One of the first things that comes to mind in the opening, odd-shaped song, “Between the Heart and the Mind” is Ponytail. Body Breaks and Ponytail don’t sound much alike beyond the strange tunings, but the exuberant, infectious energy that permeates every song on Bad Trouble fills a void that Ponytail left. This distant-duo of Matt LeGroulx and Julie Reich creates a sonic world that zigzags through … Continue reading Body Breaks “Bad Trouble”
As soon as I see “banjo music from Morocco,” I’m paying attention. Hassan Wargui hails from Issefan, a rural community in the Anti-Atlas Mountains of Southern Morocco and his banjo-led compositions are eye-opening. Tiddukla, newly reissued by Hive Mind, was originally recorded in 2015 and released through YouTube due to the lack of any kind of music infrastructure in Morocco. Wargui infuses his Amazigh (Berber) heritage … Continue reading Hassan Wargui “Tiddukla”
Blissful and earthy ambience wraps itself in circles in the opening moments of this lovely collaboration between Padang Food Tigers and Andrew Tuttle. It’s impressive how seamlessly Tuttle fits into the Padang Food Tigers landscape as if he’d always been a part of the band. Throughout A Cassowary Apart, lush, elegiac sound worlds are kissed by sunlight and stretch to the horizon and beyond. Opulent … Continue reading Andrew Tuttle and Padang Food Tigers “A Cassowary Apart”
Few labels can boast a track record as stellar as Bokeh and the streak continues unabashed on the two most recent drops: DJ Velkro’s Glacial Dancehall 3 (in conjunction Duppy Gun) and this bouncing, joyous slab from Felinto and a whole crew of sonic prognosticators. Futuro Antigo Perpétuo rides deep bass grooves through spiral stacks of heady rhythms and an endless, swirling shower of synths and other keys. There’s … Continue reading Felinto “Futuro Antigo Perpétuo”
Water Angels is a perfect title for this new EP by San Antonio’s CC Sorensen. Submerged melodies haunt the spectral oceans, searching for new coral crevices to etch their names on. The title track is blissfully aqueous, gooey synths and crystalline chimes conveying the feeling of floating lazily through imagined worlds beneath vividly pink skies. Glitched-out digital undercurrents add an ominous layer, a hidden reminder that … Continue reading CC Sorensen “Water Angels”
Gospel blessings welcome you instantly into the open arms of Dopolarians’ spiritual beacon, The Bond. On this magical recording, the sextet of William Parker, Brian Blade, Kelley Hurt, Chad Fowler, Christopher Parker, and Marc Franklin set the stage, get comfortable and then rip the roof off in a bountiful exorcism of free-flowing expression rife with emotion and catharsis. The Bond is an absolute force. William Parker and Brian … Continue reading Dopolarians “The Bond”
First of all, I just want to say that it is with great pride that I find myself writing this piece for the revived Foxy Digitalis. The original Foxy D site is where I cut my teeth, grew my sonic vocabulary, and learned about so much amazing music that was bubbling up from the global sub-underground. It was in 2005 that I originally reached out … Continue reading Fly Pan Am “Frontera”
When Astral Spirits announced this year-long series documenting some of Thollem McDonas’s collaborative recordings made in the last few years, I was immediately intrigued. As the series has unfolded the list of collaborators has grown to include the likes of Susan Alcorn, Tatsuya Nakatani, John Dieterich, and so many others, that initial excitement has been rewarded. This recent edition with percussionist Nik Francis, though, is … Continue reading Thollem’s Astral Traveling Sessions – Thollem / Nik Francis
On Derek Monypeny’s first album in seven years, the windows are wide open and the fresh air is bringing the dead back to life. The Hand as Dealt was hatched deep in the Mojave Desert and those ancient energies are baked into this sprawling double album. Monypeny’s work always reaches for a higher plane, but with The Hand as Dealt, he finds those spirits dancing on solid, sacred … Continue reading Derek Monypeny “The Hand as Dealt”
Avarus are one of the all-time great Finnish bands and Roope Eronen’s Lal Lal Lal label has put out some of the best strange, wild music over the past two decades. On his first solo album under his own name (he’s done a lot under the moniker Nuslux), Eronen collects goopy tones and odd rhythms in a blender before hitting a button that says ‘psychedelic … Continue reading Roope Eronen “The Inflatable World”
