All Is Calm, Apart From a Swampy, Bluesy, Jazzy, Noirish Oddity.

A bassoon led electroacoustic palliative, a time faded ambient sedative, modern urban etherealism, that swampy bluesy jazzy oddity as promised, not to mention some thoughts on ethical festivals.

So after last week’s Bandcamp tutorial I hope you’ve all started profiles and are well on your way to becoming less algorithmically reliant? If not then it’s never too late, your family and neighbours will thank you, and I’ll do my best to throw a few new names in your direction anyway.

This week’s been a hustle, as we adjust to my partners return to work after ten months of maternity leave. We now have to bundle the little one into creche five days a week, but due to local demand the school is half an hour away. Portugal’s ageing demographic seems to be more about professionals and post-grads leaving the country for respectful wages rather than a supply problem.

In music news the most interesting story for me this week was the growing backlash against Sónar Festival due to the revelations about its ethically challenged parent company. It’s been heartening to see artists taking a stand and dropping out of the line up, a welcome reminder that meaningful change will only ever come from the ground up. Peaceful revolution anyone? These morally bankrupt, planet wrecking money men need us and our wallets more than we need them, choose your banks and investments wisely - the planet, your children and quite possible the Palestinians will thank you.

Although a large investment company encouraging illegal settlements in Palestine, and enabling the petrochemical, surveillance and defence industries shouldn’t come as too much of a shock, the real eye opener from the story was the revelation that they’ve accrued a portfolio of eighty large-scale and two hundred smaller festivals around the world, including some very well known names and pretty cool boutique affairs, which would help explain the music by profit motivated numbers programming that has increasingly plagued the festival scene the last twenty years.

I actually had a soft spot for Sónar, as a trip there twenty five years ago made me fall in love with Barcelona and prompted me to move there in 2006. Although the night time event was always a soulless affair due to the cavernous, atmosphere draining venue, and the festivals programming took a mortal blow when the Red Bull Music Academy stages ended, I’ll always associate the festival with opening the door to the city and a great chapter in my life.

If you want a more in depth look into the issue then check out Substack scribe

Shawn Reynaldo

’s well researched take, and check out his astute weekly look at the world of dance music whilst you’re there.

Joy Guidry - Five Prayers (Jaid)

Joy Guidry - Five Prayers (Jaid)

Joy Guidry is a Houston born bassoon player, improvisor, performance artist and experimental composer who leapt into the alternative music world and onto my radar in 2022 with her hard hitting Radical Acceptance LP, an at times challenging mix of experimental ambient, stream of spoken word consciousness and free jazz, pretty much the perfect vehicle to shout to the world that being, “black, fat, queer and non binary is valid in every way”, a message that sadly needs reiterating more than ever these days.

Joy Guidry

This follow up transmission sees her heading into altogether more contemplative territory, as well as taking control of her art by launching her own label imprint, Jaid Recordings. Still battling her mental health issues in recent years, in fact suffering one of her worst episodes, Guidry turned to music therapy, embracing more silence and solitude as well as sonic meditations and poetry, resulting in this wonderful release.

In tough times familiarity can be helpful so her bassoon is back front and centre, although she takes it out of its rarefied orchestral comfort zone and into peculiarly becalmed, spiritual jazz realms. To assist with this transition it’s also passed through electronic effects which gently muddy the electroacoustic waters, augmented by Elizabeth Steiner’s occasional harp playing and Diego Gaeta’s low gravity synth work - a constant companion.

“Convince Me to Stay” is a particularly sedate opener, the bassoon naked and vulnerable, and the distant ambient electronics hovering in the background offering little cover for the emotional honesty. “You’ve Done What You Can” treads more recognisable spiritual jazz ground with the bassoon, voice and synths spinning a more animated, hopeful tale. “Hold and Be Held” retreats to more sedate ambient pastures, the bassoon’s soft musing ushering Steiner’s minimal harp into the meditation circle.

“Myles” sees faint chimes and cosmic jazz keys blow in from the South before a surprising, cultured and welcome deep house second half. The EP closes with the sprawling, long form ambient voyage “I Know You’re Here With Me“ in which the bassoon remembers its classical roots but chooses not to shout too loud about them, preferring to synergise and socialise with the soft touch ambient surrounds.

The album is a start to finish meditative joy, a welcome return from Guidry and an auspicious start to her label.

James Osland & Andrew Heath - Petrichor (Fluid Audio)

(L-R) Petrichor LP cover, James Osland's hands & Andrew Heath

Bristol’s Fluid Audio specialise in lovingly handmade physical releases which house some choice ambient music, and it’s great to hear long time collaborators James Osland and TSMM fave Andrew Heath teaming up for them again.

Osland has been producing a steady stream of ambient music for the last ten years, alongside running the respected Elm Records label featuring a host of well known, as well as new and notable artists. Andrew Heath shouldn’t need any introduction to the TSMM faithful, having appeared numerous times in the blog and playlists, he really manages to hold down the quality whilst maintaining a regular release schedule of time worn, tape distressed, unassuming electroacoustic works.

With five of the six tracks weighing in at over ten minutes long they defy meaningful description, but rest assured it really is a stunningly constructed blend of field recordings, minimal piano and ambient textures that will keep the attentive headphone clad listener busy for weeks exploring the soundscape depths and marvelling at the precision sonic placement, or for the less obsessive listener provide a potentially ignorable ambient world that will pleasantly serenade your sedate activity of choice. Tune in and sit down, and here’s a teaser of that packaging:

Kid Smpl - Finding the Sky(Hush Hush)

Kid Smpl is a new name to me, but his label Hush Hush has been one of my ambient guides since I started dabbling in the genre. Alex Ruder not only expertly curates the label, but also hosts one of the most respected ambient radio shows around on KEXP, and if you want another Bandcamp tip then follow his fan account. He’s an avid/obsessive (delete as applicable) ambient digger and will pretty much single handedly keep you updated with the genres new and notable releases and introduce you to all the right artists and labels. Following him was a real gateway to the genre for me, and I still pick up tips this way to this day.

Apparently Kid Smpl released his debut release on Hush Hush and thirteen years later has decided to drop this loose follow-up to highlight his sonic evolution. Looking back it turns out that Smpl was actually a bit of a Hush Hush mainstay, responsible for the label’s first three releases, which on cursory listen swerve between atmospheric downtempo and more energetic electronic beats. So where’s his head at all these years later?

Perhaps he’s mellowing with age, but those beats have been left in a club somewhere, replaced with a decidedly modern ambient sound, that still retains a cultured ethereal sensibility. There are vocals for starters, oddly uncredited considering they’re quite prominent on several tracks, that either float in from another room, leap out at you from a closet or drift through the autotune plug-in for a pop makeover. Urban field recordings provide real world texture to the ambient electronics which vary in style from massage chair soundtracks and wispy tones, to more forceful, but still low key cinematic swoops.

The arrangements patiently build despite the short duration of some of the tracks, nothing is hurried, just as it should be in the ambient world, sound sources known and guessed are all precision placed and tracks expertly sequenced to form a compelling story that glides seamlessly from one chapter to the next, telling sedate urban tales that will appeal to the ambient progressives and maybe even more adventurous mainstream listeners. Several tracks are certainly well suited to my, admittedly leftfield, Ambient Pop Playlist.

Duke Garwood - Satin Warrior (God Unknown)

duke garwood - Satin W LP cover - duke garwood

Duke Garwood is a serious multi-instrumentalist who’s been around. It also appears he’s been hiding in plain sight from me having played clarinet and guitar with acts like The Orb, Morcheeba and Mark Lanegan, as well as a host of notable bands across a range of genres, not to mention releasing six albums of his own.

Details of his new album are sparse to say the least - whatever happened to release notes, but I believe that the new LP is a further collaboration with Paul May, principle percussionist with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and improvisor about town.

I’m also guessing, as both musicians are the live and direct types, that at least the drums and guitar/bass were recorded live, but there’s a whole lot more than that to explore, so I assume multi-tracking was the order of the day? The boys certainly nailed the underpinning grooves throughout, and across a range of tempos too, honestly if I was starting a band these two might well be my rhythm section of choice.

The album title track launches the LP with a bang and an insistent groove, with Garwood’s one man jazz funk horn section, haunting guitar atmospherics and spoken words conjuring a swampy, noirish jazz blues vibe, something of a recurring theme. More jazz licked, bluesy spoken word follows, before “Satin Brad’s” spiritual jazz meditation provides a gentler bed for more worldly wise/weary musings from Garwood. “Tangerine Warrior” ups the funk, “Divine Suit” gives his vocal cords a break and increases the lysergic quality with some fuzzed out but not too freaky guitar. “Drifting Warrior” is a lonesome cowboy blues and the LP opener, “Scarlett Trees“ sounds like it was recorded at 4am after May had collapsed or gone home and Garwood was picking up instruments at random to keep his thoughts company.

Now I’m off to explore his back catalogue, it appears I’ve got some catching up to do.

One To Watch From The Blog

The new discovery that blew me away this week was Max Knouse who sent me this single from his forthcoming LP. It’s a fine slice of outsider folk that really jumped out at me. I’m going to put myself on the line here, but I’m guessing he’s been quietly refining his sound for the last four years since his last release, the first two singles are both wonderful and the June 13th album release date is now in the diary. Fingers crossed.

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.