This week: rhythmic variation, sci-fi conceptualism and deep house classics

Essential weekend listening.

This week’s rundown is by VF’s Kelly Doherty, alongside contributors Annabelle Van Dort, Emily Hill and James Hammond.

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myst milano.

Beyond The Uncanny Valley

(Phantom Limb)

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Beyond The Uncanny Valley comes from one of the most crucial names in the Toronto underground music scene, the subliminal multi-disciplined artist, rapper and beatmaker extraordinaire myst milano. The artist’s debut album Shapeshyfter arrived on the scene back in 2021 and was rightly shortlisted for the acclaimed Polaris Music Prize. Their latest offering is an anthology of Black electronic music–touching the corners of UK jungle through to West Coast funk alongside the magic of contemporary hip-hop – a definite must-listen.–EH

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Tenderlonious

You Know I Care

(22A)

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The ever-prolific multi-instrumentalist and composer Tenderlonious returns with the dazzling You Know I Care, an impressive tribute to the 20th-century jazz titans who have shaped his musical DNA. Deep and sonorous throughout, Tenderlonious lends his soaring woodwind work—including a first-time outing on the alto-saxophone—to timeless spiritual jazz compositions by Jackie Mclean, Clifford Jordan, Wayne Shorter and Duke Pearson. Featuring a powerhouse band of Hamish Balfour on piano, Pete Martin on bass and Tim Carnegie on drums, You Know I Care is a pinnacle in Tenderlonious’s discography.–AVD

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Ashnikko

WEEDKILLER

(Parlophone)

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After an extended wait, Ashnikko finally releases her debut album. WEEDKILLER bottles the brash energy of her early hits and elevates the sound. Blending feminist thought with sci-fi conceptualism, the album is a declarative project that equally shows off Ashnikko’s thoughtful lyricism and endless capacity for writing bangers. Despite veering between pop punk, trap and industrial electronic, Ashnikko avoids the pitfalls of nostalgia by raging against the boundaries of fame, gender and genre. One for blasting in your room.–KD

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Titi Bakorta

Molende

(Nyege Nyege Tapes)

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Molende takes on the essence of varying Congolese pop forms whilst doing away with the genre restrictions that might otherwise dull Titi Bakorta’s eccentric and open approach to song form. At times, following the familiar guitar runs and patterns of Congolese soukous, these tracks are just as happy to tip the scales and push the whole into off-kilter zones with Bakorta’s free-roaming voice leading the way.–JH

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SPELLLING

& the Mystery School

(Sacred Bones)

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Pop experimentalist Chrystia Cabral aka SPELLLING reimagines songs from throughout her career on this latest release for Sacred Bones. Recorded with her live band,  & the Mystery School brings the SPELLLING live experience to some choice cuts from her first three albums. The loose arrangements throughout offer an increased clarity for Cabral’s vocals–free of the atmospheric cover of her previous recordings, Cabral brings forth an occasionally theatrical, always alluring performance. A thrilling angle that casts SPELLLING’s unpredictable pop under a different light.–KD

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Robert Turman

Distant Dosage

(Dead Mind Records)

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A master of tape loop experimentation, Robert Turman’s Distant Dosage looks to his early ‘80s tape archive and brings forth seven interconnected works. With his 1981 LP Flux being a classic of the era and tape loop minimalism, here the results are somewhat busier but no less enveloping, as Turman once again shows his knack for finding pockets of sound that hold a certain fascination upon repeat. Working with two tape decks and tape loops that phase in and out of sync and rhythmic variation, the results here are tailor made for adventurous ears.–JH

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Dana Kelley

Alpha

(Chiwax)

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Summer is the season for reissues, ensuring touring DJs are armed with classics as they tour in peak festival season. Chiwax are joining in by repackaging classics from Chicago house greats, including the seminal deep house record from Dana Kelley. The 1999 EP Alpha is an absolute masterclass from start to finish. All four tracks are weighted perfectly to be unleashed on a dark and dingy dancefloor, allowing dancers to lose themselves to the music.–EH