This music was recorded in the 1960s and early ’70s soon after Cambodia became an independent nation. It was a period of rapid modernization that not only influenced music, but also architecture, sculpture, painting, dance and cinema. For many, it was Cambodia’s own artistic renaissance, a time pointing to a hopeful future.

Italian act XP8 composes an airy blend of EBM, electronica, techno, and trance, bringing various visions and talents to life with synthetic vibrancy and danceable beats aimed at the heart of the dance floor. After finding an audience with the 2004 release Forgive[n], XP8 truly gained worldwide attention with the follow-up albums Hrs:Min:Sec and 2008’s brilliant The Art Of Revenge, both released by the German label Infacted Recordings. Now, for 2010, XP8 joins Metropolis Records to release the much-anticipated new album Drop the Mask. A further evolution of the band’s sound, Drop the Mask shows the duo of Marco Visconti and Marko Resurreccion taking their collective music prowess to new heights. Still present are the subtle hints of the 1980s and early influences, while slipping easily into sounds of the new millennium: glitchy patterns, sharp simulated strings, and clear vocals travel through bright sequences and brooding atmospheres.

Following their 2007 sophomore release for the prestigious classical label New Albion, Slow Six returns to their experimental rock roots with Tomorrow Becomes You, an emotionally unrestrained full-length infused with taut rhythms, unraveling melodies, and detailed ambiences that owe as much to Tortoise and The Dirty Three as Steve Reich and Brian Eno. This is music that changes—and changes us—slowly over time. And a new, welcomed optimism runs through Tomorrow Becomes You—never has the band’s light shown so brightly as in the record’s finale, “These Rivers Between Us.”

TSIGOTI
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Tsigoti (previously known as Waristerror Terroriswar) is an experimental improvising quasi-punk band dedicated to expressing their opposition for war, authoritarian regimes, and violent religious extremes. The band is made up of members from two different continents, each with experience in a wide variety of musical and life situations.

Klippa och rulla. If you were to translate “rock and roll” into Swedish, that’s what you’d get. Translate it back and things get a little dicey. “Mow and wheel”—not quite a literal translation. Strangely, it’s not the worst way to describe Sweden’s Skånska Mord. Fuzzed out psychedelica, the likes of which hasn’t been heard since the heyday of real rock in the ’70s, oozes from the amps and tears across the landscape like a lawnmower on acid. The world starts to spin. Everything goes black— and then several shades of purple. All that, and then the songs kick in…

AUM Fidelity launches its very rich 2010 release schedule with the brand new recordings of the Eri Yamamoto Trio, and further posits a living essence in the album title itself. This new studio album of compositions/songs are, as part of her recent threealbum string, nigh unmatched by her musical peers. Half of the songs were composed as a new “internal” soundtrack suite to the 1932 B&W silent film I Was Born, But... by Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu, one of the most important filmmakers in cinema history. While Ozu’s film is serious and sometimes heartbreaking, it also has lightness and humor; Yamamoto’s compositions accentuate this emotional complexity. The other half of the disc, equally compelling and far-ranging in mood, was composed through capturing Yamamoto’s experiences living in NYC and touring around the world.