Abzu Looks
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abzulooks.bsky.social
Abzu Looks
@abzulooks.bsky.social
Yes it's a pseudonym.
Mainly here to chat music, music making and books
South Coast NSW, Australia
I'm trying to be disciplined on the socials so posts, likes and replies may be irregular
#nowplaying #jpop

Hitsujibungaku - Shaun the Sheep

Maybe not quite as preposterous a cover as you think, guitarist Moeka Shiotsuka plays a nifty riff on this. Coincidentally (?) roughly corresponds with the time drummer Hiroa Fukuda seemed to withdraw from the band.

youtu.be/iC1Z2aO4SdA?...
羊文学 - ひつじのショーン(Life's a Treat)[English Cover] (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by 羊文学
youtu.be
December 10, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Hi! It's the @theguardian.com here! We've just published a new article! You have ten seconds to post an opinion before we close off comments...
December 9, 2025 at 1:36 PM
#nowplaying #jpop #musicsky

Gen Hoshino - Mad Hope

It's "best music of the year time" and so this was my favourite song this year. Louis Cole provides a surprisingly direct and sincere lyric and the two Sams (sax and bass) add some magic.

Superb video from aRuFa too.

youtu.be/J0ben1SI4QY?...
星野源 - Mad Hope (feat. Louis Cole, Sam Gendel, Sam Wilkes) [Official Video]
YouTube video by 星野源 Gen Hoshino
youtu.be
December 9, 2025 at 1:16 PM
#nowplaying #jpop #newmusic

TOMOO - Dear Mysteries

New album from Japanese female pop singer/pianist/songwriter. Like the previous "Two Moons" a bit ballad heavy, but loads of great songs and real craft in the arrangements. I went for the 3 disc version with her fab Budokan concert.
December 8, 2025 at 12:21 AM
#nowplaying #jazzsky

Colin Steele Quartet - The Blue Nile

Scottish quartet (trumpet/piano/bass/drums) and it's exactly what it says on the tin- jazz interpretations of the Blue Nile songbook. My fave track is my fave BN song- "Heatwave"; it's all quietly ingenious and sympathetic to the originals.
December 7, 2025 at 10:28 AM
#nowplaying #jazzsky #newmusic

The Dam Jawn feat. Jeremy Pelt - Triphasic

Always enjoys an alto/tenor/trumpet front line. Guitar/bass/drum section also very fine. Having recommended this yesterday, giving it another listen this morning. I still really like it.
December 6, 2025 at 2:29 AM
#NowPlaying #jazzsky

Well worth checking out.
January 25, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Reposted by Abzu Looks
Trumpet player here and can confirm. I was taught that mf means "mainly full-on".

pp - pretty powerful
p - powerful
mp - more than powerful
mf - mainly fearsome
f - fearsome
ff - normal
January 24, 2025 at 8:16 AM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (65) No 97 Cmaj

Cleveland Symphony, George Szell

Mvt 1: Wikipedia tells me that the opening bars quote Cosi fan tutte, and since we start with One Song To The Tune Of Another, I'm going with a Szell performance here.
January 24, 2025 at 6:16 AM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (64) Sinfonia "A" Bbmaj

Il Capriccio, Friedemann Wezel

Mvt 1: Symphonic provenance can be tricky to establish with so many Haydns: There's Franz Joseph Haydn, Michael Haydn, Cal Haydn von Haydnsdorff... apparently they knew this one was by JFH but thought it was a string quartet...
January 24, 2025 at 5:04 AM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (63) no 13 Dmaj

Ensemble for 18th Century Music, Eiji Hashimoto

Mvt 1: No nicknames for this one? "Black cat" or "Walking under ladder" going begging surely. Wikipedia (and my ear) tells me there's a flute in this one, playing some nice "delay lines."
January 22, 2025 at 2:27 AM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (62) no 46 Bmaj

Heidelberg Symphony, Benjamin Spillner

Mvt 1: Oh, I like that this wastes no time in modulating to the minor. Wikipedia notes that there's a question about which octave the horns should play in. This whole orchestra things a tricky game, eh?
January 21, 2025 at 6:41 AM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (61) no 50 Cmaj "In Nomine Domini"

English Concert, Trevor Pinnock

Mvt 1: Now if there's one thing we should bring back it's marionette operas. "Les tonnerres oiseaux" anyone? I wonder if back then people were annoyed at being the support act?
January 21, 2025 at 3:25 AM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (61) no 51 Bbmaj

English Concert, Trevor Pinnock

Mvt 1: Well, thanks to the comments so far and a bit of wikipedia, I know to expect some advanced horniness for this one. Maybe they whinged to JH about getting not much to do and he said, be careful what you ask for.
January 21, 2025 at 3:03 AM
#NowPlaying #NewMusic #JazzSky

Alec Orea - Concerto for Piano and Universe (2025)

Three tracks Alec on solo piano, two duo, one trio track,the bulk of the album a band featuring Alex Sipiagin (trumpet) and Will Vinson (alto sax). Rhythm section Sidiel Vieira & Ridrigo Digao Braz are excellent.
January 19, 2025 at 11:57 AM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (60) No 87 Amaj

Les Arts Florissants, Willian Christie

Mvt 1: It's a vivace, and it's 10 minutes long. String players best give their hands a good relaxing shakeout before they start. This one feels almost Beethovian in that the thematic material is very simple...
January 19, 2025 at 10:51 AM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (59) no 78 Cmin

Stockholm Chamber Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen

Mvt 1: always interesting when wikipedia backs an initial impression that the winds are very much in the background here. Also, according to JH, "beautiful, magnificent and by no means over-lengthy." No argument so far.
January 18, 2025 at 6:19 AM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (39) no 60 Cmaj "Il distratto"

Haydn Sinfonietta Wien, Manfred Huss

Mvt 1: The detailed liner notes for this recording are a great read. I do feel a bit under the pump to find some great musicological commentary. So far nothing deeper to say than "I I quite like this."
January 18, 2025 at 5:57 AM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (38) No 83 Gmin "The Hen"

Le Concert de la Loge, Julien Chauvin

Mvt 1: Why on earth is it called "The Hen?" Ohhhh that's why. Funny how, for a minor key symph, it's been nicknamed for a bit in the major key. Contrastingly, there are some lovely slower moments in the lower strings.
January 18, 2025 at 5:22 AM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (37) no 23 Gmaj

Apollo Ensemble, John Hsu

Mvt 1: the 3-4-5-4-3-2-1 riff strikes me as very pianistic, and this mvt alsmost has a Bachian sense of "let's work out all the variations I can get out of this idea." Strikes me as a good study piece for trainee composers.
January 18, 2025 at 4:42 AM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (58) no 92 Gmaj "Oxford"

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Colin Davis

Mvt 1: The "Oxford" eh? Not one I've commma cross before. Nyuk nyuk! We start with a harmonically rich adagio before launching into a spirited (well that's what he asks for) but nonethess pastoral sounding allegro.
January 18, 2025 at 4:18 AM
#jazzsky #NowPlaying

Nickolas Payton - live in St Louis 16 jan 2025

well, ok, I just watched the livestream, but it looks like they keep the vids up after the event. Great set. Kevin Hays, Vicente Archer, Bill Stewart in the band.

www.youtube.com/live/go7rg7f...
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January 17, 2025 at 4:32 AM
#NowPlaying #jpop

Yorushika - Aporia

Some clever rhythmic things happening here, with verses in 15 (7+8). Gorgeous video from Ryu Kato too.

youtu.be/fhTFysCtF6g
ヨルシカ - アポリア(OFFICIAL VIDEO)
YouTube video by ヨルシカ / n-buna Official
youtu.be
January 16, 2025 at 12:54 PM
#A-Haydn-A-Day (37) no 52 Cmin

Royal Northern Sinfonia, Rebecca Miller

Mvt 1: I really liked this recording for 59, so I've gone back to it. We're back to the middle of the numeric pack, so less winds, I'm enjoying the long horn notes though. We're in the very serious key of C minor,
January 16, 2025 at 7:06 AM