Illuminating a story from their national history, this week the composer Pepa Päivinen and the percussionist Jussi Miettola recount the Finnish Civil War, as layers of woodwind and flute, the Seagull Merlin strummable dulcimer, drums, and vocals conjure the condensed breath and curtailed destinies of a bitter conflict which after its springtime conclusion left a lingering cold. From the experimental fringes of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the pristine electronic stylist La Roche fashions street-level sonic vignettes for Nyege Nyege Tapes. And fifteen years on from his last solo album, the Polish American braindance veteran Bogdan Raczynski makes a tender return on Planet Mu.
Following her standout extended play Fresia Magdalena, the producer Sofia Kourtesis returns to the fray alongside Manu Chao, dedicating the song ‘Estación Esperanza’ to her mother while sampling the chants from a protest against homophobia in her native Peru. The Texas singer-songwriter Jana Horn clambered the banks of the Jordan and recalibrated her faith ahead of her solo debut Optimism, which finds a release on No Quarter Records. And from the Tanks at Tate Modern, now Pan Daijing turns the five-part immersive suite Tissues into an hour-long studio recording with its howling synthesizers and hallowing soprano and mezzo voices in old and modern Chinese.
There are new records this week from Tanya Tagaq, Eiko Ishibashi, Boris, Rilla, and DJ Python. Arca distends the ‘Big Science’ of Laurie Anderson, Raveena adopts the persona of a Punjabi space princess on ‘Rush’, while Big Thief mull over the bolting horses and crooked courses of modern living on ‘Simulation Swarm’. With the addition of the jazz luminary Daniel Carter, the tenor saxophonist Ayumi Ishito, pianist Eric Plaks, bassist Zach Swanson, and drummer Jon Panikkar give themselves over to the joys of free improvisation on their first volume as Open Question. Laila Sakini, Nilüfer Yanya, FKA twigs, Jenny Hval, Kae Tempest, and Tinashe complete the roundup of best new tracks.
Playlists: Spotify · Apple Music · YouTube
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Sofia Kourtesis – ‘Estación Esperanza’ (feat. Manu Chao)
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Big Thief – ‘Simulation Swarm’
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Nilüfer Yanya – ‘midnight sun’
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Pepa Päivinen – ‘Personal Breath’
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Tinashe – ‘X’ (feat. Jeremih) & ‘I Can See the Future’
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DJ Python – ‘Club Sentimiental Vol Three’
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Raveena – ‘Rush’
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Laila Sakini – ‘a healing tear’
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Open Question – ‘Blues’ (feat. Daniel Carter, Ayumi Ishito, Eric Plaks, Zach Swanson, Jon Panikkar)
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Boris – ‘Beyond Good and Evil’
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Pan Daijing – ‘A Found Lament’
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Kae Tempest – ‘More Pressure’ (feat. Kevin Abstract)
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Laurie Anderson – ‘Big Science’ (Arca Remix)
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FKA twigs – ‘meta angel’
