Sunday Listening Treats
Ambient adventures, a jazz licked low gravity soundtrack & a minimal Latin treat.
Alaskan Tapes - Something Ephemeral (Nettwerk)
Alaskan tapes has come a long way in a relatively short amount of time. Although I guess he had previous musical form, he’s been producing consistently high quality ambient music for nine years and is now perched near the top of the tree in the ethereal popularity stakes.
His latest LP is exactly the sort of ambient album that I like to start a Sunday with. The vibes are round edged and homely with not an angular frequency in site. Politely insistent drones usher you to your favourite chair and plump up your cushions - take a large mug and some supplies, you might be some time.
The familiar sounds of guitar and piano occasionally waft in from afar, somehow finding winding paths through the electronic mists that the sun has yet to dissipate, the water vapour sapping them of energy so they can’t stir any rousing emotions that might elicit activity.
It’s a cosy, gentle listen and even the late risers still under the duvet won’t complain about any stray sounds drifting in from the listening room.
Kjetil Husebø - Emerging Narratives (Optical Substance)
I might have mentioned my fondness for ambient jazz before, why there isn’t more of it keeps me up at night. So big thanks to Kjetil Husebø for his new addition to the canon, backed up by long time TSMM fave Arve Henriksen and the until now unfamiliar Eivind Aarset.
Husebø is chief electronics engineer and sets a deep space cinematic course covering a lot of territory; from distant sunlit gravity free floaters to tenser alien life form encounters and sub-woofer rumbling planetary docking sequences.
Just his electronic endeavours might have been enough to sell me on the LP but to seal the deal my favourite horn blowing Norwegian, Arve Henriksen is also in the cockpit blowing his already ambient honed horn across the soundtrack’s vast expanses. It’s a sweeping ambient tale, and I highly recommend beaming aboard for it.
Clan Caimán - Pica-Pau (woodpecker) [Em Records]
Clan Caimán sound like a nu-cumbia group who are nearing the end of playing a three day birthday party for a Mexican drug lord who got them high off his own supply, but who are now struggling to keep the last frazzled party goers entertained.
Apart from a couple of more recognisable - cheek to cheek rather than gyratory, dance numbers prompted by some celebratory gunshots, the tempo is largely low and barbecue friendly.
To conserve energy and preserve blistered fingers the notes are few and far between, yet rather than lacking anything the breathing space encourages a minimally induced hypnotic state whilst evoking centuries of South American musical history and even finding time for a knowing wink to modern club culture and Barcelona’s once proud mestizo scene.
If you remember how compelling Khruangbin sounded before they became dull and popular then you’ll love this.
Playlist Companions
Don’t forget TSMM’s playlists if these great albums aren’t quite hitting the spot. From slow house and heavy dub to uptempo grooves and new age of new age wellness vibes, there is plenty to explore over the thousand, recently released, hand picked tracks.