This week the shrouded South London producer Burial unspools a midwinter marvel in the form of the Antidawn extended play, where film samples and organ vamps sound out like the passing spectres of a church choir amid the vaporous slug of his washed-out cityscape. The trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith realises an Ankhrasmation score alongside the guitarists Alex Varty and Henry Kaiser, with the 55-minute-long Pacifica Koral Reef drawing upon themes of social injustice and climate change and experiences snorkelling in the Salish Sea.
The latest record by The Weeknd plays like an eighties easy listening radio station, running the gamut from yacht rock to city pop with Jim Carrey in the announcing booth and Oneohtrix Point Never on decks. The alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins unveils two movements from his sophomore album, featuring the Farafina Kan percussion ensemble while Micah Thomas on piano, Daryl Johns on bass, and Kweke Sumbry on drums round out his quartet. Soshi Takeda spins six songs with a Balearic vibe on his first for Constellation Tatsu. And from Fukuoka by way of Kyoto, the electronic producer Rilla receives a warm welcome to SVBKVLT.
As we settle into the new year, Jessica Pavone readies four ruminative and vibratory pieces for the viola, Teno Afrika tempers teeming amapiano, Ben McElroy disengages through traditional folk music rendered in a state of decay, and Earl Sweatshirt straddles the iceberg as he reveals the full tracklist for Sick! Quentin Ahmad DaGod partners with Bruiser Wolf in the latest from Bruiser Brigade Records, and Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood triple with Tom Skinner of Sons of Kemet. Following the wordless transformations of last month’s Mother’s Blood Edition, Penelope Trappes returns with a new video for the opening song from Penelope Three. Tracks by Hook, Chief Keef, and the Warsaw cellist Resina complete the latest roundup of new music.
Playlists: Spotify · Apple Music · YouTube
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Jessica Pavone – ‘When No One Around You is There but Nowhere to be Found’
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The Weeknd – ‘Gasoline’
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Quentin Ahmad DaGod – ‘Swamp Water’ (feat. Bruiser Wolf)
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HOOK – ‘GAMEBOY’
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Burial – ‘Strange Neighbourhood’
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Teno Afrika & Diego Don – ‘AK Love’
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Earl Sweatshirt – ‘Titanic’
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Immanuel Wilkins – ‘Emanation/Don’t Break’
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Ben McElroy – ‘Bed Down In The Murk’
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The Smile – ‘You Will Never Work In Television Again’
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Chief Keef – ‘Bitch Where’
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Wadada Leo Smith, Henry Kaiser, and Alex Varty – ‘Pacifica Koral Reef’
