Stretching a simple conceit, this week Panda Bear and Sonic Boom take on the 1963 smash hit ‘Denise’ by Randy & the Rainbows, spinning the opening bars of the doo-wop classic into a sea of sun-dappled bliss which skips beyond the horizon. On solitary twelve-string or with a merry band of collaborators including Tyler Damon, Cameron Knowler, and Yasmin Williams, the guitarists Matthew J. Rolin and Eli Winter combine glorious Midwestern vistas with the improvisational sweep of the raga.
For the latest selection from ‘Tombstones’, a collection of twenty songs by the Wandelweiser composer Michael Pisaro-Liu styled as a shifting canvas of experimental pop derived from fragments of country and blues, the singer Julia Holter fronts an ensemble which features Andrew Lafkas on the double bass, Tucker Dulin on trombone, Katie Porter on clarinets, Sam Sfirri on piano and melodica, and Ron Wiltrout on percussion and keys. Directed by the guitarist Jason Brogan and bookended by ‘Blues fall’ and ‘The darkness is falling’, the set of six songs were recorded at the Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral in Brooklyn back in the fall of 2012.
After summoning the ghosts and satirizing the aesthetics of traditional Japanese culture on his recent trilogy, the ambient designer Meitei adopts the name Tenka and explores the rich sensory pleasures of his surrounds, explaining that ‘For me, making music is not a concept of enjoyment or pleasure, but something that becomes part of my life, a record of my daily activities, like seeing something with my eyes or breathing in something with my lungs’. The drummer Clemens Kuratle strives to bring out the best of the Swiss and British jazz scenes alongside Lukas Traxel on bass, Chris Guilfoyle on guitar, Elliot Galvin on piano and electronics, and Dee Byrne on the alto saxophone.
The vertiginously prolific saxophonist Sam Gendel draws inspiration from the geometric patterns of sashiko embroidery, sketching out melodies from the isolation of a makeshift studio built in a cabin floating atop a tributary of the Columbia River. Amid cowbell whacks and wobbling bass, the South African producer Mbulelo Mehlomakhulu splits the ground between the sweeping gqom of Durban and shimmering Detroit techno.
Like chirruping birds and languorous woodwinds locked inside a plastic reality, Goo Age brings his distinct blend of delicate beauty and high-definition sound design to Orange Milk Records. Serenading the Greek gods through guitar loops and a specious sixties croon, Bobby Would descends swampiest Styx. From the sticky resin of tree-touching in Berlin to ketamine therapy, Dolly Parton, and John Cassavetes, the shapeshifting and sonically furtive Okay Kaya unveils a concept album about consciousness. Tracks by Yunzero, Pa Salieu, Ela Minus, and DJ Python complete the roundup.
Playlists: Spotify · Apple Music · YouTube
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Sam Gendel – ‘Tate-waku (竪沸く, rising steam)’
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Michael Pisaro-Liu – ‘Blues fall’ (feat. Julia Holter)
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Tenka – ‘Nutrition ~ Microorganisms In The Darkness Of Life ~’
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goo age – ‘inner headset ⏑∙⏑ ⍜ beyond the skybox’
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Clemens Kuratle Ydivide – ‘Lumumba’
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Matthew J. Rolin – ‘Passing’ & ‘Shingles’
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Eli Winter – ‘Davening in Threes’
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Panda Bear & Sonic Boom – ‘Edge of the Edge’
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Pa Salieu – ‘Mista / Lennon Freestyle’
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Ela Minus & DJ Python – ‘Pájaros en Verano’
