Sexually deceptive, curiously receptive, and twisting through 180 degrees as they unfold their flowers to the sun, this week Jófríður Ákadóttir wields the orchid as a symbol of rebirth as the Icelandic singer-songwriter lands with spiralling strings, burgeoning synths, and ethereal vocals on her first track for the East London label Houndstooth. The James Brandon Lewis trio with Chris Hoffman on cello and Max Jaffe on drums are joined by the cornettist Kirk Knuffke for a clarion call in the name of freedom as the saxophonist unveils his upcoming album on Anti- Records, while Mark Kimbrell and Patrick Shiroishi elaborate the saxophone-drum duo tradition for AKP Recordings with an extract from their latest heaving improv as Oort Smog.
On his most collaborative effort to date, Jesse Peterson of Turn On The Sunlight enlists Cavana Lee alongside the orange laughter luminary Laraaji, the Mesoamerican folklorist Luis Pérez Ixoneztli, his wife Mia Doi Todd and more multifaceted companions for an album of sweeping murmurations and cloudless exaltations which through distant memories and shifted expectations carry the life-affirming message You Belong. The Porto-based harpist Angélica Salvi conjures the buck and brace of horse riding on an album which eschews post-production for live processing, Hypnotic Sleep and The Fulmars unfurl four foggy notions for Kashual Plastik somewhere between the garage graveyard of Dead Moon and percolating pungency of Party of One, while Enumclaw fulfill their destiny on their debut Save the Baby as the best guitar band since god knows when.
From bioacoustics and aural illusions to ambient spirituality and a Heraclitan sense of the all-conquering flow, the Berlin artist Felicity Mangan and bicoastal kindred spirits Photay and Carlos Niño share a fascination with water. Susana Santos Silva and Alexandra Nilsson thread trumpet improvisations through a breathable mesh of electronics, Glüme saddles up and goes on the lam in a quest full of heartache and love, and as Plains the duo of Katie Crutchfield and Jess Williamson quiet the tempest, as tracks by the acclaimed vibraphonist Patricia Brennan, rocky ragaist Matthew J. Rolin, and not-so-celibate monastic David John Morris complete the roundup.
Playlists: Spotify · Apple Music · YouTube
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Hypnotic Sleep – ‘Schnäi in en Braukwischen’
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James Brandon Lewis – ‘Someday We’ll All Be Free’
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Turn On The Sunlight – ‘Naturally’ (feat. Cavana Lee)
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Patricia Brennan – ‘Sizigia (Syzygy)’
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Felicity Mangan – ‘Dolphin Tricks’
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Susana Santos Silva & Alexandra Nilsson – ‘Bagua’
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Oort Smog – ‘Is Your Brother (Extract)’
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David John Morris – ‘TT’s Surf School’
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The Fulmars – ‘Hanging at the Polder’
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Glüme – ‘Do Me A Favor’
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