This week the eminent South African jazz drummer Ayanda Sikade returns with a sophomore album dedicated to his grandmother, featuring his frequent collaborator Nduduzo Makhathini on piano, Simon Manana on alto saxophone, and Nhlanhla Radebe on double bass. The outsider folk icon Michael Hurley pays the price for boasting two lovers, amid the rambling basslines, plucked banjos, sighing pump organ, and soaring vocal harmonies of a late summer sojourn. And the Chicago stalwart Jeff Parker steps out solo on the electric guitar, as six original compositions and two Thelonious Monk covers make up the shifting textures of Forfolks.
The Norwegian-Mexican producer Carmen Villain unveils her fourth studio album by way of the dub-infused cosmic wanderer ‘Gestures’, with Arve Henriksen of the avant-garde improvisational trio Supersilent on trumpet. Hailing from Kanagawa, the ambient sound artist Iu Takahashi blends chirpy and spacious field recordings with the bow and chime of slowly submerged synths. And the Palestinian underground hip hip pioneer Muqata’a gets the video treatment courtesy of Theresa Baumgartner, with system glitches and downtempo electronics reimagined through a series of gauzy paint tube vignettes.
Bridget Ferrill explores the inner life of four instruments, with thickly smeared and lovingly traced snatches of the Buchla modular, harp, viola da gamba, and zither. Two albums on the Miami label Noir Age by the Tunisian artist Anasisana and the Belgrade-based Zhe Pechorin hold listeners in an astral thrall. LaKeith Stanfield struggles to tread water while seeking spiritual salvation in the Metu Neter of Ra Un Nefer Amen. BNH Deluxe spills one out for the Sub Pop singles club, Earl Sweatshirt wipes the slate alongside Armand Hammer, and Maya Hawke, Kassi Valazza, Bully, Bakar, You’ll Never Get To Heaven, Anna Shoemaker, and Tyondai Braxton complete the best new tracks.
Playlists: Spotify · Apple Music · YouTube
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Tyondai Braxton – ‘Phonolydian’
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Muqata’a – ‘Quboor Mamila قُبور مَاميلا’
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Maya Hawke – ‘Blue Hippo’
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Bridget Ferrill – ‘Viola da Gamba’
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Kassi Valazza – ‘The Rapture’
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BNH Deluxe – ‘Earth Is Somewhere Out There’
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Anasisana – ‘If I Weren’t In Love With You, I Would Fall In Love With You’
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Zhe Pechorin – ‘Show Me That Future Can Be Kind To Me’
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Carmen Villain – ‘Gestures’ (feat. Arve Henriksen)
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Bakar – ‘Build Me a Way’
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You’ll Never Get To Heaven – ‘Dust’
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Htiekal – ‘Love Yourself’
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Earl Sweatshirt – ‘Tabula Rasa’ (feat. Armand Hammer)
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Anz – ‘You Could Be’ (feat. George Riley)
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Anna Shoemaker – ‘Change My Mind’
