Blanket Swimming, Delta Rain Dance & Stick In The Wheel.
Sink into a sound bath + wellness retreat offers free days to the Fourth World, Balearic-nouveau loving ex-ravers & cosmic b-boy vibes + a bit of revolutionary folk punk for the maypole moshers.
Blanket Swimming - Airmid (Slow Tone Collages)
What would Sunday be like without an ambient album recommendation? Honestly if you haven’t tried putting an ambient LP on your headphones and closing your eyes for an hour then you’re missing a trick. It’s the closest that you can get to meditating without any practise, or even meaning to. The new LP from Blanket Swimming even makes the experience more seamless by containing just two tracks so there’s only one gentle transition to navigate, what a gentleman.
The album has its roots in his live show sound baths where he invites the audience to lie down on mats and succumb to the welcome washes of electricity turned sound, the hypnotic insistence of low powered ocean waves, gentle machine hums and pulses plus some singing bowl healing frequencies for good measure. It’s a suitably smooth minimal soundscape so as not to stimulate too many brain cells simultaneously, and a genuinely mind cleansing experience.
I’m sure a few of you are ambient sceptic and that’s OK, but I do advise persevering, it took me a while. As well as a meditative and relaxation aid I find it the perfect accompaniment to reading and writing - anything rhythmic or lyrical is too distracting; as well as an invaluable travel companion - especially in airport queues and on flights, not to mention as a sonic counterbalance during big city visits. The relaxing sounds really dampen the surrounding bustle and associated stresses of travel and the rat race. If you ever need a rush hour sedative or stress diluting tonic then you can pick up quite a few ambient LPs on Bandcamp for the price of an hour with your therapist. Start with this one then head over to the Slow Ambient Playlist.
Delta Rain Dance - Music For Autumn (Tartelet)
I’ve been following Glenn Astro for over ten few years now. I was immediately drawn to his forward looking beat led rifs on twentieth century black music, which mostly involved some bumping house, swinging hip hop beats, deep disco appreciation and jazz licked electronica, so quite how I missed his Delta Rain Dance alter ego I’m not sure?
Any good alter ego needs their own personality or there’s no fun. So please light some joss sticks, clear some floor space and adopt the lotus position, but don’t ditch the Carhartt threads quite yet - there’s the odd low key past life nod along the way. Ready? Then press play and board Astro’s cosmic, Fourth World inspired, new age flight - dance floor turbulence is a thing of the past.
It’s an easy start as exotic percussion, chakra aligning chimes and graceful strings ease you into the wellness retreat offers free days to Fourth World residents, middle-aged Balearic-nouveau loving ex-ravers and cosmic b-boy vibes. Next up there is some flower power dub that sets the scene nicely for the sunset jazz meets drum machine preset Balearic crossover joys of the well named, “Mmmh, Nice”.
New age ritualism with a Hari Krishna smile is next, closely followed by more sunset serenading sounds whilst the next track peels its eyes away from the orange glow to look in the rear view mirror and soak up the spiritual resonances of Eastern temples, before the final track ventures into good natured, save the whales minimalism. It’s a vibe man so roll with it, check out The New Age of New Age Playlist for more of the same and if you’ve still got some energy left check out the Glenn Astro club sounds of yore.
Stick In The Wheel - A Thousand Pokes (From Here)
Stick In The Wheel take no prisoners and I’d love to check a live show. Nicola Kearey & Ian Carter have driven folk tradition through the centuries into the electronic now and decided to let punk hitch a ride along the way. It’s a potent combination.
Folk music has always had a lyrical subversiveness. What do you expect of music from peasants and working class people who’ve endured centuries of oppression and land grabs at the (blood stained) hands of the monarchy and ruling classes. Don’t be fooled by Prince Charles’ smile and comedy ears, he’s a stone cold killer.
Apart from the energy and (eloquent) attitude levels you’ve got to love Kearey’s broad East London accent which is as far away from the plummy, polite King’s English and BBC newsreaders as you could hope for. Couple that with some bare faced cheek, smart lyricism, a punk scowl that can turn on a farthing to sweet folk troubadour and you have a compelling front woman. Back that up with Carter’s fine production and multi-instrumentalism, not to mention some tight collaborators that flesh out the live show, and it’s one hell of timely “fuck right off” to peak capitalism and its lauded, overly influential billionaire masters.