Bandcloud 322

The last mail of November!!! This has been such a weird year that people are already on their Christmas buzz. While I can't say I like it, I understand it.

VACAST 08 // Sofie Birch
This is a wonderful mix from Sofie Birch for VAAGNER's radio show. Natural sounds, weird synths, lots and lots of bells, sad jazz and so on.

NTS Radio Lara Sarkissian & Lucia Kagramanyan Special
I can't say I fully understand the details of the conflict in Armenia over the past two months but I do know there has been a heavy cost in terms of life and livelihood. Lara Sarkissian, artist and friend of Bandcloud, and Lucia Kagramanyan, host of Host of Panorama Yerevan on NTS, put together this show for NTS in which featured their Armenian and Artsakhian favourites, along with some trip hop, electronica and classical.

"We made this show united in our continuously changing perceptions of the current horror that was happening and still continues to happen in Artsakh. Full of grief and reminiscing, we get you through our emotions which we share as a community, a nation as a whole, still celebrating the eternal beauty of our musical heritage that should keep us afloat. Armenia&Artsakh are still in need of humanitarian help, please consider donating to parosfoundation.org."

Noémi Büchi - Matière
Utterly fascinating polyrhythmic electronic explorations here. I sent it to someone this week and they sent it on to a further three people. Truly magical sounds.

The Striking Chamber - Powys Movements
This is a wonderful release from the Åde Åde label, from a strange and mysterious collective. It almost feels like modern classical, in that it sounds like a lot of the music is coming from reed instruments, but I'm not even certain that's the case. The real mystery comes from the make-up of the collective. According to the label: "The idea is to have a collective of musicians / players that can come and go between releases, removing the individual and playing with the idea that the physical space (the ‘chamber’) dictates what they create." The results here are fabulous.

Oval - 94diskont. (remastered 2013 reissue)
I was in a bad mood yesterday and no music was connecting. In the middle of that a friend messaged me about 'Do While', the opening track from this release. Apropos of nothing really, it's a 90s track, reissued in 2013. But it was perfect for me in that moment. Apparently the album was an early pioneer in the realm of sonic exploration, specifically as it recorded the sound of CDs skipping. In fact, in the second track it sounds to me like the guitar sound from Global Communication's 'Maiden Voyage' (aka '8 07' or '5 23') but maybe I'm hearing what I want to hear. Wouldn't be the first time.

Juanita's Mix 034: CCL
I made a cake the other day and as I did so I listened to this wiggly mix from CCL. It moves between slow and grinding half-time wobblers (as well as the voice of Lou Bega) into clattering dnb rhythms, rnb layerings, more stuff I can't possibly describe.

Lara David - Tangents
Lara David, aka Chekov, who has previously released on Peach Discs and Cong Burn, just shared this selection of music never shared before. Some are fuzzy dream pop numbers, some are foggy with percussion and echoey guitar. 'Null', 'DB.7R7' and 'SD.66' are particularly beautiful.

Robyn Charlie - Betelgeuse
Thoroughly stomping and chunky music from Irish producer Robyn Charlie. This is great. Hefty kicks and claps, it's as informed by techno and post-club or whatever you want to call it. Doof.

Lepton Podcast 021 - Shane Murphy Tribute mix (Lyonsy & Ngoni Egan)
A thrilling two-hour tribute to a friend, delving through his collection to carry on his memory. A nice touch.

Oï les Ox - Crooner qui coule sous les clous
I genuinely don't know what to say about this! Barmy and fascinating. Imagine French pop music over early radiophonic experiments, strange voices speaking in muffled tones, discordant splodges of sound bouncing over echoing whirs. The album comes with the text of the libretto, but my French isn't what it was and I haven't had time to fully explore its finer details.

Ra Gerra - Terrified
Ra Gerra is a collaboration between producer Kobina and rapper Murli, both surely known to readers here but joining forces for the first time on 'Terrified'. Murli can rap at any tempo, and this latest effort over glisteningly beautiful electronica suits him down to the ground. Lovely work and I'm intrigued to hear what else they'll cook up.

Lazercat - Mindfl1ght [MTRONAID2]
Spacey and nightmarish electro from Lazercat on a release for Mechatronica raising funds for its artists. The blips are like a confusing headmelt on a malfunctioning spacecraft. I think I had a dream about The Expanse last night, you know how you get vibes and feelings the next day? This is bringing them all back.

Quiet Clapping - Reverberations
Lovely stuff here from Quiet Clapping, an Irish producer based in Cork. It's microcassette ambience, which means you really need headphones for it. Very slowly building sounds, so slow you might not even notice as they come and go, yet they are beautiful and carry a sense of calm urgency. Thanks to DoE for the tip.

Plant43 - Sparks In The Grey Light
I think this is the 43rd Friday mail of the year? So it's nice to feature Plant43 and this track from the forthcoming Storm Control release. This track is a slow electro burner brimming with emotion. That lead melody is beautifully haunting.