Published on
February 25, 2022
Category
Features
Experimental Japanese electronica, bewitching South Korean ambient, uplifting Sao Domingo flamenco, and more.
This week’s rundown is by VF’s Gabriela Helfet and Lazlo Rugoff, alongside Alice Whittington, Emily Hill, and James Hammond.
Yasuaki Shimizu
Kiren
(Palto Flats)
Encapsulating the best of Yasuaki Shimizu’s electronic experimentalism and originally recorded during one of his creative zeniths during the ’80s, the existence of his Kiren album was previously the stuff of lore. (The album was said to exist, yet had never received a release.) Serendipity in the form of Shimizu unearthing the album from his archives allowed the record to lovingly receive its first release courtesy of Palto Flats. Its vinyl offering also includes detailed liner notes by Chee Shimizu about its context and history. Kiren is a sonic gem of freewheeling creativity infused with his signature sax – a unique and vital insight into the musical mind of maestro Shimizu. – GH
The Ano Nobo Quartet
The Strings of São Domingos
(Ostinato Records)
Ostinato Records launches its new acoustic and artist-lead series this week, with The Ano Nobo Quartet’s The Strings of São Domingos album. Led by Pascoal — who earned the nickname ‘The Brute’ for his devastating guitar skills — the outfit also consists of Fany, Nono, and Afrikanu. Recorded across homes, seasides, and the volcanic hills of Cabo Verde, The Strings of São Domingos combines koladera guitars with elements of flamenco, Samba Canção, and Marrabenta. The resulting album is warm, touched with a beautiful lo-fi quality that captures the sense of a live, free-flowing performance in your own living room. — LR
Park Jiha
The Gleam
(Glitterbeat)
A meticulous exploration of light and musicality, South Korean multi-instrumentalist and producer Park Jiha returns with her third album on Glitterbeat. As with previous LPs, the album is entirely written and produced by Jiha, who also plays piri — a type of oboe, saenghwang – a mouth organ, yanggeum – a hammered dulcimer, and the glockenspiel. Harnessing the otherworldliness of these instruments into an avant-garde, ambient tapestry, Jiha ones again bewitches with the singular luminescence she conjures. – GH
Eri Ohno
Good Question
(Mondo Groove)
There’s been a sharp increase in demand for Japanese city pop the last few years, pushing up prices even for questionable records that fall under this genre. Luckily we’re seeing more affordable reissues such as Eri Ohno’s classic Good Question remastered from the original tapes and released on limited run by Mondo Groove. It opens with the title track, a short blast of blistering boogie-funk – and proceeds to wind through pop ballads, sultry jazz, and even some fusion reminiscent of her fellow Columbia label-mate Herbie Hancock. – AW
Hiele Kinsella
The Third Summer of Love
(Stroom)
This neat little aural oddity brings together Clodagh Kinsella and Roman Hiele for a skewed electronic tale concerning the frequency of 528hz and its associations with love and healing. In Kinsella’s spoken word narrative, neo hippies and sound mirrors conspire to make the world vibrate at the given frequency with decidedly unexpected results. Joined by Hiele’s cascading electronics, which extend over onto the flipside, this imaginative flight suggestively lets the vibrations spiral out of control. – JH
Sworn Virgins
Strangers Hands
(Deewee)
Soulwax’s DeeWee label strikes again with a third release from Sworn Virgins: a heavy-hitting 4-track EP that’s prime fodder for busy dancefloors. You can feel the influence of the duo’s Paranoid London heritage in these productions, including Mutado Pintado’s gravelly voice and touches of gristly, crunchy techno. From the bouncy, analogue disco-boogie stylings of “Male Man”, to the chugging, atonal electro synth-pop of “Searching for Hiro”, there’s something for every kind of creature of the night. – AW
Nashenas
Life Is a Heavy Burden: Ghazals & Poetry From Afghanistan
(Strut)
As a writer, harmonium player and vocalist, Dr Mohammad Sadiq Fitrat’s poetically inspired work as Nashenas was a weekly feature of Radio Kabul’s transmissions in the 1950s and ’60s. With these recordings only ever being released as singles in Iran, this collection gathers these rarities as a whole, showing Nashenas’ unique approach to Ghazal poetic tradition, cinematic storytelling and overarching themes of love and loss. Having had his music suppressed or destroyed by Taliban law, these early works have endured and form a valuable insight into the oeuvre of one of Afghan music’s oldest living voices. — JH
Roberta Vandervort & Sally Townes
Roberta Vandervort & Sally Townes
(Forager Records)
Forager Records brings together the works of two exceptional private press singers from the late ’70s in one stunning compilation. Roberta Vandervort and Sally Townes sit in parallel sonic planes, from their respective surroundings in downtown LA to the vast landscapes of Dallas, bringing touches of breezy funk, mystic folk rock, and seductive jazz. The two artists never crossed paths in real life, but this inventive pairing paints a shared picture of worlds – bridging the passion in their voices and their shared convictions on love, life, and living on their own terms. – EH
Paprika Soul / Soft Sugar
Come With Me / Métro / Swampin
(Heels & Souls Recordings)
This week Heels & Souls Recordings release their third ever reissue, collecting tunes from Paprika Soul / Soft Sugar. Paprika Soul was formed of Andrew Spiller and Alan Barnes, while the closely linked Soft Sugar consisted of Andrew Hughes and Barnes. Moving from the Balearic goodness of opening tune ‘Come With Me’, the EP ventures into dreamy breaks on ‘Métro’, before closing off with a previously unreleased version of transcendental house tune ‘Swampin’. Expect these tracks to be played far and wide during the coming warmer months. – LR
Nyra & Wilson Phoenix
Adonis 001
(Adonis Records)
Adonis is a forward-thinking queer party, loved by many people across all the corners of Europe. The collective has also brought a group of talented resident DJs to the forefront, who traverse a multitude of styles and sounds that make it a must-attend-cult-event. Launching the Adonis Records label with this first EP, longtime resident Nyra steps up to the plate on the A-side with the euphoric, New York house-inspired ‘Used To Love Me’, which implements a catchy refrain with a touch of jazzy sax for good measure. The B-side gets friskier with known purveyor of fast paced drama, Wilson Phoenix plating up two driving techno stompers! – EH
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