The Timisoara-based duo Makunouchi Bento make soundtracks for their imaginary movies. At times opulent, adventurous sonic textures are woven into a tapestry of imagination, transporting the listener into non-descript moments in time, a gentle, fragile odyssey that is peculiarly haunting, playful and dreamlike. It’s not a placid lullaby throughout though, there are more uptempo songs in there, too. They have assorted their unreleased tracks, collaborations, and whatnot into two “compilations” so far, a personal retrospective with tracks spanning a decade. 

Recorded at our Easterndaze event in Brno in 2011, and in summer 2013 at Bratislava’s FUGA, a psychedelic, post-punky noise-driven journey into disquieting sonic realms, is now being released as a free download by the Czech netlabel Signals from Arkaim. The audio instantly brings recollections of the dinghy environs of the Boro club, where Antoin unleashed his psychedelic voyage, on a bleak autumn night. Rewind to 2013, and the live set, devoid of the nocturnal environs, stands as an epic set that oscillates between post-punk through ambient and noise.

Get it here.

Slavo Herman has been part of the Bratislava scene for a while, most of the time involved in activities of the collective Noize Konspiracy, an ever changing group of individuals in love with extreme and alternative forms of music. But Slavo’s stuff has always been different, unravelling the more deep, abstract and softer side of the musical region which contrasted with the brutal and lo-fi noise experiments of projects like Gule Tvojho Fotra or Žebrota, and also keeping himself more distanced from the social activities of the core group. A couple of his tracks were available on the Noize Konspiracy compilation including collaboration with the tragically passed away underground legend Cadillac Face, or the more hip-oriented project Jesus Stickers, while still lacking a more compact and official release.

In White Rooms, released by the Exitab label (at the moment the biggest and most influential label connecting Slovak alternative music scene) is an EP which has been in creation for some time and it is a clean proof that Casi Cada Minuto didn’t decide to start making music three months ago. The maturity of the EP is obvious after couple of minutes of listening. This is not an album which is trying to keep up with current musical trends. It is a typical drone/ambient record with all the general specifications and structures. However, the approach of Casi Cada Minuto is not narrow minded or conservative, he is wise enough to accept and penetrate other musical influences borrowing from the dreamy synth sounds of the Emeralds, or Oneohtrix Point Never and combining them with repetitive loops, slowly evolving into differently coloured oceans of sound. The sound itself is not static, Casi Cada Minuto has a good ear for melodies and harmonies as well not afraid to use field recordings and instruments. He avoids the kitschy sound, capable of stylish arrangements. The resulting atmosphere (a crucial factor in releases of this kind) is here developed into a dreamy and sentimental level, with a tenacious background keeping the listener curious to discover another layer and evolution of Slavo’s soundscapes.

Here Slavo talks about his new record and his music on our weekly Radio Wave show.

The sound is beautifully designed and mixed (also thanks to the ::.: aka Danky), the atmosphere is deep and immersing, but if you are expecting a breakthrough album in the field of this genre, you might be disappointed. It is just a really well made ambient album, with a more-than-once listening value. But that is just the proof that Slavo doesn’t want to follow any current trends and he does what he likes and knows best. In White Rooms finally fills out the huge gap on the map of Slovak experimental music and it’s filled by one of its founding members and pioneers in this genre. A solid release to accompany the impending foggy autumn mornings in Bratislava. And ‘solid’ is possibly the best word to describe this in one word. 

by Andrej

Learn more about the Bratislava underground music scene here. 

Krzystof Zimmermann’s latest release Waiting for an Answer is packed with field recordings mainly from his current residence, Gothenborg, Sweden, but you can also hear some sounds from Taiwan. Released on the Few Quiet People imprint, it follows in the tradition of this label which is focused on sonic experiments and more abstract sound collages. Krzystof himself is a schooled musician and by his own words, deals with music in a broad spectrum. His release proves he means it.

Krzysztof Zimmermann - Waiting for an Answer 2 by FewQuietPeople

Waiting for an Answer is a smart combination of field recordings with musical instruments and drone collages. It is interesting as a sound diary and also as a lecture in sound manipulation of field recordings. Some of its moments are just beautiful. The second track Departure 1 combines field recordings of the Centralstation in Gothenburg with piano recordings. The beeps scattered through the entire track give it a strange urgency. As if they would remind you of your departure, saying goodbye, all the friends which you left behind, but also that something new and exciting is behind the corner.

Krzysztof Zimmermann - Street Crush by FewQuietPeople

Gothenborg’s street life and harbour and their stories can be heard in the other tracks. The most exotic location is the Cheng-Huan temple in Taiwan. You can hear the difference, the mystic energy of the reverbed chants in the background and noisy overlays push the track Who Answers – Errs to a completely different territory than the rest of the record. A different location requires a different approach when writing a sound diary.

Oh how we h8in people talking during live shows..

The thing that made me a little upset during listening, was an obvious usage of some well known VST’s like dblue glitch, a free tool frequently applied by loads of electronic musicians these days. It’s a little annoying to hear those sounds in the record, as they are overused which decreases the feeling of unique listening.

But this is probably the only bigger drawback of the record. Waiting for an Answer is a great sonic voyage into the world of Krzystof Zimmermann with precise and sensitive sound manipulation and a great feel for choosing the right mood of the environment. Highly recommended for every audio escapist. 

by Andrej

Exploring the local alternative scene can bring up really interesting results, from lo-fi hip hop, garage rock to more electronica driven experiments, you just name it. Hungary has it all and we are glad to hear the demos and releases sent over to us or unearthed on the www (feel free to send us your musics too:).

The Hungarian project Seeds In Helmet has been around for some time, their latest relase Lovebox is by their own words comeback to the scene. Moving in the range of dark ambient/drone soundscapes with vocals, they try to draw you into their misty, gloomy and hazy mood helping themselves with vocals, glitches and abstract soundscapes. The identity of the band members is unknown, but music should speak for itself, shouldn’t it?

What we have here is a release packed with 9 tracks. The length of the record is above 45 minutes, which is pretty impressive regarding the fact that you can download it for free. The tracks themselves follow in a rather post-apocalyptic mood, reminding us of a deserted plane after nuclear bombing full of corroding objects and remains of civilization long gone and forgotten. Supported by fragile and sentimental vocals, ran through a couple of effects and delays, this can be a good companion for late night listenings. Where Lovebox excels is the unusually wide sound range for this kind of genre. Glitches, dark drones, vocals, crackles and a smart use of strings all fit perfectly and it’s not a boring to listen. 

I was quite surprised when the singer started to sing in Japanese, the Hungarian language sounds really nice and is suitable for singing.. What a pity that we can’t hear it here. But it’s an artist’s choice, which we have to respect after all. In the end, it doesn’t sound bad and fits into the overall sound and the final result itself. Quite unfortunate is that some of the tracks are more snippets and they end sooner than their composition and mood setting starts to work, as in general they are pretty immersive. Possibly less shorter tracks and couple of longer would be much better as listener would have more time to explore sonic world and his fantasy work more effectively with more connection points. 

by Andrej