Saturday, December 15, 2007

Instrumentals

Formed in 1998 in Seattle, Kinski consists of Lucy Atkinson on bass, Chris Martin on guitar, Matthew Reid-Schwartz as keyboardist/guitarist, and Barrett Wilke on drums. Released in 2003, Airs Above Your Station is the band's third CD release, and is the best of the aptly or horribly named genre of "space rock," undeniably influenced by 70s rock. Airs is rare in that it is good start to end. Check out key track "Rhode Island Freak Out," as well as their new album released this past summer, "Down Below It's Chaos." Also note that Kinski has an improvisational outfit cleverly known as Herzog, check out that album Don't Climb on and Take the Holy Water, or wait for a future post of that.

Airs Above Your Station

Amiina is the all-female four piece from Iceland, which you may not be surprised by when you listen to Kurr (the Icelandic word for birdsong), their debut album. You may actually already know them as the women who added strings to the last few of Sigur Rós' albums, however, the sound of Kurr is entirely independent of this sound, partially made possible by their utilization of nearly any and all objects of instrumentation, including, but not limited to; wine glasses, water glasses, Celtic harps, saws, glockenspiels, and kalimbas, as well as more traditional instruments. Check out the delicate sounds of Huld Markan (violin), Hildur Ársælsdóttir (violin), Edda Rún Ólafsdóttir (viola) and Sólrún Sumarliðadóttir (cello).

Kurr

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

An absolute must for anyone who enjoys Múm, Sigur Ros and even some Bjork. This is some of Iceland's finest ... everyone should give this record a shot. So many people refuse to take chances on new music .. if you looking for something new and interesting CTB is dishing it up here.

CTB said...

But of course, I couldn't agree more. Thanks Wind! Let me know if you ever have musical suggestions of the female kind. Much appreciated.