Seasonally distressed tones and chlorophyll deprived keys are encouraged to depart their elevated summer residencies  by parky electronic breezes in Thme's impressively detailed new ambient LP for Vaknar that is more about autumnal beauty than  summer lament.

Sensory bliss laced in time, woven in particles 
and suspended in thin air. 

Produced by Théo Martin in 2022creditsMastered by Ian Hawgood

A keen, self aware observer who details  her journey through the present day U.S. condition via persuasive alt-folk guitar Marisa Anderson says a lot without words preferring to lay down a series of forgiving emotional trails far away from the shouting for us to contemplate as we see fit. One thing is for certain though, with the help of Thrill Jockey she's making Americana great again.

​Marisa Anderson is one of the most eminent guitarists working today. Her lucid, eloquent approach to guitar music and composition has established her as an unparalleled artist and an insightful, coveted collaborator. Anderson’s work draws on a mosaic of folk music and lives in conversation with myriad musical traditions. Her music is inviting and candid, beckoning the listener into sprawling ecosystems and intimate corners alike, from barren landscapes to verdant thickets, impassioned communal experiences to pensive reclusions. As a master of her instrument, Anderson translates abstractions into undeniably moving music, tracing through traditional folk tunes, imagined Sci-Fi films, and foggy sanctuaries of sound. Still, Here is Anderson at her most direct, laying bare her practice of processing and understanding the world through music and distilling that practice into pieces as expressive as they are transfixing. 

The pieces of Still, Here center around Anderson’s present. The album is a compendium of living moments captured by her preternatural ability to mold human realities into enduring, lyrical compositions. Away from the road for the longest stretch of her career, the making of Still, Here affirmed for Anderson the role of the guitar as an essential tool in processing external and internal realities. “I don’t get ideas and then turn to the guitar, rather I turn to the guitar to find out what my ideas are. I turn towards it for meaning.” The discordance of protest and upheaval emanates from a propulsive acoustic ostinato and mournful dueling pedal steel guitars on “The Fire This Time,” pausing only to allow space for the blare of sirens on the Portland street near Anderson’s studio. “The Crack Where the Light Gets In” rapturously revels in the glimmers of hope that peek through a pall of darkness. Across Still, Here, Anderson’s playing transmutes the tributaries of fluctuating emotions into a unified flow, stirring and sublime. 

Anderson’s compositional process is flexible and wide ranging, resulting in a collection of pieces that are varied in tone and timbre. Still, Here’s improvisational pieces like the seething “The Fire This Time” and the achingly beautiful “Waking” showcase Anderson’s immediate and sheer elemental capacity to speak through her instrument. Anderson transforms the traditional tune of personal tragedy “La Llorona” by deftly pairing the intimate, physical sound of a nylon string acoustic guitar with a hazy, otherworldly electric guitar. “In Dark Water” propels kinetic fingerpicked figures across a weightless droning synthesizer and scattered electric piano. A hypnotic requinto on “Night Air,” which was sampled on Matmos’ 2020 album The Consuming Flame, steadily oscillates a repeated riff as emphatic piano chords trade chordal melodies. 

Still, Here emphatically makes the case for Anderson’s profound artistry, each piece intimately revealing a new aspect of Anderson as a player and as a human being navigating the path laid before her. Marisa Anderson’s Still, Here is for the listener an alchemical salve, the work of a gifted player with an exceptional ability to convey the complexities of the human experience through composition.  creditsreleased September 23, 2022 

All music written, performed and produced by Marisa Anderson, except La Llorona (traditional, arranged by Marisa Anderson) and Beat the Drum Slowly (traditional, arranged by Marisa Anderson). 

Recorded by Marisa Anderson, Mixed by Jesse Munro Johnson, mastered by Amy Dragon at Telegraph Mastering. Photos by Dante Korinto. Design by Daniel Castrejon. 

Heartfelt thanks to Pati, Jodi, Dwayne, Gen, Tim, Vir, Laura, Ben, Sylvie, Coen, Jesse, Dante, and everyone at Thrill Jockey.

Imagining humanity's near future through an ambient post-dubstep lens, Action Sports (Matthew Peptone & Dylan Howe) foresee smart drug ridden inner cities, Fourth World utopian communes whose time has come, climate ravaged wildernesses & micro-climate situated smart-spa regeneration centres, as inequality is seemingly eternal.

"The number 3 has always held powerful symbolism. Think about good things coming in 3s, the birth-life-death cycle, the mind-body-soul connection, the 3 acts of a typical story." - Kerry Ward 

PP015 

"III" finds the duo behind Julius Theory and Portland Compressor revisiting their Action Sports moniker for the third and final time, completing a trilogy which began with "I" (released on Angoisse in 2017) and "II" (released on Gin&Platonic in 2020). 

"III" continues a tripped-out tradition of genre-morphing surrealism, pushing experimentalism through all possible angles. From the deconstructed baroque dub of "Cubivored" to the rompler funk jam of "Smoker's Alcove," Action Sports' "III" is expansively zany and ultra moody in equal measure.

All music, mixing and mastering by Dylan Howe and Matthew Pepitone

By cosmic coincidence another Tarotplane album has materialised from the Baltimore interdimensional corridor. On this latest LP for Constellation Tatsu he wears his influences on his sleeve with a suitably sprawling cosmic homage, aided by correspondence & diligent research, to major influence, distant guide & Kosmische deity Manuel Göttsching.

Based on many years of research and correspondence, Tarotplane sought to accurately emulate the style and sound of Manuel Gottsching. "Aeonium" is a psychedelic treasure, capturing moments from Krautrock favorites but moving into new realms and spaces unexplored in the genre. 

The cover image is “DENKENDER EMBRYO72” (1972), a silkscreen by Gernot Bubenik photographed by the artist specifically for this release.  www.bubenikgernot.com/index-e.html

Opening his box of great instrumental parts - not least his own guitar work, Knobs immediately deconstructs them further and ignoring the assembly instructions eagerly joins the minuscule pieces into short audio collages filled with odd sounding familiarity,  precision haphazardness & tuneful outside the music box wonder.

Vinyl available here: 
qrates.com/projects/27612-stipple 

Stipple is a musical connect-the-dots. 

Each track is a puzzle, built around skittering guitar loops and grounded by a chamber orchestra. A tangled and dense shape, appearing slowly. 

At times soothing, at times unsettling, Stipple uses every piece. 

Stipple is the debut album from Knobs.

Credits 

Performed and produced by Scott Harper 

Additional instrumentation: 
Lap steel = Christine Bougie 
Cello, Upright bass = Andrew Downing 
Wurlitzer = Dafydd Hughes 
Clarinet = Julia Hambleton 
Accordion, bandoneon = Drew Jurecka 
Drums = Joshua Van Tassel 

Mixed by Joshua Van Tassel 
Mastered by Heather Kirby 
Art & Design by Meaghan Barry 

Thank youuu.

​https://open.spotify.com/user/theslowmusicmovement/playlists

Nice to hear Greg Foat back in the driving seat and setting the controls for the astral plain whilst his fellow jazz passengers project detached streams of musical consciousness through Foat's kosmische meditations until the celestial spheres are out of sight and all is light. 

The Classic Greg Foat Group line-up returns with special guests Art Themen on Soprano Saxophone and Morgan Simpson (Black Midi) on Drums. Heavy Synth and percussive Grooves

I don't know what she's saying, but I'm certainly entranced by the way Cerys Hafana says it. So take a Sunday road trip through harp led folkloric Welsh ways that undulate through the Snowdonian landscape into minimal harp picked valleys and up to more imposing vocal peaks. An enchanting LP.

CREDITS

llun y clawr / cover image - Mia Gwenllian
dyluniad / design - Miriam Davies
llun mewnol / internal image - Heledd Wyn

telyn deires a llais / triple harp and vocals - Cerys Hafana
bodhrán - Sam Robinson
bas dwbl a soddgrwth / double bass and cello - Jordan Price Williams
althorn - Elaine Turnbull
peiriannu, cymysgu a mastro / engineered, mixed, mastered - Mike West
cynhyrchu ychwanegol (traciau 1 a 10) / additional production (tracks 1 and 10) - Cerys Hafana

Always great to hear F.S. Blumm embark on another dub adventure, and once again he somehow manages to retain that classic dub authenticity whilst satiating his whimsical, playfully avant-garde sonic inclinations - a rare balancing act.

Dirtiness and Divergency 
It's a mystery what the handwriting of an artist is made of. What are the ties between artist and art? Why do we recognize the sound of a music producer even if they suddenly create music of a differnet genre? 

On his new album "Kiss Dance Kiss" F.S.Blumm remains unmistakably himself, even if he assembles dub- infected, saturated, overdriven instrumental tracks. It may be his signature guitar sound, the disarmingly straightforward melodies, or the irresistible groove: This groove is compelling but unobtrusive. Three, sometimes four notes create timeless melodies. 
F.S.Blumm unleashes his love for beats and dub by allowing the bone-dry riddims to dive deeply into the genre typical echo-chamber, combined with sweet guitar arpeggios and melodic basslines. These are friendly dub monsters. It doesn’t all fit seamlessly into the homogeneous sound. Take "Nimbb" with it's angular electronic groove, devoid of any melody, or the surprising horn timbres on "Twistert". 

As with all of Blumm‘s works, there is a familiar intimacy even within big echo chambers. 

His music searches for the sweet spot. He waits for the right time to record a piece, allowing for the exact degree of maturity of an idea, the magical moment when guest musicians meet, the collision between a well-planned process and happy coincidence. Finding the perfect spot for microphone placement, walking the fine-line between too slow and too fast, pinpointing the right delay-time are all inherent in Blumm's craft. It is a music full of these fragile constellations, interferences and synergies. 

The concept of 'composition through duplication' is repeated visually on the cover: 

Repetition creates blur and noise. Patterns rub against each other. Sound waves flutter in the wind. A simultaneous sunrise and sunset indicate the search for the perfect overlap. 
Each track acts like a rhythmic serving suggestion for individual dance moves. Music for the daily dance around the kitchen table. A lookbook for kraut-dub, analog-electro or adult-instrumental-pop. 

.. and now out into the sun.

It's been a long stressful week, so the chill out agenda has been ditched for the day & the end of week freak is back, and there's no better new listen than the driving, psychedelically swirling, insistent grooves and Pan-Arabic punk of Al-Qasar whose new LP for Glitterbeat is saying something on every level. I imagine the live show is worth travelling a long way for.

When continents collide, they make a thunderous sound. Al-Qasar create the soundtrack to that fission on their full-length debut, Who Are We? It is music for a world in flux, with its ancestors deep in the past, but something that could only have been born in the 21st century. Arabian fuzz, they term it, a vision that’s brazenly electric and deeply connected to its roots. 

But it had a definite starting point. 

“Al-Qasar was born in the Barbès neighbourhood of Paris,” explains band leader Thomas Attar Bellier. “I’ve lived in Los Angeles, Paris, New York, Lisbon… I wanted to start a project that was in tune with the daily life of people living in these international cities, something diverse, radically colourful, with a fresh, contemporary outlook on what societies really look like today”. The musicians came together, from France, Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, and the United States. Shows followed, first in France, then in Europe and the Middle East. They put out an EP, the widely-lauded Miraj, recorded in Cairo. In the same time frame, Attar Bellier collaborated with the likes of Emel Mathlouthi and Dina El Wedidi, two of the most exciting names in contemporary Arab music. 

Work on Who Are We? began in December 2020, with Attar Bellier composing eight tracks that writhe and roar in skilfully controlled chaos. Bass, drums and traditional percussion create a deep, irresistible groove for the foundation, while electric saz and guitars build a wailing wall above, with Moroccan vocalist Jaouad El Garouge’s ecstatic voice, steeped in his Gnawa upbringing, pulling inspiration from history as it strides into the future. 
Drawing on years of experience working in Los Angeles studios, Attar Bellier produced the album. Who Are We? translates the sound that inhabited his head into something physical that stirs spirit, heart and feet. It is relentless and insistent, like a psychedelic celebration on the dancefloor, bristling with the kind of deep energy that makes Al-Qasar sound like the world’s most dangerous wedding band. 

During those years spent behind the control board, Attar Bellier made some good friends in the US, and they’ve been eager to help out on the project. Alain Johannes (Queens of the Stone Age, PJ Harvey) mixed the record, and Grammy-winner Dave Collins mastered it. The Dead Kennedys’ Jello Biafra was a natural addition to “Ya Malak,” his inimitable voice reciting a translation of Egyptian revolutionary poet Ahmed Fouad Negm, elevating the record’s social critique while showcasing the first-ever English recording of Negm’s work. 

Jello Biafra is not the only punk hero to appear on Who Are We? Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth layers textured, brooding guitar over the first two cuts, “Awtar Al Sharq” and “Awal.” The sweeping drones embrace the Moroccan bendir groove to magical results. “Lee sent me upwards of eighteen guitar tracks,” says Attar Bellier in amazement. “It was enough for an entire EP, and all so good. The hard part was deciding what not to use. Lee’s vibe just fit perfectly with what I was trying to do with the track.” 

Al-Qasar’s magnetic pull drew big names from other continents, too. Hend Elrawy, the acclaimed Egyptian singer whom the band met in Cairo, brings her powerful voice to “Mal Wa Jamal”, whose Arabic lyrics promote a female-centric and humbling outlook on prostitution and its consequences. Like the other songs on the album, its social consciousness is carefully veiled in images. “Hobek Tawrat,” for instance, can be taken as a love song, with its seductive, ringing opening on the electric saz that leads up to the aching voice of New York-based Sudanese innovator Alsarah (Alsarah & The Nubatones). On the surface it offers the gliding, breathless sensuality of romance. Underneath, though, its heart is spikily political as Alsarah calls out against the coup in her homeland, rising in passion with each verse – the chorus a slogan from the recent demonstrations. 

One of the band’s great coups is the track “Barbès Barbès,” an ode and homage to the neighbourhood in Paris where Al-Qasar first came together. The iconic Mehdi Haddab (Speed Caravan) added his oud virtuosity to the track. “Barbès is this edgy, amazing, historically Algerian, and still ungentrified part of the city” explains Attar Bellier. “To me, it is more typical of the way Paris really is than the Eiffel Tower, or than the Louvre. Real people live there, real culture happens there.” Haddab, who occasionally performs with the band, is famous for introducing the oud as a rock’n’roll instrument. “When he played on the track, it was as if he’d set it alight, it just came to life.” 

Who Are We? is a deep, exhilarating album. Its intensity never wavers, music that pulls from the hypnotic roots of North African trance and threads it into a fabric with the elaborate beauty of Arabic scales and the shock and thrill of rock’n’roll. It is modern folklore, a reflection of the cross-cultural society we’ve become. The continents have collided, and the result is deep magic. Who Are We? Al-Qasar ask. The answer is there on the album cover. Look in the mirror. We are you and me. We are then. We are here. We are now. And we are tomorrow. 

Listen.
​
CREDITS
​Thomas Attar Bellier: electric saz, guiters, keys 
Jaouad El Garouge: vocals, awtar, karkabou, tbila, bendir, claves, caxixi, cowbell 
Guillaume Théoden: bass, sub bass 
Nicolas Derolin: darbuka, daf, bongos, bendir, shakers, saget 
Paul Void: drums