Listening to music via analog media is indeed a great pleasure. The warm gut feeling is even more complete when the music itself was initially recorded on tape. In this case, we are talking about music released in 2018 and this makes things even better.

TFSL or Tales From The Sleeping Land is a project by multiinstrumentalist Kaloyan Ivanov. Psychedelic instrumental music, which (as the title suggests) tells stories, or rather paints pictures. A truly classic rock record at first listen - in TFSL you will find toe curling guitar solos and long compositions that seem to have come out of a smoke-filled garage somewhere in the late 1970s.

We are talking about rather melodic, yet hard heavy rock, but luckily it doesn’t have too much to do with the current “stoner rock” hype.

In the past few years, TFSL has occupied his own experimental territory and has shown a rather individual approach to both live performances and releases. ÍII is an album originally recorded on a 4-track, which has almost become a forgotten art itself. The warmth of the tape is not only a poor hipster’s dream. You recognize the feeling put in there as well as the comforting tape hiss and organic feel of the record. There are, of course, some sonic imperfections present, but in fact, what they do is contribute even more to the natural and authentic sound of the tracks. It’s like you’ve accidentally found a piece of a long-forgotten story in a secret archive stash.

The warm intimate sound of the album is perhaps the most valuable element that distinguishes 'III' from other Bulgarian albums, released over the past few months.

Another thing worth mentioning is the tape release is out now on the legendary Bulgarian label Mahorka. Of course, cassettes in the 21st century are certainly not everyone’s thing, but those who are tempted by the format will get it.

'III' features only four tracks, but don’t let that fool you. TFSL's latest work is a full-bodied LP with not a songs under the 10 minutes mark. Definitely, my personal favorite is 'Ultra Sonic Boy' - a gloomy atmospheric gem with a wonderful intro and outro. It kinda reminds me of another local underground masterpiece - Глухарчето by THE HEADSTALL. Those who know me will recognize this comparison as a huge compliment. And those who don’t - don’t take my words for granted: hear this album and find your own story about it!