The Predatory Wasp
If you’re interested in under-the-radar ambient, this end of year list from Post Ambient Lux is worth checking out (although the actual best ambient album of the year by OHYUNG is weirdly missing, which does make me question their judgment just a little). Awe Kid’s ambient breakbeat LP Body Logic is one of my favourite finds on there so far, with the lush, shimmering pads and celestial synths of Atavistic Paths a real highlight.
A lot of posts this month are likely to be based on me scrolling through countless end of year lists and writing variations on “how the fuck did I miss this – it’s amazing!” Today, though, I do have something new for you, taken from Moby’s new ambient album released on 01 January, “made to help anxiety (my own, and hopefully yours, too)”. amb 23-14 is a sparse 9 minute piano piece, with a few gently billowing synths drifting in and out, and seems appropriate for the first post of the year.
He left it late, but for the second year in a row Traumprinz comes through with December music: 16 new, original tracks over the course of a 90 minute set. I already know that this will be one of the pieces of music I return to next year. Thumping, emotional ambient-leaning techno from the undisputed master.
Raw Poetic and Damu The Fudgemunk collaborated on one of my favourite albums of this year – the massively underrated Laminated Skies – and this is similarly brilliant: robotic funk, hypnotic lyrics and the second single from their forthcoming album Space Beyond the Solar System, which lands this Friday.
https://damuthefudgemunk.bandcamp.com/track/digits-single-mix
I’m really not going to make a habit of sharing festive songs this month, but I just heard this and it made me laugh: a hyperpop/rap/Twelve Days of Christmas mashup that’s totally unhinged in a very enjoyable way.
Inspired by two peripheral characters in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Klara and The Sun, Brendon John Warner’s new single explores the dissonance of reconnecting with society after years of separation; a theme expanded on by Alex Botton in his visual accompaniment to the song, framing the odd behaviours among and between random individuals in public spaces. Evoking both the awe-inspiring neon-soaked soundtracks of Vangelis and the earthily raw, visceral power of Vladislav Delay’s Rakka, Coffee Cup Lady & Raincoat Man is extremely impressive.
Daniel Avery has assembled an impressive raft of caollborators on his new album Ultra Truth, with production from Ghost Culture and Manni Dee, vocals courtesy of HAAi, Jonnine Standish (HTRK), AK Paul and the “voices” (not sure why that’s different from ‘vocals’, but apparently it is) of Marie Davidson, Kelly Lee Owens, Sherelle and James Massiah. It’s a more contemplative record that he’s produced before – way more afterparty mong than peak time rave up – and is probably the release of his I’ve enjoyed the most, which tells you everything you need to know about my current levels of rave-readiness. Spider is 90s-evoking ambient techno with all the OTT heartfeltness that entails, and I love it.
There is a frankly obscene amount of music I’m interested in out today including albums from Okay Kaya, µ-Ziq, MorMor, Daniel Avery and plenty more, so here’s a very quick post about one of the best tracks I’ve heard today so I can get on with listening to everything else.
Here’s something of a throwback, at least in terms of the kind of music I listen to these days. Michael Claus’s new album Lavender Palace is deep house. Like actual deep house. No urgent basslines and catchy vocal samples here! It’s a throwback to the days when this was pretty much all I listened to, with shades of Moomin, Francis Harris, even Larry Heard; a beautiful, sad, dusty old collection of house music that absolutely doesn’t want you to dance, and would strongly prefer if you listened to it by yourself while feeling extremely, paralysingly melancholic about something. Works for me!
Post-Drive analogue synth-a-thon Destiny is a duet with Bree’s long-time collaborator Princess Chelsea, with its release marking the 20th anniversary of Lil’ Chief Records, the New Zealand based record label Bree formed with friend and musical collaborator Scott Mannion. For Xanax-fulled days and nihilistic nights.
The Predatory Wasp 