Karin Park, Thot & Perry Frank
Three Records For Your Weekend
To spice up your weekend, I have prepared three more music tips for you before I treat myself by taking my last vacation days for this year – time for some news from Perry Frank, Thot and Karin Park.
Perry Frank - "Morning View" (EP)
On November 26th, Francesco Perra, aka Perry Frank, released his new EP "Morning View" on the Australian label Valley View Records.
The record consists of four previously unreleased instrumental ambient pieces. The sound tinkerer again stimulates the imagination with intense textures, his characteristic guitar drone sound and vivid, atmospheric parts.
Francesco wrote three of the four pieces in the summer of this year while terrible forest fires raged on his home island, destroying a large part of the landscape.
The musician processes these terrible images with his EP. While listening to the songs, I can see the changing nature, the radical cuts, and the fire's brutality in front of my mind's eye. Yet, I can also sense the desire for escape, a solution, peace and the end of the dangerous situation.
The title track "Morning View" is a song that the artist has performed since 2020. The strong drone sounds in the background characterise the track, pouring into a series of swelling guitar chords, only to come back together in harmony towards the end, setting the stage for the rest of the record. It feels like an aria for an opera, holding up a mirror to show us our fear – the fear of our helplessness and failure.
Today I want to share the second song on the EP with you. "Alagon" is a thoughtful drone piece with an unexpected development.
Perry Frank - "Alagon"
Thot feat. The Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices - "Meandres" (EP)
Hot on the heels of their recently released, terrific Pink Floyd cover "What Shall We Do Now?" the Belgian post-rock/industrial collective Thot are about to release their new EP, "Meandres". It consists of three songs written by the founder of the band Gregoire Fray before the onset of the global corona pandemic in March 2020.
Juliette Maudit's great voice accompanies Gregoire's French lyrics to this new masterpiece. A surprise and an entirely new element in Thot's sound is the polyphonic choir vocals of Mystery of the Bulgarian Voices, with whom the collective teamed up for the EP. The combination of industrial sound, harmonic vocals and melancholy lyrics is sonorous, impressive and beautiful. The strong contrasts and supposedly significant differences build a radiant connection and totality that could hardly be stronger.
Check out Thot's homepage1 for more information about the EP and where to get it. The record will be out on February 11th, the first song "Euphrate" already on December 10th. Here is the teaser.
Thot - "Euphrate" (Teaser)
Karin Park - "Church of Imagination" (LP)
Next Friday will finally be the day: After great recordings with Lustmord and sold-out performances with Årabrot, Karin Park will finally release her new solo album "Church Of Imagination". And she already announced the next one for 2022. Some days ago, Karin released the first teaser for "Church Of Imagination. One thing is for sure: If you like "Shape Of A Child", you definitely shouldn't miss the rest of the record. It is full of surprises and as versatile as Karin herself. Her music is moving, inspiring and touching.
Karin recently released a video for track two on the record. Here is what she told Pelagic Records about it:
"I made this video in memory of my father. He passed away before this came out, but luckily, I filmed him playing his beloved Hammond organ on the track and also singing in the choir. The song is about a vision I had of my daughter Lydia long before she came into this world and is written by Kjetil Nernes. Featuring the amazing LaGaylia Frazier."
Karin Park – "Shape Of A Child"
Karin made a short documentary to accompany her new album in which she talks about how she found her way to music and her idea behind "Church of Imagination". It is also absolutely worth watching.
"Church of Imagination" will be out on December 10th on Pelagic Records.