Decomposers
Saapato, Imperial Triumphant, Tobacco City, Eiko Ishibashi, Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek & RIP Max Romeo..
I’ve been absent because life happened, and yes spring is here now, and I want to keep this short and hopefully get back to some regularity. Maybe devote time to write it quick in a quick burst on every Sunday? 5-10 quick things to share?
♩SAAPATO: (Ambient, Electronic) Saapato explored decomposition in nature as a metaphor for this conceptual album with contributions from ambient royalty Laraaji, Loris S. Sarid, KMRU, Early Fern, Green-House and others. Decomposition's intricate network of factors involving many actors like fungi etc. are resembled here evolving the foundational "skeleton tracks" into a collective endeavor where the guest artists acted as symbolic "decomposers" to reshape them.
🪦 Legendary Jamaican reggae artist, Max Romeo has passed away on April 11, aged 80. I’m sure many of you know “Chase the Devil”, if only for the Prodigy sample. He was a pivotal figure and a vocal advocate for social justice. [The Guardian obituary]
+ Max Romeo - Wishing for Love
+ Max Romeo - Tacko
♩TOBACCO CITY (Americana, Alt-Country, Folk): Linnie Greene writing for Pitchfork says "Tobacco City’s version of America smells like diner grease and cheap weed, and it sounds like hope on minimum wage." Add to that slide guitar, road trips and shady motels.
♩IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT (Avantgarde Metal) : I'll be surprised if there's a better metal album then Goldstar this year. I think it is already a consensus album like last year's Blood Incantation - which was good, but not AS good-. IMHO.
♩Good chatter about AI algos, Streaming platforms etc. by The Guardian editor Laura Snapes and critic Alexis Petridis, if you need to read about it more to be convinced. One minute it’s “would you like to listen to Galaxie 500?”, the next humanity’s enslaved’: can anyone escape Spotify?
♩AI Music Invasion doubles on Deezer: Deezer launched a patented AI detection tool to filter out AI slop. I’m sure Spotify will buy Suno soon to serve you nonstop AI music.
♩DERYA YILDIRIM & GRUP ŞİMŞEK: (WORLD / ELECTRO POP / TURKISH): This version of the Turkish traditional song “Hop Bico” on Derya Yıldırım's newest has that harmonized vocals thing that make it irresistible for me!. Perfect for fans of Altin Gün & Turkish folk revival. Out on Big Crown.
♩ I've not been in front of the computer as much the last months, because I’ve been traveling and was meaning to remind you of this playlist that I started on Apple Music some time ago. It's focus is on "exotic covers from different geographies" e.g Dr. Lonnie Smith covering Sweet Dreams, Gabor Szabo's take on Paint it Black, John Tartaglia's Light My Fire, but also lesser known ones like Nomo covering Moondog's Bumbo, and Cyril Diaz Orchestra's Taboo, which lends the playlist its name.. Undomondo on Apple Music - Taboo
♩EIKO ISHIBASHI (INDIE POP, AVANT, JAPAN): Composer & multi-instrumentalist Eiko Ishibashi has established herself as a contemporary force composing for films (Evil does not exist / Drive my Car) as well as her own material. Antigone merges her cinematic style with darker lyrical themes like genocide, apocalypse contrasting the lusher musical arrangements.
CU Next week hopefully!