ALARM leaves no genre unloved in our round-up of 50 albums that didn’t receive enough attention in 2009.
Our list of favorites from last year includes devastating dub metal, organ-fueled psychedelic grind, a re-released classic-rock gem from nearly four decades ago, an international assemblage of punk-infused field recordings, and an Indian/surf/metal take on John Zorn‘s Masada material.
Performing in her native city of Beijing, Chinese composer and guzheng virtuoso Wu Fei played at the Stone Boat Café on Friday in support of Yuan, a collection of chamber compositions released on Tzadik in late November.
ALARM contributor and Beijing resident Dan Fuller reports on this performance — from literally inside a stone boat.
Amon Tobin makes up half of a new project called Two Fingers; Witch goes on tour with Earthless; Dan Deacon posts a preview of his new album; Converge and Supermachiner each has a new album for ’09; Kronos Quartet is giving away 50 pairs of tickets for its performance in France this month.
Read about these and 11 more news bits in our weekly roundup.
After playing a few shows on the East Coast in early to mid-January, Tzadik recording artists Barbez have a baker’s dozen shows stretching through much of Europe.