We kick it off with slow-moving and ethereal ambient soundscapes by my favorite discovery of the month, Christina Vantzou (Nov 22 mixtape). The Missouri-born, Brussels-based composer and experimental filmmaker works with space, sound, and image with a particular level of curiosity and refinement that stands out as soon as you hear her crafted compositions.
I rarely feature 3 songs from the same artist on a mixtape, but Vantzou definitely struck a chord and I spent a good chunk of my listening time in August exploring her discography. On her 2022 album Landscape Architecture, she joins forces with classical minimalist John Also Bennett to deliver an ominous architectural collaboration. 'Pungent Lake' is spooky and contemplative.
Next is a song from Dylan Pierce’s debut album Pindrops, released this month on the newly launched Digital in Berlin label. Using field recordings, sounds captured with contact mics and electromagnetic sensors, as well as close-miking techniques, his compositions are marked by unpredictability and are infused with moments where it's unclear what exactly you're hearing. This is music that needs to be perceived, absorbed, and given time to transform.
These two legends keep finding their way on the mixtapes (Sep 21 / Oct 21 / Dec 21 / Nov 22). Their 2005 album Insen just got a reissue in July and with it, came ‘Barco’, an unreleased song initially composed for their 2005 tour. The audio material used in this track is based on the subtle sounds of Barco projectors, whose tones served as the basis for the artists' live improvisations.
A key figure in the development of gallery sound installation and digital music technologies, Paul DeMarinis has been making noises with wires, batteries and household appliances since his childhood. This dream-like collage is taken from a 2021 LP focusing on his 1978-1995 explorations of synthesized voice and the digital manipulation of speech sounds. Hang in there.
Lebanese musician Marc Codsi recently released his 4th studio album The Silence Between the New World And The Aftermath, a collection of pieces reflecting on the chaotic and critical circumstances Lebanon has been going through since the 2019 revolution. 2 years after the horrendous August 4 explosion of the port, Hangar #12 (name of the hangar where the ammonium nitrate was stored) is a poignant reminder of this tragedy and of the failing ruling class that brought the country to collapse.
If you want to understand what happens on aya’s im hole, you first need to understand that it is not meant to be understood in a conventional way. Questioning ideas of sexuality, gender and identity, the UK artist uses poetry, electrifying vocal modulation and linguistic deconstructions to push the envelope of Avant-garde dance music. With her unrivaled approach to sound construction, her debut album is full of delightful and unexpected turns.
The mixtape takes a different turn with this captivating and hypnotic song from American shoegaze duo Bowery Electric. Get enthralled in the swirling and transfixing landscapes of ‘Beat’, where vocals become additional instruments and words are only noise. Circular movements, curious mysticism - a nocturnal affair.
We continue with a collaboration between ambient master Brian Eno (Nov 2022 mixtape) and poet Rick Holland. The album opener is an electronic jazz fusion that sets the tone from the get-go with its infectious rhythms and wild guitar.
Through bold recontextualizations of her own design, poet and musician Camae Ayewa (Moor Mother) blends jazz, rap, and experimental music on Jazz Codes to explore Black musical forms and their histories. On this track, she invites artist and academic Thomas Stanley to partake in a meditation on the etymology of the word “jazz”.
Back in 2016, the Toronto-based jazz ensemble BADBADNOTGOOD invited Colin Stetson (Oct 2020 mixtape) for some saxophone wizardry. Together, they created a superb jam consisting of 2 saxophones soaring elegantly over a breathy elongated flow. It gradually transitions from calmness to madness, before dropping in the most astonishing way.
Sax, guitar, bass, drums and electronics provide the basis of this collective rooted in improvisation. After several years of playing together around Brooklyn and NYC, in 2021, they released their first studio album inspired by their impromptu jam sessions. ‘Half Noir’ is a hazy and mesmerizing stretch of subtle and swirling notes that lay low unpretentiously throughout the entire song.
How long has it been since you really had fun with the alphabet? How long has it been since you actually gave any thought to the sound of 'R' or 'P'? Who has time for that anyways? American computer music pioneer Paul Lansky clearly does, allowing us to gain a fresh perspective on those atoms of daily life that we may have come to take for granted.
