Happy March, friend-o’s! It’s a calm day around these parts, weather-wise, but the Music continues to rain down on us, with no sign of letting up.
I’ve got ten titles of sumptuous New Music for your listening holes to enter your soul.
A single to start our month out right comes from Athens, Georgia‘s LINQUA FRANQA. She made a great album that came out nearly a year ago that made the NMJ Prize Longlist. This week she released a fiery new track, leading the rallying call for debt cancellation. The Whole Bank lays plain the institutional control of keeping the masses in debt. The US has their people paying out of pocket for so many things that proper taxation, especially of the wealthy, should be taking care of. I endorse the coming Revolution.
A few weeks ago I was complaining that I haven’t been hearing very much in the way of Japanese Hip-Hop that suits my tastes. At the end of last week I received an email from a musician from Colorado. Anar Badalov is one-half of a duo, called Hourloupe. In his rounds of doing promotion for the upcoming release of their new album, he stumbled upon this humble page. He noted my sad lament, and very thoughtfully recommended an album from Poland. And he was spot-on.
IFS MA is a collaborative effort, combining IFS, a Polish duo of producers, and MA, a Tokyo-based rapper and vocalist. Their eight-track album REIFSMA is wonderfully-produced skittish and broken beats. MA deftly uses his verbal skills to tap-dance around the pockets of rhythmic exploration.
I’ll have more to say about Hourloupe in the weeks to come. Thanks again, Anar!
Also from Japan, but not Hip-Hop, comes an intriguing Pop album. 戯言 (Slick), by Inuwatari Ryosuke, features guitars, bass and drums played in mainly conventional ways, with Industrial beats thrown in for good measure. The well-crafted songs are ‘sung’ by AI software, called Vocaloid. The lyrics, which are typed, and then performed by the software, in not an emotionless way; in fact it’s surprisingly evocative.
An Artist Collective from London, that, according to their BandCamp bio, “works with audio & visual media to explore areas around identity and culture,” has released a new Charity Compilation album. Síbín’s (pronounced ‘shu-been’) Vol. 1 is ten tracks of collaborations of Experimental Electronic Music of varying styles, diving into deep bass,, Hip-Hop, and glitchy and ecstatic beats. Proceeds support Black youth charities.
Lee Etherington is the founder of both Tusk Music and the related annual festival named after the label. Hailing from the northeast coast of the UK, in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, he is a musician and producer. As Tibshelf, he creates broken and skewered beats with a “Sampladelic cut n splice” method, on his new five-track EP, Supreme Flounder. Nod ya head.
I discovered a Rapper and Producer from Atlanta that is blowing me away with his lyrical skill. Shame on me for not knowing Supastition, as he’s been around since the 90’s. In his time he has worked with KRS-One, Royce da 5’9”, Little Brooklyn, and others. This week he has released an EP, the first part of a two-part project. Every Last Word is six tracks that shows Supastition’s casual and captivating flow with competent and careful production.
A band from Toulouse, France is rocking my world this week. The Guilty Pleasures are a duo that are inspired by The B-52’s and The White Stripes. Their third album, Proto Lazer Music, combines dirty Garage Punk, with analog synths, and colourful male-female lead vocals. It’s full of cheeky songs like Dan Thomas Is Dead, wherein the deceased still owed the singer money, and sums up the feeling with the chorus, “Life is unfair.”
I’m pleased as punch to be adding Kate NV’s new album to my life. The fascinating and probably brilliant Musician and Producer from Russia continues to delight and surprise. WOW is eleven tracks of playful Synthpop, incorporating clarinet and viola with Björk-like weirdness. A portion of the proceeds go to War Child.
I discovered this week a Vocalist and Songwriter based in New York that caught my heart. Vivienne Aerts’ musical heritage is Jazz, and her latest album, Typuhthâng wears these clothes, but in a similar way to how Joni Mitchell wore them in the Seventies. The nine-track album was made in collaboration with Original Beans Chocolate, to endeavour to help female cacao farmers in Congo, and to regrow the rainforest. It begins with a gorgeous acapella piece, Just Go, featuring a 100-woman choir.
Yazmin Lacey hails from Nottingham, England, and began performing Music in public in 2014. After releasing a handful of EPs, she has at last released her debut album. Voice Notes showcases Lacey’s cool and steady vocals, atop Electronic R&B/Jazz Production. Confessional lyrics and the ‘less-is-more’ approach make this my Feature Pick.
Hey! So, don’t be afraid to send me a note about what you’re listening to these days. I really could use some more friend-o’s. Take care of yourself!
New Music Jason’s Picks 