Sky 2015

It is a hefty box in every sense: 13 CDs, supplemented with two DVDs, accompanied by a gorgeous hardcover book and a variety of tchotchkes, including a poster that traces the twisted family trees and time lines of the band and, just as helpfully, replicas of legal documents that explain why the group didn't retain rights to its recordings for years…

David Torn - Only Sky (2015) {ECM 2433}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 304 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 181 Mb
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© 2015 ECM Records | ECM 2433
Jazz / Avant-Garde / Avant-Garde Jazz / Experimental Rock / Sound Sculpture / Guitar

David Torn – ever-intrepid guitarist, producer, improviser, film composer and soundscape artist – returns with only sky, an album that explores the far sonic edges of what one man and a guitar can create, a solo recording of almost orchestral atmosphere. It is Torn’s first ECM release since 2007’s acclaimed prezens, a full-band project, with Tim Berne, et al., that Jazzwise described as “a vibrating collage full of shimmering sonic shapes, a dark, urban electronic soundscape – a potent mix of jazz, free-form rock and technology that is both demanding and rewarding.

Magnus Granberg - How Deep Is the Ocean, How High Is the Sky? (2015) {Another Timbre at87}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 289 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 139 Mb
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© 2015 Another Timbre | at87
Classical / Electronic / Modern Classical / Experimenal / Abstract

“The Swede Magnus Granberg has rapidly become a key member of the Another Timbre family, this being his fifth album on the label in under four years, with four of those being his own compositions. Those familiar with Granberg's past AT releases will be delighted to hear that How Deep is the Ocean, How High is the Sky? follows the familiar pattern of the others. As before, it employs material derived from another song—in this instance, Irving Berlin's "How Deep is the Ocean"—but there are few, if any, traces of the original in evidence. Instead, the piece establishes a pleasantly melancholy mood that typifies Granberg compositions.

Barrence Whitfield & The Savages - Under The Savage Sky (2015) {Bloodshoot Records BS230}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 258 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 85 Mb
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© 2015 Bloodshoot Records | BS230
Rock / Rock & Roll / Rhythm & Blues / Rockabilly / Soul

Since the mid-'80s, Barrence Whitfield has dedicated his life to reminding people that rock & roll and rhythm & blues are not separate but equal institutions, but healthy branches of the same tree; on-stage or in the studio, Whitfield howls vintage R&B tunes with the fury of a hot-wired rock band, and belts out vintage-style rock with a healthy portion of swagger and soul. In Whitfield's world, it's all loud and furious, and makes you want to dance, and really, who doesn't want some of that in their life? After a detour through other projects, Whitfield resurrected the Savages in 2011, and 2015's Under the Savage Sky, the group's third album since returning to duty, stands proudly alongside mid-'80s landmarks like Dig Yourself and Ow! Ow! Ow! as a master class in souped-up and full-bodied roadhouse rocking.

Clive Nolan and his Neo-hard rocking companions return for the eighth Arena album in twenty years, `The Unquiet Sky', taking inspiration from (without being a direct interpretation of) M.R James' short story `Casting the Runes'. It's easy to see why the ghostly tale of supernatural intrigue and occult mystery from 1911 would appeal to Mr Nolan, and the album reveals plenty of the sleek and heavy symphonic rock with poetic lyrics that the British band is known for. The previous disc `The Seventh Degree of Separation' was a divisive and somewhat controversial release for a new line-up of the group that now included vocalist Paul Manzi, a transitional album that saw them adopting a more streamlined hard rock/metal sound. But long-time fans of the group will be pleased to know that, while there are still similarities to that previous album here and there, the much-loved symphonic atmospheres the band was known for are given more focus again, meaning a better balance of these two qualities together to create a truly sublime Arena work.

David Torn is a hardcore looper. He's been creating loops in his music since well before most people ever heard of the term (20+ years). Not only does he do it on studio recordings, he does it in live situations, looping not just himself but other bandmembers! Given that, it's a bit surprising that Only Sky is his first truly solo recording: just Torn, guitar, and loops (plus a bit of oud on one track). Although there's a hovering ambience to all these pieces, this isn't new agey ambience: the pieces are sometimes ominous or uneasy with Torn producing guitar-like tones and very un-guitar-like tones and sometimes manipulating the loops in a not-so-subtle way. He alternates between song-oriented pieces like "Spoke with Folks," which approaches Frisell-y Americana, and more abstract ones like "Was a Cave, There…," with sounds like balloon squeals and ray guns giving way to some serious loop manipulation…