Recorded on Saturday, December 6th, this album is a fully organic exploration of rhythm, memory, and improvisation — no MIDI, no digital manipulation, just hands, found objects, and a willingness to discover. Percussion led the way: it was the initial spark that pushed me to create something as raw and immediate as possible, letting the sounds emerge naturally through the act of playing.
Like inside a mirror. On one side the artist, on the other the critic. It is a mirror game. A sending back and forth of suggestions, echoes, signs. Both on the way towards the imaginary.
(Gerardo Pedicini – Dentro lo Specchio)
This quote is my starting point to approach the review of “Hard Boiled”, an album produced and played by me for Liburia Records – giving me the opportunity to investigate the hidden reasons in my music after reflecting on these words.
Continue readingby J V W N
JVWN — which stands for Just Vibing With the Now — is more than just a name; it’s a whole vibe, a way of life, and a philosophy that defines how we make music. We’re all about being present in the moment, letting the energy around us guide what we create, and finding inspiration in everything happening right now. Each of us brings something unique to the table, but together, our approach to music is one of freedom, expression, and constant growth.
My life as a musician started at a young age in the handbell choir of my family’s church near San Diego, California. I remember that I couldn’t yet read music, so one of the elderly ladies in the choir would take a highlighter and mark the notes in the music I was responsible for. A few years later, I picked up the trumpet in school and never looked back — no more handbells for me, and at some point, no more church.
Fast forward several decades later and I’m making a living as a professional musician. Despite many years of playing contemporary music and working extensively with living composers, it never occurred to me to write my own music. I wasn’t even sure what „my“ music would sound like. Even improvisation was something I shied away from – I was perfectly happy interpreting the music of others.
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There is often an expectation that great work comes only from deep intention. That it is birthed from the mind of the artist, fully formed. Picture the romantic image of Mozart, writing out his scores fully formed with no eraser marks. I find this to be a harmful narrative that can hinder creatives.
Just think of how many great improvisers we can look to and see their apparent musical genius. For example, just about every great jazz musician. The point that I am getting to, albeit in a roundabout way, is that it is okay not to know the end result when you start something creative. And it’s even better if you can begin to without expectation.
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As an established composer of music for picture, my writing has been featured in documentary series throughout Europe. But for my debut EP, “Content”, I wanted to take a new approach.
In the last few years, I’ve had to travel a lot. Capturing sounds from the various places I’ve visited and putting them together into this EP has been therapeutic, like keeping a journal.
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It all started for me in the mid-2000s as a pre-adolescent who had fallen in love with hip-hop culture in all its forms. After a few attempts at beatmaking throughout my teens, life eventually led me to cinema, visual arts, and abstract painting.
But the enthusiasm for (making) music never left—hence the debris EP. This project is the result of six months of experimenting with synths and plugins. It is a sort of musical debris in the form of eight tracks inspired by minimalism, time perception, and the soundscapes of daily life.
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My story is the story of an artist who was a little boy with a pocket calculator but now is on a quest to uncover the hidden laws behind music and tell the story of his country at war.
by Sqwerv
We are Sqwerv, a Denver-based four-piece band that loves improvising and jamming. Our latest project is a departure from our previous works – the new EP “Hors D’oeuvres Part 1” is the first of a three-part project. For a while, we referred to it as the “psych album,” but we went with “Hors D’oeuvres” as it’s just a taste of what we have coming out this year.
We are very much committed to artistic exploration and boundary-pushing; our close friends who have heard snippets of the songs are surprised it’s the same band. We love that.
Continue readingby MAN1K
In the mystical depths of my sonic odyssey, amidst the swirling mists of creativity and experimentation, I, Yaroslav Boruk, known by the enigmatic aliases MAN1K and M∆N⸸K, emerged as a harbinger of ethereal soundscapes in the realms of Underground Witch-House and Darkwave. Born in the enigmatic city of Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, my journey through the winding corridors of music began with a profound sense of curiosity and a yearning to transcend the mundane confines of everyday existence.
From the earliest days of my consciousness, I found myself inexplicably drawn to the enigmatic allure of music, its haunting melodies and mysterious harmonies resonating deep within my soul. It was amidst the vibrant tapestry of Poland that I first encountered the tantalizing whispers of inspiration, the rhythmic pulse of the streets echoing in harmony with the beat of my heart. Amidst the lively energy of the city, I found solace in the evocative power of sound, laying the foundation for my future endeavors.
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