New Music Releases: Andre Solomko, Upperground Orchestra, Arp Frique & Erik Ritfeld

Andre Solomko - Le Deltaplane

Great sounds from Andre Solomko – an artist who's been giving us some great 70s-styled music in recent years, and may well have topped himself with this fantastic set! Andre plays alto and soprano sax, in a setting that's got the warm glow of a sweet 70s fusion record – but this time around, he also gets plenty of great vocal contributions from female singer Charlotta Kerbs – whose soulful lyrics appear on most of the album, and give the fusion grooves a slightly AOR sort of vibe – but always at a level that's very understated and individual, and never just trying to cop an older groove. Instead, Andre brings a great sense of personality to the music – which also includes lots of Fender Rhodes and other keyboards – on titles that include "Moonbeach Disco", "Le Deltaplane", "Aquaplane", "Summer 79", and "Paraphraser". ~ Dusty Groove

Upperground Orchestra - Euganea

Darker sounds than usual for this cool Italian combo – a set that still has the cosmic elements of their previous record, but a much sharper edge, and a style that feels a lot more improvised and free! Each of the long tunes build up in a way that's organic – free at the start, then taking on more shape as the musicians come together – with a shifting lineup of instrumentation that includes bass clarinet, flute, alto sax, percussion, oud, drums, bass, and a fair bit of electronics – the last of which are used sparely sometimes, more boldly at others. Titles include "Ghebi", "Hephaistos", "Barene", "Sinopia", and "Kaigo". ~ Dusty Groove

Arp Frique & Erik Ritfeld - Improvised Suites For Analog Machines

A really fantastic set of keyboard sounds – a record that features improvised duets between Arp Frique and Erik Ritfeld – who each switch up their machines on every different track! At the core of the record is an Elka Drummer One rhythm box and a Roland Space Echo – but then each of the tracks has Frique and Ritfeld moving to a different keyboard unit as they improvise together – all in a way that's tuneful and rhythmic, but with a style that's a lot more creative than the usual keyboard record of this style! Each track is named after the keyboard used – and titles include "Arp", "Farfisa", "SH2000", "DX7", "Solina", and "Juno". ~ Dusty Groove