Bandcloud 323

The lists are already out but we still have a lot of new music to get through before the year is over. It's also Bandcamp Friday so expect a bumper edition. They've all been pretty bumper lately though. Sorry. Not Sorry. On radio for the final time in 2020 on Sunday night, 'twill not be a roundup.

VA - GASH TRAX VOL.1 (GASH COLLECTIVE)
The first of several compilations this week, Gash Trax comes from Ireland's Gash Collective, which is focused on providing a platform for female and LGBTQ+ DJs and producers. It features friends and favourites including ELLLL, Syn, Irene Buckley and Gadget and the Cloud. Expect a nice range of electronic sounds from sublime to unruly.

Busy Microbes - Playing
Sometimes it's nice to get away from it all*. This one from Ekoplekz and Isnaj Dui was a welcome escape for me yesterday. Weird globs and cavernous vibes, the artist name and album title give a hint at what's happening. It seems like they're just having fun. Vibes.
(*Your definition of "it all" may vary)

VA - We Hovered With Short Wings (Gizeh Records)
Manchester-based label Gizeh Records celebrates 100 releases (an early one had the fantastic title Would You Rather Be Followed By Forty Ducks For the Rest of Your Life?) with this compilation. It features some stellar artists, including Julia Kent, Aidan Baker and Christine Ott among others.

Electric Sound Bath - Thermodynamic Equilibrium
Never quite sure if sound baths and singing bowls are hippie nonsense or genuinely good things, but I've yet to experience them in the real world (ie outside of laptop speakers or headphones) so can't reallly say. This sounds nice though. I came across this on a dig deep in my Bandcamp wishlist, a release of theirs from 2015 was lurking down there. This is a newer one, released in March.

VA - DRONE NOT DRONES: the 7th annual 28-hour drone, Minneapolis 2020
Drone not Drones is an annual concert held in aid of Doctors Without Borders (or Médecins Sans Frontières if you're feeling fancy). This year's edition took place in Minneapolis on Jan 31/Feb 1 this year, before the world (and indeed Minneapolis) faced the utter shitstorm of 2020. I don't recognise any of the names bar Clarice Jensen and Lea Bertucci but it's sounding very good. The final track is the first that plays, it's by Saariselka and it's wonderful. No I haven't listened to all 28 hours/65 tracks.

sansbut - Vol 1
Edgelord-slash-tunes merchant Lighght sent me this one. It's from Irish artist David Kitt and it was recorded early in lockdown at an artists' retreat in France. "i was the only artist who chose to stay as the building and its grounds slowly emptied of staff and students and artists leaving me, a priest, an ex army officer, a young law student called stephen and a rotating security guard. these recordings capture some of the atmosphere of those weeks..." The first half of the release features Kitt's synth warblings while the second introduces the raucous yet tender sax of Catherine Sikora.

VA - YIN YUE: An Amateur Compilation (一个素人合集)
This is really cool. Beijing-based Zoomin' Night, run by Zhu Wenbo, released this compilation of music by amateur artists back in September. Now I know you could say that amateur is a very loose term given the dearth of people in this world who can actually make a living from their music, and there's no distinction drawn here as to what that means, but I guess we can assume it means hobbyist rather than serious-minded artiste. It's a noise release, and the titles are pretty self-explanatory. 'Bottled Water Noise', 'Humming', 'Frequency of Cows Eating Grass' , 'Tapping in Time to the Loudness of Traffic Open a Delivery Package' and so on.

RRUCCULLA - Melt Déco
The bio for RRUCCULLA from Bilbao, Spain, reads "Abstract music and drums". The music sounds like might possibly qualify as "d*constrcuted cl*b" but it's also rendered through a strange digital sheen, almost like cling film but like, in binary. It's fuzzy and strange and slightly harsh to the ear, but bouncy and head-nod-y in the right ways.

odomojuli - Thirsty Sus Rando
Well that title is saying a lot. This track is squidgy and fleshy, propulsive and amelodic.

Perko - Galerie
Scottish-born, Denmark-based Perko has range. I guess that was clear from NV Auto, his 2018 release on Numbers, which saw him flit between lush and dreamy arpeggios and skittery breaks. He also wowed me with his dub of Peder Mannerfelt's 'Sissel & Bass' last year. This week he shared a gorgeous release for Posh Isolation, which "emphasises a focus on field recordings, textures and striped-down abstraction". That just about sums it up. It's a beautifully languid release, that drifts from start to finish in horizontal fashion.

Kurodama - Intimate Spaces
Another beautifully hazy record, this comes from Italy and seeks to give life to "non-inhabitable architectural spaces and their sounds". It's an interesting concept but also, given its inclusion here, the music stands up. It's dank, oppressive, crunchy, glacial and overpowering. Listen at night with the lights off.

VA - Rhythmia, Vol. II (Euphonic Rhythms)
Euphonic Rhythms calls itself a social enterprise, and notes that at least half of its proceeds will go to UK charities Trussell Trust, Migrants Organise, Mind Out and Resourcing Racial Justice. It features some unfamiliar names as well as artists like FOQL, KMRU and Best Available Technology, each of whom contributes something stellar.

Slow Clinic - Over and Over Until We Forget Where We Were
Slow Clinic is James E Armstrong, the man behind the Rusted Tone Recordings label. This release comes on Courier and features his trademark guitar drones. Yawning, swooning sounds that evoke a truly heartfelt response, in my mind it feels as appropriate in the winter cold as it might on late summer nights, the sun refusing to set.

Loula Yorke - Crowd Control Vol 2
Part two in a series I first featured back in October. The first Crowd Control examined surveillance, while this one is "about general bustle or the lack thereof and ppl dropping dead from being close to each other", Yorke told me. It features bouncy, pneumatic electronic sounds alongside field recordings of what sound like food courts and protests on high streets. The disconnect between the creation of those home-made sounds and the outdoor recordings makes for an uneasy tension, the unrest and discomfort of prolonged stay-homery.

Quentin Leonetti - live 2020
Belgian producer Leonetti has released this live performance, originally part of the VEMOM Fest at the end of November. It moves from its truly brash opener towards trilling stabs and wide-eyed expansiveness. 'four' is my favourite.

VA - DT001 (Daytimers)
Daytimers is a creative collective aimed at showcasing and celebrating South Asian artistry. The name is derived from the 1980s UK clubbing phenomenon that grew out of South Asian teens being expected to stay home in the evenings, so they attended daytime events that ran from 12 to 4pm, for example. This opening release is a super introduction to a glut of artists of South Asian ancestry from across the world. It's all clubby stuff, with samples from news interviews, blends of Hindi vocals and tough beats (Akash) and a whole load of other great sounds. If you enjoyed the recent Punjabi garage mix from DJ Yung Singh this is for you. All the money from the release is going to Restless Beings, which is helping Rohingya families in need.

f5point6 - KaleidoSound: Time, Shape & Space Vol. 1
Numbers and architecture inform this wonderful release from f5point6, aka R. Cleveland Aaron. It's a lovely blend of textural synth wash and delicately pulsed beats, moving between the two with an almost Burial-like touch. There's a beat in 'Tetrahedron of Forever' that calls to mind the ticking clock of '14:31', while 'Common Descent' simply leaps out of the misty sounds with its brightness.

Rhythm Phazer - The Party Is Canceled
I put on this album by Rhythm Phazer last night while I did the washing up and all that after the kids went to bed. It's a delight. Graceful, dainty party music (despite the title), it's a breeze from start to finish.

Olive T - This one is for the With the booming system
This is beautifully deep and definitely requites headphones. Squodgy bass hits and delicate piano, I could listen on repeat for hours.

Tlim Shug - In Due Time
Tlim Shug is a rare artist in that his name is a silly Spoonerism but his music is Actually Good. This is a sweet release of bouncy breaks and strange house music, just off-kilter enough to be weird and but not off-putting. Artwork comes from Dublin's Mel Keane too.

Ai Yamamoto - Pan De Sonic - Iso
If you're a regular reader you'll know I love albums made from everyday sounds. This one comes from Melbourne-based Ay Yamamoto and it's on Room40, and it's made from, well, everyday sounds. Each track lists its ingredients as it were, including "Alarm, podcast, kettle", "Remote learning and house chores, remote working washing machine, vacuum cleaner, printing, typing, clicking, pencil, paper, cup, glass bottle" and "cat purr and melody with wine bottle" for example. As the blurb states, the music is quite melodic and beautiful yet it was all created without traditional instruments. It shows a true mastery of sound and demonstrates the capacity for creation. Gorgeous and impressive.