a  very  great sounding  mixture  of  synth  pop,  experimental  and neo-folk  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Ghost  From  The  Future"  "Peace  Pilot"  and  "Sun  Luona  Taas".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/islaja/

  

Kaukolampi/i/Svart Records/2017 CD Review

  Kaukolampi  is  a  solo  artist  from  Finland  that  plays  a mixture  of  techno,  space  rock,  krautrock,  experimental  and  electronica  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2017  album  "I"  which  was  released  by  Svart  Records.

  Atmospheric  soundscapes  start  off  the album  along  with  some  elements  of  ambient  while  most  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  along  with  some  of  the  songs  also  mixing  in  a  great  amount  of  techno  elements  as  well  as  adding  in  a  great  amount  of  programmed  beats.

 All  of  the  tracks  are  instrumentals  while  the  music  also  mixes  in  electronic,  kraut  and  space  rock  elements  as  well  as getting  very  experimental  at  times  along  with  all  of  the  songs  sounding  different  from  each  other  and  as  the  album  progresses  touches  of  noise  and  drone  can  also  be  heard.

  Kaukolampi  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes,  techno,  space,  kratrock,electronica  and  experimental  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his  own  while  also  keeping  everything  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  Kaukolampi  is  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of   techno,  space,  kratrock,    electronica  and  experimental  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Three  Legged  Giant  Centipede"  and  "Public  Execution  Of  The  Nodding  lotus  Eater".  8  out  of  10.

https://www.facebook.com/timokaukolampi/




  

Shedir/Falling Time/Cyclic Law/2017 CD Review

  Shedir  are  a  solo  project  from Italy  that  plays  a  mixture  of  dark  ambient  and  field  recordings  and  this  is  a  review  of  her  2017  album  "Falling  Time"  which  will  be  released  by on  December  21st  by  Cyclic  Law.

  Field  recordings  and  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  drones  while  the  synths  bring  in  elements  of  dark  ambient  as  well  as making  the  music  sound  very  atmospheric  at  times  and  most  of  the  music  is  instrumental  except  for  the spoken  word  parts  that  are  used  on  some  of  the  tracks  and  as  the  album  progresses  elements  of  electronic  music  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording,  some  of  the  tracks  are  also  long  and  epic  in  length.

  Shedir  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  dark  ambient  and  field  recordings  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  her  own  while  also  keeping  most  of  the  music  instrumental  and  the  production  sounds  very  dark.

  In  my  opinion  Shedir  are  a  very  great  sounding  mixture  of  dark  ambient  and  field  recordings  and  if  you  are a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Away"  "Outburst"  and  "Come  back".  8  out  of  10.

VIEW ON BANDCAMP
  

Machina Coeli/Gnosis/Masked Dead Records/2017 Full Length Review

 Machina  Coeli  is  a  solo  artist  from  Italy  that  plays  dungeon  synth  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2017  album  "Gnosis"  which  was  released  by  Masked  Dead  Records.

  Nature  orientated  soundscapes  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  middle  eastern  style  chanting  a  few  seconds  later  while  the  music  also brings  in a  great  amount  of  dungeon  synth  style  synths  as  well  as  mixing  in  a  medieval  atmosphere  at  times  and  the  music  would  also  fit  in  either  a  fantasy  movie  or  video  game.

  Programmed  beats a re  also  used  quite  a  bit  throughout  the  recording  along  with  some  elements  of  neo-classical  while t he  synths  also  bring  in a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  and  some  of  the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  a s most  of  the  music  being  instrumental.

  Machina  Ceoli  plays  a  musical  style  that  is  mostly  rooted  in  dungeon  synth  while  elements  of  neo-classical and  kratrock  can  also  be  heard  at  times,  the  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  song  themes  focus on  Gnosticism  and  the  Nag  Hammadi  Codex.

  In  my  opinion  Machina  Ceoli  are  a  very  great  sounding  dungeon  synth  project  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  this  musical  genre,  you  should  check  out  this  recording.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Pleroma"  "Creation"  and  "Unity". 8  out  of  10.

https://machinacoeli.bandcamp.com/

  

Jack Maniak/Code 403/JST Records/2017 Full Length Review

  Jack  Maniak is  a  solo  project  from  France  who  also play  for  Omrade  and  Indensity  plays  a mixture  of  electronic,  synthwave  and  metal  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2017  album  "Code  403"  which  was  released  by  JST  Records.

  Horror  movie  style  synths  start  off  the  album  while  also  mixing  in  elements  of  electronic  music  and  80's  era  synth  pop  while  a  great  amount  of  programmed  beats  can  also  be  heard  while  the  guitar  riffs  bring  in  elements  of  hard  rock  and  heavy  metal  and  most  of the  music  is  instrumental  but  one  track  has  vocals  and  spoken  word  parts  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  melodic  guitar  leads  can  also  be  heard. 

  Jack  Maniak  plays  a  musical style  that  takes  synth  pop,  electronic  music,  hard  rock  and  heavy  metal  and  mixes  them  together  to  create  a  sound  of  his own,  the  production  sounds  very  professional  while  the  song  themes  focus  on  science  fiction.

 In  my  opinion  Jack  Maniak  is  a  very  great sounding  mixture  of  synth  pop,  electronic  music,  hard  rock  and  heavy  metal  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  those  musical  genres,  you  should  check  out  this  solo  project.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Stripe  Is  Black  "Final  Departure"  "Space  Invaders"  and  "Glory".  8  out  of  10.

: https://youtu.be/40e4xEjbhcU

Noestalgya/Poetry Depresymphony/The Dark Thursday/2017 Full Length Review

  Indonesia's  solo  project  Noestalgya  have  returned  with  a  new  recording  which  shows  they  music  being  a  mixture  of  dark/space  music  and  ambient  with  some  depressive  black  metal touches  and  this  is  a  review  of  his  2017  album  "Poetry  Depresymphony"  which  was  released  by  The  Dark  Thursday.

  Avant  garde  sounding  synths  start  off  the  album  along  with  some  ambient  and  space  music  elements  while  also capturing  the  atmosphere  of  depressive  black  metal  and  after  awhile  spoken  word  parts  and  whispers  can  also  be  heard  in  certain  sections  of  the  recording,  a  great  portion  of   the  tracks  are  very  long  and  epic  in  length  as  well  as  the  synths  also  using  a  variety  of  many  different  sounding  keys  and  as  the  album  progresses  a  brief  use  of  operatic  female  vocals  and  acoustic  guitars  can  also  be  heard. 

  On  this  recording  Noestalgya  plays  a  musical  style  that  takes  dark/space music  and  dark  ambient  and  mixes  it  with  some  elements  of  depressive  black  metal  to  create  something  very  different  the  production  sounds  very  dark  while  the  lyrics  cover  dark,  depressive  and  poetic  themes.

  In  my  opinion  this  is  another  great  sounding  recording  from  Noestalgya  and  if  you  are  a  fan  of  space  music,  dark  ambient  and  depressive  black  metal,  you  should  check  out  this  album.  RECOMMENDED  TRACKS  INCLUDE  "Aku  "Kebencian"  "Obsesi"  and  "Terjatuh".  8  out  of  10. 

https://thedarkthursday.bandcamp.com/album/poetry-depresymphony-2

Katarina Gubanova Interview

1.For those that have never heard of you before, can you tell us a little bit about the musical project?
Let me start by saying that I think about myself as an artist and composer who breaks conventions of traditional approach to neo-classics and piano performances. I deliberately put ‘artist’ first in the definition of what I do because I don't limit myself to merely composing music and performing it on the stage. There are many artists that do this genre and are, frankly, fantastic at it: my inspiration here is Chilly Gonzales, Ludovico Einaudi, Carter Burwel to name a few.

2.How would you describe the musical sound that is presented on the recordings?
As I said, I don't like to limit myself with a certain style of music although, generally, what I play falls under the category of neoclassical and/or lounge performances. My recent work includes a couple of experiments of piano instrumental music, solo, violin and other classical instruments. When my fans tell me impressions about my music they say that through my music they can visualize their subtle dreams and fantasies.

3.You have also done some piano versions of metal songs, can you tell us a little bit more about the songs you have covered?
I’ve started my project #CoverKeys to
I like to transform beauty that surrounds us into music. But more than that I like challenges. So for this album of covers, which I called Replays by Miss Key, I chose compositions that could hardly fit the profile of piano music - famous brutal metal hits. It was a hard  task, but I am very happy with the result and hope you like my keys interpretation on your favorite and familiar tunes.

4.Some of your original songs have lyrics to them, can you tell us a little bit more about the lyrical topics and subjects you have explored with your music?
It was a collaboration with different singers, so i think better to exclude this question. Texts are not mine

5.On the albums you record mostly everything by yourself, are you open to working with other musicians or do you prefer to remain solo?
The underlining difference in my style is that I participate in the original projects that are often a fusion of music, performance, and art where the lines are blurred and the categories are vague and undefined. This ambivalent creativity gives me a chance to explore my audience and myself while pushing the limits and conventions in music and in performance esthetics. For example, people say I am good at improvising on stage with my own work, and I also like to engage my audience during the performance.

6.Have you done any live shows with your musical project yet?
Sure, a lot. I perform alone or sometimes with singer, so I am also opened for new bookings.

7.Currently you are unsigned, are you looking for a label or have received any interest?
Yes. It’s a big part of work, but now I am ready to make this research and find a good label. Or to get interesting offer.

8.On a worldwide level how has the feedback been to your music by fans of metal, ambient or piano music?
Everything started with covers, which were made just for fun. I’m getting a lot of feedback. Some of me covers got about 50000 views in facebook

9.Where do you see yourself heading into as a musician in the future?
I have a plan to develop myself as a composer, arranger and for sure live artist, because i can’t  stay at one place for a while :)

10.What are some of the bands or musical styles that have had an influence on your music and also what are you listening to nowadays?
I’ve started with black metal, and it’s still my favourite metal. This year was for me the year of two bands - Carach Angren and Antimatter.
Talking about influences - I think it’s totally impossible to identify. During my life tastes changed so many time… downloading all musical genres into the head, drawing inspiration from the universe - I create my own.

11.What are some of your non musical interests?
Architecture.
Sometimes I paint pictures with oil and acrylic
Photography - from both sides, as a model and as a photograper

12.Before we wrap up this interview, do you have any final words or thoughts?
As I think that I found my way and feel total happiness about this, I wish to all readers to find their passion in life and don’t be scared to change yourself and world around.

https://www.facebook.com/katarinagubanova/