DJ Die Soon - Kappa Slap (Morphine Records)
Berlin based Japanese artist Daisuke Imamura aka DJ Die Soon drops the debut LP
Kappa Slap on Morphine, after an initial 7” released as well by Rabih Beaini’s imprint in February. Obsessed with horror themes, DJ Die Soon creates an artistic universe by weaving demon masks, Manga and other elements of Japanese culture into his drawings but also into his music.
Duckett - Emperor's New Clothes Part Two (Berceuse Heroique)
Duckett is a producer and performer from Wales, releasing distinct and curious electronic music since 2001. He’s a core resident of the Freerotation festival and has released on labels including Until My Heart Stops, Freerotation and Greta Cottage Workshop. His music is difficult to pin down. However, his latest release for Berceuse Heroique sits somewhere on the edge of experimental electronic music.
fra fra - Funeral Songs (Glitterbeat Records)
Raw and celebratory funeral music from northern Ghana. Hypnotic kologo excursions. Pulsing percussion. Enraptured voices. Recorded 100% live and outdoors by Ian Brennan (Tinariwen, Ustad Saami). Sixth release from Glitterbeat's acclaimed Hidden Musics series.
Gabriel Birnbaum - Nightwater (self-released)
Gabriel Birnbaum is a saxophonist, songwriter and composer living in Brooklyn, NY. He is a touring member of Debo Band, as well as the songwriter behind Wilder Maker (Northern Spy, Saddle Creek). He also released music solo, under his own name at Arrowhawk Records. ”This pandemic has been awful for so many people I care about in the music industry. Writers, venue workers, agents, musicians: all of us have lost work and are at risk. Seeing just how fast this can happen has given me some harsh clarity about my longstanding dreams of living only as a working musician. Dreams that, if achieved, would have left me without any income right now. There’s nothing I love the way I love music, but this industry is very sick and its most valuable contributors are just insanely vulnerable. It’s not right. I don’t know how to fix it but we need to,” says Gabriel Birnbaum.
Heerlens Percussie Ensemble - Biologic Music (Hot Mule)
"I was using a bucket full of water with a sponge: above it a microphone was placed to capture water noises in the background." Put into the spotlight by Daphni on one of his most appreciated edits earlier last decade, Heerlens Percussie Ensemble is a less known Dutch project from the mid 80's. Now almost 35 years later, Paris based label Hot Mule is giving this one-of-a-kind masterpiece its well-deserved repress. The music qualifies as percussion jazz overall, revealing minimal, African and groovy experiments on a peculiar atmosphere, with exquisite and fine details all over the songs. However, though the whole feel and excitement mainly came out of improvisations, combining the traditional and classical percussionist style with new ideas and musical influences, fully expressing the band aesthetic and making Biological Music a creative success. The LP comes with full liner notes and rare photos, plus some very interesting stories and thoughts from each individual band member. Audio restauration was very well taken care of as well and the sound is simply superb.
Picked by Alexandru Drăgănescu (JB)
