From the flotsam and jetsam on the surface of the water to sunken satellites, grimacing groupers, and the somnolent blues and glistening radiance of the ocean deep, this week the sound artist Alexandra Spence uses submerged tape recordings, clarinet, woodblock, and queña, pontoon and other ephemera dredged up from the Pacific for an underwater adventure on Mappa Editions.
Born in Baghdad and raised in Tasmania, now dividing her time between life as an emergency doctor in the wilds of Australia and the experimental margins of Barcelona where she founded the label and publishing house Paralaxe Editions, the composer Dania Shihab weaves together a gossamer tapestry of looped and layered vocals on her droning and levitating solo debut Voz.
Taking their name from Jean Dubuffet’s twelve-year-long Hourloupe cycle, the musicians and poets Anar Badalov and Frank Menchaca dispel the silence of New Orleans crypts and Moorish reflecting pools with a burnishing warmth, an owlish hoot and a ravenous holler. Self-released back in 2014 at the end of a residency at the Gyeonggi Creation Center, the musicologist Youmna Saba’s third studio album conceived as a dialogue between voice and oud finally winds its way to streaming services.
The pianist John Escreet enlists the drummer Damion Reid and double bassist Eric Revis for his first album at the helm of a trio, while on hurdy-gurdy and percussion, Lucas Niggli and Matthias Loibner conjure the stepped cascades and squiggling phrases of a steadily encroaching storm. From the sandy beaches of Rio de Janeiro by way of the bustling club scene in Amsterdam, the producer Lyzza readies her new mixtape for the relaunched Ninja Tune imprint Big Dada, and Glüme switches gears and revs the engines of the Italians Do It Better compilation After Dark 4.
Maya Hawke indulges her sweet tooth in exchange for a few cavities, Kenny Mason sings the body electric lit by the spark of an idea, Michael Beach inhabits the hallowed halls and sways past the staggered street corners of a memory, and tracks by Silvana Estrada, Fireboy DML, Asake, and the pan-African collective Montparnasse Musique complete the roundup.
Playlists: Spotify · Apple Music · YouTube
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Glüme – ‘Dangerous Blue’
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Lucas Niggli & Matthias Loibner – ‘Singing no Song’
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Montparnasse Musique – ‘Bonjour’
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Silvana Estrada – ‘Brindo’
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Fireboy DML & Asake – ‘Bandana’
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Kenny Mason – ‘Get An Idea’
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