Published on
March 11, 2022
Category
Features
Baltic islands ambient, Armenian techno, UK house, and more.
This week’s rundown is by VF’s Gabriela Helfet and Lazlo Rugoff, alongside Alice Whittington, Emily Hill, and James Hammond.
Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer
Recordings from the Åland Islands
(International Anthem)
Taking inspiration from the Åland Islands – an archipelago comprised of approximately 6,500 islands between Finland and Sweden in the Baltic Sea – Jeremiah Chiu & Marta Sofia Honer channel its bewitching serenty into a soulful tonic. Using a 2019 concert that the duo performed at a 14th century church in Kumlinge Kyrka as its framework, Chiu and Honer then layered field recordings and improvisations on top of this structure. Its 11-tracks encapsulate the islands in their seasonal glory – the indigo cloak of winter gives way to the brilliant sun-drenched euphoria of the summer months. As transportive as any ambient album released thus far this year, Recordings from the Åland Islands is a record to get lost in – perfect for intrepid explorers and individuals who prefer the closeness of home alike. – GH
Various Artists
V4 Visions: Of Love & Androids
(Numero Group)
If you weren’t already obsessed with the prolific, high-quality output of ’90s London label V4 Visions, prepare to devote several days listening to this compilation on repeat. It’s a glorious kaleidoscope of Black British nostalgia and a respectful homage – from the foil-stamped tip-on gatefold sleeve, to the extensive collection of photographs, and liner notes. The selection spans street soul, early rave/house and jungle, yet comes across as refreshing and timeless. Fans of Soul II Soul, Young Disciples, A Guy Called Gerald – basically anyone with taste – will surely find love at first sight. – AW
GiGi FM
Magnetite
(Bambe)
Gigi FM is an exceptional DJ, whose enigmatic personality and connection with music is electrifying to witness. A trained dancer, Gigi’s connection with sound is met through movement, something that is perfectly exemplified in the artwork for her debut vinyl release ‘Magnetite’ on Bambounou’s Bambe. ‘Senstronaut’ is a forward-thinking technological composition, made in its entirety using an MPO motion sensor, fusing a direct connection from her dance performance and musical production.Brimming with a wealth of percussion and intriguing polyrhythmic structures it gravitates to a ritualistic structure echoing Gigi’s interest in astrology and otherworldly connections. – EH
Bibbi
You Don’t Mind
(Re:Warm)
The mining of South African electronica shows no signs of slowing down; the latest unearthed gem being a reissue of Bibbi’s only vinyl release, You Don’t Mind, originally from 1992. And it’s no surprise that DJs smile upon this scene, as it has gifted us dancefloor-busting genres like kwaito, bubblegum and SA house, plus the more recent amapiano.
On You Don’t Mind, Bibbi confidently asserts her diva status. Across three tracks, she belts out her powerful voice over chart-worthy piano house cuts, as well as on the downtempo street soul number and title track, You Don’t Mind’ – featuring Sun, aka Poth Nkotsoe from duo Monwa & Sun. Favourite floor filler: ‘Get Into My Life’. – AW
DJ Sniff
Parallel Traces of the Jewel Voice
(Discrepant)
On August 15 1945, Japan’s NHK radio aired The Jewel Voice Broadcast, in which Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced the country’s surrender during WW2. Rather than being a live speech as many were to believe, two lathe-cut discs with Hirohito’s voice were mixed and played by NHK engineer Shizuto Haruna. DJ Sniff’s Parallel Traces of the Jewel Voice, takes its inspiration from this moment as well as the broadcast’s technical elements – dialling in-and-out of frequency to the cultural consciousness of Japan as it announced its capitulation to the Allied forces. To do so, over the course of 3 years he collected materials including: “interviews and field recordings, audio samples extracted from phonograph discs and recordings sessions with improvising musicians, and a re-reading of the Imperial Rescript on Surrender in Chinese.” The result is a particularly sobering and apt sonic time capsule, given the atrocities of the ongoing war in Ukraine. – GH
Various Artists
YERAZ [Past, Present and Future Armenian Sounds From Los Angeles to Yerevan]
(Critique)
LA-based label Critique returns with a new compilation that aims to reflect the creative and resilient spirit of Armenian culture. In doing so, YERAZ is as much a collection of songs as “it is an indigenous tool for meditation, live mixing and everything in between.” Featuring artists including Deradoorian, Taleen Kali, and Emil Abramyan, the compilation spans serene ambient meditations, pummelling electronics to dislocate your mind, and glistening synths. Notably, all profits from the release will be donated to Kooyrigs, which offers resources to the global Armenian network. – LR
Jimmy Smack
Death Is Certain
(Knekelhuis)
Dutch label Knekelhuis has revived and presented the world with some extraordinary masterpieces since its formation in 2014. Eight years later, they have gathered the full discography of Jimmy Smack, which has been sitting dormant in a vault for over a decade, to provide a lavish final resting place for the exceptional Death is Certain album. ‘Jimmy Smacks’ musical persona sits outside of his contemporaries attractions to aggressive hardcore, instead he pursues negative-punk, donning himself in ‘corpse paint’ and implementing avant-garde ritualistic approaches to his musical composition. – EH
Okkyung Lee / Jérôme Noetinger / Nadia Ratsimandresy
Two Duos
(Otoroku)
Collaboration and improvisation comprise vital parts of Okkyung Lee’s expanded sound palette for the cello. Two Duos delves into both facets, and presents a pair of live recordings that were captured during a Café Oto residency in March 2021. Paired with Jérôme Noetinger’s dextrous manipulations of a Revox B77 tape recorder on side A, tape heads and sliders undergo the same levels of friction and animation as Lee’s bowing, instantly extrapolating her playing or interjecting with other sound sources. The flip-side is similarly bracing, and introduces Nadia Ratsimandresy’s playing of the Ondes Martinot, an early electronic instrument that finds a natural and sympathetic entanglement with Lee’s cello. – JH
Freundliche Kreisel
Freundliche Kreisel
(Stroom)
Merging the distinct practices of Johannes Schebler, Christian Schoppik & Katie Rich, Freundliche Kreisel strikes upon an uncanny songcraft that’s full of folkloric hues, and enveloping electroacoustic atmospheres. With Rich’s nursery rhyme-like vocals and some unimposing instrumentation as foundations, the structures the trio build feel instinctive and bound to their own inner logic. Taking on ritualistic qualities, it’s the dipping in and out of electrical currents and the peculiar inner logic that make Freundliche Kreisel a very worthy listen. – JH
Jenny Hval
Classic Objects
(4AD)
Conjured as a map of places both real and imagined, there’s a distinctly otherworldly quality to Jenny Hval’s latest album, Classic Objects. Against a backdrop of dreamy art-pop — specifically designed to sound like its being played through “a stereo in a mysterious room” — Hval explores both the personal and political. From describing herself as “an ‘abandoned project’”, to questioning the nature of marriage and the “industrial happiness complex”, Hval has created an album that succeeds in being both deeply personal and theoretical. – LR
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