Maryam Saleh - Syrr سِرّ (Simsara Records)
A mythic and introspective work,
Syrr (Arabic for “secret”) transforms memory, loss, and lived experience into a shifting world of sound, voice, and embodied emotion. Written and composed by Maryam Saleh, a luminary of Egypt’s alternative music scene, the album traces a journey in which the self is fractured, questioned, reassembled, and ultimately expanded. Blending raw lyrical expression with subtle dramatics, Saleh crafts an immersive sonic autobiography rooted in intuition, embodiment, and human becoming.
Mativetsky, Amiri & Pagé - Metamorphose (Fifth House Records)
Amid three distinct and daring careers, Shawn Mativetsky, Amir Amiri, and Sarah Pagé have come together to forge a remarkable trio in which multiple musical traditions are recontextualized. Employing rhythmically imaginative tabla, a custom-built santur and processed concert harp, the group makes stirring music for emergent worlds. At the center of this creative collaboration is an intention to bring musical traditions into a contemporary context, seeking new sounds through a balance of study and experimentation. The resulting music is both intense and welcoming, appealing equally to fans of both traditional and non-traditional approaches.
Ohkami No Jikan - Black Tape II (Black Editions)
Black Tape II is only the second widely available release by Ohkami No Jikan (The Time of the Wolf), one of the more esoteric groups of the 1990’s Tokyo underground. Recorded in 1992, it illuminates a largely undocumented facet of Nanjo Asahito’s psychedelic cosmology, distinct form his better known work with High Rise, Musica Transonic and Toho Sara.
Serpente - Visita do Fogo (Souk Records / Discrepant)
Bruno Silva, operating here under his restless Serpente alias, returns with
Visita do Fogo — a sharp, stripped-back and incendiary counterpoint to the drifting, dream-jazz abstractions of Dias da Aranha. If that record floated like smoke, this one crackles and snaps like dry wood.
