Review: Or Kantor - Snake Island (Anova Music)

"'Snake Island' is more than an album—it's a mythic, imagined soundtrack to a film that only exists in memory, rendered in tones that shimmer like heat on stone", Anova Music know the twang is the thang!

If you remember Bubble Wrap Trap's album 'Enter The Bab' (see review HERE) and Shakti Soundsystem genre-blender of album (see review HERE), you might have some inkling of Or Kantor's cinematic OST to a film that never was as a tribute to a Mediterrean spaghetti western that surfs and psychs with spoken word poetry, twangy guitars and 60s mod-organ.

So this is 'Snake Island' that has built and evolved from Kantor's debut album, 'Sarda Sarda' (see review HERE) and you can throw Herb Alpert and Mulatu Astatke in with his other named influences, Gábor Szabó (jazz electric guitarist), Omar Khorshid (Eygptian electric guitar) and Dorothy Ashby (spiritual jazz harp); there's a touch of Delia Derbyshire going on too!

The spoken word poetry is a bit Twin Peaks meets Jeb Loy Nichols which is scary and a treat all at the same time, I can see why you'd want to 'Escape From Snake Island' (the closer and "all guns blasing" monster of the ten track album) but don't be put off as you'd want to buy a ticket to this "Fantasy Island" in the first place: remember Hervé Villechaize as Tattoo?

PS. For those that don't know, Johnny Sharoni, A&R at Anova Records, met Kantor during a tattoo session which led to his first album being released: you couldn't make it up.

BUY LINK / PRE-ORDER: Snake Island | Or Kantor

Artist:  Or Kantor

Title:  Snake Island

Release date: 21st November, 2025 

Label : Anova Music

Catalog Number :  TBC

Format:  Vinyl LP / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Or Kantor - Sarda Sarda (Anova Music)

If there's one modern surf album you need this year, this is it!  In fact, it's the type of album that could change your life!

The cover looks dodgy?  A bit 70s Greek holiday.  Or even Scandavian?  But what's that at the bottom, "The neo-surfterranean sound of Or Kantor"!  Well it's all those cross genre surf meets Morricone/OST to Batov Records to Astake's Ethio jazz as leftfield Balearic soft rocks off baby.

Crazy to find that Or is a London based painter and tattooist.and we're told that the music reflects his artwork of Mediterranen Sea inspired beaches and small towns.

Not sure I'd want Or to permanently mark my skin but 12 track album (not a bad 'un amongst 'em) has left a mark on me; the first vocal track is a bit of a surprise 'Rising Tide' which goes a bit more Hank Marvin 60s but he sounds more like Nick Cave than Cliff.

It's going to be 'Album of the Week' all over as the new the South East Asian psych funk has had it's day and it's time to move to Hoxton (and anywhere else that's trendy with it's own sea side view, twangy guitars and big organs.

Expect to hear this at the Chilled Cider festival as it overlooks the Atlantic all the way to the Brasilian coast; the Med is on your left.  Andrew Weatherall would have loved this.

Artist: Or Kantor

Title:  Sarda Sarda

Release date: 28th July, 2024 

Label : Anova Music

Catalog Number :  -

Format:  LP / Digital / Bandcamp