Four More
Deep ambient electronica, spiritual Indo-folk, freaky dubbed out psychedelic downtempo fusion, jazz folk reinterpretations of runic Scandinavian folk & a Colorado family's A/V critique of the US coup.
Well after my rant about the lack of good albums last week, the digging deities threw me a bone and gave me an easier ride this week. I actually had to cut the newsletter quite a bit shorter than I would have liked as I’m off on a last minute trip to England tomorrow and time is of the essence. I’ve also been thinking.
One of the things that writing is helping me with is further analysing and questioning my world view. Ideally this happens during the writing process, and does, there’s nothing like knowing your thoughts are going to be read by thousands to encourage some introspection. I’m possibly overthinking but it also happens after hitting send, and this week I started to question my music selection criteria and the digging hole I was, well, digging for myself.
Should I dismiss an album because a couple of the tracks are crap or used some synth sounds that were past their sell by date and best left in the eighties? Should I ignore an LP because I know it’s had a PR blitz and is going to get covered by loads of other outlets, or stop supporting an artist whose first release I covered because their Spotify monthly listeners have reached a threshold that I deem to “have made it”, and which suddenly makes them even more attractive to said click chasing blogs, appear on editorial playlists and become increasingly favoured by streaming algorithms? Surely other lesser known artists could do with the coverage and that leg up the music ladder more?
Partly it’s a reaction to the increasingly corrupted modern music landscape, and (what I hope is) peak capitalism and a desire to champion lesser known independent artists, but all of the above have been reasons for me to ignore music in recent years, and I suddenly realised that I was becoming too pernickety, making my life as a curator increasingly hard and quite possibly a bit less fun as well. Not to mention that most people who follow or stumble across TSMM don’t actually care about any of the above and just want some new tunes.
The upshot is I might go easier on myself and try and be a bit more forgiving in the future, well apart from the independent music destroying major labels, they can still stick their releases up their arse.
Purelink - Faith (Peak Oil)
It’s highly unlikely that even ardent electronic music fans know who kindtree (Ben Paulson), Millia (Akeem Asani), and Concave Reflection (Tommy Paslaski) are. Partly because they haven’t been around for long and also, apart from Paslaski, because they haven’t released a lot of music, but most electronic music fans certainly now know who their collective endeavour Purelink are.
The trio hit the ground running in 2021 and have been releasing a steady stream of stellar, hazy electronica ever since. They’re also getting better with each passing year and their new album is so good I’m even going to cover it despite the fact that it got a write up in Pitchfork(‘s remains). See, self therapy is a thing.
Bonding whilst scouring musical backwaters in Chicago and refreshingly inspired by Kansas City’s, rather than LA or New York’s underground scenes, the trio have now decamped to New York where they hustle the rent in the day and either soak up or help reshape the city’s music scene by night.
There’s also some pleasing evolutionary progress occurring. The freshmen trio are still learning their trade, but they’re not resting on their laurels and Faith sees them turning up the ambience, submerging the beats further into the atmospheric depths and even adding vocals into the mix.
The album opens in patient style with a cello in mild distress, sounds of unknown provenance and foggy electronics jostling as a rumbling ambient cloud slowly envelopes them, before eventually parting to let in some light, not too much mind, which also reveals a rhythmic rattle from the studio next door until ambient swathes wash everything away and put the track to rest. “Rookie” promises another ambient floater but it’s not long before a languid, somehow aquatic rhythm gives Loraine James a less angular and if you ask me, more suitable cushion for her softly spun vocals. “Kite Scene” ups the tempo to a gentle lollop without breaking a sweat and suggests Berlin’s dub techno scene should take a chill pill, before “Yoke” gives the same crowd the after the after party lullaby they always craved to help them swap the ceiling view for some much needed sleep..
Friend of the familiy Angelina Nonaj then blesses the ambient breezes, warped berimbau and field recordings of “First lota” with a few random diary thoughts in her matter of fact, yet somehow poetic Germanic English before the track floats too close to the sun and evaporates. I was expecting an ambient fade, but the LP’s farewell, “Circle of Dust” sprouts muted beats and even vaguely euphoric synth pads amongst the ambient dubiness, before the track morphs into the soul infused abstract machine haziness that they do better than most.
Ganavya - Nilam (Leiter)
Ganavya was born in New York city born and had quite the upbringing, being raised Tamil Nadu on pilgramage trails to soundtracks of harikathā. She’s also a vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, free spirited nomad and gencre fluid.
She launched her career with a classic jazz standards vocal album, albeit with a deep Indo-twist, before lying low for a few years and returning in 2023 with a flamenco jazz folk fusion duet with Munir Hossn. Since then the music has been coming thick and fast. Nilam is her new release and rather like her youth, she guides the listener with her stunning voice along spiritual, folkloric paths. If you need any more tempting it was recorded at Berlin’s Funkhaus - quite the space and where I once partied all night, and was produced and released by Nils Frahm, who wanted to capture some of the tracks that she sang at her gigs with her long time cohorts bassist Max Ridley and harpist Charles Overton.
Apparently the LP’s central theme is, “doing what we need to do to keep carrying on”, something I’m sure many can relate to. Nil in Tamil means land, and Ganavya explains “these songs have always been a place for me to stand, a place for us to be in a way that I don't really know how to describe”, and I can only imagine having just arrived in a new city, then shortly after staring out a several hundred of its citizens that are waiting to be entertained, that having such familiar comforts on your set list must be a blessing.
Oddly tracks like, “Song for Sad Times” and “Pasayadan” seem to convey a sense of saude for those home comforts, perhaps due to her recent incescent touring schedules in recent times? Anomalies aside there is a genuine feeling of peace and contentment running through the album, something that she manages to channel to anyone in earshot with THAT voice. Whether it’s a coping mechanism, spiritually guided or just an astute awareness of self, society and her place in it, or I’m guessing a combination, I’m glad this album is here for when I need it, it’s a balm.
Various Artists - Resonance: 10 Years Of Vibrational Sounds From The Heart Of Invisible Inc
Any small indendent record label that has not only survived, but released a steady stream of distinctly underground sounds on vinyl over the course of ten years in today’s harsh industry climate deserves a long service achievement award. So step up Glasgow’s Invisible Inc. Please come and collect your engraved crystal fruit bowl and put your feet up for a few minutes with some tea and sandwiches, surrounded by similarly alternative, independent colleagues at TSMM HQ. You deserve it.
To mark this occassion they’ve pulled together an impressive roster of artists, who’ve blessed the label with long form releases over the years or have the I.I. DNA. It’s quite the catalogue, I highly recommend you slide into an Invisible Inc wormhole one day.
So what to expect from these merry pranksters? Well with Secret Circuit, Dreems, Michael Turtle, Hove, Michel Banabila, Higamos Hogamos, Double Geography and Sordid Sound System - all TSMM approved and previously covered, and a host of other sonic trippers, expect the unexpected, albeit sifted through Invisible Inc’s freaky, dubbed out, psychedelic downtempo fusion filter.
The compilation really is a great start to finish listen, and should especially appeal to young trippers and the ageing rave generation who remember what a chill out tent is. Many happy returns Invisible Inc. Here’s to another ten - keep ‘em coming.
Tomas Raae & Eline Hellerud Åsbakk - ...før de spredtes (Kontentum)
Tomas Raae is a Danish bass player who likes to explore the possibilities available to him in this age of electronic production, whether it's sampling, post production or live electronics. Norway’s Eline Hellerud Åsbakk floats nimbly between Nordic folk and jazz realms, and is the perfect partner to pull off this ambitious project reinterpreting ancient Scandinavianand folk music, some of which was written in runes seven hundred years ago, for a modern audience.
As with so much of Scandinavia’s ethereal music output, there’s a slight chill and introspective quality that runs through the recordings, unsurprising I guess with thousands of years of harsh, sun challenged weather behind them. But chilly doesn’t mean unlistenable and Åsbakk’s stunning voice raises the temperature, as she regales the listener with ancient tales of mountain kings seducing young farm girls, and the like.
Raae, as well as keeping the ambient lights low, busies himself with Moog, Polysix, Guitar, Piano and bass sounds, as Lea Foxman chips in with vocal support on a couple of tracks, Victor Dybbroe lends his Percussion, Bjørn Heebøll plays Trommer + Marimba as Lars Emil Riis drops in with some welcome piano; it’s very much a team effort, though egos were left at the door and showboating eschewed for a minimal, collective approach that is more about creating moods and shadows than shining spotlights, even when the percussion kicks a bit.
Although Raae is director of operations and should be lauded for setting the tone and pulling off this wonderful LP, his selfless approach leaves the focus on Åsbakk, whose voice rings pure and true from the instrumental gloom, deftly traversing centuries and breathing new life into these songs that were languising on dusty tomes and slates.
Blog Track of the Week
If you don’t know I also cover a few singles, mostly from even lesser known artists over at the blog, and I really enjoyed this homemade audio visual critique of the unfolding coup in America by this creative family from Colorado. Producer and educator Cory Cullinan teamed up with his singer songwriter and film directing daughters to channel their inner Adam Curtis and try and make sense of these tumultuous and worrying times.
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.
Disorderly digging in an algorithmic world. Lesser known, independent & alternative artists. Lazy & hazy vibes. Sign up & turn on.