Brendan Eder Ensemble, Edward Blankman - Cape Cod Cottage (Jazz Dad Records)
"I first heard this charming jazz album without knowing any of its backstory: supposedly a 1970 release by a retired dentist named Edward Blankman, but in reality a new album by Los Angeles-based Brendan Eder. It won me over despite the obfuscation. I felt everything would be OK while listening. And everything WAS, which is as good as you can ask for in 2021. It's an instrumental manifestation of a Cape Cod myth put to vinyl - a myth I am familiar with, as I am from Cape Cod. I drank too many gin-and-tonics while listening to this record, and my salmon-colored
Nantucket Red pants were stained with so much oyster liquor they resembled a Pollock."
Picked by Jonathan Ward / Excavated Shellac
Bonga Jean-Baptiste - Boula (Buda Musique)
"Bonga was born in La Plaine, Haiti, to a family with a long lineage of Vodou tradition... I actually have a New Year's Eve story from Haiti a friend of mine shared with me upon his return from a trip to the island a few years ago: So, he went to the beach with his girlfriend to pass into the new year romantically by the sea, under the stars. It was a beautiful night and when they returned their car was being voodoo blessed by a small local gang doing their rental car ceremony. The car was ok and so is my friend, after all these years. His ex too, I guess, Ayibobo!"
Picked by Victor Stutz
Ches Smith and We All Break - Path of Seven Colors (Pyroclastic Records)
"Haitian music struggles to be heard. Thankfully, Ches Smith, an American jazz drummer, has helmed this stunningly good fusion of jazz and Haitian music. Here Smith leads We All Break, a US/Haitian ensemble and the results are fluid, unforced, exciting:
Path Of Seven Colors contains the sounds of surprise. Essentially, We All Break approach each number as an opportunity for improvisation based on the rhythms and vocal melodies the Haitian musicians push forth."
Picked by Garth Cartwright
Cold Gate - Cold Gate (Eternal Delight)
Here’s a strong doze of black metal to lead you through time and space, released by the Russian imprint Eternal Delight.
Picked by Hisham Chadly
Crazy Doberman - "Everyone Is Rolling Down A Hill" Or "The Journey To The Center Of Some Arcane Mystery And The Entanglements Of The Vines And Veins Of The Cosmic And Unwieldy Millieu Encountered In The Midst Of That Endeavor" (Astral Spirits)
"With a title almost as long as these introductory remarks and a line-up as loose as its styles, this 2021 album by Indiana free jazz collective Crazy Doberman is a mishmash of avantgarde, experimental music, free jazz, and kraut-infused soundscapes, in no particular order (or chaos). The album’s moods vary from laid-back (not so often), to cryptic (often), and surreal-chaotic-psychedelia (more than often), but its main quality is that, over almost forty minutes of avantgarde soundscapes, it keeps one’s mind at bay. And with the music on this album, there are not many places to go, once your mind is caught upon it, but everywhere. At times a musical voyage to the past depths of kraut madness, “Everyone is Rolling...” is forward-looking sound collage at its contemporary best."
Picked by Claudiu Oancea
Dali Muru & The Polyphonic Swarm - Dali Muru & The Polyphonic Swarm (Stroom TV)
"A strong surprise released at the end of the year on Stroom, a swampish but very well produced record infused with spoken word, psychedelia and what not."
Picked by Chlorys
Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek – Dost 1 (Les Disques Bongo Joe, Catapulte Records)
"Derya Yildirim & Grup Şimşek have already made a name for themselves with their take on traditional Anatolian songs, and this sophomore effort only cements this reputation. Energetic bass and drums, ethereal yet percussive organ (oh, that Farfisa sound!), trippy bağlama (a long-necked lute), guitar, and synths, all sheathed in Derya Yildirim’s warm, yet commanding voice. At once trippy, dancey, and folky, this is one of those albums that give a contemporary edge to traditional music, while maintaining both styles intact. This is further proof (if any was still needed) that psychedelia is still relevant as a global phenomenon not only because of its Western historical roots, but because of its multiple musical folk influences."
Picked by Claudiu Oancea
Estralurtarrak - Another Frontline Compilation 94/00 (Hegoa Diskak)
"From the promotional text: "Estralurtarrak (Extraterrestrials in Basque) was a hardcore techno-pop band that emerged in the city of Pamplona in the north of Spain during the 90's". OK SOLD. This fun mess of a compilation is the possibly most exciting thing I've heard all year. Zero commercial success, punk and DIY as fuck. Make electronic music never heard of midi. Highly charged political samples handled in a decidedly primitive fashion weaved with a completely bananas, very experimental production approach, where 80's/ Italo echoes and industrial influences dance hand in hand (to the beat of rather different drummers). Naive and edgy at almost equal parts, this is a homemade bomb in your face, fresh as a 9am bag of veneno after a night of serious drinking —although its effect would be quite psychedelic somehow—. Not entirely alien to the Macromassa/ Residents/ DSIP constellation, but certainly extra-terrestrials."
Picked by Hugo Capablanca
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises (Luaka Bop)
"It is beyond comprehension how in 2021, a 30 year old neuroscientist from Manchester can conduct the perfect circumstances for an 80 year old living myth to shine this bright. Pharoah Sanders, the last living spiritual partner to John Coltrane’s ultimate jazz vision, is at its purest on this record.
The 9 movements, might show the repetitive nature of a raga or prayer, but every single moment feels its own. I can’t stress enough how impressive Shepherd’s contribution feels, in writing for such scale. Having had the honour to experience Pharoah Sanders live, his aura and spiritual force is real, beyond any doubt. In simple terms, he is while performing, possessed by his instrument, beyond the capabilities of an old man’s physical being.
I like to think, the Promises are for those ever in doubt that music, of any kind, can ever go off course. Because against all odds, a masterwork that feels so genuinely timeless can creep up on us at any point."
Picked by Dragoș Munteanu
"A collaborative effort between British electronic musician Sam Shepherd, the legendary American jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, and the London Symphony Orchestra, Promises is a work of art that transcends the musical styles of each of its collaborators. The ambient-like atmosphere it weaves might be greatly appreciated by listeners during these extraordinary times, or dismissed as shallow synth-sax-strings noodling, yet the nine-movement piece is much more, veering into abstract psychedelia, free jazz experiment, and even symphonic sophistication at times."
Picked by Claudiu Oancea
