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The measured evolution of the Haiku Salut girls has entered its latest phase as they shed their folktronic vestiges to reveal a softer, genteel fusion of popcorn friendly electronics, cinematic neoclassicism & field recordings to soundtrack your role in today's existential drama.

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​Manchester's Space Afrika via LAs Dais Records are repurposing chillout for the phone in hand, hydroponically high, nihilistic youth huddled in urban landscapes, sedating, contemplating & slowly awakening from this post-truth neoliberal nightmare.

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Manchester UK’s Space Afrika make music of what they term “overlapping moments” – oblique mosaics of dialogue, rhythm, texture, and shadow, half-heard through a bus window on a rainy night. Honest Labour, the group's first full-length since 2020's landmark hybtwibt? (have you been through what i’ve been through?) mixtape, expands the project's palette with classical strings, shimmering guitar, and visionary vocal cameos, leaning further into their enigmatic fusion of ambient unrest and cosmic downtempo. It's a sound both fogged and fragmented, at the axis of song craft and sound design, born from and for the yearning solitudes of life under lockdown. 

The album title is tiered, alluding to a legendary patriarch from co-founder Joshua Inyang's Nigerian family tree (who was lovingly called “Honest Labour” for his loyalty and resilience) as well as the nature of self-designated work, such as Space Afrika's music – a “labor of love” in its truest sense. With fellow co-founder Joshua Reid recently relocated to Berlin, the pair began sharing files last fall, piecing together poetic vignettes of looping haze and found sound, inspired by the notion of “records that leave an impression, and help the listener deal with their life.” As the isolation of Covid compounded with the worsening winter, the songs skewed increasingly introspective and emotive, reflecting a mood of dissipating futures and the infinite nocturnal unknown. 

The artists cite two core motivations for Honest Labour: to transcend the sum of their influences, and “to show what we're capable of.” Both ambitions are entirely realized. The collection's 19 tracks flow with a synergy and sophistication as rare as they are radical, untethered to the dusty dub-techno templates of Space Afrika's early years. These are interstitial anthems, expressionistic and open-ended, delirious but deliberate, attuned to the drift and dreamstate of the present moment: “Ultimately this is an homage to U.K. energy, and an album about love and loss.” ​

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Not content with basking in the glory of the stunning Cedars LP for Temporary Residence Ltd. (please check it as well), Field Works has de/reconstructed it from the ground up, replacing the poetic drama with gentle piano lines & the sounds of nature to accentuate its calming ambient qualities. Serene Sunday listening.

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Maples, Ash, and Oaks: Cedars Instrumentals is a mesmerizing soundtrack for a long walk in the woods, made up of pedal steel, oud, guitar, hurdy-gurdy, and piano. Based on the original Field Works album Cedars, this new suite of instrumental music brings the listener even deeper into the forest. For this special limited-edition release, Stuart Hyatt deconstructed each track from Cedars and rebuilt them one layer at a time. He removed the narrators’ voices and invited Julien Marchal to introduce piano as the new protagonist. The 15 new tracks are named from each line of the new poem, Deciduous, by Cecily Parks. The musical frameworks are based on the Field Works album Cedars, created by Marisa Anderson, Fadi Tabbal, and Stuart Hyatt – and performed by Julien Marchal, Youmna Saba, Dena El Saffar, Danny Paul Grody, Bob Hoffnar, Stuart Hyatt, Tomás Lozano, Nathan Bowles, Alex Roldan, Fadi Tabbal, and Marisa Anderson. The forest soundscape was recorded by Harrison Ridley in the Welsh countryside.​

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A soul saturated hip hop pick today from Chris Dave and his orchestra of soul, jazz, funk, spoken word, rap royalty laying down a swinging, laid back live vibe for real talk about the issues rather than low hanging braggadocio.

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CREDITS :
. Rich Medina (Spoken Words)
. Burniss "Boombishop" Travis (Bass)
. D.Rose (Vocalz)
. James Poyser (Keyz) 
. Jahi Sundance (Additional programming) 
. Black Milk (Production) 
. George Clinton (Vocalz)
. Spacebunny Jefferson (Vocalz)
. Frank Moka (Percussion) 
. Jairus Mozee (Guitar)
. Bobby Sparks (Analog Keyz) 
. Isaiah Sharkey (Guitarz)
. Jermaine Holmes (Lead Vocal, Background Vocalz )
. Thaddaeus Tribbet (Bass)
. Tom Ford (Guitarz)
. Pino Palladino (Bass) 
. Daniel Crawford (Keyz)
. J.Nap (Lyricist)
. Oswin Benjamin (Lyricist) 
. Ahrell Lumzy (Vocalz) 
. Rodrick Cliché (Keyz &Production)
. Chris Dave (Drumz, Percussion, Additional Keyz, Additional EFX, Organ, Bass Orchestration, Additional Programming)
. Moovmainty (Artwork)​

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Synthesized soul, a languid funk bump, transportive tropical tropes and a sun bleached lo-fi Balearic balminess mingle amiably in this smile inducing, warm weather winner from Reuben Vaun Smith for Soundway Records.

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Having further honed his craft, Reuben Vaun Smith returns to Soundway Records with a sonic odyssey through lo-fi Balearic and Afro-Caribbean influenced synth. 

Smith’s second album continues his exploration into improvised live instruments and programming, while venturing into new territories of music-making and genres including soca, benga and trip hop. Also sliding into the mix are organic sounds and riffs reminiscent of 2000s Villalobos sunrise scorchers such as ‘Waiworinao’, keeping the Balearic thread firmly present throughout the album. 

Having learned to sail along the southern coast of Spain in the last year, Smith spent a winter locked down in Yorkshire, channeling summer memories into his music and drawing influences from his own record collection which he would play everyday in the studio. With a few local friends and his brother to jam with, the result is dreamy and lo-fi, with more guitar-led melodies, distant vocals and lush pads. 

Smith’s debut album from 2020, ‘Warm Nights’, received an array of rave reviews and support from DJs including Tom Ravenscroft, Antal and Bill Brewster. One year later, Reuben Vaun Smith delivers a matured, varied sound and a glimpse into his incredible future potential.

CreditsMastered by Frank Merritt at The Carvery Studio 
Artwork by Riccardo Corda 
All tracks written and produced by Reuben Vaun Smith​

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Slip into some well worn but oh so comfortable, easy breezy Balearic listening from Hear & Now as they drop another summer honed collection of classic chillout sounds & heartstring tugging, memory nudging dance music tropery for Claremont 56 to soundtrack all your fun in the sun.

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Since joining the label back in 2018, Hear & Now have quickly become one of Claremont 56’s most prolific and consistent acts. The Italian duo impressed with their debut album Aurora Baleare – a drowsy, mood enhancing masterpiece – and then went one better with 2020’s Alba Sol, a seductive and sun-kissed set that incorporated more nods to Hear & Now members Ricky L and Marcoradi’s 1990s deep house roots. 

The pair have once more struck sonic gold with their third album, Milvus, a set whose colouful chords, unfurling melodies, warming instrumentation and sun-soaked vibes were mostly laid down during the various pandemic lockdowns of 2020. If it’s vivid, picturesque and immersive musical escapism you’re after, Milvus delivers and then some. 

The album’s clear White Isle-friendly intent can be heard on opening track ‘Bassa Marea’, a yearning chunk of horizontal brilliance in which guest musician Marco Evengelista’s emotive flugelhorn sounds spar with slow-motion, eyes-closed electric guitar solos over billowing ambient chords and a tactile, thickset bassline. The pair’s ability to craft high-class, saucer-eyed Balearic soundscapes is a theme that’s returned to several times across the album, with ‘Abisso’– another near beat-free slab of touchy-feely dreaminess – standing out. 

Ricky L and Marcoradi’s love of evocative, pitched-down excursions is another recurring theme. For proof, check out the chugging weariness of ‘Zanziblu’, where a lone whistle drifts across waves of heady chords and metronomic beats, the dub-fired Balearic reggae shuffle of ‘Coccobello’ and the bright aural colours of gentle title track ‘Milvus’, whose cascading piano motifs, echoing harmonica motifs and chunky dub disco grooves are as appealing as they are infectious. 

While the prevailing mood is perhaps even more horizontal than their previous albums, Hear & Now have not completely abandoned the dancefloor. Two of the set’s standout moments are those where the pair actively explore their early ‘90s Italian dream house roots. 

There’s the rolling haziness of ‘Levante’, where more emotion-rich electric guitar solos and ear-catching whistling softly spar with pulsing pads, club-ready house beats and chiming synthesizer motifs, and the breathlessly brilliant ‘Baiadriatica’, whose stirring, sustained opening chords should always be described as “rush-inducing”. 

Rich in jangling piano riffs, fluid keys, squelchy bass and glistening guitars, the track is little less than a glorious 21st century update of the dream house sound first made famous by the likes of Sueno Latino and Key-Tronic Ensemble. Like the rest of Hear & Now’s absorbing and emotive third album, it’s a stunning, sunset-ready delight. ​

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​Remix albums are often hit & miss affairs, but Flau's A-list choice of stem fiddlers have done an unfailing fine job of taking Kumi Takahara's recent contemporary classical LP in all sorts of easy going & enjoyable directions.

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See-Through is Kumi Takahara’s debut album, a collection of classical music with a contemporary spirit. Her emotive, indie style is a swirl of raw strings, found sound and glistening piano: part private diary, part daydream. With this collection of remixes, her personal music, recorded in her bathroom, has been connected through the sea to bedrooms around the world. featuring artists are Machionone, Dylan Henner, Zoe Polanski , 
Vague Imaginaires, Federico Durand, Porya Hatami, Hviledag, Roméo Poirier, Bartosz Kruczyński, The Humble Bee and Earth Trax.

Credits
​photo by Tonje Thilesen 
mastered by Gianni Perri​

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​I don't usually go for live recordings but this session from Lionmilk for Preference Records is such a great LA Beat nodding, tuned in & tripped out cosmic jazz session, with the distant recording giving procedings an even further out vibe.

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OTS, short for On The Spot, was a monthly installment at the local underground event Backbeat LA. Every first Wednesday we gathered friends in the LA community to showcase experimental improvisation. It was a place where artists were encouraged to play a set perpendicular to their usual performance material. 

Improvisation was the magnetic pull of the show. 

The Lionmilk house band was sometimes a trio, a duet, or a quintet. In this occasion, the Lionmilk Quartet was formed with homegrown Los Angeles musicians and dear friends Diego Gaeta, Caleb buchanan and Will Logan. True Homies are able to create without fear, trust in each other’s fonk you know? We let that trust speak for itself. 

That day, everything was “slightly” behind and late, in great LA fashion. The handful of people that showed up on time didn’t really mind either, they came and hung out with us while we were setting up. I took my time to setup the speakers, chairs, dj booth, gear… 

I even went to grab Vietnamese noodles for Caleb and Diego. When I came back with the food, Pax was starting the night, strumming his guitar and singing his song… 

Moki
CreditsMoki Kawaguchi - rhodes, juno 106, sp404, voices 
Diego Gaeta - Kurzveil K2000, Casio CZ1 
Caleb Buchanan - Bass 
Will Logan - Drums 

Recorded by Muwosi 
Mixed by Lionmilk 
Mastered By Daddy Kev 
Artwork by Tommy Sugimoto

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Ever imaginative & stylistically restless, Maarja Nuut is back with another walk on the weirder side as her chopped & chewed vocals garnish this psychedelic stew of twisted grooves, church organs, unidentifiable sounds, esoteric electronics, broken yet bullish drums & accessible avant-garde audio inventiveness.

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One’s existence hinges on past generations – we are what has come before. I gradually began to grasp this thought after inheriting my grandmother’s old farm. Five generations' worth of personal possessions; land that had sustained my forebearers. Clearing the impenetrable brush, and sorting through buildings bursting with artifacts, felt like a long ritual filled with layers, layers, and more layers. In between this physical, emotional work, I spent time in my seaside studio randomly wiring modulars, experimenting with my voice, and strumming old vermona organ, just as a spontaneous reflection of my thoughts or, at times, as an imaginary reunion of relatives. Those sessions eventually became Hinged, a record deserving of its very specific bilingual title – in Estonian, it means departed spirits and soul; in English, a link that holds things together. These songs are a thread between the two meanings, and a summation of a year spent exploring my family history and my place in it.

Creditsall music composed and produced by maarja nuut 
tracks 1, 2 & 8 featuring Nicolas Stocker on drums 
drums recorded by Dave Eleanor at RDLC4 
mixed by Evar Anvelt 
mastered by Rafael Anton Irisarri 
vinyl cut by Caspar Sutton-Jones 
design by Elisabeth Klement 
pressed at Vinyl Plant in Tartu 

very special thanks: Evar, Nicolas Stocker, Ats, Adam Cullen, Hannah Peel, Simon from Mute Song, Eesti Kultuurkapital, Elisabeth Klement, Benjamin Wigley

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I think we're into the third wave of lockdown LPs now & Andrew Wasylyk's for Clay Pipe Music is a most welcome entry to the canon. Rays of early morning sun brighten existential gloom, hitherto taken for granted urban green spaces offer respite & new found joy in life's minutia is rekindled during this lovely laid back, orchestral library meets languid jazz walk on the sunny side of the pandemic.

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As the Spring of discontent took hold on 2020, composer Andrew Wasylyk sought shelter in the familiar. Low-light morning walks in Dundee’s 19th century Balgay Park acted as sanctuary and solace to events happening in the world outside. Opened in 1871 the park, with adjoining cemetery and sweeping panoramic views across the Firth Of Tay’s inner estuary, is known for its astronomical observatory which sits high on a wooded hill and is the only full-time public observatory in the UK. 

These walks, along with the comfort found in work and routine, helped alleviate the universal cloud of anxiety that swept the first part of the year, and soon Andrew found that his daybreak strolls were seeping into the music he was creating. Slowly, a collection of luminous, inventive and largely instrumental music was taking shape. 

The ten compositions that make up Balgay Hill: Morning In Magnolia present themselves as hymns to early morning light, the optimism at the start of the day, and the simple joy that can be found close to home exploring an inner-city park. As with last year’s Fugitive Light And Themes Of Consolation and Scottish Album Of The Year Award shortlisted The Paralian (2019), trumpet and flugelhorn are handled by fellow Tayside musician Rachel Simpson, who's delivery blends muted swells and punctuated patterns. 

The hallmarks of Wasylyk’s multi-dimensional approach to composing, performing and producing glow soft throughout the arrangements. His timeless, yet entirely individual,melodies remain potent and apparent. A warped tape loop cycles over a Fender Rhodes motif - elegiac strings underlined by the thud of analogue drum machine. Textures shift and shade like dawn glimmering through the branches of a sycamore. Infused with field-recordings made on his morning rambles; finches flutter in the high green canopy, a dog walker shuffles in fallen leaves, the faint hum of lawnmower and passing passenger-less bus. Elsewhere, a wood pigeon clatters through a blossom tree, migratory geese call above Mills Observatory and the heavy summer rain rattles down on empty streets. 

Balgay Hill: Morning In Magnolia is as much a daydream rubric through solitude as it is meditative map. An invite to untold stories and images that take flight in the listener’s mind.Here, Andrew Wasylyk offers another cohesive, unique, and transcendental journey through ambient, library and jazz. A comfort to pause, to look up, and to celebrate our human connection with the nature around us, and within us all.​

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