This all-female folk band is distinguished among the peers by their accent not only on vocal harmonies, but also on great instrumental prowess. While not without its flaws, their debut work excellently shows the two aforementioned qualities.
You can find much here starting from usual folk tunes and covers of Western songs with Georgian national instruments to a lengthy instrumental (dare I say progressive?) folk suite.
♪♫ Listen: “Motherland”
Extreme metal again, now of brutal death variety. Evidence The Lost is a young band, but the album shows they have certainly taken quite some time to perfect their craft.
Certainly not for everybody, but the lovers of the genre will like it very, very much.
♪♫ Listen: “Local Schizophrenia” (full album)
A very exciting album. The key is not to lose track of everything that happens here. We get extreme versatility and variety of compositional approaches, much of abstract hip-hop, with or without vocals, unexpected ambient / post-rock nuances and tons of “local” sampling.
You’re in for a great journey if you can spare an hour or more. The guy who made it was a member of Okinawa Lifestyle, a great chillwave project, sadly now defunct.
♪♫ Listen: “Composure”
David Datunashvili on www, Soundcloud, Twitter.
Very professionally made electronic music EP – lots of atmosphere with breaking beats and vocals here and there.
“When The Watchman Saw The Light” was released on the newer incarnation of the legendary Apollo label.
♪♫ Listen: “Saysea” feat. Natalie Beridze Tba
Gacha on Soundcloud, Facebook, Instagram.
Sophie Villy (real last name: Khutsishvili), a Georgian singer / songwriter now based in Ukraine, has released her second album this year.
Compared to her first work, “Dress” is a level up in all departments – here we have a songwriter who is readily maturing and the sound is rendered more refined and atmospheric. So the result sounds as if Katie Melua sang indie rock still holding on to her bluesy vibe, and that’s a good thing.
♪♫ Listen: “I Told You”
A short, but very pleasant-to-listen electronic album by Tbilisi-based producer Tornike Kvantchiani. Those who love the less idiosyncratic side of IDM, are in for a chilling treat.
♪♫ Listen: “Krakat”
13DPST on Bandcamp, Soundcloud.
If there’s anything steady in recent Georgian music, it’s the extreme metal scene. While the desperate lack of affordable resources hinders pretty much all non-commercial music output, there has always been a couple of very strong Georgian metal releases every year.
Signs have presented their sophomore effort full of Borknagar / Dimmu Borgir-influenced symphonic black metal. While not as bombastic as their previous one, “United In Tragedy” is very equal, solid and versatile album.
♪♫ Listen: “Silence, The Lullaby”
Signs on Facebook.
Gia Toidze and his project Tserili can be viewed as ever active Georgian gothic rock veterans.
Formed in 1995 as Amorali, this is the bands 4th album. Here we get their trademark melancholic, gloomy music full of poetry, albeit now more reliant on Toidze’s acoustic guitar.
♪♫ Listen: “გაზაფხულია”
Tserili on Soundcloud, Facebook.
The most exciting thing 2014 gave to Georgian music was definitely The BearFox. Their eerily arranged, soothing ambient pop / indie rock took over the audience in a moment.
Besides highly successful concert touring throughout the country (and a bit abroad), the band’s earliest recordings were gathered on this EP, which features the songs that made The BearFox so popular. A great start for this upcoming band, with all the wishes to keep it up!
♪♫ Listen: “Holding You”
The BearFox on Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter.
