Absinthe 2.0.4

Invisigoth is a US based studio project, consisting of multi-instrumentalist Cage and vocalist Viggo Domino. The two met up in 2006 and decided to use their interests in esoteric arts and philosophy as a foundation for joint musical experimentations. So far this has resulted in two albums, where the duo flirt with a vast array of musical genres; the end result being highly innovative and experimental music of the kind that to a further degree than many other acts will instill a love or hate reaction…

New Orleans bluesman Bryan Lee, a longtime fixture on Bourbon Street, indulges in a pyrotechnic guitar summit on Live At The Old Absinthe House Bar…Friday Night. Backed by his good rockin', hard shufflin' band, the blind guitarist cranks on his exuberant theme song "Braille Blues Daddy," Albert King's "Crosscut Saw" and Elmore James' "The Sky Is Crying." Harmonica legend James Cotton joins him on rousing renditions of "Ain't Doin' Too Bad" and "Five Long Years," then Lee goes toe-to-toe with guest guitarists Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Frank Marino. Originally released on CD in 1997.

Following "Symphony", here's the second album from Clearlight, and clearly the most accomplished effort from this major french band. Delightful Tim Blake's-like synthe, incredible cosmic guitar by the unknown Jean-Claude D'Agostini - another "french Hillage"- while Christian Boulé appears on the fantastic bonus "Sweet absinthe". Cyril Verdeaux adds a unique symphonic touch to the whole thanks to his piano work. Joel Dugrenot on bass, Gilbert Artman on drums and percussions, David Cross on violin are also here, among others. There are also some tensed moments with magmaian influences, which alternate with space cosmic flights. The music is dense and inspired, with psychedelic effects reminding of german prog (the music accelerates as if the tape was played too fast and other kinds of shifts). The bonus on the CD release are wonderful - especially "Sweet absinthe"-, making this album a cosmic rock absolute masterpiece.

Swedish mastermind Peter Tägtgren has long been hailed as one of the most talented Metal musicians and producers around, working together with a slew of bands, all the way from Sabaton to Children Of Bodom, all whilst playing in numerous other projects such as Hypocrisy and Lindemann. Despite this daunting schedule, and a full two decades after its inception, Peter's hobby project Pain, is back in 2016 with Coming Home, unleashing the eighth full-length album five years after its predecessor You Only Live Twice.
When it comes to guest musicians, Coming Home rolls out a red carpet: on drums, Peter's 17-year-old son Sebastian Tägtgren delivers an impressive guest appearance and for the song "Call Me", Sabaton's Joakim Brodén joins the team for some typically raw warrior vocals…

With Absinthe, his second release for ECM, guitarist Dominic Miller has created an album colored by a distinct atmosphere. “The first thing that came to me before I wrote any tunes was the title,” he says. “Living in the South of France, I am fascinated by Impressionism. Sharp light and witchy mistrals, combined with strong alcohol and intense hangovers must have driven some of these artists toward insanity. Skies that are green, faces blue, perspective distorted.” While Miller’s ECM debut, Silent Light, emphasized intimacy in solo and duo settings, Absinthe finds the guitarist fronting a quintet that brings his ever-lyrical compositions to textured life. Miller, switching between nylon- and steel-string acoustic guitars, has a key harmonic-melodic foil in the bandoneon of Santiago Arias. The vivid presence at the drum kit is Manu Katché, an ECM veteran and for years a colleague with Miller in the band of Sting (whom the guitarist has accompanied now for three decades). Mike Lindup’s keyboard tones add a ghostly air to such highlights as the title track, while bassist Nicholas Fiszman roots the sound. As for Miller, JazzTimes described him as a guitarist who “milks every note, thriving on the pauses between them and whispery effects of fingers sliding across strings,” while Stereophile agreed, declaring that “his ability to express emotion through a guitar is amazing to hear.”

Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn combined old and new compositions to create the album Afro-Bossa, a suite consisting of a dozen pieces that was never performed in its entirety in concert, though several of the works remained in the band's repertoire. The title cut is a new work, though the "Bossa" does not refer to Brazilian music; instead, it is a mix of African and Latin influences that slowly builds with insistent percussion to a blazing finale of brass and reeds. "Purple Gazelle" (which was also recorded as "Angelica" in Ellington's small group session with John Coltrane, was described by the pianist as a "ragtime cha-cha." Cootie Williams (on muted trumpet), Ray Nance, Paul Gonsalves, and the composer are all featured soloists…

This box collects several recordings of Satie's piano music by Dutch pianist Reinbert de Leeuw, going back as far as 1977, with an English-language DVD (not reviewed, but the idea is attractive) including a fictionalized presentation of Satie's relationship with artist Suzanne Valadon (after they broke up, he hung in his window cataloging her faults, but the film apparently doesn't get to the fun stuff). The provenance of the music on the third CD, consisting mostly of songs and featuring soprano Marjanne Kweksilber, is unclear from the booklet, and it's a poor choice for the non-Francophone – no song texts are provided at all. The piano music from de Leeuw is another matter, however. It is immediately distinctive in its slow tempos and dreamy, rather lugubrious tone.