Welcome to the working year! I hope your belly is full and you got that thing you hoped for on the Holidays. I got blue briefs and I couldn’t be happier.
As expected, it was a sleepy week in New Releases, and I was only able to find three titles to share with all my friends. It totals 16 tracks and should probably come with a warning sign.
My New Year has started out with some amphetamine-fuelled, take-no-prisoners Punk Rock. From Simi Valley, California (just north of LA) the charmingly-named Witch Piss has released a five-track ep, titled Tape 1. Clocking in at six and a half minutes, the band’s passionate vocals and plectrum-picked bass licks are lean and mean, and leaves me wanting more.
I’m the kind of person who likes to find music in the ambient sound of my day-to-day life. A car with a muffler rattling, a truck backing up, kids playing, birds… I have a feeling that Natalia Beylis is similarly-minded. The Irish artist is a pianist, producer, and (presumably) tailor. Her latest release, Variations On A Sewing Machine is five tracks spotlighting her Singer MCPK 5802C sewing machine. With the use of only a Contact Microphone and a looping pedal, Beylis has created a rhythmic ambient gem with the hottest new instrument in Electronic Music. It’ll also seam your cuffs!
Barbara Pravi has become a star in her native France since her debut in 2018. Her appearance at the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest was a major boost to her career, placing second. This week she has released the third in her series of ‘prières’, or prayers. Les prières-guérir – EP is a collection of six beautifully-produced songs, composed by Pravi and performed mostly in French (with some franglais). It features lush harmonies, inventive melodies and superb production choices. It’s my Feature Pick for the week. It’s also makes the Running Time for this week’s releases break the one-hour mark. But what an hour!
The Music machinery resumes full production next week, so I expect there to be more titles to get the year started off properly. Until then, I hope your weekend gives you joy. Be well!
New Music Jason’s Picks 
I worked and/or lived in Simi Valley for 4.5 years in the 1980s, and had I spent any more time there, I’d be screaming like the guys in Witch Piss too! “Variations on a Sewing Machine” is certainly uniquely original, but also bizarre, and not something I could listen to more than once. Barbara Pravi’s music, on the other hand, is lovely and captivating.
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I’m happy you listened! Glad you escaped Simi Valley 😆🙏🏻
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