On her third album Vulture Prince, the Brooklyn-based Pakistani artist Arooj Aftab draws from Sufi devotionals and odes to separation and unrequited love, stretching out over a sound palette that encompasses the subtle improvisational sweep of the raga, the occasional skank of reggae, and the encompassing arch of jazz. The Berlin-based Iranian composer Mentrix gets inspired by all of the beautiful names of Allah, turning a traditional three-octave vocal chant into sleek percussion-based avant-pop.
Angel Olsen swells and swirls on an eleven-piece orchestral version of ‘Waving, Smiling’, adding ‘this song is all about chapters closing, and learning to let go of things I can’t understand’. Azu Tiwaline offers a windswept coda to the diptych Draw Me a Silence, melding her Berber heritage and the trancelike rhythms of Gnawa music with elements of techno and dub. The Margate multi-instrumentalist Raven Bush embraces chaos in the preparation of his debut album, while Walsall’s own Jorja Smith dwells inside a moment of loss.
Fossilized Wilderness finds a self-contained sort of beauty in the scratches on the surface of old promotional albums, and the Mexican producer OMAAR constructs tangled edifices out of syncopated drums. There are collaborations between Bicep and Clara La San, Floating Points and Pharoah Sanders, and The Alchemist, Navy Blue, and Earl Sweatshirt, while the pianist Hania Rani finds daybreak dance partners in the duo Alt. Take and the director Neels Castillon. Songs by Ethel Cain, Hannah Jadagu, Esperanza Spalding, Dlina Volny, and Wolftyla round out the best of the week.
Playlists: Spotify · Apple Music · YouTube
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Jorja Smith – ‘Gone’
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Azu Tiwaline – ‘Eyes of the Wind’
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Arooj Aftab – ‘Diya Hai’ (feat. Badi Assad)
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Ethel Cain – ‘Inbred’
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Wolftyla – ‘Keep You Close’
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Raven Bush – ‘Start of Something New’
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Esperanza Spalding – ‘formwela 3’
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Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders, and The London Symphony Orchestra – ‘Movement 5’
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Bicep – ‘Siena’ (feat. Clara La San)
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The Alchemist – ‘Nobles’ (feat. Earl Sweatshirt & Navy Blue)
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Angel Olsen – ‘Alive and Dying (Waving, Smiling)
