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The result of a short creative burst during a grim British winter, Cape Cira explores music as escapism, comprising a series of lush, warm vignettes that demonstrate music’s unique transportive power.

Cape Cira takes place in a sensuous sonic world between the natural and digital realms: FM synthesisers mimic acoustic instruments, tuned percussion and bird song; and found sounds and field recordings are processed with a hyperreal sheen.

In contrast to his clubbier productions, Cape Cira sees K-LONE explore the full melodic and textural potentials of his sound, drawing influence from ambient, fourth world, and modern classical music to create a work more closely related to the outputs of SND, Jon Hassell, Burnt Friedman, or - more recently - Don’t DJ and Visible Cloaks.

Credits
Written by Josiah Gladwell.
Mastered by Beau at Ten Eight Seven.
Artwork by Genevieve Slater.
Additional design by Guillaume de Ubéda.

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Cosmic Chicago modal organ grinder Jimmy Lacy developed the dexterous dialect of SiP some years back while helming a happy hour residency at a Logan Square cocktail lounge that required he vamp rambling three-hour sets nightly. With such a wide window to fill, he free-flowed serpentine mandala keyboard motifs across 15-minute expanses, soaking in every spiral, stasis, and sliding scale. These hypno-motion strategies were rehearsed and refined across stellar radio performances (notably for Planet Catieo, WLPN 105.5FM) and studio sessions, finally culminating in the sidewinder séances of his dazzling debut: Leos Naturals.

Lacy speaks of SiP as a headspace “in sync with my own clock and rhythms,” which is apparent in his uniquely attuned playing, both motorik and meandering, between raga, rave-up, and reverie. Limber lotus position keyboard designs interweave with soft threads of bass clarinet, melodica, kalimba, and percussion, deepening the spectrum and expanding the trip. It’s a music elevated yet earthbound, loose but precise, natural magic for unnatural times.
Credits:

Recorded by K. Klemaier.
Bass clarinet by E. Juhl.
Melodica by P. Prezzano.
Vocals by C. Lacy.
Mastered by KK.
Photography & design by D. Ryan.
Shapes by C. Hudson.

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The shock of the future feels closer than ever this year, and the currents of the communication highway are whipping around in a swirling digital wave. NYCT has always and will continue to champion the analog touch, sourced from far and wide, pressed to vinyl and vaulted to your local record store / delivery door. No matter how long it takes. But for now? Well, You Can’t Stop The Music! No Nos Pararan, amigxs! We’ve dipped into our treasure chest of archived, unreleased or brand new tunes and enlisted friends & family to contribute something special on the direct line… stat! Six tunes from six different artists for an ongoing compilation series to be released in the coming weeks. Bandcamp only. Direct from our house to yours.

Credits
©2020 Names You Can Trust
Compiled by Andrew Mason & Eric Banta
Artwork by Little Dynasty

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An acoustic reimagining of his acclaimed 2019 album Bloom Innocent, Bloom Innocent - Acoustic was recorded at JRS Studios in Berlin, where the Cornwall-born musician now lives, with Fink (vocals, acoustic guitar, piano, percussion, ebow, cajon, DAF, Fender Rhodes, effects) joined by bandmates Tim Thornton (acoustic guitar, percussion, piano, backing vocals) and Guy Whittaker (fretless acoustic bass, percussion, effects, backing vocals).

When talking about the inspiration for the new record, Fink says, “We wanted to make an alternative to the produced, lush soundscapes of Bloom Innocent. When you've just finished a record and all the tracks are still fresh in your mind and reverberating around your soul it's a great time to get down the alternative life of a song, so just after we mastered the original album we spent two days in JRS Studios in Berlin, run by Axel from Jazzanova. Axel is a total microphone freak so I knew he'd be able to capture the reality of real recording and live takes with some amazing vintage stuff. There are no overdubs or anything, we just did a few takes and picked the vibiest - or the one with the least mistakes.”

“We jammed around for an hour or so before each take. Sometimes it was a case of just playing it well, other times it took us down really new routes. ‘We Watch The Stars’ came out really folky for example, we just loved how it sounded. I also think ‘Rocking Chair’ really shines in these JRS sessions, but then again so does the simplicity of ‘My Love's Already There’. We did ‘I Just Want A Yes’ in a kinda ‘Pilgrim’ style, we took it from a sort of jazz odyssey on the record to a more indy-traditional space with the acoustic version, purely because it sounded so good in the room.”

On lead track “‘Out Loud (Acoustic)’, Fink comments: “This was written as a kind of "missing you" type of song, like fragmented reflections from the perspective of the one who hasn't left - a place I don't often inhabit to be honest as I do a lot of leaving. It's like a trip down my own personal memory lane, and when I sing it it takes me to my neighbourhood in Berlin, and to my hometown in West Cornwall.”