Eastern Haze: April

I’ll start this column with a disclaimer: I’m not trying to reinforce Cold War rhetoric. It would be foolish to suggest that in today’s globalised hyper-world, the geographical distinctions still matter – or do they? Online, we are supposedly all interconnected within a virtual bubble regardless of whether we come from Ohio or Opava. For most of the time, we in Europe are inundated by news about bands from the other side of the planet, which is fine, but it’s good to keep things balanced. Hence, we will present some noteworthy bands, labels and acitivities from Central and Eastern Europe here, handpicked from a pool of resources courtesy of the Easterndaze project.

Sangoplasmo is an unassuming tape label from Poznan, Poland. Lead by the effervescent Lubomir Adam Grzelak, the imprint has been steadily releasing some of the best psychedelic-tinged synth-based and experimental stuff in the region. Although it has to be said that Sangoplasmo also embraces the international waters. Inaugurated by the wonderfully strange Aranos, Sangoplasmo has carved its niche with further releases by the likes of Burial Hex and Felicia Atkinson. Other noteworthy aural offerings include Katapulto‘s conceptual tape Animalia, a recording about animals in different languages, and the label boss’ project Lutto Lento.

Sangoplasmo’s latest batch of tapes is equally impressing: Ensemble Economique, the ghostly Decimus, Komodo Haunts debut album, and Polish musician Bartek Kujawski.

Another Pole, Piotr Kurek, has released his magical album Heat on Foxy Digitalis. Check out his latest Azerbaijan-inspired video by Moduli TV/Hobo Cult.

One more imprint to keep your eyes onto right now is Over9000, more of a free-form platform, open to artistic expression and collaboration. The Belgrarde-based label/collective is run by mangulicaFM, a musician in his own right. A red thread that runs through the label’s sonic stamp is a certain recontextualisation of local – ex Yugoslavian folk music, mostly pronounced in the label head’s output. mangulicaFM’s latest release, a self-titled album, is an adventurous and exotic sonic offering. You can read an interview with this fledgling producer here.

—
Lucia Udvardyova is an EB correspondent one of the creators behind the always inspiring Easterndaze blog, which focuses on up-and-coming Eastern European music scenes

Published April 27, 2012.