RIP. A weekly roundup of releases on Bandcamp and Soundcloud selected and delivered by Aidan
Bandcloud 202
This one started off all weird then got quite bright and ended up in a cloud of sorrow, albeit sorrow tinged with hope and love.
Bianca Scout - __Disle-a
Well this is a delight. It's from Bianca Scout and it comes on digital label Beatrice & Annie. It's a melange of field recordings, plucked guitar, hammered, distorted piano and hushed, spoken vocals. Quite shoegazey, quite folky, but more than and not quite those things at the same time. Very modern. 'Patience' is particularly beautiful, and 'Sweet little lies' seems to operate in a weird liminal space.
Yannick Dauby / Kalerne Editions - Arches
Utterly astounding field recording/found sound art here. It's already in the British Library, for what it's worth. I've listened loads this week. It was recorded in an area in France home to some wolves, and these wolves are key players in this composition. It's haunting and comforting.
We drove together to visit an area in Lozère, the least populated department of France, where some wolves are kept in in semi-captivity, which means that they are living an unusually large enclosure. Those animals were originally rescued from poachers, and the park has a very good reputation for introducing them to the public. There I could observe the wolves in the company of Dave Mech, who provided some invaluable insight into their behaviour.
Derrar B.Ghanem - ERIN GO BRAGH Live set!
Kinda sharing this for the laugh. It's a recording of a set from a party at a place called the Irish Garage in Ramallah, Palestine. It's a lot of fun though, for real. Nearly three hours of party music, from The Blueboy to Irish trad to Horslips and Thin Lizzy to Carl Carlton and The Bee Gees. There's a weird moment where 'The Rocky Road to Dublin' gives way to 'Pump Up The Jam' but hey, roll with it.
Adventures in Dubbing - Steamed Hams Vol. 1: Selected Hambient Works
In a way, I helped inspire this one. The title, anyway. Adventures in Dubbing shared an ambient mix with a nod to the infamous Skinner/Chalmers meal mixup, to which I tweeted "...hambient". The rest is history! Or not... This is a lovely two-part set of gorgeous, heartbreaking ambient music, from Talbot Fade and Phil Maguire to r beny, Cryptosystem and Bing & Ruth. Makes me weep.
CCL live from the Roller Disco
When I saw that CCL had shared a recent set from DJing at a roller disco, for some reason I expected 70s funk and disco. Not at all. Think 80s hip-hop party breaks, Balearic anthems, percussive house rollers — heaps of fun really. There's even room for Violet's 'Silver Lining', off the first Naive record, which seems to be used constantly in sets of all types. Check out CCL in Berlin next month.
Which brings me to the latest Naive mix, from Lisbonner Prec (no, not Perc). It's a beast of a mix, starting dark and moody, getting chunky, flitting off into areas as unexpected from its early moments as filter house and spacey electro. It's gnashing fangs and beautiful heart all at once. Let this one get under your skin. And then he drops 'Badness', the new collab from Violet and Bleid, towards the end. Big!
Hieroglyphic Being - The Language Of Strings
Check out this monster new album from Jamal Moss. I was going to type something about hardware excursions but honestly, I don't know how he made it. The music is nonetheless powerful, visceral and jerks your soul out of your chest. Hard techno with a smile on its face. Thanks to Tim for the tip.
VA - Silk To Dry The Tears
I've been waiting a while for this one. It's a compilation from 100% Silk that came together following the tragic Ghost Ship fire in Oakland in late 2016. It's a huge tape release featuring nearly three hours of music from friends and affiliates of the label. Silky (yes) housey vibes, emotional pleas, mournful club salutations, it's excellent in its own right, as well as being a fitting tribute to those lost in the fire. On top of that, half the profits are going to Safer DIY Spaces, an Oakland group working with non-traditional creative community spaces.
You should be honoured by my lateness.