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Rocks & Waves Song Circle - I

This is a great hidden gem of a release, and one that snuck into a fair handful of ‘best albums of the year’ lists. Information around this release is incredibly minimal with regards to its inception and bizarrely in this age of constant information that we live in, nothing more has been unearthed since its release in 2016. As mentioned in the bio on its Bandcamp release page, it was bought back from Mexico by Swedish artist Isak Sundström after recording it with a local choir and an unnamed Haitian soloist. That’s it.The compositions are as raw as they come, with what little instrumentation there is melding really quite beautifully with the undulating choral arrangements. It’s a bit like if Arcade Fire formed in some provincial ashram rather than the academic cloisters of Montreal. That description does it absolutely no justice at all. It really is a ‘listen and you’ll get it’ kind of record. I think I picked this up on a whim from Bandcamp because the cover intrigued me. I know you shouldn’t judge a book (or record) by its cover but sometimes it’s enough to give it a try in my opinion. And this is one of the times it was absolutely worth it.

From album Rocks & Waves Song Circle - Self Titled (Songs I-V)

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Rocks & Waves Song Circle - I

This is a great hidden gem of a release, and one that snuck into a fair handful of ‘best albums of the year’ lists. Information around this release is incredibly minimal with regards to its inception and bizarrely in this age of constant information that we live in, nothing more has been unearthed since its release in 2016. As mentioned in the bio on its Bandcamp release page, it was bought back from Mexico by Swedish artist Isak Sundström after recording it with a local choir and an unnamed Haitian soloist. That’s it.The compositions are as raw as they come, with what little instrumentation there is melding really quite beautifully with the undulating choral arrangements. It’s a bit like if Arcade Fire formed in some provincial ashram rather than the academic cloisters of Montreal. That description does it absolutely no justice at all. It really is a ‘listen and you’ll get it’ kind of record. I think I picked this up on a whim from Bandcamp because the cover intrigued me. I know you shouldn’t judge a book (or record) by its cover but sometimes it’s enough to give it a try in my opinion. And this is one of the times it was absolutely worth it.

From album Rocks & Waves Song Circle - Self Titled (Songs I-V)

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Jeremy Vibes - Phil (2018) I have about as much information on this record as I did when I bought it. No idea who Jeremy Vibes is. No idea what label it's from. I'd be lying if I said I didn't pick it up primarily because it had a stamped picture of Jeremy Vine on the label. What I do know is that it's simple, frenetic filter-house at its best. Backed with Hall Of Fame -a nice flip of a sample from T.J. Swan's And You Know My Name- this is an incredibly fun record.

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Idiot Glee - Don't Drink The Water Definitely DO drink the water on this obscenely hot day. And while you do, listen to this wonderful piece of woozy indie from James Friley, the man behind Idiot Glee. Taken from his 2011 album Paddywhack, Don't Drink The Water is the B side to this double single 7", with All Packed Up appearing on the A. The whole album is well worth a listen. Friley manages to balance doo wop influences with heartfelt indie in a catchy manner that keeps you hooked. I've not got around to checking out a lot of his other work, though it seems he's been absent (at least form the internet) since about 2016.

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Calvin Harris - Let Me Know

One of the earliest releases as Calvin Harris, if not the first, Let Me Know is a great bit of downtempo soul. With an equally freshman appearance from singer Ayah Marar, paired with funky bass and squelchy synths, this track hints at sound fully realised on Calvin Harris's Debut album I Created Disco. This is the white label 12", released through Electric Chair. There's a few remixes on here but none surpass the simplicity of the title track.

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Not enough people know about Jonathan Richman's The Modern Lovers, but Astral Plane sums up their beautifully weird combination of stripped-back, jangly New Wave indie rock, and irreverent lyrics nicely. It helps that it's a fantastic song. This comes from a 1978 live double single, with the more upbeat New England on the A side. All their stuff is great but if I had to point to a specific song that encapsulates The Modern Lovers it would be Pablo Picasso. I would have made a post about that but I only have this single. I need more Modern Lovers.  

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A Ghost Story (2017)

At just 92 minutes A Ghost Story is not a long film though you would be forgiven for thinking otherwise. This is, however, far from a criticism. The pacing and temporal scope of the story reward patience, often with wonderfully brief punctuations of macabre humour, but most notably through some of the most realistic portrayals of the intimacies of relationships in film. This is a credit to the performances of Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck -the latter brilliantly spending most of the film under a bedsheet- as well as writer and director David Lowry’s willingness to candidly linger on shots that bring you to the fringes of intrusiveness. All of this comes together for what is a beautiful rumination on grief, reflection, and acceptance.

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Tom Blip - Rez

A beautifully put together little 7” on Paradise Palms Records, the Edinburgh label/venue, showcasing two laidback electro boogie tracks from Tom Blip. Released in 2018, ‘Rez’ chugs along with a plucky synth-bass lead melody that makes head bobbing irresistible. As one of only a handful of personal releases, ‘Rez’ and the aptly named b-side ‘Crazy Arps’ provide the usual catchiness and high quality of Blip’s back catalogue. These standards clearly extend to his label Blip Discs, with a finely curated selection of releases that are essential listens.

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Arthur Russell - This Is How We Walk On The Moon

Not much can be said about Arthur Russell that hasn’t already been said. ‘This Is How We Walk On The Moon’ features on the first posthumous compilation album Another Thought. Originally released on CD in 1993, this album was made possible in large part by Don Christensen who produced the tracks from a large sum of recordings that were in varying degrees of completion. This track in particular is a personal favourite, standing above other versions that are available on subsequent compilations, as it primarily focuses on Russell’s beautiful cello playing and distinctive voice.

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Chairmen Of The Board - Bless You

The perfect song for when someone sneezes. A fantastic soulful tune by the Chairmen Of The Board, led by the late great General Johnson, a man with such a distinct almost pained-sounding voice that it can improve any song he’s on in my opinion. Originally released in 1970 as part of their self-titled second album, ‘Bless You’ was subsequently released as the B side to ‘Pay To The Piper’, and then on the flip of ‘Everything’s Tuesday’. Here is the latter 1971 UK release on Invictus which has the benefit of the amazing blue thinking statue label and blue sleeve. Swipe to check it out.

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Archie Pelago - Brown Oxford A great slice of off-kilter jazz from the Brooklyn improvisational trio. The hypnotic baseline and thumping kick make this the most danceable cut from the ‘Archie Pelago EP’, though both ‘Alice’ and ‘Frederyk Swerl’ are equally as inventive in their unpredictable turns. To be honest, the group’s entire back catalogue is easy to get lost in.

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Tom VR - Hear Me Out Seeing as his newest EP has just dropped it seems fitting to revisit the first release of @tomvalbyrotary on @valbyrotaryrecords. ‘Hear Me Out’ is an ethereal banger, gently tickling your ears with a hypnotic vocal sample and lush-as-fuck synth melodies. As only the second release on Valby Rotary, it’s a firm and frankly underrated favourite that demonstrates the great potential of a label that is already standing out with its modest catalogue of golden records. You can still grab ‘VALBY 002’ on the label’s Bandcamp page as well as Tom VR’s newest release VALBY 005.

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Sébastian Tellier - L'Amour et la violence (Floating Points Remix) There’s a lot of talent pumped into this track. @floatingpoints adds his distinctive flair to one of the more emotionally driven cuts from Tellier’s 2008 album ‘Sexuality’ which was co-produced by Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo of Daft Punk. Naturally this remix weaves itself through fragments of the original with the club-centric elegance of any other early Floating Points release. ‘L'Amour et la violence (Floating Points Remix)’ can be found on the 2009 ‘Sexuality Remix’ album or as the A-side of a 12” with Penguin Prison’s funked-up remix of Tellier’s ‘Fingers of Steel’ on the B-side.

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Brame & Hamo - Kebab Dreams Ever the ones for brilliant track names, the Sligo/Berlin based DJ and production duo were responsible for one of this years favourite feel-good summer jams ‘Roy Keane’. 2016’s ‘Kebab Dreams’ from the EP of the same name shows the duo’s more hip-hop influenced production, with crackly sampled drums gradually layered with soft melodies that evoke those eyes-closed, head-nodding moments of dancing bliss. Released as a 12” on the group’s own Splendor & Squalour label, the whole EP keeps this rough and ready atmosphere with another standout being ‘Cert City’ on the B-side.

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Hey Bernie - Moff & Tarkin A fantastic edit of Bernie Worrell’s ‘I’ll Be With You’ from his 1978 album ‘All The Woo In The World’. Moff & Tarkin (real name Magnús Felix Tryggvason) has a fantastically concise yet underrated back catalogue that deserves checking out, specifically the brilliantly named Big Mango Bangers EP which is full of, well, big mango bangers. You can find ‘Hey Bernie’ on Moff & Tarkin’s soundcloud.

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Renato - Alo Alo An effortlessly cool track that doesn’t shy away from injecting humour into groove, Renato’s ‘Alo Alo’ is the chugging a-side to the EP of the same name. Released on the Portuguese label Padre Himalaya, the 3 track record is a perfect example of the label’s wonderfully experimental output, fusing hypnotic beats and melodies with eccentric samples that give the label a distinct sonic texture. The ‘Alo Alo’ EP is available on the Padre Himalaya Bandcamp, as is the rest of their highly recommended back catalogue.