The Underground of Happiness

Another great service to humanity by Earth Recordings in reissuing this... ... another sublime soundtrack from the Russian master. Jazz and orchestral influences. Piano. Flute. Harpsichord. Vibraphone. Strings. Brushed drums. Absolute bliss in a minor key. https://tariverdiev.bandcamp.com/

Last year Earth Recordings did a great thing. They released a retrospective of the film soundtrack work of Mikael Tariverdiev , a Russian composer who might have been to that country what Michel Legrand is to France. He was prolific in the 1960s and 1970s, a time when not much of Russian culture passed through the iron curtain to this side of the continent. That album was an absolute treasure and you can read more here . This new release is another sublime collection from a 1975 film, sweeping orchestral passages brushing up against plaintiff Russian folk songs. My favourite moments are the sublimely soporific feel to the orchestral jazz theme of ‘Snow over Leningrad’ and its companion/variation ‘Melody’, where the strings come out from under the shadow of the vibraphone magnificently. Another album to treasure from a treasure of a label. The Irony Of Fate – Original Score by Tariverdiev

Every week the radio show is a series of mixes, usually a sequence of mini-mixes, 3 or 4 song runs put together to fill an hour. Every now and again though, a bunch of music comes together on my radar, drawn from albums sent to me as well as my own listening habits. Over the last few months I’ve noticed an amount of striking and powerful instrumental music coming together in this orbit I call The Underground of Happiness . All of this has received an airing on the show at some point, but given that I only have 1 hour per week to play with live on air, I thought it would be good to give some of this music an extra platform. Firstly, as you would expect, these are all instrumental pieces, which is to say they don’t contain vocals (although Polar Bear flirt with humming at one stage in ‘No more goodbyes’). In fact, most of these artists are what you would call either exclusively or largely instrumental artists. The cellist Julia Kent for example, exploring the outer reaches of her inst...

A wonderful discovery courtesy of Stephen Coates of The Real Tuesday Weld and Earth Records . Mikael Tariverdiev is a household name in Russia, thanks to his prolific output as a classical composer in general, but also for his work in tv and film. However, I’m guessing even the most conscientious cinephile from this part of the world might not have heard of him (and of course that’s what curators and labels are for). This handsome triple album collection compiles his film work, in particular three main soundtracks from the 1960s – Goodbye Boys, Snow Over Leningrad and I am a tree. Jazz predominates, a lovely smoky Russian take on the form – a spectrum from slow blues piano to ragtime tunes to furious jams with wailing sax solos. There’s also a hint of the French jazz style, and chanson here and there – that giveaway dampened guitar strumming and brushed snare. The brilliant ‘Waltz from The Last Thief’ uses accordion and marimba, to intoxicating effect. There are shades (...

A class of an electronic 1st half to the show this week, brought on by a couple of new releases - Noveller , back with a new album, more delicious ambient guitar washes Phantom Horse , a Hamburg duo, keeping bleeping minimalist German kosmische alive SlowPlaceLikeHome , lovely drifting ambient electronica from Donegal, of all places. Around which was added - Some classic Cluster from 1974 Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith , one of the best albums of 2015 for me, beautiful kosmische tones Groundbreaking wigged out Moog boogie from Bruce Haack 1970 Seminal psychtronica from Silver Apples 1968 Moondog making gorgeous canons a child would appreciate. Great film music in the 2nd half from - Mikael Tariverdiev , Russian, not heard in the West before (by many anyway), revived by Stephen Coates via Earth Recordings Martial Solal , from A bout de souffle , jazz in the service of the Nouvelle Vague. Plus Steve Warner , another great Earth reissue, lush piano, sumptuous vocals. More ...