Our favourite new vinyl releases this week (10th July)

Share

0000

Share

0000

Cinematic hip-hop, incantatory IDM, zippy techno and more.

This week’s rundown is by VF’s Gabriela Helfet, alongside Jesse Bernard, Lucie Stepankova, James Hammond and Emily Hill.


Singles


Pearson Sound

Alien Mode

(Hessel Audio)

Buy

“I feel like I’m losing your mind….You’re not losing your mind” declare the two opposing vocals on Alien Mode’s titular opener, as they dance around buzzy tonking breaks. Regardless of what side of the fence your psychological state lies in at the moment, Pearson Sound’s EP features 3-tracks that will fill you with pizzazz – a trio you can also file as yet more arsenal for when clubs do eventually re-open again. In the meantime, let the tunes take you outside of the flat you’ve been existing in for the past 120+ days: aforementioned banger ‘Alien Mode’ is followed by zippy percussive whirls of ‘Cobwebs’ ready to dust off your moves to, closed in the synth ascending shudders of ‘Everything Is Inside Out’. – GH


Galcher Lustwerk

Proof

(Ghostly )

Buy

Cleveland-raised, New York-based producer Galcher Lustwerk is a master of his craft – over the last 5 years his output has been nothing short of sensational and his latest EP Proof on Ghostly is a further continuation of this excellence. It also features a mighty remix from the rising production duo, AceMoMA formed of AceMo and MoMA Ready. Their remix of ‘Speed’ is  hectic  – in a good way – with sobered effects on the drums taking away the power of the hit, while maintaining a powerful frenetic energy that encapsulates the blissful chaos of the dance floor. The other tracks on Proof showcase Galchers signature lyrical style, a series of poetic words against stripped back, forthright beats. Definitive highlights come in the form of halcyon ‘Another Story (Another Version)’ whilst more club-orientated sounds are delivered in the thumping percussion of tracks like ‘Leave’. Elsewhere, the title track ‘Proof’ shows that his dance floor-ready aesthetic is enhanced by his vocal musings, to create a truly powerful and distinct aesthetic. – EH


Shielding

Collecting Seaweed

(Wisdom Teeth)

Buy

Up and coming Swedish producer Shielding lands on the leftfield Bristolian label Wisdom Teeth with Collecting Seaweed. An apparent thread runs through his work – a signature ephemeral loopiness with dub and ambient glitch influences, embellished with refreshingly odd brushstrokes of hazy sound design. Notably, ‘Dunsta’ rolls in with a cloud of crunchy pulsation, while ‘Grass Snow Rain’ swooshes, hits and trickles in, out and around a smooth dub bassline. – LS


Aziz Balouch

Sufi Hispano-Pakistani

(Death Is Not The End)

Buy

Working at a historical intersection between Sufi devotional music and flamenco, as a theorist and a musician Aziz Balouch was an intriguing figure. Having studied Islamic mysticism in his native Pakistan before establishing himself in Andalusia amongst its flamenco tradition of cante jondo (deep song), his effective merging of styles was as natural as they come. With his written works joining the academic debate over the origins of flamenco, it was this 1962 7” ‘Sufi Hispano-Pakistani’ that put theory into practice and took guitar and voice as the means to channel sufi poets into the cante jondo form. – JH


LPs


Thiago Nassif

Mente

(Gearbox Records)

Buy

Few releases of late have struck a chord quite like Thiago Nassif’s latest album Mente. This is not because of the album’s out of pocket nature, but rather because it sounds as though its not music of the past, present or future – but all three combined. The traditional funk carioca, bossa nova, rock and jazz sounds can be heard in the spaces between the electronic bed they all rest upon, with tracks such as ‘Voz Única Foto Sem Calcinha’ acting like a portal taking us back and forth through Brazil’s musical history. – JB


Shinichi Atobe

Yes

(DDS)

Buy

Enigmatic electronic don Shinichi Atobe returns, with another album delivered via a CDRs worth of files, marked solely with its title and track names. As its name Yes suggests, news of fresh Shinichi inspires positive exultations, and rightly so. Contained within are slow-bubbling IDM, house and techno tunes to get lost in, honing on the sparkle of a piano loop or synth ascension to incantatory effect – they’re the kinds of tracks that inspire dreaming of better days. – GH


Mulatu Astatke & The Black Jesus Experience

‎To Know Without Knowing

(Agogo Records)

Buy

Mulatu Astatke’s second studio album in collaboration with Melbourne based eight-piece ensemble The Black Jesus Experience gets an awaited release via Agogo Rerds. With a decade-long experience of playing live shows together, Astatke is musically entwined with the band, whose sounds are heavily influenced by his Ethiopian jazz legacy but stretch beyond it by also introducing funk and hip-hop into the mix. Across the album, the infectious percussive grooves of Astatke dance around the band’s flamboyant instrumentation and Mr. Monk’s gentle modern-day rap. – LS


Vanessa Worm

Vanessa 77

(Optimo)

Buy

Vanessa Worm returns to iconic Scottish imprint Optimo with her debut LP Vanessa 77. Composed primarily in 2019, Vanessa describes this work as reflection of her journey through to self actualisation. Though her sonic style moves between genres, it always leans towards the kinds of kooky waves of synth Optimo are also known for. The album starts by circulating through twisted ambiance, distorted vocals adding these rich textures to the melodies of ‘144’ and ‘123’. Elsewhere ‘Bones and Blood’ incorporates the emphasis of a drum machine against highly synthesised drawling vocals, creating a highly addictive sonic soundscape. ‘Cold Hard Blues’ harks to junglist percussive influences, fusing elements of driving dance floor melodies with repetitive chant-like-vocals. Its a journey with many twists and turns, firmly rooted and held together by Vanessa’s unique vocal thread. – EH


Lucy Railton/ Max Eilbacher

Forma/ Metabolist Meter

(Portraits GRM)

Buy

Where the Editions GRM label has become a valued imprint for twentieth century forays into electro-acoustic music, this new “Portraits” branch steps out of the GRM’s lustrous vaults and shifts attention to contemporary practitioners and recently commissioned works. Alongside an LP by Jim O’Rourke, split album Forma/ Metabolist Meter is part of a stellar inauguration for the imprint, with Lucy Railton further exploding the vocabulary of the cello and Max Eilbacher animating the dramatic reality of a dying fly. Prime works of sonic extrapolation and mutable forms. – JH


Irie-1

Best Served Cold

(Cocareef Records)

Buy

Irie-1’s latest project Best Served Cold definitely has the feel of a soundtrack more than a beat tape. Every track has its own scenery, with each one taking us on a meandering journey through the streets of New Jersey. Released via Cocareef Records, this comes off the back of one of the finest runs in East Coast underground rap in recent memory. – JB