As shelling roils the northeastern city of Kharkiv and tanks continue to close in on the Ukrainian capital, one of the clearest achievements of Vladimir Putin and his cronies to date has been to cut Russia off from diplomatic channels, financial markets, and so many other aspects of contemporary metropolitan life as to have stoked fears over the falling of a new Iron Curtain. Into the void Russian artists continue to speak out against the invasion of Ukraine, with the likes of Flaty, Perila, Hoavi, and Kedr Livanskiy among the 32 producers who have contributed to a Stop The War compilation by the label Gost Zvuk, whose proceeds will go towards humanitarian charities.
War and the spectres of war loom large over the playlist this week, as the saxophonist Patrick Shiroishi and percussionist Dylan Fujioka mark the eightieth anniversary of executive order 9066, which during the Second World War authorised the incarceration of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans. In the midst of rising violence against Asian Americans across the United States, the prolific improvisers reunite for a second collaborative record in support of the Los Angeles-based legal aid and civil rights organisation Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
Elsewhere Solomon Fesshaye skates from the dancefloor through the illuminated late night city streets of New York, with an evocative John Hughes-style montage accompanying his debut single for Ghostly International. Hinako Omori brings together therapeutic frequencies, binaural sound, and the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku or forest bathing while setting a poem by the poet and philosopher Emily Grosholz to music on the latest song from her upcoming album a journey…
Laura Cannell plays one for the hoarders as she explores the antiphonal nature of birdsong, and Nyokabi Kariuki uses field recordings, keyboards, kalimbas and languages including English, Kiswahili, Kikuyu, and Maa to transport the listener through memories of her upbringing in Kenya. Mdou Moctar release live takes, demo versions, and one new song as part of the deluxe edition of Afrique Victime, and the Polish quintet ||ALA|MEDA|| leave rock aesthetics behind for a deep dive into African and Latin American rhythms.
Carmen Villain finds a rich vein of cosmic jazz on the dub-inflected title track to her fourth studio album, while DJ Hank chops and reassembles Chicago footwork and draws inspiration from the marimba and bells of eighties Japanese ambient on his first record for Hyperdub. Through her stained glass vibrato and windswept minimalism the actor and composer Keeley Forsyth stalks a haunted yet fertile ground somewhere between the austere folk of June Tabor and late tremble of Scott Walker. From seaside ornaments to the succulent warmth of chicken teriyaki, tracks by Rosalía, Dream Beach, Helado Negro, Ziúr, and Kehlani complete the latest roundup.
Playlists: Spotify · Apple Music · YouTube
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Nyokabi Kariuki – ‘Equator song’
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ROSALÍA – ‘CHICKEN TERIYAKI’
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Laura Cannell – ‘For The Hoarders’
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Patrick Shiroishi & Dylan Fujioka – ‘in the frame of incarceration’
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Conway the Machine – ‘John Woo Flick’ (feat. Benny the Butcher & Westside Gunn)
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Solomon Fesshaye – ‘Star City’
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Baby Keem – ’16’
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Kehlani – ‘little story’
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Hinako Omori – ‘The Richest Garden in your Memory’
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Keeley Forsyth – ‘I Stand Alone’
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Carmen Villain – ‘Only Love From Now On’
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Helado Negro – ‘Hometown Dream’
