“…because we live in an industrialized, fast-paced world that prefers that the soul remains asleep…” (Bill Viola)
February was a particularly dynamic month, rich in independent music releases that cover the whole spectrum from ethereal/neoclassical to psychedelic rock. Even though most of our favourite albums are clustered around the post-punk genre, the doom metal/ black metal and the experimental music releases were so intense that, in a way, set the mood of this whole monthly playlist.
‘When I was growing up all the women in my house were using needles. I’ve always had a fascination with the needle, the magic power of the needle.The needle is used to repair the damage.It’s a claim to forgiveness. It is never aggressive, it’s not a pin‘ (Louise Bourgeois)
Blaue Rosen salutes the International Women’s Day 2019 with a playlist that celebrates the music of female artists in their solo careers. There is a ‘thread’ that connects our favourite songs from these releases and it has to do with the melancholy and darkness that these artists are expressing from the 
depths of the human psyche. The personal stories of some of these women artists, have strongly influenced and constantly inform their music, sometimes manifesting in otherworldly and dramatic ways. At the same time their sound simultaneously becomes conceptually incomprehensible and very much ‘within our reach’. Enjoy our playlist!
Blaue Rosen 
2019 is shaping up to be another exciting year for independent music, both in terms of live music and on what concerns album releases. Judging from the very first albums that have been released so far and from the artists that are expected to produce new music in the following months, it seems that we are up for some great sonic treats the following months. As far as gigs are concerned, there are also great names that have already planned to visit London until the end of 2019, some of whom we have not had the chance to enjoy live for quite some time. But let’s get to it…
“An active line on a walk, moving freely, without goal. A walk for a walk’s sake…” (Paul Klee)
Some might say that the first albums to be released every year, set the tone for the whole year so if our favourite 22 albums of January are any indication of that, then we are to brace ourselves for a very interesting year ahead!
If the soundtrack of this month was an image, then it would be a very dark one with highlights that sharply divide the surface, creating an effect similar to that of a thunderous sky. The albums that form this playlist have sometimes strong and other times softer influences and they occupy a sonic space that has black metal, post rock, darkwave, punk, industrial, post punk, deathrock and experimental elements. This playlist turned out to be focused on self released albums as these were the ones that had the strongest impact on us this time.
Howard Rickard and The Pale Riders or else a modern day story of ‘outlaws’ and ‘outcasts’
“…And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts And I looked, and behold a pale horse And his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him…“
When Willie Nelson released the album ‘Wanted!The Outlaws‘ with a brilliant cover which replicated the aesthetics of bounty hunters’ posters, he did it to make a comment about the position of outlaw country music in contrast to the more traditional Nashville sound. Similarly, when Johnny Cash was singing ‘Folsom Prison Blues‘ on his debut album, he was partly referring to his own life and the time he had spent in prison. One would think that these people have always been more than great songwriters with great public appeal. They were always the protagonists in their own stories, they made music out of their experiences, they have performed it with all the contextual gravity that a lived experience encompasses and they have lead lives that inadvertently inspired their songwriting. Because of that, their music has been loved so much and in such a profound way than the music of others. (more…)
These are our favourite releases of 2018! Click on the image to interact with the data!
(Click on the image to interact with the links)
The music world might have become even ‘poorer’ as a result of the passing away of Mark E.Smith in 2018, but I don’t think that anyone who loves the independent music scene, can deny the fact that 2018 has been a very generous year in terms of album releases and gigs. We 
got to listen to great albums and we had the chance to enjoy bands that celebrated important anniversaries in their career, perform live. Within 2018 we enjoyed the release of impressive debut albums by new bands, proving that there is always space for more creativity within genres that might seem ‘saturated’ from many aspects! 2018 was the year when the cassette format became even more popular so that we might soon have to start talking about a serious comeback and when the independent music scene and its audience, continued to grow even further.
We cannot forget the live score that Godspeed You!Black Emperor provided to the contemporary dance performance of ‘Animals of Distinction’ at The Barbican. The extracts from Jenny Holzer’s texts that were included in this performance lead us to the Tanks at TATE Modern where we enjoyed more installations by this multifarious artist. During this visit, we also got to know of the work of Aldo Tambellini and his fascination with black colour. We misread the word ‘expressive’ for ‘oppressive’ in the brief text that accompanied one of the installations and for days we were puzzled by the idea of the ‘oppressive qualities of black colour’.It was several months after this visit, when the latest album of Current 93 entitled ‘The Light Is Leaving Us All’ was released, that these circular ‘mandalas’ that Tambellini has done, gained richer meaning. At the beginning of the year, we had the surreal experience of listening to dark ambient music compositions 
while they were animating the fa?ades of some classic buildings at Regent Street during Lumiere 2018. Finally, during 2018 some gigs once again demonstrated the infinite limitations of all ‘recorded’ media (i.e. visual, audio, writing) to capture the energy and impact of a performance . How else can we explain the fact that no medium was able to transfer the intensity of the performance of Blixa Bargeld with Teho Teardo at the closing of the 27th WGT in Leipzig, the performance of Current 93 at O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire especially during ‘Sleep Has His House’, the magic that ATARAXIA have spread all around the Schauspielhaus, the energy of Diorama and Siglo XX at Felsenkeller at WGT, and the awe that Peter Murphy has once again filled us with, during an unforgettable gig at O2 Academy Brixton, celebrating the 40th anniversary of Bauhaus! 2018 was the year when we got to see The Dresden Dolls perform live in London after 12 years and 2019 will be the year when we will celebrate the career of Dead Can Dance!
During 2018 we have listened to 824 releases and we picked the favourite of our favourite ones, 74 in total, that make up the soundtrack of the year! All of these albums were present in the 12 monthly playlists of the year which you can access from the following links:
Monthly playlist December 2018
Monthly playlist November 2018
Monthly playlist October 2018
Monthly playlist September 2018
Monthly playlist August 2018
Monthly playlist July 2018
Monthly playlist June 2018
Monthly playlist May 2018
Monthly playlist April 2018
Monthly playlist March 2018
Monthly playlist February 2018
Monthly playlist January 2018
Let’s all have a great 2019!
Blaue Rosen
“Cruelty has a Human Heart
And Jealousy a Human Face
Terror the Human Form Divine
And Secrecy the Human Dress (William Blake: poem ‘A Divine Image’)”
2018 concludes its music journey with amazing gigs that we will keep in our minds throughout the rest of the year. The album releases of December have somehow helped to make the transition to the next year smoother. Our monthly playlist makes a journey from ethereal folk to post-punk and metal. It includes impressive debut albums and the new album by the great ‘magician’ of piano, Lubomyr Melnyk.
“…the artist must be ready to be consumed by the fire of his own creation “? Auguste Rodin
As this year is approaching its end, the new music releases are perceived as if they somehow close an imaginary sonic circle that started 11 months ago. The soundtrack of the previous month traces a path that begins in a space filled with techno, industrial and minimal electronic rhythms, reveals the various ‘faces’ of punk and dark pop and ends by finding the shared emotions between trip hop and 60s inspired folk rock. There are plenty of debut releases within this month’s soundtrack, two of which are the result of creative collaborations between kindred musical spirits.
“…there is never a destination, destinations are boring!”
Chris Connelly, the man with a thousand (and more) musical faces, released his latest album entitled ‘Bloodhounds‘ through Armalyte Industries. As has always been the case with Chris Connelly’s work, the songs are much more than great music with great melodies and a beautiful performance. They give an attractive, soul/blues/rock form, to many sources of inspiration, ranging from paintings to books and landscapes. Inspiration is a malleable concept and it can mean different things to different people. It is evident, if one takes a deep look into the details of the albums (artwork, music, song titles) that Chris 
has created that, what motivates him is a great personal and spiritual ‘calling’ that transforms even every day experiences into dreamy, poetic and disquieting melodies. Whether you love more his industrial/dark side as has been revealed through his work with Cocksure and Revolting Cocks or his more lyrical Sylvian/Bowie inspired side more evident in his solo work, you must admit that, since the 90s Chris has created an artistically rich sonic universe.There have always been visual artists who were inspired by music but rarely have we encountered musicians being inspired by visual art. To us, translating a static image and its emotional impact into sound, is one of the most challenging tasks an artist can undertake. And yet, here we are, with an album and a musician that does exactly that.
We were delighted to be given a glimpse into the artistic mind of Chris Connelly and talk with him about the new album, his future plans, his previous work, Cocksure,Ministry, Revolting Cocks and anything in between. We would like to shout out to promoters in London in particular, to arrange for us to enjoy him perform live next year.
