A CLOSER LISTEN weekly #54
A CLOSER LISTEN weekly #54
On Minimalism, Ukrainian Field Notes, Mini-Reviews, and an interview with mayforest
Dear Listeners, it’s Joseph of ACL here again for another fortnightly missive. It’s been a busy start to the year, mostly with job applications and other projects needing attention, so I’m a bit behind on non-weekly newsletter content. I do have another few Out of the Box installments lined up, my much delayed personal reflections on 2023, and an In Conversation for our paid subscribers, featuring an extended transcript from my interview with Aho Ssan last fall for Montreal’s Akousma festival. But I’m not quite out of the woods with these deadlines yets, so hopefully more soon.
That said, we’ve not exactly been quiet over at ACL. We’re nearly done with our ACL 2024 Spring Music Previews, which I’ll send out in their own special newsletter in a few days. Gianmarco Del Re returns for the 30th installment of his series Ukrainian Field Notes, two years since Russia’s invasion and the ten years since the Maidan Revolution, as well as the 16th episode of the UFN podcast (via ResonanceFM). We also have the latest episode of the Sound Propositions podcast, featuring musicologists Kerry O’Brien and Will Robin discussing their new historical source reader, On Minimalism. And in addition to our usual selection of reviews and our ongoing archive of Upcoming Releases, I’ve also got a new feature for you, a quickly highlighting recently released records we may or may not eventually give a full review. I come across simply too much music that deserves a boost, so this is one easy way to share more music.
One quick music industry thought this week; file under, Streaming Era Curiosities. NYC hip hop duo Armand Hammer have released a 9-minute video for “Doves,” a new bonus track to last year’s acclaimed We Buy Diabetic Test Strips. Produced by billy woods’ frequent collaborator Kenny Segal, and featuring a rare contribution from singer and guitarist Benjamin Booker, “Doves” makes for an interesting coda, much closer to the dystopian and abstract sounds first conjured by the early glimpses of WBDTS. I’ve been profuse in my praise of woods and ELUCID, and the whole Backwoodz crew, but if I have one consistent critique its the relative absences of women, especially MCs. So I was saddened to learn that both of the Junglepussy verses on WBDTS have been removed from this new version on streaming. Some oblique comments from JP around the release of the new version hinted that she had herself removed after feeling disrespected. I hope this has to do with the label and not the artists themselves, but it’s sad to see the legacy of a record like this sullied. “Doves” was a nice surprise, especially on the heels to the excellent tour only, vinyl only BLK LBL, which includes beats by Child Actor, Andrew Broden, and The Lasso that are among my favorite AH tracks of all time. But WBDST is already perfectly sequenced, and doesn’t benefit from losing JP’s verses nor from tacking on a 9-minute coda that should just be its own thing. Of course, I have physical (and digital) copies of the original WBDTS with JP’s verses, but isn’t it an oddity of the streaming-era that records can be changed after they’ve already been released? Some 1984 vibes.
OLD & NEW DREAMS – with Kerry O’Brien and Will Robin
This episode of Sound Propositions features scholars Kerry O’Brien and Will Robin, editors of the recent anthology On Minimalism: Documenting a Musical Movement. Described as a historical source reader, the book compiles over 100 primary sources retelling the story of minimalist music from the 1950s to the present. Sources include liner notes, interviews, journalism, manifestos, and other material organized chronologically and thematically, with introductory essays from the editors. Not a simple revisionist history seeking to expand the canon, let alone an attempt to dethrone the “Big Four” composers, On Minimalism nonetheless radically reconsiders the scope of minimalist music. In some ways the book is a restorative history, following the offshoots of musical practices that had once been described as “minimalist,” beginning with non-western music and modal jazz in the 1950s up to drone rock and techno of the present. We discuss the influence of Ravi Shankar, why the Coltranes were minimalists, the Julius Eastman revival, and much more.
OLD & NEW DREAMS is the second part of our Minimalism double-feature, following episode 32 with Patrick Nickleson discussing his book, The Names of Minimalism: Authorship, Art, Music, and Historiography in Dispute. Both books radically reconsider the origins and boundaries of musical minimalism, in distinct and complementary ways, something I’ve tried to reinforce with the musical selections for these two episodes. Patrick’s book distinguishes between what he terms “(early) minimalism” and the later canonization of Minimalism as we have known it since the early 1980s. Rather than expanding the canon, he focuses on disputes between key figures, highlighting traits shared amongst the (early) minimalists: the importance of collective authorship; often collaborating in bands or groups; and the priority of recording to tape over written scores. Unlike Patrick’s book, which is an academic monograph that develops an argument throughout, the anthology On Minimalism is able to expand the canon by relating a myriad of overlapping musical practices.
The anthology, published by the University of California Press, restores a wider understanding of minimalism partly by looking to earlier writing on a variety of musics that were at the time referred to as “minimalist.” Prior to the canonization of what was once called the New York Hypnotic school as “Minimalists, ” (early) minimalism had many competing terms, some of which included genres or styles excluded by others. Often inspired by encounters with Indian ragas and modal jazz, various strains of post-war music experimented with repetition and/or drones, alternatively described as Trance, Dream Music, and other terms that didn’t quite catch on. On Minimalism looks to music described under these competing descriptions, but also extends beyond the 1980s to consider how the standard story of Minimalism and the “Big Four” composers emerged, and, importantly, the lesser appreciated offshoots of these conflicting histories, what Kerry describes in the episode as “widening the net.”
Ukrainian Field Notes XXX
We have now reached the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion. With over 270 interviews to date, a book compiling all interviews from the first year, an 80+ track compilation with proceeds going to Musicians Defend Ukraine, and 16 podcasts for the London based community radio station Resonance FM we have attempted to give a sense of events on the ground throughout Ukraine.
It’s been a privilege and an honor to speak to so many talented artists from a wide range of different genres, from experimental to electronic music and from ambient to techno. Unfortunately, for lack of resources, from next month we will be scaling down the number of interviews we do to concentrate mostly on our podcast.
For the current episode we talk to Wiseword.Nidaros from Mikolaiv about grief and C.S. Lewis, and we hear from a crop of young deejays and electronic artists from Kyiv, including CHWBK and Bakunn. Ochii introduces us to the feminine side of the scene, Volodis reflects on the legacy of Ukrainian music, while Maria Sonevytsky puts the Eurovision Song Contest into context for us, and Ilona Babkina investigates the role of music in shaping national identity.
On a more sombre note, Буду Думати tells us about the mental toll of working for a humanitarian mission and Saturated Color goes through an identity crisis.
As usual, there’s lots to ponder here but, if Blooms Corda muses about the weight of an uncertain future, bOOsh reminds us that, “Life is meant to be danced,” while LIGHT WAY tells us that “To make music? It’s easy!”
And to begin with, here’s our monthly UFN podcast with Polje
Mini-Reviews
Just released highlights
Giuseppe Ielasi ~ effacing colours, barely dancing
The latest from the Italian maestro in his return to exploration of solo guitar, closer to the austerity of The Prospect (2022) than last year’s more dubbed out Down on Darkened Meetings.
Marco Paltrinieri ~ Ripari Minimi
Ten genre-transcending compositions that walk the line between experimentation and the songform, Paltrinieri’s second record for Canti Magnetici is somewhat of a departure from the field-recording centric The Weaver (2020), but just as captivating in its subtle sonic explorations.
Goncalo Almeida & Rutger Zuydervelt ~ Eventual
The title must be self-referential, as this long-awaited LP follows a pair of EPs from 2015 and 2016. Rutger Zuydervelt aka Machinefabriek is a prolific collaborator, and his previous work with the Portuguese double bassist rank among my favorites.
Mary Halvorson ~ Cloudward
The latest from guitar wiz Mary Halvorson may also be her finest work yet. The sextet is joined by Laurie Anderson on violin for one track.
Ol' Burger Beats ~ 74: Out of Time
I’m probably not alone in overlooking artists with project names that don’t land for me. I know that’s not fair, and in this case Ol’ Burger Beats is a play on the name of Oslo-based producer Ole-Birger. I imagined these rich instrumentals were performed by a live band (funded by that generous oil money) rather than a crate digger, but however they were made, heads are going to want to at least check out these verses from Lil B, Vic Spencer, Pink Siifu, billy woods, Tha God Fahim, YUNGMORPHEUS, and many more.
R.A.P. Ferreira & Fumitake Tamura ~ the First Fist to Make Contact When We Dap
We have barely had a chance to process G’s Us’ WHAT THEM DOGS DON'T KNOW THEY KNOW, Ferreira’s collab with fellow MC AJ Suede and producer Steel Tipped Dove that got snuck in just before the close of the year. I first got hipped to Fumitake Tamura aka Bun through his collabs with Dakim, one of my all time favorite producers, and hearing his beats with the MC formerly named Milo didn’t disappoint.
Ian Wellman ~ The Night The Stars Fell
What does the aftermath of devastating forest fires sound like? Wellman augments field recordings made in the forests and deserts of Southern California with shortwave radio static and cassette tape loops to begin to answer this question.
Riccardo Sinigaglia / Ruggero Tajè / Silvio Linardi / Matteo Uggeri ~ Ottomani
An interesting record released on ADN finds four veterans of Italian music form an unconventional quartet; each member produced a solo backing track which each of the others added to before the original artist produced a final mix. Four tracks in all, varied and yet coherent, with perhaps a surprising number of instruments.
Matteo Uggeri ~ Growth
A profilific solo artist and member of post-rock quartet Sparkle in Grey, Uggeri returns with Growth, an extension of the themes of My Happiest Consumption (2023), also inspired by growing as a person and a parent. Here Uggerri samples short emotive gestures taken from solo piano recordings and spins them out into a remarkably novel and affecting record.
mayforest ~ ablatio (Plus Interview!)
Some may recognize the name mayforest from our review of nocny a couple years back or his self-titled release a few years before that. Christian Maiwald’s music is eminently peaceful, the reflection of what we thought was a relatively placid, carefree life. But then we encountered ablatio, which challenges our assumptions not only of the artist, but of life itself.
This is the first release we’ve ever encountered that is offered with a glass eye: and not just any glass eye, but one of five that the artist wore for a year. ablatio gives him the opportunity to tell his story and to share it, quite literally, with others. Suffering from retinal detachment, the artist had the afflicted eye removed as a teenager. All sight disappeared, and the upkeep became overwhelming. According to Maiwald, “the doctors had rarely seen a patient being so relieved after having his eye removed.” After this, he embarked on a career as an ambient artist and reports that he “couldn’t be happier.”
Looking at this eye (and in an unsettling manner, imagining it looking back), one cannot help but imagine how one might feel in the same situation. First, the fear of losing one’s sight, then the loss of binary vision, carrying around an expired organ, the choice of surgery and then the aftermath. Would one be sad, angry, bitter? Maiwald walked a different path, and is still walking it today.
Listening to the single-track ablatio, one can feel the dueling choices in the contrast between the piano and the drone. The track begins as sprightly as a spring day, nary a cloud in sight, cascades of keys announcing a glorious sky. But ever-so-subtly the clouds sneak in, borne on static charges and deep bass rumblings, until a sudden rush of sound and the dissipation of every sense. In the track, the effect is silence; in the eye, the effect is blindness. From here, the track begins to rebuild, both elements present, a tentative peace until the second rush at the conclusion. The track seems to be saying, “take no blessing for granted,” while simultaneously celebrating what remains. A connection might be made to Beethoven, whose hearing loss didn’t stop him from composing.
We caught up with Christian to ask a few questions about the release and his experience.
INTERVIEW
Congratulations on the new release! It’s a beautiful concept, with lots of room for thought. It seems as if in the process of ablation, something was also gained ~ a sense of peace, perhaps. Can you comment on this?
Thank you! I was hoping that it came across that even though something may worsen or end, it’s not necessarily the end. A sense of peace or relief may follow, even though what has been taken away was something good and important. And it’s not necessarily linear, both elements can be intertwined without converging into one, a relief without relief.
Ambient music tends to be quieter and less rushed than other types of music. With fewer elements, one is able to concentrate on what remains. Is this why you are drawn to it as a genre? Do you feel that the music you make reflects your personality?
It definitely comes down to that. There tends to be less – action, harmonic shifts, hooks, drops – but what´s there is more profound. And ambient leaves it open to the listener to have it running in the background or to listen closely. In that respect I don’t really see a difference between ambient and many other kinds of music, whether it’s dance music or some grindcore albums I like. Subtle shifts can be as exciting and moving as a great refrain. I´m not a big gesture person. So ambient definitely reflects my personality. I love the idea of the flaneur, the person who strolls around and enjoys what he´s seeing. In a way I apply that to how I make music, when I fiddle around with different elements, layers, harmonies and allow them to take off into their own directions. At that point my creative part is less composing a piece from A to Z but more sitting, listening and deciding what works. Ambient is perfect for that.
Does the rush of drone and subsequent silence at 3:45 signify a transition, or a new beginning? What about the shorter repetition of this effect at the end?
On an autobiographical level It´s a dramatization of what happened in my teen years. I suffered from a condition that led to retinal detachment in the eye. And surgery only had a temporary effect: I remember waiting for a train, just sitting there on a bench, when suddenly that detachment, this ablatio, happened again. A feeling a bit like a plaster ripped from the skin, just inside the eye, which suddenly went blind. I was shocked of course, also because I knew what would follow – more surgery, weeks in the hospital, etc. So it was a transition so to speak, a new beginning too.
The silence refers to the absence of the sense of course. It´s an obvious representation but closest to the experience. Because I was not left with „seeing nothing“, the sense itself was gone. Which is a startling experience.
The second part of the piece is melodically different but informed by what came before. It´s sonically deteriorating and when the second drone sound hits it is left open whether it´s another interference or a relief or both.
What led to the decision to offer a glass eye bundle? How does it feel to send your former glass eyes around the world?
While working on the music it made me think of the whole eye story. And that it could be composed in a way which reflects my experience. And I had these eyes lying around which made me think – why not? You see, when I finally got a glass eye it was an immense relief. I was surprised myself how happy it made me. And once I got a new one – you have to replace them every year – I started collecting because I knew that at some point I´d do something with them. They are really pretty. And so simply constructed, it really is just glass. They are handmade, at least in Germany, the method remained basically unchanged in the last 190 years. Well, I could go on talking about them and how cool they are.
So even though there was a moment of hesitation to send out something so personal I´m happy to invite people to reflect on what the music and the eye offer. It can be a memento mori, a signifier of the fragility of experience, but it’s also something nice, helpful, pretty. Or all in one: Yes it’s sad but I’m happy to move on.
ACL thanks mayforest for the time and the music! (Richard Allen)
Reviews are at the heart of ACL. Here are selections from a few of my favorite reviews we posted on the blog in the last few weeks.
Dave Harrington, Max Jaffe, Patrick Shiroishi ~ Speak, Moment
On Speak, Moment, the first album on which Dave Harrington, Max Jaffe, and Patrick Shiroishi appear as a trio, the musicians sound as though they’ve been playing together for years. Perhaps it’s not surprising, each of the players comes by their confidence as improvisers after years of performing and collaborating, but it’s a testament to their prowess that the recordings on this album were all made over the course of the first day of the group’s collaboration. Describing something as listenable isn’t always taken as a compliment but I mean it as one here. Speak, Moment is eminently, fascinatingly listenable, as much acid jazz as psychedelic rock, as much a demonstration of prowess as it is the overhearing of a conversation. Speak, Moment is an apt title, a seeming reference to Vladimir Nabokov’s autobiography Speak, Memory, it’s a play with words that acknowledges the act of giving over oneself and one’s playing to another power, in this case, the power of collective listening and response.
Fields Ohio ~ Some Melodies Are Memories You Never Really Leave Behind Vol. 1
We’re long overdue to feature Fields Ohio, and the release of Some Melodies Are Memories You Never Really Leave Behind, which includes unpublished tracks from their eleven-year career, provides us a prime opportunity. The long-distance, New York to Ohio collaboration between Christine Annarino and Eddie Palmer has been remarkably consistent over the years, their music incredibly hard to pigeonhole. Various permutations of guitar, banjo, ukulele, synth, bass and LoFi beats have led to a career that is both time-referencing and timeless; consider as a starting point the duo’s very first track, “Strange Things Will Happen on Interstate 70,” from (fields of ohio). A spy groove is laid atop live drums, with brass samples and the sense of watching a Western at a drive-in theatre. The track simultaneously references Morricone and Portishead; and this was just the beginning. This early effort was decidedly lofi, a mix tape of sorts beamed from an amalgamation of past lives. The banjo and beats of “Lake Erie Shipwrecks” sound as good today as they did then, dusty as a thrift shop find. Dub, loop and sample proliferate, along with hints of hauntology (“Tumble Through the Hills Without Books”), a sign of what was to come. The duo would eventually release four albums in 2013 before slowing down to a reasonable pace.
Jon Ekstrand ~ Sons (Vogter) Original Motion Picture Score
This past weekend, Gustav Möller’s Sons (Vogter) debuted at the Berlinale ’24 Competition, and is already received critical acclaim. Möller’s prior film, “The Guilty,” was adapted into an English-language film starring Jake Gyllenhaal; composer Jon Ekstrand may be best known for the TV series “Top Dog” and the films “Morbius” and “Life.” The Danish film Sons tests the Swedish composer’s mettle, and he rises to the challenge. The score is set for release on OONA, who also released Rebekkah Karijord’s Songs of Earth, one of our top film scores of 2023. The film is a harrowing tale of a prison guard who requests to be transferred to a high security wing after she learns that a young man from her past has been sent there. The mystery: who is this man to her, and what does she want? The score is filled with unease, borne by electronics and strings, a rising tension as the tale unfolds. To Möller and Ekstrand’s credit, the early pieces are built on beds of drones, like unanswered questions lurking in moving shadows. In “Mikkel,” the sounds of rods on metal connote imprisonment as well as abuse. “Ward Transfer” is solemn and ceremonial, the negative image of a coronation. “Loss” offers only the barest hint of a choir, suggesting a memorial, foreshadowing through flashback.
Marta Forsberg ~ Sjunger För Varandra
Working with the acoustic characteristics of a tunnel in her hometown of Härnösand, Sweden, musician, composer, and installation artist Marta Forsberg, with the help of her brother Tomasz, and musician, composer, and maker of instruments Bex Burch, has created her latest album for Warm Winters, Ltd., Sjunger För Varandra. Composed of six short tracks that run together seamlessly, SFV creates an overall effect that is immersive, mysteriously moody, even explosive. Yet with Forsberg’s sensitivity to dynamics and pacing, everything stays elevated and engaging and never feels oppressive. Listening to it, you get the feeling that the possibilities contained within its all-too-brief frame are actually endless.
Olivia Belli ~ Intermundia
Olivia Belli‘s albums are always a highlight of the contemporary piano landscape, and Intermundia is no exception. A deep thinker, a sophisticated composer, and an exquisite pianist, Belli can effortlessly switch between electrifying virtuoso playing and tender lyricism. Her albums are always profoundly coherent, whether it be the childhood memories of Where Night Never Comes, the flow of a river from source to sea of River Path, or the way our behaviour threatens Mother Earth in MATER. One of the joys of discovering new piano music when you are a pianist is that you can not only enjoy listening to it but also playing it. Olivia Belli has always been generous in this regard and her sheet music books are often beautiful (I have a few on my shelf) but in this case she has really outdone herself, creating a limited edition 124-page book of sheet music, photos, and mini-essays that elaborate on the theme. It is stunning.
UPCOMING RELEASES
(complete list with Bandcamp links here)
We have finally stumbled across the precipice of spring. As the birds return from their winter homes, they bear on their backs a brand new crop of music. (Where did you think new music came from?) What begins as a series of shoots will eventually become a garden symphony. We’re very excited about the new arrivals, soon to be highlighted in our Spring Music Preview. New previews are added to this page daily; we hope that you will find your next favorite album right here!
Bauer + Katharina Schmidt ~ Open Water (Moon Villain, 7 March)
Aiden Baker ~ Pithovirii (Glacial Movement, 8 March)
Billy Bultheel ~ Two Cycles (PAN, 8 March)
Chatte Royale ~ Mick Torres Plays Too F**Iing Loud (Kapitaen Platte, 8 March)
Dabrye ~ Super-Cassette (Ghostly International, 8 March)
Doc Sleep ~ Cloud Sight Fade (Dark Entries, 8 March)
emho ~ Etudes de boucles (sonic-dialogue, 8 March)
Eva Maria-Houben + John Hudak ~ Paloma Wind (LINE, 8 March)
Hanno Leichtmann / Valerio Tricoli ~ Cinnte le Dia (NI VU NI CONNU, 8 March)
HJirok ~ S/T (Altin Village & Mine, 8 March)
Marta Forsberg ~ Sjunger För Varandra (Warm Winters Ltd., 8 March)
Mong Tong ~ Epigraphy (No-Gold, 8 March)
Naum Gabo ~ F. Lux (8 March)
Nexcyia ~ Endless Path of Memory (Pensaments Sonics, 8 March)
Shabason / Gunning ~ Ample Habitat (Seance Centre, 8 March)
TVSI ~ Mediterraneo (Nervous Horizon, 8 March)
UFO95 ~ Backward Improvement (Tresor, 8 March)
Federico Ughi et al ~ Infinite Cosmos Calling You, You, You (577 Records, 9 March)
AnD ~ When Stars Collide (Instruments of Discipline, 11 March)
Stumpf ~ Sand (Edelfaul, 12 March)
Grimório de Abril ~ Castelo d’Água (Municipal K7, 14 March)
Banku ~ Split (Everybody In, 15 March)
Celer ~ Engaged Touches (Expanded and Remastered) (15 March)
Elayn ~ Enhiar (Manjam, 15 March)
Janek van Laak ~ Circle of Madness (Sonar Kolletkif, 15 March)
Kane Pour ~ The Last Wave (sound as language, 15 March)
Leonidas & Hobbes ~ Pockets of Light (Hobbes Music, 15 March)
Lyli J ~ Majjie (See Blue Audio, 15 March)
Mattia Onori ~ Tra Vento E Oscurità (Southern Lights, 15 March)
Michael Vincent Waller ~ Moments Remixes (Play Loud, 15 March)
NAH ~ Totally Recalled (15 March)
Rafi Garabedian ~ The Crazy Dog (15 March)
Scanner ~ The Phenol Tapes (15 March)
The Shadow Ring ~ The Shadow Ring (1999-2002) (Blank Forms, 15 March)
Viv Corringham ~ Soundwalkscapes (Flaming Pines, 15 March)
Vladamir Dubyshkin ~ Ivanovo night luxe (trip recordings, 15 March)
a. brehme ~ peaou001 (peaou, 16 March)
Adrian Lane ~ Vignettes (Whitelabrecs, 16 March)
Andrew Heath & Mi Cosa de Resistance ~ Café Tristesse (Audiobulb, 16 March)
Low Altitude ~ Boat (Whitelabrecs, 16 March)
Liberski/Yoshida ~ Troubled Water (Totalism, 21 March)
Tewksbury ~ Floes: Volumes 1-4 (21 March)
Ben Chatwin ~ Verdigris (Disinter, 22 March)
Christopher Hoffman ~ Vision is the Identity (Out of Your Head, 22 March)
Colin Johnco ~ Crabe Géant (Johnkôôl, 22 March)
Derek Monypeny ~ The Oppositional Imagination (Debacle, 22 March)
Dylan Henner ~ The Shepherds OST (Phantom Limb, 22 March)
Filax Staël ~ Traces (REV.lab, 22 March)
Ian Carey & Wood Metal Plastic ~ Strange Arts (Slow & Steady, 22 March)
Jlin ~ Akoma (Planet Mu, 22 March)
julien bayle ~ Attractors (Elli, 22 March)
julien bayle ~ void propagate (Elli, 22 March)
LFZ ~ Raveled Veiled Known (22 March)
Magic Tuber Stringband ~ Needlefall (Thrill Jockey, 22 March)
Menchaca/Noga ~ Activity of Sound (22 March)
MIZU ~ Forest Scenes (NNA Tapes, 22 March)
Ogive ~ Opalecentia (Room40, 22 March)
Ohr Hiemis, Augustin Braud ~ Opal Spine (Wic Records, 22 March)
Perc ~ The Cut Off (Perc Trax, 22 March)
Prefuse 73 ~ New Strategies for Modern Crime Vol. 1 (Lex, 22 March)
Pyramid ~ Beyond Borders of Time (Subsound, 22 March)
Ryan Teague ~ Pattern Recognition (Bigo & Twigetti, 22 March)
SAICOBAB ~ NRTYA (Thrill Jockey, 22 March)
Scott Marshall ~ The Solitude Suite (22 March)
Stefan Goldmann ~ Expanse (Macro, 22 March)
Aron Porteleki ~ Smearing (blindblindblind, 23 March)
Thanos Fotiadis ~ The Hope Realm (Esc.rec., 23 March)
Ben Lucas Boysen ~ Falling Into Place (Original Score) (Erased Tapes, 28 March)
Danny Clay ~ No More Darkness, No More Night (LAAPS, 28 March)
T’iju T’iju ~ The Dragon Is Still Alive (MOLK/esc.rec., 28 March)
Aptøsrs ~ Elders (SkyBaby, 29 March)
Arushai Jain ~ Delight (Leaving, 29 March)
Ayumi Ishito ~ Roboquarians, Vol. 1 (577 Records, 29 March)
Carme López ~ Quintela (Warm Winters Ltd., 29 March)
Chelidon Frame ~ Flatline Voyages (Difficult Art & Music, 29 March)
CLARAGULAR ~ Figura (Lapsus, 29 March)
De Beren Gieren ~ What Eludes Us (Sdban, 29 March)
Farah Kaddour ~ Badā (Asadan Alay, 29 March)
Franck Vigroux ~ Grand Bal (Cyclic Law, 29 March)
Gabriel Vicéns ~ Mural (29 March)
Hanno Leichtmann ~ Outerlands (Discrepant, 29 March)
Jim White ~ All Hits: Memories (Drag City, 29 March)
Jinjé ~ Escape from Luna (Mesh, 29 March)
Llyn Y Cwin ~ Megaliths (Cold Spring, 29 March)
o k h o ~ GROUP 1 (29 March)
peachlyfe ~ Permission to Roam (UMAY, 29 March)
PLESS ~ Midnight Buffet (Everest, 29 March)
Stuart Argabright & AfterAfter ~ LA Drones (Room40, 29 March)
Willy Rodriguez ~ Seeing Sounds (29 March)
Jacob Parke ~ Space Cadet 64 – World Record Nintendogs + Cats Speedrun July 17 (1 April)
Lucien Johnson ~ Ancient Relics (1 April)
Daryl Groetsch ~ Above the Shore (2 April)
Babak Ahteshamipour ~ Violent Violins Exposed (Jollies, 3 April)
Chris P. Thompson ~ Stay the Same (4 April)
Pure Code ~ A Walk Through the Ambient Garden (4 April)
Saint Abdullah & Emac ~ Light meteors crashing around you will not confuse you (Drowned by Locals, 4 April)
A Lily ~ Saru I-Qamar (Phantom Limb, 5 April)
Amalie Dahl’s Dafnie ~ Står Op Med Solen (Aguirre, 5 April)
Brent Birckhead ~ Cacao (5 April)
Coral Morphologic and Nick León ~ Projections of a Coral City (Balmat, 5 April)
James Rushford ~ Turzets (Blank Forms, 5 April)
Jonny Halifax Indignation ~ Açid Blüüs Räägs Vol.2 (God Unknown, 5 April)
Josh Johnson ~ Unusual Object (Northern Spy, 5 April)
Kabir Dalawari ~ Last Call (Shifting Paradigm, 5 April)
Matthew Shipp Trio ~ New Concepts in Piano Trio Jazz (ESP-Disc’, 5 April)
missing scenes ~ who is this for? (Varia, 5 April)
NITRITONO ~ Cecità (My Kingdom Music, 5 April)
Om Unit ~ Fragments (5 April)
Red Sun ~ From Sunset to Dawn (Subsound, 5 April)
sleepmakeswaves ~ It’s Here, But I Have No Name for It (5 April)
Ulrich Krieger ~ Aphotic III: Bathyal (Room40, 5 April)
Valley Lines ~ 13_16 (Machine, 5 April)
[Ahmed] ~ Wood Blues (fönstret, 8 April)
Bill Vine ~ Turbulent Flow (Ryoanji, 8 April)
Polygone ~ Tactics Faculty (part 1) (Difficult Art & Music, 8 April)
SPECIO ~ S/T (Prohibited, 11 April)
Alex Goldfarb ~ Fire Lapping at the Creek (Infrequent Seams, 12 April)
BLEID ~ Aerosol (eterna, 12 April)
Caroline Davis & Wendy Eisenburg ~ Accept When (Astral Spirits, 12 April)
Celestial Trails ~ Lunar Beachcomber (Fluttery, 12 April)
Ciro Vitiello ~ The Island of Bouncy Memories (Haunter, 12 April)
DJ Marcelle/Another Nice Mess ~ A Different Fridge for Cheese (play loud!, 12 April)
Ghost Trees ~ Intercept Method (12 April)
Griffure ~ Paratonnerre (Umlaut, 12 April)
Odist ~ Cascading Memories (Somewherecold, 12 April)
Pinkcourtesyphone ~ Arise in Sinking Feeling (Room40, 12 April)
Rejoicer ~ This Is Reasonable (Circus Company, 12 April)
9T Antiope ~ Horror Vacui (American Dreams, 12 April)
Teiku ~ S/T (577 Records, 12 April)
Stefan Goldmann ~ Alluvium (Macro, 15 April)
Silvia Bolognesi / Dudú Kouate / Griffin Rodriguez ~ Timing Birds (Astral Spirits, 16 April)
Atrás del Cosmos ~ Cold Drinks, Hot Dreams (Blank Forms, 19 April)
Calum Builder ~ Renewal Manifestation (Dacapo, 19 April)
Innode ~ grain (Editions Mego, 19 April)
Kelpe ~ LP10 (Kit Records, 19 April)
Khôra ~ Gestures of Perception (Marionette, 19 April)
Hill Collective ~ Tonal Prophecy (20 April)
Leo Genovese, John Lockwood, Nat Mugavero ~ The Art of Not Playing (577 Records, 21 April)
Memeshift ~ Echoes (Chinabot, 19 April)
Noémi Büchi ~ Does It Still Matter (~OUS, 24 April)
Lorem ~ Time Coils (Krisis Publishing, 26 April)
Meat Beat Manifesto & Merzbow ~ Extinct (Cold Spring, 26 April)
Montgomery & Turner ~ Sound Is (Our) Sustenance (Astral Editions, 26 April)
Aimee Aileen Wood ~ The Heartening (Colorfield, 3 May)
Darius ~ Murmuration (Humus, 3 May)
Dun-Dun Band ~ Pita Parka, Pt. I: Xam Egdub (Ansible Editions, 3 May)
Kee Avil ~ Spine (Constellation, 3 May)
Phase4our ~ Language Barrier (Machine, 3 May)
Shakali ~ Rihmastossa (Not Not Fun, 3 May)
Steph Richards ~ Power Vibe (Northern Spy, 3 May)
SticklerPhonics ~ Technicolor Ghost Parade (Jealous Butcher, 3 May)
Francisco Mela featuring Leo Genovese & William Parker ~ Music Frees Our Souls, Vol. 3 (577 Records, 10 May)
Jim White & Marisa Anderson ~ Swallowtail (Thrill Jockey, 10 May)
Andy Clausen ~ Few III Words: Solo Trombone at the TANK, Vol. 1 (17 May)
Ezéchiel Pailhès ~ Ventas Rumba (Circus Company, 17 May)
M Wagner ~ We Could Stay (Extremely Pure, 17 May)
Various Artists ~ Kuboraum Sound Residency (Kuboraum, 17 May)
YRLNG ~ Rbia Harsha Cinta (Antibody, 17 May)