Most of my e-mails these days are from Bandcamp, notifying me of new releases from artists or labels I've purchased music from, and today was no different. One of the notifications was that Italian label Signora Ward Records has just released Quarantine Doom Jazz vol.2, and compilation of artists playing, well, doom jazz. What is doom jazz? you ask. Think Angelo Badalamenti, think depressing noir films, think a blanket of suffocating blackness under which the muffled sound of a saxophone struggles to make itself heard... You get the idea. I have a few releases from this label, and I like all of them. Looking at some of the covers of the other releases, I notice the label seems to have a thing for bondage and the like. I'm not sure what that's all about. At any rate, the sweet sounds of doom jazz are a balm for what ails us.
The other label I want to mention is the Japanese label, Ricco, home to the wonderful Anoice. In fact, most of the releases I already have are from Anoice, who produce dramatic, delicate, cinematic masterpieces of mood, with enough crescendos to keep the most ardent Godspeed You! Black Emperor fan happy. I was re-listening to their label sampler in the car today, and realizing that all of the bands on it are at least good, if not great. I bought the newest couple of Anoice releases on May 1st, and got a polite apology about their inability to ship in a timely manner due to shipping restrictions put in place as a response to Covid-19, so if you order physical items, there will be a bit of a delay.
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