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Music

Mary Lattimore, MIZU, Jamal Shakeri, Laraaji – Midnight Moon Pool (Womb of the Soul)

If you think that’s a long artist / title combo… you’re right! And it comes from a VA compilation the scope of which is genuinely staggering. With production beginning in 2021, and over 100 artists contributing, TRAИƧA is a new compilation across 8 chapters and 46 songs, spotlighting the gifts of many of the most daring, imaginative trans and non-binary artists working today. Artists include (deep breath) Mary Lattimore, Devendra Banhart, claire rousay, Ana Roxanne, Julien Baker, Grouper, Moses Sumney, Andre 3000, Gia Margaret plus, plus, plus. Ridiculous.

https://redhot.bandcamp.com/album/tra-a

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Music

Jack J – Wrong Again

Korg M1-lead romantic r&b from Australian, Canada-based Jack J who’s one half of Pender Street Steppers and member of the Mood Hut collective.

https://jackj.bandcamp.com/album/blue-desert

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Music

Cindy – The Bell

I’m feeling somewhat bleak today and this is matching my mood.

https://cindytheband.bandcamp.com/album/swan-lake

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Music

Becky and the Birds – Star

Becky and the Birds is the project of Swedish artist Thea Gustafsson. Her sound blends neo-soul, electronic, and R&B influences, drawing inspiration from artists such as Bon Iver and Frank Ocean and her new album Only music makes me cry now landed today. Opener Star hints at a slightly more abrasive, glitchier style than some of her previous releases which have leaned more into atmospheric dream pop, but her voice remains as beguiling and fragile as ever.

https://shop.4ad.com/release/472790-becky-and-the-birds-only-music-makes-me-cry-now

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Music

Milan W. – Ballad

Milan W.’s new album Leave Another Day feels like the culmination of 16 years weaving his way through projects like Crumar Young, Mittland Och Leo, Speedqueen, and Beach. Across 12 tracks, he distills dusky country, noir jazz, and indie-pop melancholia into a cohesive, dreamlike whole. His voice – weightless yet commanding – hovers in perfect suspension, threading through warm synth tones and intricate textures with the grace of an old soul navigating new terrain.

https://stroomtv.bandcamp.com/album/leave-another-day

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Music

Night Tapes – to be free

The latest single from my favourite new musical discovery of 2024 isn’t quite reaching the lofty heights of Assisted Memories, but the formula’s still working.

https://nighttapesmusic.bandcamp.com/track/to-be-free

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Music

Skee Mask – MDP1

Skee Mask just released the latest album in a series that pulls together batches of previously unreleased tracks, these made between 2016 and 2022. As with its predecessors, D is more coherent and accomplished than 99% of electronic albums released this year; an impressive feat given that this is essentially a sweep of the cutting room floor.

https://skeemask.bandcamp.com/album/d

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Music

doris dana – tedio

Did you miss me? I was in Scotland for a week, and the wifi situation was untenable. Anyway I’m back now and have this deliciously mournful, Grouper-adjacent recommendation as an apology gift. The alias of Colombian-born artist Mónica Mesa, doris dana delves into the abstract aesthetics of liminal spaces and intangible experiences, and her new album Reveries is a late contender for experimental album of the year.

https://somewherepress.bandcamp.com/album/reveries

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Music

Dylan Henner – There Was A Scattered Light Between The Leaves

College Music Presents: PhonoSynthesis is the label’s fourth VA compilation, and explores the intimate relationship between music and nature, spanning solo, acoustic sounds through to modular synthesis masterpieces, and everything in between. Includes contributions from Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, Shopan and this beauty from Dylan Henner.

https://collegemusicrecords.bandcamp.com/

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Music

DANIAILYAS – Breathe and Start Again

Well this is just totally lush. DANIAILYAS is a transatlantic collaboration between Barcelona’s Dania Shihab and Portland’s Ilyas Ahmed. On their debut EP, Enough For Me To Remain, Shihab’s ethereal vocals and sweeping synths are intricately intertwined with Ahmed’s fluid, unpredictable guitar work. The result is a deeply immersive, almost spectral experience, balancing tenderness with an underlying tension. What emerges is both intimate and disorienting, like a love letter written in shadow and light, offering release and rupture in equal measure.

https://daniailyas.bandcamp.com/album/enough-for-me-to-remain