We start with 'Vespera', an immersive ambient cut by Canadian experimental producer Loscil (Oct 2021 mixtape). I don’t know how Scott Morgan does it, but he has the ability to consistently sweep listeners away with such delicacy and imperious beauty. On this track, he creates a vacuum-like momentum that drags you in. Click on the icon below to watch the music video, a stunning meditation on light, shade, and decay. 'Vespera' is part of his upcoming album Clara, set to arrive on May 28 2021.
Japanese Masayoshi Fujita is a Japanese vibraphonist and multi-percussionist with a musical catalog ranging from acoustic solo recordings to electronic dub and experimental improvisations. His new album Bird Ambiances (to be released as well on May 28 2021) is set to combine these distinct facets into a singular vision. Moving away from his long-standing use of the vibraphone and carefully crafted compositions, he instead opts to use the marimba as the album's centerpiece instrument and embraces improvisation. The opening track elegantly weaves percussions and choral samples with an unhurried pace that allows each sound enough time to be mindfully absorbed and savored.
On 'Contracts', American jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp and Dutch keyboard player Jasper van't Hof join forces to deliver a wonderful composition. You'll hear a live rendition of the song conducted with breathtaking virtuosity. The progression of the track is smooth, the saxophone as charming as it gets, and the keyboard fills discreetly.
Psychedelic guitars, dreamy vocals, and bluesy bass lines? Yes, please! My best discovery of the month is Digital Introversion, the first studio album of Aboukir. The new project of Ralph Maruani is a solid psychedelic rock album inspired by the sounds of the 60s-70s. Every instrument is played and arranged by Maruani himself except for the drums, performed by friends and family. Kick back and give the whole album a listen. If you're into psych rock, you won't be disappointed.
The Limiñanas (July 2020 / June 2021 / Aug 2021 mixtapes) is a French rock couple I've been fascinated by since I first heard their album Shadow People back in 2018. Combining sensual French spoken words with psychedelic garage rock, they pay tribute to old heroes, from the Velvet Underground to Serge Gainsbourg and The Jesus and Mary Chain, while having all four feet firmly anchored in the present. They recently announced De Película, a collaboration with Laurent Garnier that is set to arrive later this fall. They just dropped 'Saul', a teaser for what's awaiting. Just too damn good.
That tremolo pulse that opens the song... The Smiths hardly need an introduction. The English rock group originally shared this track in 1984 as a B-Side, and it went on to be released as a single a year after. It is not generally considered to be representative of the band's style but it's one of their most popular songs. There is something about the ease of Morrissey's melancholic vocals flowing through vistas of misery and fusing with Johnny Marr's guitar sounds.
Next is a live rendition of 'Manipulation' by The Black Angels performed at Levitation, an annual psych rock festival held in Austin, US. Hear (and watch) Alex Maas sing his soul out, engulfed in a sonic whirl of electric guitar, sitar and drums. If you dig this, listen to 'Young Men Dead' from the same album.
Continuing with more rock, Montreal-based experimental trio Yoo Doo Right (April 2022 mixtape) takes us on a little frenzy with 'Presto Presto, Bella's Dream'. I was introduced to this band' during my university years in Montreal, around the same time I got into shoegaze, post-rock and psychedelic music. Their upcoming album Don't Think You Can Escape Your Purpose is out on May 21 2021.
We conclude the first chapter of this mixtape with a slow, sombre and inexorable song by one of my favorite bands ever, post-rock legends Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The track is taken from their latest album G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! released a couple of weeks ago on the superb Constellation Records. I have mad respect for this independent label. For their vision, values, philosophy, reluctance to chase trends, handcrafted album packaging and impressive roster of musicians who venture into uncharted musical territories. Pretty much everything they release is ear-catching, one way or another. Before we move on to Chapter 2, I'd like to leave you with a statement celebrating Constellation, by the music blog A Closer Listen:
Italian guitarist and singer Alberto Radius kicked off his career in the late 50s and was part of many bands, notably Formula 3, a group produced by Lucio Battisti, who went on to create many Italian big hits in the 70s. 'California Bill' is groovy, seductive and addictive.
We continue with Lucio Dalla's 'Washington' taken from his 1984 album Viaggi Organizzati. Dalla became one of the most important and popular figures in Italian pop music of the second half of the 20th century. The string notes towards the end of the track combined with his high-pitched voice get me every single time.
Compay Segundo was a Cuban trova guitarist, singer, composer and one of the most successful Cuban musicians of his time. He collaborated with Lorenzo Hierrezuelo under Los Compadres and the duo went on to release the critically acclaimed album Buena Vista Social Club, alongside a big ensemble of other Cuban musicians. If you want to dig more into Cuban music, check out Win Wenders' 1999 documentary of the same title.
A lady tell me the other day
No one can take her sweet man away
I ask her what was the mystery
She say coconut water and rice curry
You can cook it in a pot, four for five
You can serve it very hot, four for five
Coco got a lotta iron, four for five
Make you strong like a lion, four for five
Clocking in at almost 13 minutes, 'Mr. Follow Follow' by the one and only Fela Kuti is the longest track on this mixtape. Known for his confrontational relationship with the Nigerian army and criticism of the Nigerian government, Kuti (Jan 2023 mixtape) released Zombie in 1977, a scathing attack on Nigerian soldiers using the zombie metaphor to describe the methods of the military. The album was an instant hit with the people and infuriated the government, setting off a vicious attack against Kuti's commune. Thousand soldiers attacked the commune, Kuti was severely beaten and his elderly mother was thrown from a window. Read more about the story behind this track here.
Repetitive drum machines and tropical drums on the trance-inducing 'Expeditions', another long track from German duo Wolf Müller and Niklas Wandt. I briefly referenced this album in last month's mixtape by including a remix of 'Weltraumsandalen'. If you're into percussions, this is another album that deserves a full listen.
Where does one begin to introduce Laurie Anderson and her Avant-guard approach to art? A prominent figure of the 1970 New York art scene, she composes music, directs films, creates her own electronic devices and uses language, technology and visuals to create multimedia projects that keep pushing the boundaries of performance arts. 'My Right Eye' is a soothing song taken from her 2010 album Homeland. A song about not always having clear answers in life. In her own words, "we're asked to summarize things so often, to resolve things that are kind of unresolvable, and it just doesn't work like that."
We part ways with a hauntingly lilting track from Spike Jonze's sci-fi movie Her. In March 2021, 8 years after the film's debut in 2013, the absolutely brilliant score by Arcade Fire and Owen Pallett finally got the release it deserved. Dwell into the landscape of 'Loneliness #3 (Night Talking)'. Quiet minimalism with a big emotional payoff.
