The Predatory Wasp
As has already been established, I’m a sucker for an 80s synth alongside lyrics with even the merest hint of unrequited yearning. And if it could conceivably soundtrack a film where someone tears a beaten up old car across an impressive vista, tears streaming down their cheeks, then all the better. Oh, and: the band name should preferably be something enigmatic, possibly with a number replacing one of the letters. Tick, tick, tick.
This is the lead single from Micah Frank and Chet Doxas’s forthcoming LP The Music of Hildegard von Bingen Part 1, which lands in November. Ave Maria combines a masterful harp performance from Mary Lattimore with Doxas’s meandering woodwind, gently billowing electronics and the late addition of a softly pulsing kick drum. Deep chill.
https://micahfrank.bandcamp.com/album/the-music-of-hildegard-von-bingen-part-one
Impressively disorientating polyrhythms from drosophila. Menaces; soothes, repeat. Taken from their new LP Slight Spells. Glitches get stitches.
The California producer on the enduring appeal of some soft rock icons
The premise of One Track Mind is pretty simple: I ask artists to pick one track that means a lot to them – either something they’ve discovered recently, something that’s been with them for years, or one that reminds them of a specific time in their life or career – and tell me what makes it so special to them. I get to talk to the artists I love, and they get to talk about the artists they love. Love all round!
Tomu DJ is an American producer and DJ best known for her self-released albums on Bandcamp. She imbues her music with a gentle yet driving emotional force, creating intricate but comforting melodies across her discography. Tomu draws inspiration from her inner self—her memories and her past—and seamlessly infuses these reflections into her music. She released her latest LP Half Moon Bay earlier this year, which is yet another plaintive, thoughtful collection of tracks that straddle house, breaks, ambient and electronica with impressive assuredness.
For her One Track Mind selection, Tomu DJ has picked a track from one of the most iconic rock outfits of all-time, the mesmeric Steely Dan.
Mick Jeets packs a hell of a lot into the sub-three minute move your feet. Ravey breakbeats, footwork, garage and frantic old-school vocals all make an appearance, while the overall track still manages to be both sparse and contemplative. Impressively invigorating stuff to shake your out of your Monday coma.
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” etc, but in my experience definitely do judge an album by its cover. Or at least give it a listen. There is literally nothing about the cover of Precipitation’s new album Glass Horizon (or the artist name, or the title for that matter) that suggests I won’t completely love it. And I do! Kinda house, kinda ambient, 100% lush. Sundown in Orgi comes in like Laurent Garnier’s Last Tribute to the 21st Century – all sad pads and longing – before skipping happily off on lo-fi broken beats over a squidgy bassline. Aaaaand… melt.
People are really losing their shit about the new JID album The Forever Story. I’m less overwhelmingly convinced (so far), but there are definitely a few really impressive moments that elevate it above the standard rap fare, the low-tempo, lo-fi r&b-meets-soul swagger of Kody Blu 31 not least among them.
“Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith is dancing in an eye-scorching tumble of neon bricks and video game aesthetics” is the opening line to the Quietus’s review of her new album Let’s Turn It Into Sound, and while it actually describes a recent music video, it could just as easily be a neat single-sentence summation of the entire LP. Hauntingly introspective one minute, exuberantly unhinged the next, it’s an intriguing listen from start to finish, with the circling synth patterns and warped vocals of Then The Wind Came a personal favourite.
Composed entirely using his voice, Canadian-based artist Andrew Bennett aka Factor Eight explores mental health and creates a platform to relay his experience with bipolar disorder, with all proceeds being donated to Canadian Mental Health Association Saskatoon. “I hope that through this project, my music might help to inspire a feeling of connection in those who struggle, and sense of compassion in those who struggle to relate.”
There are very few things I enjoy more than discovering an artist I love for the first time; a feeling that is undoubtedly heightened when said artist is also relatively unknown. It’s pretty much the entire reason for this blog: claiming a minute fragment of credit for highlighting incredible music that would otherwise remain unappreciated. Appreciate me, please! Sickening really, but I can’t help who I am. Anyway, If – like me – you hadn’t previously heard of Steve Fors, his new album it’s nothing, but still is some of the best, wistful ambient I’ve heard this year. And I’ve listened to a lot!
https://hallowground.bandcamp.com/album/steve-fors-its-nothing-but-still
The Predatory Wasp 