Recently I have made some new musical discoveries that have refreshed my musical palette. The first of these is the Alive EP by Blaudis. The EP is an interesting mix of conventional instruments and electronic samples and sounds. My favourite track is Live Forward. I discovered him through the excellent YouTube channel Chill Music Lab, which I have listened to often when I am at the office and trying to get some work done.

I have also discovered via Bandcamp a new artist to me: Hello Meteor. I have only listened to one track off their album mu & mea, but I will report back when I have listened in more depth. The music reminds me in some ways of a video game soundtracks, at other times it sounds utopian. The whole world of instrumental music is such a exciting place, I look forward to exploring more.

I also recently purchased this excellent album by Vladimir Ashkenazy where both performs the original piano version of Mussorgsky’s Pictures At An Exhibition and conducts he owns orchestral arrangement of the piece with the Philharmonia Orchestra. I prefer the piano versions over the orchestral versions, but both are excellent.

In other news, Bandcamp have recently been purchased (for the second time) by a music licensing company. This has led some people to think the platform is going to be ruined. A large number of the staff have already been fired but so far I am not sure what other concrete changes have or will occur on the platform.

I feel something of a cultural renaissance happening. As bad as things are in the music industry and the wider world these days there are so many people now able to make art on their terms with less mediating the experience between the artist and the audience. The sheer volume and quality is quite overwhelming. As always, is you have any suggestions on what I should listen to next please leave a comment.