A CLOSER LISTEN weekly #71
UFN, Reviews and more Reviews
Dear Listeners, Joseph again. As usual, I’m up against a bunch of deadlines, so apologies for the lateness of this newsletter. Since I’m strapped for time, I’ve kept this week’s Mini-Reviews short and sweet, but still all very worthy of your time. I’d also like to point out that as sometimes happens, so many of our latest reviews feature artists we’ve been following for years (if not decades), which is always nice. We have a lot more to share as well, but first a few recommendations based on my recent consumption.
I’ve been reading Michael Gallope’s new book, The Musician as Philosopher, released earlier this year, and hopefully I’ll find a chance to say more about that book later on, but wanted to mention it here in the meantime. I also recently started Hari Kunzru’s Blue Ruin, a novel about class and the art world set during the early days of the COVID pandemic. I’ve enjoyed White Tears, his book about two young white musicians whose obsession with the authenticity of Delta Blues sets in motion something of a ghost story, but I missed his Red Pill, so I didn’t realize he was doing some kind of “white, red, and blue” trilogy. Again, perhaps I’ll have more to say once I’ve finished the book, but so far Blue Ruin seems like the kind of book that might appeal to our readers. If you haven’t heard Kunzru’s podcast Into the Zone, I’d recommend that as well.
I’ve spent a lot of time in the last couple weeks processing ELUCID’s great new album, REVELATOR, which includes beats from producers including Child Actor, Andrew Broder, August Fanon, DJ Haram, and ELUCID himself. But it also finds the Armand Hammer rapper-producer flipping tracks from Saint Abdullah, and most notably several tracks working with drummer Jon Nellen and Irreversible Entanglement’s bassist Luke Stewart for some of the album’s highlights, also giving the sometimes abrasive project greater cohesion. I need more time before I have anything much of interest to say about the album’s themes, but issue 19 of the Caltrops zine is dedicated to REVELATOR, so get yourself a physical copy while they last or just check out their blog.
There’s also been no shortage of compilations recently, and as I mentioned last Bandcamp Friday I’ve been enjoying ENOUGH!, a compilation in support of Palestine, and at least the tracks from Transa that are available at this time. New music from Sade, Andre 3000, L’Rain, and many more. And speaking of compilations, we’ve got another one in support of Ukraine, included in our reviews in this newsletter. We’ve also got the latest installment of Gianmarco Del Re’s Ukrainian Field Notes.
Ukrainian Field Notes XXXVII
This month, we get an a 360 degree look at music in wartime Ukraine thanks to an in-depth interview with Vlad Yaremchuck, director of the Atlas festival. We also get to hear from Mertvi Dereva about addressing the war head on in his latest release , while Bohdan Stupak looks at war datapoints and to round things off we take a look at sound through the prism of the artworld with Kateryna Semenyuk.
Also, new releases aplenty by the likes of Heinali, Hidden Element, Heskbo, Radiant Futur, Bayun the Cat, Silat Beksi, Smezkh, Ujif_notfound, Vlad Suppish, ОЧІ, Kindracoma, Midnight Revenant, Aircraft, Nina Eba, and 58918012.
In our viewing room we catch new videos from Blooms Corda and Latexfauna, plus Vlad Fisun spins Ukrainian vinyl.
But to begin, for our monthly podcast we picked up from the conversation we had last month with Oleksandr Rybalko about the North Azovian Greek community and developed many of the same themes in the company of Olga Tsuprykova from the North Azovian Greek NGO. This is followed by our monthly playlist.
Tracklist
Folk Group Fos – “Bugdanku”
Sartanskie Samotsvety ensemble – “Of, mana, vay!”
Nadiia Kalus – Ditty (udrama) “Ela miia kamiia”
Suren Voskanian, Yaryna Dron, Andrii Levchenko – “Bohdan-ava”
Bir Taifa group – “Dushenkalar”
Bir Taifa group – “Chikhmakh Khirimda”
Vasyl Tanacha – “track 9 (button accordion)”
Suren Voskanian, Yaryna Dron, Andrii Levchenko – “Vari-ava”
Mini-Reviews
Short highlights
Antonina Nowacka ~ Sylphine Soporifera
The Polish singer and composer released her third solo LP earlier this summer, and will soon feature in an upcoming episode of our podcast, but I’ve been meaning to mention Sylphine Soporifera here. Recorded and mixed by Nowacka with the help of Adam Asnan, her voice, organ, zither, harp and other instruments blur into an exquisite achievement of airy ambient bliss.
KMRU, Aho Ssan, Jessica Ekomane, Lamin Fofana, Nyokabi Kariũki, Bhavisha Panchia ~ Temporary Stored II
KMRU extends his album Temporary Stored, which transformed materials from the sonic archive of the Royal Museum of Central Africa in Belgium, by inviting his contemporaries to respond to the historical archive.
Koray Kantarcıoğlu ~ Havuz III-IV
More exquisite transformations of samples from Turkish records from Istanbul’s loop master extraordinaire.
Robert Curgenven ~ AGENESIS
Wide-frequency, muscular drones and spatialized feedback, drawing on no-input mixing, pipe organs, and field-recordings, developed over the last decade of live performances.
simon wetham ~ Channelling Piazzolla
This short soundtrack from a video work reimagines Argentine tango through an exploration of the sounds of small motors and various obsolete technologies.
V/A ~ Padre, fammi partire ! (a tribute to Franco Battiato)
A deep bench of contemporary Italian musicians pay homage to one of Italian music’s most innovative artists.
V/A ~ No To War (Post-Orientalism Music Anthology Vol. 2)
A harsh and clear statement of opposition from the Post-Orientalism label.
V/A ~ Tempat Angker: Horror Movie OSTs and Sound FX from Indonesia (1971-2015)
Just in time for Halloween, the Discrepant label presents this mixtape compiled by music researcher and artist Luigi Monteanni (Neurotica Exotica), cutting together samples from the hundreds of Indonesian horror films.
Wild Card ~ Foray 1: Outside Music
One long electroacoustic track from this Portland trio consisting of Paul Dickow (Strategy), Marcus Fischer, and William Selman.
RECENT REVIEWS
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.
Daniela Huerta ~ Soplo
Soplo may be Daniela Huerta‘s first album proper, but over the past few years she has produced a steady string of distinctive releases: singles and EPs, music for installations and dancers, AV collaborations and improvisations. Perhaps the most memorable: a 40-minute mix of female musicians inspired by female French painters of 1730-1830. While this was billed under her own name, Huerta is popularly known as the DJ Baby Vulture. Soplo (Spanish for “breath”) also has a unique origin. The music was born as the score for a pair of short, “politically charged” films from Iván Argote, and have been reworked for this release to form a new, unified whole. When subtracted from the context of images, the musique concrète stands on its own, hallucinatory and impressionistic. The album begins with the most modest of field recordings – the splashing of water, a forest of birds – but will soon run far afield. Light notes enter as the water continues to flow; we are entering a different river, a river of sound.
Hammock ~ From the Void
Hammock has released so many great albums that it’s impossible to call any their definitive work; but last year’s Love in the Void has a right to stake its claim. Fans of that album will be overjoyed to learn that this year the duo has released a follow-up that includes four songs left off that set and four more inspired by it. From the Void is thick and enveloping, graced by a string section and the lovely voice of Christine Byrd. As with Love in the Void, the tone leans more toward the triumphant than the melancholic, although the emotions continue to run deep. The opening “She Likes the Stormy Weather” is a perfect summation; even the title suggests an intermingling of emotions. Thanks to the cello, the track even sounds like dark clouds, although the violin and viola mitigate any feeling of being overwhelmed, while the post-rock guitars lift the spirit right past those storm clouds to heavenly beams of light. It takes a few minutes to notice that there is no percussion of any kind: the weight produces a cumulus effect. Only when light drums surface on “Hindrance” does one sense the surge, as one feels the first droplets of rain; but in this case, as in that of the protagonist, the rain is welcome.
Jónsi ~ First Light
First Light is bright, beautiful and ebullient, and we almost missed it. Jónsi‘s newest album is for those who miss the euphoric highs of Sigur Rós and have wondered if they would ever return. Unlike Jónsi’s other solo efforts, First Light is a purely lyric-free affair, packed with piano, flute, strings, glockenspiel and light field recordings, with an electronic sheen. Originally conceived as a video game soundtrack, the album evolved into a vision of a “fantastical, over-the-top, utopian world where everyone and everything lives together in everlasting peace and harmony.” In short, it’s a reflection of the world that many people dream of, yet have stopped hoping for: a shot of encouragement in musical form.
Manja Ristić and Tomáš Šenkyřík ~ Vstal
While it should come as no surprise, it’s still a joy to discover that two of our beloved recording artists are friends. Manja Ristić and Tomáš Šenkyřík met in 2018 at a conference and have been exchanging ideas ever since. While the most popular communication is a text, the most classic a handwritten letter, Vstal is an aural dialogue, not only between Ristić and Šenkyřík, but between Czechia and the Adriatic Sea. The music dives below the water then rises above the waves; it crawls into the forest, then stands upright; it lifts itself up to the heavens and looks down on all that is below. A folk song refers to “humans swallowed by the ground,” a reference to lives lost in the Balkan immigration. Bodies nourish the soil as the old trees continue to grow, impassive. The tides rush in and out, the world continues to turn, empires rise and fall. Yet zeroing in, sea urchins go about their daily business while Ristić runs kitchen appliances. Scale is subjective, varying according to perspective. How short is a human lifespan compared to that of a forest or sea? And yet, what impact can a single life have on another?
Rutger Zuydervelt ~ Meander
From the very beginning of his twenty-year career, Rutger Zuydervelt has been scoring music for an incredible array of mediums: films, games, dance performances and installations. Perhaps his most distinctive commission is his partnership with the dance/circus duo Marta & Kim, which began with As Much As It Is Worth and Engel in 2018 and is now renewed. While Meander, produced in collaboration with Felix Zech and Knot on Hands, stands on its own, we’re jealous of those who will experience the live debut at Festival Circolo, Tilburg (NL) this month.
Sarah Neufeld, Richard Reed Parry, Rebecca Foon ~ First Sounds
If three composers can be considered a supergroup, then Sarah Neufeld and Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre) and Rebecca Foon (Esmerine, Saltland, Thee Silver Mt. Zion) fit the definition. They first improvised together in Montreal back in 1999, but didn’t record their efforts; a quarter century later, recalling the instinctive magic of those sessions, they reunited and pressed Record. First Sounds is both a reflection of those early sessions, viewed through the lens of time, and the first installment of a new and hopefully ongoing chapter. One might liken it to the thrill of reuniting with one’s first love, discovering that the chemistry is as strong as ever.
Seaworthy and Matt Rösner ~ Deep Valley
Recorded during a week-long residency at Australia’s Bundanon Art Museum, Deep Valley is a testament to the property’s unique location, “on the banks on the Shoalhaven River, surrounded by towering sandstone cliffs, dense forests and unique animal species.” The property respects the original Dharawal and Dhurga custodians, while the music honors Arthur Boyd’s statement, “you can’t own a landscape.” Perhaps more properly for this release, one can’t own a soundscape, if by “soundscape” one means a local biophany; by the time the sounds are captured, the soundscape has already changed, like a river one steps into for the second time. The hallmarks of the release are its use of field recordings and the gentleness of the music, which often seems to enhance the field recordings instead of the other way around: a sonic stand-in for the use of land. Seaworthy and Matt Rösner allow the landscape to speak first, and instead of commenting on it, they seek to enter into a harmonious dialogue. This means micro rather than macro melodies, sentences rather than paragraphs, with spaces in between. “Fallen Trees on the Far Shore” allows the listener to think of ecosystems, as the trees nourish the soil and the birds chirp over the flowing stream. Fallen is more natural than felled.
YATTA ~ PALM WINE
PALM WINE represents the transition of the artist from experimental poet to potential pop star. The transition takes place not only between albums, but within the current release. Sierra Leonean-American YATTA pounced on the scene in 2016 with their EP Spirit Said Yes!, followed three years later by WAHALA and a joint production with Moor Mother. Described as “the product of years of travel, reckoning, solitude, and troubling love alchemized into a joyful return to home, God, and clarity of mind,” PALM WINE is objectively different from the releases that have come before, brimming with new energy and a restored sense of self.
V/A ~ Resistance | Compilation of experimental music from Ukraine
When Kaleidoscope, Igor Yalivec‘s initial compilation of experimental music from Ukraine, was released in 2019, it was an innocent, entry into a scene that many had not yet discovered. When Liberty was released in 2022, everything had changed. Two months earlier, russia had invaded Ukraine. Among the dead were musicians and people in the music industry. Others took up arms. Global citizens played Liberty as an entry point into a scene under fire. As Resistance is released in 2024, the conditions have shifted again. The battle still rages, highlighted by a surprise Ukrainian incursion into russia, but much of the world press is losing interest, while aid to Ukraine is threatened by fall elections. The musicians here have all chosen to remain in Ukraine, and are making music under the most impossible of conditions.
UPCOMING RELEASES
(complete list with Bandcamp links here)
Hundreds of amazing fall albums have already been announced, with many linked below, more in our Fall Music Preview and even more to come. Fall is the best season for music, a consolation for the end of summer. We’re particularly excited about this year’s crop, as it has as much color as the soon-to-fall leaves. From big names to fresh discoveries, there’s always something new on the horizon; we’re adding new albums daily, and hope you’ll find your next favorite album right here! Happy autumn, everyone!
Diaries of Destruction ~ DoD II (31 October)
DIEMAJIN ~ S/T (Drowned by Locals, 31 October)
Eeriærmor ~ S/T (Cyclic Law, 31 October)
Glyn Maier ~ Interbedded Gneiss II (enmossed, 31 October)
Rich God ~ Unmade (Somewherecold, 31 October)
ADRA ~ Music for Psychiatric Wards and Fluid Structures (1 November)
Alan Lamb ~ Night Passage (Room40, 1 November)
Andert Tysma ~ Hana (Apollo, 1 November)
Blurstem, Elijah Bisbee ~ Mirage, Vol. 1 (Bigo & Twigetti, 1 November)
Caleb Wheeler Curtis ~ The True Story of Bears and the Invention of the Battery (Imani, 1 November)
Cybotron ~ Parallel Shift (Tresor, 1 November)
David Wallraf ~ نه (no) (Brachliegen Tapes, 1 November)
Dean Drouillard ~ Mirrors and Ghosts (1 November)
Dogs Versus Shadows & Nicholas Langley ~ Salt Coast (Strategic Tape Reserve, 1 November)
E J R M ~ I Do, I See It In the Sky (Imaginary North, 1 November)
The Henrys ~ Secular Hymns and Border Songs (1 November)
Mike Cooper ~ Slow Motion Lighning (Room40, 1 November)
Philip Clemo ~ Through the Wave of Blue (1 November)
Philippe Petit ~ A Reassuring Elsewhere, Chapter 3 (Oscillations, 1 November)
Roberto Almeida Junquera ~ La pasión de San Juan para 10 guitarras con desarmador (1 November)
Sarah Neufeld, Richard Reed Perry, Rebecca Foon ~ First Sounds (Envision, 1 November)
Scrimshire ~ Music for Autumn Lovers (Albert’s Favourites, 1 November)
Sermons by the Devil ~ Excorcismo Electronico (1 November)
SiP ~ Leos Ultras (Not Not Fun, 1 November)
Soshi Takeda ~ Secret Communication (100% Silk, 1 November)
Stuart Bogie ~ Patient Music (Historical Fiction, 1 November)
Sun Yizhou ~ 辛口 (Super Dry) (Brachliegen Tapes, 1 November)
3XPERIENCE ~ KRISHNA+ (Get Busy, 1 November)
Zagušljivi dim ~ Durchfall der Lebensmaschine (Ramble, 1 November)
Henrik Meierkord ~ MÖRK (Audiobulb, 2 November)
Lifting Gear Engineer ~ Recovery (Machine, 2 November)
Lamina ~ Sueños acuáticos (mappa, 4 November)
Aki Onda ~ 99 Cent Dreams (Dinzu Artefacts, 8 November)
Andrea Belfi & Jules Reidy ~ dessus oben alto up (Marionette, 8 November)
BANTAR ~ This Heat Is Exhausting (8 November)
Bit Cloudy ~ The Visitation Plays (8 November)
Black Rain ~ Neuromancer (Room40, 8 November)
claire rousay ~ The Bloody Lady (VIERNULVIER, 8 November)
HUM ~ Live in Milano (Elli, 8 November)
Leo Okagawa ~ Lower the Tonearm (Flaming Pines, 8 November)
Lili Holland-Fricke & Sean Rogan ~ Dear Alien (Melodic, 8 November)
Mattie Barbier ~ paper blown between the spaces in my ribs (Dinzu Artefacts, 8 November)
Rafael Anton Irisarri ~ FAÇADISMS (Black Knoll, 8 November)
SABIWA, Queimada, Nathan L. ~ Sons of _ (Phantom Limb, 8 November)
Vazesh ~ Tapestry (Earshift Music, 8 November)
William Selman ~ The Light Moves Between (Old Technology, 8 November)
Wolfgang Mitterer ~ Quiet Riots | Peter Herbert & Wolfgang Mittere (col legno music, 8 November)
Yoo Doo Right ~ From the Heights of Our Pastureland (Mothland, 8 November)
Glitchkase ~ KALI (ALLES, 10 November)
E/I ~ Explicit Isolation (mappa, 12 November)
Casey Golden ~ Present Day (13 November)
mastroKristo ~ Passage (Lost Tribe Sound, 14 November)
Abdullah Miniawy ~ NigmaEnigma أنيجم النَجم (Hundebiss, 15 November)
Baldruin ~ Mosaike der Imagination (Quindi, 15 November)
Bestia Astrum ~ Fury 161 (Cold Spring, 15 November)
Blake Lee ~ No Sound in Space (OFNOT, 15 November)
civic hall ~ the trembling line (Lost Tribe Sound, 15 November)
Elori Saxl ~ Earth Focus (Original Score) (Western Vinyl, 15 November)
Ffroeds ~ Luuma (Flaming Pines, 15 November)
Ka Baird ~ Ictum Exercises (Polyrhythmic Studies) (Astral Spirits, 15 November)
Lara Sarkissian ~ Remnants (btwn Earth+Sky, 15 November)
Manja Ristić ~ Dew (okla, 15 November)
MastroKristo ~ Passage (Lost Tribe Sound, 15 November)
Monopoly Child Star Searchers ~ The Year in Coconuts Vol. 2 (Discrepant, 15 November)
Murcof ~ Twin Color (vol. 1) (InFiné, 15 November)
Nizar Rohana ~ Safa (Worlds Within Worlds, 15 November)
Oöhna Call ~ Bauerngarten (L’octuple lunaire, 15 November)
Peggy Lee & Cole Schmidt ~ Forever Stories Of: Moving Parties (Earshift, 15 November)
Pleizel ~ Primal Touch (Mesh, 15 November)
R Grunwald ~ Iterations (15 November)
Samuel Rohrer ~ Music for Lovers (Arjunamusic, 15 November)
Sly & The Family Drone ~ Moon Is Doom Backwards (Human Worth, 15 November)
Stefan Christoff & Joseph Sannicandro ~ Transmissions in Silver (okla, 15 November)
Various Artists ~ Have Faith (Faith Beat, 15 November)
Zacc Harris ~ Chasing Shadows (Shifting Paradigm, 15 November)
Zaumne ~ Only Good Dreams For Me (Warm Winters Ltd., 15 November)
Canopy of Stars ~ Waves Remixed (Rednetic, 16 November)
civic hall ~ the trembling line (Lost Tribe Sound, 16 November)
michaela turcerová ~ alene et (mappa, 18 November)
numün ~ Opening (Centripetal Force, 20 November)
Brueder Selke ~ Stimmen in Prague (oscarson, 22 November)
Chloe Lula ~ Oneiris (Subtext, 22 November)
David Evans ~ Can You Hear Me (Flaming Pines, 22 November)
Eva Novoa ~ Novoa / Carter / Mela Trio, Vol. 1 (577 Records, 22 November)
Fan Club Orchestra ~ VI_Stay (12th Isle, 22 November)
HAPTIC ~ Sensitive Dependence on Initial Conditions (LINE, 22 November)
Human Error ~ S/T (Astral Spirits, 22 November)
Jean D.L. ~ Standing/Engraving (vlek, 22 November)
Kristen Roos ~ Universal Synthesizer Interface Vol. III (We Are Busy Bodies, 22 November)
Lia Bosch ~ Polar Code (Glacial Movements, 22 November)
Quiet Husband ~ Religious Equipment (Drowned by Locals, 22 November)
Supersigil ~ Spectres (Aion, 22 November)
V/A ~ Echoes (Piano & Coffee Records, 22 November)
VESCH ~ Kitchen-Factory No. 2 (Incompetence, 22 November)
Viola Klein ~ Confidant (Meakusma, 23 November)
Driftwood ~ S/T (Room40, 25 November)
Sakura Tsuruta ~ GEMZ (all my thoughts, 26 November)
aus ~ Fluctor (flau, 27 November)
David August ~ VĪS Reinterpretations (99CHANTS, 28 November)
Alva Noto ~ Xerrox Vol. 5 (NOTON, 29 November)
Belief Defect ~ Desire and Discontent (raster, 29 November)
Ben Klock & Fadi Mohem ~ LAYER ONE (LAYER, 29 November)
Ben Lukas Boysen ~ Alta Ripa (Erased Tapes, 29 November)
Evan Parker ~ The Heraclitian Two-Step, Etc. (False Walls, 29 November)
Kenneth Kirschner ~ April 27, 2023 (Room40, 29 November)
Nordvargr ~ Resignation IV (Cyclic Law, 29 November)
Norman McLaren ~ Rythmatic: The Compositions of Norman McLaren (We Are Busy Bodies, 29 November)
Passepartout Duo ~ Argot (29 November)
Rites of Passage ~ S/T (Mindtrick, 29 November)
Scan 7 ~ Dark Territory (Tresor, 29 November)
Spekki Webu x Heliobolus ~ HoxV-2: Spekki Webu x Heliobolus – Phylogenetic Analysis (Amniote Editions, 29 November)
Tolouse Low Trax ~ Fung Day (TAL, 29 November)
Various Artists ~ The Jettison OST (Crooked Acres, 29 November)
Rikuko Fujimoto ~ Distant Landscapes (FatCat/130701, 30 November)
Bipolar Explorer ~ Memories of the Sky (Slugg, 1 December)
Rosales ~ Half-Light (Home Normal, 1 December)
Adam Tendler ~ Inheritances (New Amsterdam, 6 December)
Alice Hebborn ~ Saisons (Western Vinyl, 6 December)
Alvin Curran ~ ARCHEOLOGY//ARCHEOLOGIA (Room40, 6 December)
Ava Rasti ~ The River (Fatcat/130701, 6 December)
Brötzmann / Nilssen-Love ~ Butterfly Mushroom (trost, 6 December)
CEL ~ Five minutes to self-destruct (Gagarin, 6 December)
indek ~ Cringe Wold (Rubber City Noise, 6 December)
microplastique ~ blare blow bloom! (Irritable Mystic, 6 December)
Paul Dietrich’s Elemental Quartet ~ A Small Patch of Earth (Shifting Paradigm, 6 December)
Philip Samartzis & Michael Vorfeld ~ Air Pressure (Room40, 6 December)
Pope John Paul Van Damme ~ Disinfamy (Gearbox, 6 December)
WANU ~ Magma (No Sun, 6 December)
V/A ~ Intermezzo Tre (Dischi Autunno, 6 December)
Yanling ~ Cymatic (Aurora Edition, 6 December)
Ben Glas ~ Music for Listeners (2) (Room40, 13 December)
Glim ~ Tape I (Room40, December 13)
Giuliano d’Angiolini ~ )))((( (elsewhere, 15 December)
Baldini/Dafeldecker/Strüver ~ Prismatic (Room40, 20 December)
V/A ~ Winter Vol. 2 (Bigo & Twigetti, 27 December)
Erik Klinga ~ Elusive Shimmer (thanatosis, 1 January)
Ayumi Ishito ~ Roboquarians, Vol. 2 (577 Records, 3 January)
Hearts & Minds ~ Illuminescence (Astral Spirits, 13 January)
Asa Horvitz / Carmen Quill / Ariadne Randall / Wayne Horvitz ~ GHOST (Celestial Excursions/Het HEM, 20 January)
Emily Mikesell & Kate Campbell Strauss ~ Give Way (ears&eyes, 24 January)