Very laidback, very smooth, very relaxing, very laying around on a terrace in summer. Hiphop and Jazz and soul and funk.
DJ Yoda – Homecooking
Brandt Brauer Frick – Echo
That jazz techno, on the level I expected. Apparently acoustic techno is a thing on last.fm and the top artist is Brandt Brauer Frick. (The second one is Dawn of Midi, so now I’m intrigued.)
Plaid – Polymer
This is a wonderful record. My love for Plaid was strong in the late ’90s and early ’00s, in the era of their classics and when everything was abount IDM. The journey they took after had interesting moments but it was different. And different is good, at least they didn’t try to repeat themselves and either fail or succeed but in a boring way. But now, this album is like the thing I’ve been waiting for: it has everything I love about them and still sounds new and fresh. This is my favorite kind of nostalgia experience: something that feels like what I remember but actually being a totally refurbished and improved version of that memory. Right now this is my favorite Plaid album, and it feels so great to think that. Random note: wrapping up this list of tracks with Praze gives me goosebumps.
Baasch - Grizzly Bear With A Million Eyes
The track Fall makes me feel like it’s a maculine version of a Björk song. Not just because there’s a male voice but in all other musical aspects, too. Otherwise nice and calm album, male vocal pop meets downtempo electro.
Jambinai – A Hermitage
After listening to ONDA today I went straight on and listened to all releases by Jambinai, and it’s quite a trip. Their latest album is a sophisticated soul toching record and in contrast this first one is an experimental metal road roller beast. I see the journey they took from being this raw revolutionary composition through exploring their own realm that they created and arriving to the final destination where they can control their space with such a fine touch. But I love all stages of this journey. I kept starting to write a sentence about which version of their music I prefer but kept deleting, decided not to say. This may be my top new find this year so far: it is so new, so refreshing, so not like something else, so surprising. I still have some processing and re-listening to do.
Actually this specific record brings up feelings that I had for Karyn Crisis’ Salem’s Wounds in 2015.
Jambinai – ONDA
Korean post-rock played with traditional instruments and musical elements. This ablum is breathtaking. The “totally didn’t see this coming” winner of the month. The kind of experience that is hard to imagine without listening to it and feeling the goosebumps all over me.
Aurora – A Different Kind Of Human – Step 2
Quality electronic pop music, classic nordic style.
Skepta – Ignorance Is Bliss
I still get the creeps when I hear the sound of any auto-tune vocals, but the grime and hiphop (and sometimes even rap) tracks in between are all cool. Good music, good flow, good words.
Kölsch - Fabric Presents Kölsch
Wonderful leftfield music. Created as an inspiration from flights, I love how this concept is there from the flow of the music through the titles of the tracks to the artwork of the cover. It’s a beautifully coherent piece of art.
Strangely I have an association between this and Kalkbrenner’s Berlin Calling soundtrack album, but that’s probably some kind of mood undertone that links these for me. Maybe becuase it’s summer now and both have this “late night walk with a warm breeze of air” feel to it.
She Past Away – Disko Anksiyete
Little synthwave touch added here and there, but luckily that’s just tidbits, most is still goth and coldwave that keep setting the mood. La Maldad is the most surprising track, which sounds… playful? As it starts it somehow reminds me of CSS. Super weird, out of place, but that’s also something to love.