Samsara (2011)

Two weeks ago, German heavy psychedelic rockers Samsara Blues Experiment announced they would be going on indefinite hiatus. Fair enough. 2020 makes it a decade since the band made their full-length debut with the jammy fluidity of Long-Distance Trip, a record that in no small part would define listener expectation from them even as they went on almost immediately to more progressive work. They’d already toured the US by then, hitting the West Coast in 2009 on the heels of their demo (discussed here, review here), and though they wouldn’t North American shores apart from two more shows in 2015, the years since they stopped through have not lacked adventure.

The young, Armenian-born pianist Tigran Hamasyan possesses an almost intimidating virtuosity, a style that owes as much to Art Tatum's two-handed volubility and the sweeping refinement of Impressionist composers as it does to the spiraling, East-meets-West melodies of his homeland. Winner of the 2006 Thelonious Monk Institute's piano competition, New Era (2008, Nocturne) found Hamasyan settling into a familiar, if impressive trio aesthetic, mining the angular vernacular of modern jazz piano on now-standard vehicles like "Well, You Needn't" or "Solar," as well as on some of his own lovely compositions. So it is a welcome surprise to hear the dreamlike, tinkling sustain of the minute-long "Rain Shadow" that opens this new disc almost like a lullaby, an otherworldly state that A Fable, by and large, maintains across its length.

Baptiste Trotignon, dont on connaît depuis plus de onze ans les qualités artistiques, publie sous le titre For A While une sorte d’anthologie de son travail enregistré sur le label Naïve, travail qui a reçu, depuis Fluid en 2000 jusqu’à Share en 2008, des récompenses nombreuses et justifiées.

GanjaTree Records and Psygasus proudly presents you their debut album. These Belgians are not like an average live act, they play on stage live real instruments like guitar, bass, djembe, saxophone, sitar, etc, making every gig special and unique! 'From Here To Eternity' contains 8 massive solid tracks, ranging from dreamy chill-out into euphoric trance, all trancefloor tested and widely approved by all. Prepare yourself to come along on their journey through space, time, the mind and soul, your deepest emotions, joy and happiness, From Here To Eternity.

Ten young directors did not part from their cameras for two months. The result was a chronicle of Russia's winter protests - a chronicle of those who make the political climate and those who are dissatisfied with the makers. We see people, their faces, their conversations, rallies, victories and defeats ahead of the presidential election. A living camera interacts with living heroes.