“This is dance music that you’d have great difficulty dancing to,” is how one reviewer described RPM 33 BPM 111/113 back in 1998, about a decade after its release. “If you tried dancing to this,” the writer continued, “you’d probably break your legs, although that’s not a criticism.” Hell, that sounds like a ringing endorsement […]
Category: Experimental
William Basinski – “The Disintegration Loops” (2026)
If you’re into ambient or experimental electronica you know that The Disintegration Loops has been canonized. In 2016 Pitchfork named it the third best ambient album of all time, behind only Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume II and Brian Eno’s seminal Ambient 1: Music For Airports. Originally released as four separate albums between 2002 and […]
dj. flugvél og geimskip – “Hljóðfjölskyldan” (2025)
Space Odyssey is one of the true gems of the Reykjavik music scene. The record store / venue (/vintage clothing store) is home to all things electronica, with an emphasis on ambient, experimental, and avant-garde. It’s a lovely space to see a live performance, cozy and intimate, the sound filling every nook and cranny. Operated […]
Naked City – “Torture Garden” (1990)
John Zorn was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2006 – a recipient of the so-called “genius grant”. As near as I can tell, about 15 other people have been named Fellows in the area of Music and Composition. Though I wonder how many, if any, have the words “grindcore” and “avant-garde metal” listed as genres […]
Skjálfti – “They Are Bad People, They Deserve To Suffer” (2025); Ófreskja – “Íviðjulykkja” (2025)
RÓF is a new Reykjavik-based label “specialising in limited, hand assembled releases of noise and other post-industrial forms of art”. Its first two physical releases are CDrs by the artists Skjálfti (“Trembling” in English) and Ófreskja (“Unfresh”). Both are packaged in folded over A4 paper sleeves insert into plastic bags – about as DIY as […]