AI Music Complaints and Real Music Reviews.
Music AI owes people money, piano music gets an outsider makeover, star bound spiritual sax soundscapes, shadowy submerged guitar backwaters and real deal roots and dub from Bristol. Tune in.
A couple of causes for concern this week, one music and one Substack related. This week the UK government kicked the copyright issue of AI music apps purloining creative works to train their LLM's down the road. Meanwhile Suno etc. are still happily charging users $5-$30 per month to generate music. It seems that music, in fact any kind of copyright, doesn't actually matter at the moment, especially if you have well paid lawyers and AI lobbyists in your corner.
Although a music search tool to identify the music used in these LLMs doesn’t exist, well apart from your ears, you can get an idea of the scale of the problem in the AI industry by searching this database of pirated(!) books used to train Meta’s LLM. Its not just book authors, respected music journalist and popular music Substacker,
’s journalistic work was also used he noted recently. It looks like steal, scale then settle (if at all) later is still the way of big tech. Will regulation ever catch up?Is it just me or are Substack Notes getting more visual? The majority of posts in my feed now seem to contain visual enticement, and although it might partly be the rapidly growing user base on the app clamouring for attention, I wouldn’t be surprised if Substack were tweaking their algorithm to push visual messaging as they desperately try to jump on the social media bandwagon with the introduction of reels, seemingly unaware that Tik Tok’s crack like algorithm marked the arrival of peak social media and the start of its inevitable decline. Substack are/were onto a good thing by focussing on the written word, after years of dumbing down. Sure it encourages an older demographic and is a niche, but at least a rapidly growing one fuelled by content that has a timeless, foundational quality rather than social media’s AI slop, posts for likes and brazen attention seeking. This newsletter has undoubtedly benefited from Substack’s social aspects, but let’s hope the site doesn’t totally forget what brought us all here in the first place. Time will tell I guess, but it’s not looking promising
Just as I was contemplating this along came this on point article from Protein which perfectly articulates my feelings and unease about online life, with this phrase standing out in particular,
“People are tired of over-scrolling and under-feeling“
I’m sure the thoughts in the article will resonate with many, but don’t forget to do something about it. I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s worth repeating; I’ve been digital detoxing this year. I ditched Facebook, Threads and am now deliberately ignoring Substack reels, rarely checking my remaining social feeds but happy to supply a steady stream of music tips on them for those that do, unsubscribing from various newsletters (yes Substack too), explaining to artists and PR companies that I can no longer cope with the thousands of promotional emails a year, as much as I appreciated many of them. I still spend too much time staring at a screen, but it’s a start and I’m already feeling lighter and less overwhelmed.
Duval Timothy - Wishful Thinking (Carrying Colour)
I’ve seen Duval Timothy floating around my internet reality tunnel for the last few years, and perhaps because I didn’t really connect with his well received early releases I’ve been consistently overlooking him. Well the penny has finally dropped, his new LP has my full attention, and I’ll be heading into his back catalogue when I have time.
Born in the UK of African parents, Timothy is a pianist, composer, producer, clothing/lifestyle brand/record label owner and also apparently sells homemade ginger beer on the streets around the UK. As well as his own idiosyncratic productions he’s also supplied instrumentals for Kendrick Lamar and Solange, and if that wasn’t enough he grew up in my old manor Lewisham, where I spent a few happy years before becoming a climatic refugee in the south of Europe.
So what about the music? First off it should be noted that, with the exception of teaming up with vegyn on “big flex”, he’s a lone studio wolf, playing and creating everything himself. Secondly, expect the unexpected.
Urban field recordings, whether from London or Sierra Leone where he spends time sourcing hand weaved material for his clothes line, get the ball rolling and give an early indication that we’re off on a bit of a trip. They’re soon joined by some innocent sounding piano that weaves between the honking horns, but on occasions gets run over by an effects pedal. His hip hop credentials become apparent with some deconstructed funk and guitar hookiness that’s just waiting to be sampled. The peace is soon shattered by a monstrous electroid bass, tempered by some astral synths. It may sound like a lot but his minimal approach keeps things in check. “big flex” is next as he develops the ideas from the LP intro and runs them through manipulated tape loops and disorienting pitch manipulation, all whilst maintaining the funk and coherence. There is method to his madness.
I’m not going to give you a full album breakdown but next up is the contemplative piano playing of “long life” which could even appeal to piano lovers if he stripped out the random sound effects and throbbing beats that sporadically pierce the calm. In “stock” quasi baroque strings battle wild west saloon piano, “cement” goes all cosmic nu-jazz, “bloom” celebrates improvised piano, “grass” is straight up key driven contemplation and in “awwwww” it sounds like he’s dragged his piano onto the A2 at rush hour.
So leave your piano expectations at the door, strap in and get with the Duval Timothy space program. You can also catch him in suitably singular company over at the Slow Oddities Playlist.
Cole Pulice - Land’s End Eternal (Leaving Records)
Hopefully you noticed that Cole Pulice dropped a new album this week, but if not then let me introduce you. Pulice is an electroacoustic sax player, composer and currently earthbound astral voyager - seeming against their will, in Oakland, California. Their collaboration with Lynn Avery was one of TSMM’s 2024’s highlights.
Space is a big place though, so Pulice is off again, this time launching from one of LA’s alternative ashrams, Leaving Records, and the album opener is their most determined effort to reach escape velocity, the searching horn riding the gradually intensifying drones that suddenly blast off half way through. This might come as something of a shock to those more accustomed to Pulice’s usual efforts to sooth and spiritualise the listener, but those wishing a more sedate ride shouldn’t be deterred, the rocket soon runs out of fuel and drifts gently back to earth.
Those wishing a calmer listen could always skip the first track and head straight to the first movement of the “In a Hidden Nook Between Worlds” triptych, which starts with Pulice introducing his new found guitar chops with some thoughtful picking that sets a warm tone before introducing some cosmically inclined ambient synths and sax to make smooth jazz cool again; if a touch otherworldly.
Fifteen minutes and two similarly minded passages later, some discordant piano misuse raises its odd looking head but is soon placated and persuaded to eventually retreat by Pulice’s spiritual and calming sax lines. Hold tight though Pulice had been saving his energy for “After The Rain“, an epic spiritual odyssey which goes full on Pharaoh for nine minutes, aided and abetted by the unannounced choral, almost spectral voice of Maria BC.
It’s another Pulice winner.
Various Artists - Shadow Garden (blush)
As with so many of TSMM’s recommendations I stumbled across this great compilation this week in my Bandcamp feed when a couple of music lovers that I respect and follow suddenly purchased the compilation, hence alerting me and taking me into territory that I tend to ignore. Honestly, give me mouth to mouth recommendations over algorithmic ones any day.
Excitingly it’s from a new label out of Glasgow which I’m now also following with interest. As a music discovery tool Bandcamp takes a bit of work to get going and you have to start following a few labels and artists to get your feed flowing. One thing I did with this release was quickly hover over the people who had purchased the release and noticed Claire Rousay - who has featured in the newsletter, had purchased the release so I'm now following her as well. Even if you don’t know the people who purchased a release you love you can click on their profiles and check out their collection and if you like what you hear then give them a follow, you suddenly have a taste-making friend that will make your music discovery easier and pleasantly unpredictable. If you’ve got a lot of time on your hands then you can even follow genres. As I say it takes a while, but eventually you’ll be rewarded. Being an early Bandcamp adopter I’m currently following 5670 artists and labels as well as 74 other music fans so I have a constant stream, some would say a deluge of releases to explore. Needless to say my much touted digital detox hasn’t encroached too far into my music discovery.
Anyway I digress, what of this compilation? Well the rather sparse liner notes bill it as a, “a moonlit anthology of contemporary DIY guitar music“, which doesn’t quite do it justice and depending on what you read into the word contemporary, could be positively misleading. I’d also suggest that the moonlight is more of a crescent moon rather than a full one, the tracks on the whole inhabiting shadowy, genre ambiguous grey areas. They’re also decidedly laid back and almost borderline ambient; there will be no moshing or stage diving to frenzied guitar solos here thank you very much. But what makes the compilation even more exciting is the fact that I only knew the humble bee - who provides a typical slice of tape distressed, ambient guitar and piano introspection, prior to listening, meaning there’s now eleven new artists to assess and potentially follow - bonus.
The comp opens up with the dark ambient winds and heavily effected, barely recognisable electric guitar of A Happy Return, before heading over to the lighter, piano led, lightly distorted electronics, field recordings, acoustic guitar and gentle vocal tones of Astrograph. Mlinpatz’s bass guitar then creeps through some quirky sound design and sparse, reverberating electric guitar to cinematic effect.
Tibslc’s voice echoes over an edgy, but not uncomfortable degraded machine noisescape. Betty Hammerschlag’s lighter vocals and sunnier approach is made somewhat unsettling by the reversed guitar samples, and Shiner & Natalia’s oddball, softly delivered poetry rides a glitchy, perky, outsider slice of downtempo.
I guess you’re getting the idea by now. It’s a pleasingly off-kilter collection of darker ambient hues and quirky songs that inhabit a distinctly underground bunker, but which sit together very nicely as a cohesive listen. Just don’t expect too much guitar.
Earl Sixteen & The Co-Operators - Concrete Rockers (Waggle Dance)
Earl Sixteen has been around. From the legendary Studio One and Lee Perry studios in Jamaica to New York and London, even working with Leftfield when they required a reggae vibe. At heart though he is a roots man through and through, so it makes a whole heap of sense that he made it over to the Waggle Dance studios in Bristol to work with keepers of the golden age reggae flame Eeyun Purkins and the vintage sounds of Jamaica attuned house band, The Co-Operators.
Not naming names but there are a few reggae vocalists working past retirement age, often with young producers and bands keen to rub shoulders with the greats, whose voices aren’t quite cutting it these days, but at sixty seven Earl Sixteen is not one of them, he’s still sounding hungry, vital and up for the fight, just when we need strength in numbers.
Purkins and The Co-Operators more than do their part, laying down deep warm roots riddim after riddim with all the right amounts of Pablo blessed melodica, countryman flute, righteous horns and choice effects. They even given the veteran a few breathers by stripping back some of the originals and sending them to the echo chamber for the dub treatment, so whether you’re a soulman or a low frequency window rattler there’s something here for everyone.
The Waggle Dance Studio is keeping it real, if you like your reggae classic then make sure you tune into this Bristol outpost, perhaps on Bandcamp?
A Few Choice Singles.
I also review a few singles over at the blog, mostly from young and more obscure artists, and thought I should introduce a few favourites to the newsletter every now and then. Here’s the first instalment:
“a pleasantly microdosed, bittersweet, consummately crafted and timeless alt-pop gem from Belgium“
I haven’t actually reviewed this one, but some Bandcamp tastemakers tipped me to Brittany Davis in the week and her forthcoming jazz vocal album is now firmly in the diary.
“It's a compelling slice of horizon gazing Egyptian music that is rooted in the region's rich musical heritage whilst causing multiple ripples in the North East African music continuum“.
“as serious a slice of alt-pop as you'll hear all year, honestly it's a really beautiful track - tune in.” No Bandcamp or Soundcloud for this so search for Chris Lippincott, Maya de Vitry, David Williford - Over and Over, on your preferred service.
Don’t Forget TSMM’s Playlists and Podcast.
From ambient sound baths and wellness imbuing new age vibes to underground house via jazz, neoclassical, folk, dub and more, the twenty one TSMM playlists and podcast cover a lot of ground, and are updated regularly.
They’re available on Tidal, Apple Music, Amazon, Youtube Music, Youtube, Deezer, Soundcloud and Spotify (if you don’t worry about them not paying most of the artists on the playlists).
Just hit this smartlink to connect to the various services and TSMM profiles.