A CLOSER LISTEN weekly #36
Matana Roberts at Suoni per il Popolo, more from Ukraine, and the return of Sigur Rós
Hello, Dear Listeners! Joseph here again for a bi-weekly roundup from the trenches of experimental and instrumental music. Thanks to those of you who have chosen to become paid subscribers. Now that I’m done with the PhD, I’m essentially unemployed for now (aside from teaching one course as an adjunct this fall), so every little bit counts. I really appreciate your support. And if I can get enough paid subscribers I’ll be able to commission some special subscriber only features.
This week is a bit of a longer read, after the previous truncated installment. As predicted last time, the air quality in Montreal took a turn for the worst, yet again topping the global charts for worst air quality for a couple of days. I’m still hard at work putting the ACL anniversary episode of the podcast, featuring interviews with ten members of our collective. Producing this episode has been a real puzzle, in terms of weaving the many voices together in a coherent way, but it’s slowly coming together and should be up next week. Shortly after that will be a profile of Andrea Belfi, whose latest record, Eternally Frozen, is a lovely series of canon-based compositions for brass, synth, and percussion.
In the meantime, Gianmarco Del Re is back with another installment of the Ukrainian Field Notes podcast, talking film scoring with Mykyta Moiseiev and Maryana Klochko. Gianmarco also has another UFN column up on the blog featuring a series of interviews discussing running a festival during wartime and musical responses to the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam. More on these below.
Amongst our recent reviews, do make sure to check out Richard Allen’s review of Thom Nguyễn’s The Summer Passed in Monotone, which includes an interview with Tim Gormley, co-founder and co-owner of Burial Beer and VISUALS Wine, discussing wine and music pairing!
Just announced is Techxodus, the latest record from DeForrest Brown, Jr (aka Speaker Music), out on Planetu Mu due 8 September 2023. Having ex-patriated, Brown describes Techxodus as an epilogue to his recent book Assembling A Black Counter Culture, and/or as an extension of the Drexciya Mythos. This connection is emphasized by the artwork of Abu Qadim Haqq, who contributed illustrations to both Drexciya and Brown’s book. (Hear more about DeForrest’s work in our episode PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY from 2021.) Listen and pre-order info here.
Been listening to a lot of Slowdive over here lately, spurred on by hearing about their recent performance at Glastonbury. I checked out their 2017 self-titled comeback record when it was released, their first first studio album in 22 years, following [personal favorite] Pygmalion, but I hadn’t revisited it since. It’s better than I remembered. Is there another example of such a strong comeback record after such a long hiatus?
I’ve been a fan of Slowdive drummer Simon Scott’s work under his own name since his work for Miasmah and 12k over a decade ago, so I’d like to take a moment to recommend his work to those who may be unfamiliar. For instance, have a listen to the solo record Below Sea Level, or Conformists, with Dag Rosenqvist (Jasper TX, From the Mouth of the Sun).
I was very sorry to hear of the passing of German saxophonist Peter Brötzmann (1941-2023). I was fortunate to catch him a couple times in Montreal over the years thanks to consistent bookings as part of Suoni and Victo, including in 2014 as the Die Like a Dog trio (with William Parker and Hamid Drake). Many listeners will have at least encountered his 1968 muscular classic for octet, Machine Gun, a blistering statement that encapsulates the liberatory rage of that year. At that time, Brötzmann was part of Berlin’s Zodiak Free Arts Lab, remembered as the crucible for the West German avant-garde despite its few short months of operation. West Berlin attracted many artists in those days, as those who moved to the walled-in city could avoid military duty. Co-founded by Conrad Schnitzler, the space included bands such as Agitation Free, Tangerine Dream, and Kluster. But Brötzmann has produced a lot of music in the 55 years since then, alongside a who’s who of improvised music.
For those unfamiliar with Brötzmann’s work beyond Machine Gun, here are a few chronological recommendations of places to start:
Low Life, a low end exaltation recorded in 1987 with Bill Laswell on bass and Brotz on bass sax.
Die Like a Dog: Fragments of Music, Life and Death of Albert Ayler, a 1994 live album from the Die Like a Dog quartet, featuring trumpeter Toshinori Kondo, bassist William Parker, and drummer Hamid Drake.
The "WELS" Concert, recorded in 1996, featuring Brötzmann alongside frequent collaborator Hamid Drake on percussion and Moroccan Gnawa master, Maâllem Mahmoud Gania, on guembri.
Sparrow Nights, a 2018 studio album with collaborator with pedal steel guitarist Heather Leigh. The duo released three live albums, including the explosive Sex Tape (2017), but I find myself most often returning to the more austere Sparrow Nights, which nonetheless finds Brötzmann exploring a range of reed instruments and indulging his more lyrical side.
Last Friday, 23 June 2023, was the finale of the three-week long Suoni per il Popolo festival in Montreal, now in its 23rd year. Matana Roberts began their set with a short burst from the ensemble followed by a moment of silence for Brötzmann. Just after 23h (that’s 11pm; no ‘eleventh hour’ in French Canada) Roberts pointed out the recurrence of the number 23, noting as well that 2+3=5, as we are awaiting the 23 September 2023 release of In The Garden..., the fifth installment of their COIN COIN series. [Constellation Records currently has a discount on all five chapters if you need to get caught up.] You’ll be hearing all our thoughts on chapter five (produced by TV on the Radio’s Kyp Malone) soon enough. (I also wrote about the third chapter of COIN COIN, River Run Thee, for dpi. journal back in 2015.)
For Suoni, Roberts assembled a band to perform chapter four, Memphis, in its entirety. Memphis is the installment I’ve listened to the least, mostly because it is the most recent installment in the planned 12-chapter series. I listened to it immediately upon receiving the promo in 2019, and again while driving from Minneapolis to Montreal with Cole Pulice that summer, but for whatever reason since the pandemic hit I’d yet to relisten. In anticipating this performance, I went back to give Memphis a few more close listens, drawn in particularly by the use of refrains throughout the work. Performing live that night, Roberts transformed the audience into a chorus, asking the room to collectively sing the refrain each time it recurred, as well as joining in to sing the canon of “We'll roll the old chariot along” throughout album highlight, “her mighty waters run.”
Matana’s band consisted of Gambletron on drums and Nicolas Caloia on upright bass (both of whom also played on Coin Coin Chapter One: Gens De Couleur Libres), Eric Lewis on trumpet, Sam Shalabi on guitar and oud, and Hannah Marcus on fiddle, accordion, and guitar, with everyone contributing to the vocals. In addition to adding alto sax, wordspeak, and vocals, Matana’s role as composer included rolling foam die and holding up colored paper as a part of a “conduction” cue system, to use Butch Morris’ term for directing improvising musicians, a system also deployed by the late Greg Tate in the Burnt Sugar ensemble, of which Roberts was a member. It was a moving performance, and I’m looking forward to seeing the response to chapter five once it’s released later this year.
It was also a pleasure to see Hannah Marcus in the band that night. Marcus’ wonderful 2004 record Desert Farmers really deserves more attention. Featuring a backing band of Montreal musicians (Thierry Amar, Bruce Cawdron, Sophie Trudeau, Efrim Manuel Menuck, Jessica Moss, and others, with artwork by Nadia Moss), this configuration that recalls Vic Chesnutt’s two excellent records for Constellation.
Also on the bill were White People Killed Them (a collaborative project formed by Raven Chacon with guitarist John Dieterich (Deerhoof) and drummer Marshall Trammell), who gave a blistering hour-long set which oscillated between passages of sensitive group listening and wild noise anchored by Trammell’s drumming, and reed player Alison Burik, whose set included digital looping, circular breathing, some gorgeous bass clarinet tones, and an adapted Norwegian folk song.
Ukrainian Field Notes XXIV
The latest installment in Gianmarco Del Re’s series
To celebrate the summer solstice, we travel to the Carpathians with Sun Halø, before heading to Kyiv to discuss the ethics of triggering sounds with Ivan Skoryna while Oleksandr Hladun illustrates his sonic diary and new releases. Down in Ternopil, Motoblok discusses separation, Morwan sends us his interview from Berlin, while back in Kyiv BlazerJacket produce angrier music and Eternal Wanderer responds to the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam. To close our round of interviews, JANE explains what it means to put on a festival during wartime.
Our featured albums includes new releases by Super Inter, Kadiristy, Hidden Element, Dronny Darko & Red Fog, ногируки, brainhack_musicbox, Re:drum, 58918012, Bez Gruntu and Vlad Suppish.
In our viewing room, we have the latest documentary from Suspilne about war crimes in Bucha, Bucha: Crew 111.
We also feature live sets from the Festival of New Music in Bonn with Maxim Kolomiiets and Serhii Radzetskyi, Yana Shliabanska, and Oleh Shpudeiko (Heinali), as well as piano music of the period of the Ukrainian-Russian war from Valentin Silvestrov. Moreover, we look at brainhack_musicbox‘s tour of the Netherlands and Rudnic Ore‘s live set at Kuyalnik estuary.
Plus we have new clips from Otoy, Onuka, and Go_A and trailers of 20 Days In Mariupol by Mstyslav Chernov, winner of the DOCU/Ukraine National Feature-Length Competition, Fragile Memory, by Igor Ivanko who received a special distinction at the same competition and Rule of Two Walls by David Gutnik, recipient of a special prize at the Tribeca Film Festival.
And to open proceedings we have the pleasure of talking film scoring with Mykyta Moiseiev and Maryana Klochko on our monthly UFN podcast, followed by our customary Spotify playlist with featured artists and new releases.
RECENT REVIEWS
Reviews are at the heart of ACL. Here are (excerpts from) a few of my favorite reviews we posted on the blog in the last few weeks. And we have a lot of old friends in this round up.
V/A ~ Stills 03
With Stills 03, London’s Strings and Tins collective completes its Tate Britain trilogy, in which each track imagines a painting as a film still in search of a score. Artists were given carte blanche to wander around the London gallery and to choose their own subjects, which makes each piece a labor of love. Together, the EPs are long enough to form an album, which we hope will be produced and sold in the lobby, perhaps with an eleventh track inspired by the cover art of Camille Rousseau.
V/A ~ When the Frog from the Well Sees the Ocean (Reports from English UFOlklore)
Can UFO sightings be considered folklore? Jez Winship addresses this question in the opening paragraph of the booklet included with Folklore Tapes’ new LP, When the Frog from the Well Sees the Ocean (Reports from English UFOlklore). Winship makes a good case, calling on connection to land, in particular Rendlesham Forest, the site of “Britain’s Roswell.” If woodland fairies and spites are worthy of being called folkloric, why not aliens? The famous “Earth Lights” have been identified as both. And one must admit the portmanteau is exquisite.
And if Folklore Tapes didn’t make up UFOlklore, we wouldn’t have this album, so we’re going to allow it too. 17 tracks offer 17 viewpoints, and while they won’t convince listeners that UFOs are real, they will remind listeners of the fun of speculation and wonder; and isn’t that what folklore is all about. Not only do we think it’s fair to include UFOs in folkloric discussions, we’d love to hear more. The album brings back memories of old science fiction pulp novels, black-and-white movies, and late nights under the covers with a flashlight, reading UFO magazines purchased from the rack at the supermarket counter. One doesn’t need to believe in order to enjoy.
Blue Lake ~ Sun Arcs
If the tone of this LP is any indication, summers in Sweden must be exquisite. The composition began during a week-long cabin residency, sparked by long walks in the woods with a loyal dog. As an American living in Copenhagen, Jason Dungan integrates his international influences to create a fluid album that matches his moniker of Blue Lake. The simplicity of the cover suggests a stripping away of concerns, a concentration on surroundings. The release date – summer’s first Friday – is no coincidence; neither is the inviting Sun Yellow Vinyl.
The Boats ~ 2 Bears
Melbourne post-rockers The Boats do not work fast. Their first album was recorded in 2004 and released in 2007. Their second was recorded in 2006/07 and released in 2015. Their latest was recorded in 2017 and released in 2023 as a celebration of their 20th anniversary as a band. Still, taking one’s time can sometimes be a good thing. In this case, it allowed for remixing, mastering and vinyl production. And of course much post-rock is slow by nature, relying on long, patient builds rising to thunderous payoffs. This is the case here, and fans of classic post-rock bands will find plenty to love in these grooves; keep in mind that despite their limited discography, The Boats are only nine years younger than GY!BE and four years younger than EitS.
Manja Ristić ~ mnemosonic topographies of the Adriatic
Manja Ristić’s work is deeply rooted to a process of unearthing and distilling memory as a process of mnemosonic construction. No single sound used in her work comes unsolicited, estranged from its own political, historical, geoantrhopological entanglements. In that sense, Ristić’s sonic sculpting is an attempt to create a form of archaeosonic tapestry of sonic simulacra in order to observe, empathise and ultimately understand what is at stake, what is threatened, what is lost and what is found in the memory of a place.
These explorations of place and memory become the main line of enquiry in her recent release titled Water Memory – mnemosonic topographies of the Adriatic. Taking as a starting point the place where she currently leaves and works, the island of Korčula in Croatia, Ristić employs various techniques of recording the field from the bottom up to expose her listeners, as she writes, “to relations between the sociology of time and the politics of soundscape as a possible interdisciplinary framework for a better understanding of the memory of place”.
pablo sanz ~ strange strangers
strange strangers is one of six cassettes being released this week as part of Vertical Music’s final (double) batch. The series has been a labor of love for Ludwig Berger, best known on these pages for Melting Landscapes. The Vertical Music series has expanded from field recordings to ambient and experimental music, and the fifteen tapes look amazing placed end to end, as seen above.
pablo sanz‘ entry was recorded in the forests and rivers of Amanã and Mamirauá. The title implies an “otherness” to the sounds, whether they be created by creatures or nature. This is apparent right away, as the first character to come to the foreground sounds like a bleating lamb but is more likely a flirting bird, an inebriated warthog, a laughing frog or some other species unknown. Soon there seem to be more than one of whatever “this” is, before the creature dashes away to amuse other listeners. Whatever it is, it’s delightfully weird.
Thom Nguyễn ~ The Summer Passed in Monotone
This is what we hope summer may look, smell, taste, sound and feel like. Ritual of Senses is the perfect series name. On the first day of summer, we can project an idyllic three months: the sun shines, the rain falls, the grass doesn’t burn. We find our way to water, whether river, lake or sea. The titles of the side-long pieces express yearning: “The Path Towards the River,” “The Far Shore Lay Deeply Shadowed,” as if to imply something incomplete, a story not yet told. In Asheville, summer is in its most pleasant stage, with highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s. The name of the wine, Reach Out Like Tendrils, implies either beast or root, depending on the reader. The music touches on the former, especially in the early drones of Side B, but settles on the latter.
Thom Nguyen is a musical chameleon. Perhaps best known as MANAS’ “frenetic” percussionist, on The Summer Passed in Monotone he turns his attention to pulses and textures, producing a unified flavor to mirror the wine. One sinks into the music and the glass, the gauzy feeling of the alcohol matched by the ritualistic nature of “Shore”s mid-section, the great outdoors transformed into summer’s temple. When percussion finally emerges at the end of the album, it’s as if Nguyen has merged his worlds, the season reaching full ripeness, the first glass spreading through the bloodstream, warm and enveloping. Dare we hope for a summer such as this?
Sigur Rós ~ ÁTTA
A full decade has passed since Sigur Rós‘ last album, making ÁTTA‘s surprise drop on June 16 ~ only a week after the stunning “Blóðberg” video, a rarity in the internet era: a true event. When we last covered the band, their timbre was morphing. Kveikur included industrial rhythms and sections of atonalism, a pivot from the nearly percussion-free Valtari, released a year before. After years of shedding members and shifting sounds, keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson now returns, joining bassist Georg Hólm and mainstay Jónsi: old friends making new, friendly music.
In one sense, ÁTTA marks a return to an earlier, warmer sound. It’s clearly a Sigur Rós album, tender and mystical, featuring the familiar, just-beyond-comprehension Hopelandic vocals, a bit of English appearing on “Gold.” But it’s also incredibly restrained, despite the presence of the 41-piece London Contemporary Orchestra. For the most part, the strings take the place of the guitars and drums that gave the band its most euphoric crescendos. Some will miss these elements – The Guardian describes the album as “too much amorphous euphoria” – but they are there, as evident in the acoustic guitar of “Andrá” and steady beat of “Klettur.” And of course in concert, should they ever wish, the trio can play more guitar and drums over these pieces. But that might be missing the point. Those who prefer the dreamy, atmospheric side of Sigur Rós may even find this their favorite Sigur Rós album.
UPCOMING RELEASES
(complete list with Bandcamp links here)
The season we’ve waited for is finally here! (Sorry, Australia & New Zealand!). Even when we’re inside, we’re dreaming of the outside. Summer is a time for beaches, barbecues, driving around with the windows open, get-togethers with friends, action movies and of course, lots of music! This page is only the beginning; the summer music slate is already packed, and tours and festivals are on our calendars. New previews are added to this page daily; we hope you will find your next favorite album right here!
Divide and Dissolve ~ Systemic (Invada, 30 June)
Fraser Fifield ~ Secret Path (30 June)
Gregory Paul Mineeff ~ You Alone (Cosmicleaf, 30 June)
Hideyuki Hashimoto ~ Under (Moderna, 30 June)
Mark Vernon ~ Call Back Carousel (Discrepant, 30 June)
Mondoriviera ~ Frenton Cantolay (Artetetra, 30 June)
MonoLogue and Matt Atkins ~ Homework (Flaming Pines, 30 June)
Pat Thomas, Chris Sharkey, Luke Reddin-Williams ~ Know: Delerium Atom Paths (577 Records, 30 June)
Pauline Oliveros, IONE, Christopher Willes, Public Recordings and Others ~ Resonance (Art Metropole, 30 June)
V/A ~ Echolocation: Resonate from Here (Brawl, 30 June)
Zeena Parkins ~ LACE (Chalkin, 30 June)
Machinefabriek with Monica Bugagny ~ Recytle (1 July)
Nujumi ~ The Astrologer (1 July)
Tony Buck ~ Environmental Studies (Room40, July 1)
Wil Bolton ~ Swept (Audiobulb, 1 July)
Johannes de Silentio ~ Ofrena vernal (Oigovisiones, 3 July)
Crypthios ~ Fading Coast (Cryo Chamber, 4 July)
Johanna Knutsson ~ Complex Network (Red Curls, 5 July)
Sans Lumière ~ Mirin Dajo Prophecy (Sans Lumiere, 6 July)
Akira Uchida ~ Kurayami (IIKKI, 7 July)
Andrew Land ~ To Shoulder This (Bigo & Twigetti, 7 July)
Arvo Zylo ~ 333 (No Part of It, 7 July)
Ash Di Va ~ Everything Entwine – I (7 July)
Autodealer ~ Circumstances (Somewherecold, 7 July)
Christopher Chaplin ~ Patriarchs Live (Fabrique, 7 July)
Daniel Carter, Leo Genovese, William Parker, Francisco Mela ~ Shine Here, Vol. 1 (577 Records, 7 July)
The Dark Jazz Project ~ 3 (Irregular Patterns, 7 July)
Ireen Amnes / Chloe Lula ~ Synergy (Tresor, 7 July)
Omar Ahmad ~ Inheritance (AKP Recordings, 7 July)
Penguin Cafe ~ Rain Before Seven… (Erased Tapes, 7 July)
Saloli ~ Canyon (kranky, 7 July)
shedir ~ Before the Last Light Is Blown (n5MD, 7 July)
Shoko Igarashi ~ Project TENORI (Faneka Music, 7 July)
Siavash Amini ~ Eidolon (Room40, 7 July)
Stefano Guzzetti ~ Letters from Nowhere – Piano Book Volume Three (Home Normal, 7 July)
Taylor Joshua Rankin ~ Sun, Will Grow (7 July)
The Titillators ~ That’s the Night (Noodle Factory, 7 July)
Whettman Chelmets ~ Koppen (Strategic Tape Reserve, 7 July)
Yann Novak ~ The Voice of Theseus (Room40, 7 July)
Mi Cosa de Resistance & Ciro Berenguer ~ el final de las lluvias (Whitelabrecs, 8 July)
Peace Flag Ensemble ~ Astral Plains (We Are Busy Bodies, 8 July)
Lucie Vitkova ~ Cave Acoustics (mappa, 11 July)
Glenn Natale ~ Orenda (Bigo & Twigetti, 12 July)
Gustav Kwarts ~ Concrete Lake (BLWBCK, 13 July)
Somni451 ~ The Eighteen Minute Gap (LAAPS, 13 July)
V/A ~ Disruptive Frequencies (Nonclassical, 13 July)
appian ~ fragments vol. 1 (sound as language, 14 July)
AWARE ~ Requiem for a Dying Animal (Glacial Movements, 14 July)
Berlin Strings ~ On a Dark Night (Italic, 14 July)
Christina Giannone ~ Reality Opposition (Room40, 14 July)
Coral Sea ~ If Memory Serves Me (Lo Recordings, 14 July)
CORIN ~ Lux Aeterna (UIQ, 14 July)
Hecq ~ Form (Mesh, 14 July)
Hyunhye Seo ~ Eel (Room40, 14 July)
Jeremy Rose ~ Project Infinity Live at Phoenix Central Park (Earshift Music, 14 July)
Lecu ~ Leck (Lo Recordings, 14 July)
Lyndhurst ~ Platforms (14 July)
Miki Yui ~ Strömen (LINE, 14 July)
Philip Johnston ~ I Cakewalked With a Zombie (Earshift Music, 14 July)
Richard Chartier ~ on a continuous form (LINE, 14 July)
Tiny Leaves ~ Mynd (14 July)
V/A ~ Arise (Cold Spring, 14 July)
Botanica ~ Invisible Gardener (Umé, 16 July)
Daryl Groetsch ~ Frozen Waste (18 July)
Daryl Groetsch ~ Gardens in Glass (18 July)
David Shea ~ Ana Nota Soto (Room40, 18 July)
DJ Mell G ~ Issues (Juicy Gang, 20 July)
Fabiano do Nascimento ~ Das Nuvens (Leaving, 21 July)
Kevin Daniel Cahill ~ Impossible Worlds (False Walls, 21 July)
MAEBE ~ Rebirth, Relive, Repeat. (21 July)
Nilotpal Das & Enesai ~ A Synonym of Dust (Brahmancore, 21 July)
Paul Flaherty, Jim Matus, Larry Derdeyn ~ Wednesday Weld (577 Records, 21 July)
Underwards ~ Delve (Earshift Music, 21 July)
Audrey Carmes ~ Quelque chose s’est dissipé (Métron, 24 July)
Wil Bolton ~ Red to Orange, Blue to Black (Home Normal, 25 July)
Wil Bolton ~ Södermalm In Autumn (Home Normal, 25 July)
Andrew Smiley & Kate Gentile ~ Flagrances (Obliquity, 28 July)
Bear the Mammoth ~ Purple Haus (Art as Catharsis, 28 July)
Chris Green-Armytage ~ Still (Bigo & Twigetti, 28 July)
Dario Calderone ~ Isolario (Moving Furniture, 28 July)
El Contessa ~ Nos Habet Caramel (Bilna’es, 28 July)
Eivind Lønning, Espen Reinertsen, Romke Kleefstra & Jan Kleefstra ~ IT DEEL II (Moving Furniture Records, 28 July)
Hazel Cline ~ Spell Song (Sweet Wreath, 28 July)
a Light Sleeper ~ Equaeverpose (Cuneiform, 28 July)
Rascal Reporters ~ The Strainge Case of Steve (Cuneiform, 28 July)
Ava Rasti ~ Ginestra (Flaming Pines, 30 July)
Nico Less ~ Still (1 August)
Nilotpal Das & Bio Contrast ~ Harmonium I (1 August)
Sana Nagano, Leonor Falcon ~ Peach and Tomato (577 Records, 1 August)
P.E.A.R.L. ~ The Light We Choose (KAOS, 2 August)
Andra Ljos ~ Megalithic Statues of Vishapakar (Not Not Fun, 4 August)
Dustin Wong ~ Perpetual Morphosis (Hausu Mountain, 4 August)
Flaer ~ Preludes (Odda, 4 August)
Pavor Nocturnus ~ Ecatombe (Cyclic Law, 4 August)
Raison D’Etre ~ Prospectus I – Sublime Edition (Cyclic Law, 4 August)
Tangled Thoughts of Leaving ~ Oscillating Forest (Bird’s Robe/Dunk!, 4 August)
V/A ~ МИФ (Not Not Fun, 4 August)
Memory Scale ~ And All Things Begin to Drift (Audiobulb, 5 August)
Requiem ~ POPulist Agendas (Mutineer, 7 August)
Joe Melnicove ~ You Is You (577 Records, 9 August)
Anthony Wilson ~ Collodion (Colorfield, 11 August)
Morten Georg Gismervik ~ Dunes at Night (Huber, 11 August)
Paul Dunmall ~ New Quartet: World Without (577 Records, 15 August)
Kim Moore ~ A Song We Destroy to Spin Again (Blackford Hill, 18 August)
McKenzie Stubbert ~ Waiting Room (Curious Music, 18 August)
Reformat ~ Precursed (Fearbone, 18 August)
Awadagin Pratt ~ STILLPOINT (New Amsterdam, 25 August)
Cameron Graham ~ Becoming a Beach Angel (Phantom Limb, 25 August)
Euglossine ~ Bug Planet Is the Current Timeline (Hausu Mountain, 25 August)
FLOCKS ~ S/T (Zehra, 25 August)
autodealer & The Corrupting Sea ~ Sonic Ablutions (Somewherecold, 1 September)
Matthew Halsall ~ An Ever Changing View (Gondwana, 8 September)
Pauline Hogstrand ~ Áhkká (Warm Winters Ltd., 8 September)
Salò ~ S/T (Kuboraum Editions, 8 September)
Keope ~ Flikka Flokka (Bigamo, 15 September)
zeitkratzer – Reinhold Friedl ~ Scarlatti (Karlrecords, 22 September)