Published on
October 22, 2021
Category
Features
Jazz reworks, classic electro, and a time traveller returns…
This week’s rundown is by VF’s Will Pritchard and Lazlo Rugoff, alongside Alice Whittington, Emily Hill, and James Hammond.
Ross From Friends
Tread
(Brainfeed)
Ross From Friends, aka Felix Clary Weatherall, returns to Ninja Tune for Tread. Turning to his own software plugin called Thresho, which automatically captures everything he does in the studio until a manually selected point, Weatherall opened himself up to more expansive studio experimentation. The resulting album certainly reflects this ethos, with 2-step drums and lush pads swirling through emotive electronics. — LR
Grouper
Shade
(Kranky)
Liz Harris’ work as Grouper refuses standard chronologies and frequently mixes tracks recorded years ago with more recent works. From this perspective, her 12th LP, Shade, stretches a span of 15 years and different recording locations across Oregon and California, whilst never straying too far from the Pacific Ocean that Harris holds dear. Leaping between distance and closeness, obfuscation and relative clarity, voice and acoustic guitar form a delicate thread through these affecting tracks, accentuated by time slips and shifting levels of tape hiss. — JH
Dean Blunt
Black Metal 2
(Rough Trade Records)
Appearing all of a sudden on digital platforms back in June, Dean Blunt’s Dr Dre-referencing Black Metal 2 follows on from the Hackney artist’s much-loved original Black Metal LP — but with fewer left turns, it holds a more sustained and melancholic mood for the duration. Often heralded for his ability to strip away the veneers of convention, Blunt’s knack for earworm hooks informs the songwriting here, which is further propelled by Giles Kwakeulati King-Ashing’s drums and Joanne Robertson’s vocals and guitar work. Blunt’s laconic croon merges beautifully with Robertson’s voice throughout this set, which casts a wide net of appeal whilst maintaining the sense of ambiguity and compulsive creativity that makes Blunt’s work so compelling. — JH
Djedjotronic
The Great Red Spot
(International Chrome)
Berlin label International Chrome delivers a package of tantalising futuristic electro. The Great Red Spot is composed of four original tracks on the extra-terrestrial spectrum, including a storming rework from legendary producer Jenson Interceptor. Djedjtronic revels in menacing synthesis, backed with killer, crisp bass on ‘Red Spot’, while ‘Slap’ oozes EBM-industrial dancefloor energy. Jenson’s bass heavy ‘Death Clock’ refix kicks off the B-side, before a dive into the complex, classic electro VIP mix of the same track. – EH
Lena Platonos
Balancers
(Dark Entries)
Dark Entries returns with ethereal magic from the Greek electronic wave legend Lena Platanos. Balancer is a collection of previously unreleased music from 1982 to 1985, and touches the corners of Platanos’ experimental side. The music has a reserved energy and, at times, strikes a sombre tone. Platanos’ poetic musings across the collection draw inspiration from her home in Athens — a place steeped in classical history. She evokes the architecture and mythology of the city, creating ambient space with an ambivalence to emotions. The energy throughout is delicately cohesive, the artistic vision is strong, and the beautifully delicate narrative exists as if lost in time — only to be resurrected within the Dark Entries catalogue. — EH
Andrew Weatherall
Vol V
(DisDat)
ReSolute NYC’s sub-label DisDat pays homage to the Governor, who regularly graced the decks at their parties. ‘Y.W. Eleven’, released for the first time, leads us down a dystopian path of distorted synths, insistent claps, and quirky soundbites. Blending synth-pop, progressive, and EBM, Weatherall dodges categorisation and challenges comfort levels. On the B-side, Romanian producer Rhadoo’s remix steers into more familiar territory, with a sturdy, square bassline and buoyant synth riff to satisfy dancers and tech house aficionados. – AW
Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim Ft. The Times At Hand Orchestra
Harlem
(Acid Jazz Records)
A prolific force behind some of jazz’ biggest acts, Emmanuel Abdul-Rahim might not be a familiar name to many, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a jazz great he hasn’t worked with. While John Coltrane, Duke Ellington and Pharoah Sanders might be obvious choices, he’s also turned his hand to funk and soul, including collaborations with the Four Tops and Aretha Franklin.
Abdul-Rahim has rarely released work under his own name, so it’s a pleasant surprise to see a vinyl reissue of his 1988 recording Harlem, named after his birthplace. Leading the Danish band The Times At Hand Orchestra, he explores spiritual and Latin jazz with fervour — his percussionist background shining through via congas, timbales, bata and more. Favourite track: ‘Kalahari Suite’. – AW
Phew
New Decade
(Mute)
While perhaps less well known to Western audiences, Japanese avant-garde musician Phew has been a staple across her home country’s experimental music scenes. From co-founding Aunt Sally in 1978 — one of Osaka’s earliest punk groups — to collaborating with the likes of Ryuichi Sakamoto and Conny Plank, Phew has watched the evolution of sound and culture from the front row. Now channeling a distinctly Mark Fischer-esque attitude — as she puts it, “I’ve stopped being able to see a future that extends from the present — Phew returns with a new album haunted by lost futures. Combining empty pleasantries sung in both English and Japanese with fractured electronics and drone, New Decade reflects on the sense of disconnection, alienation, and murky ennui that stalks contemporary life. — LR
Jacques Greene
ANTH01
(LuckyMe)
ANTH01, nominally a compilation of Montrealer Jacques Greene’s earliest work, offers a time capsule of a particularly rosy-eyed, emotive era of 2010s dance music. The anthology, delivered by LuckyMe, brings together music originally spread across labels including 3024, Night Slugs, and Green’s own Vase imprint — as well as two previously unreleased tracks, including the ghostly acid-garage of ‘I Won’t’. The result is an eminent, utterly danceable collection of eyes-to-the-sky, dancefloor swingers. — WP
Nubya Garcia
SOURCE ⧺ WE MOVE
(Concord Jazz)
Nubya Garcia’s Mercury-nominated Source gets a full do over, with remixes coming courtesy of Georgia Anne Muldrow, KeiyaA, Moses Boyd, and more. In true jazz spirit, each rework riffs on a theme — leading to emphatic, rolling rhythms on Suricata’s ‘La Cumbia Me Está Llamando’, DJ Harrison’s neck-snapping hi-hats on ‘The Message Continues’, and digital dub on the Dengue Dengue Dengue flip of the title track. — WP