Mondo Times: "Do Dreams Sleep"
Basil Kirchin, Arooj Aftab, Dennis Bovell, Normil Hawaiians, Luke Temple, Jozef van Wissem, AFX, New Undomondo playlist, RIP Quincy Jones...
Hi all, here’s what happened since the last edition:
♩ Went to two shows this month! First was a long time fave, Mira Bilotte aka White Magic at a very intimate small room performance, the second was Arooj Aftab who has one of the best albums out this year. Both were fantastic!
♩ UK post-punk avandgarde collective Normil Hawaiians released their first new album in 40 years..
"... when it all goes wrong, just put the kettle on.
nothing we can't do. we are so strong.
oh life, oh love, the things that we have seen.
from a broken windscreen, we feel the breeze."
♩ NY free jazz titan William Parker has his first spoken word work a collaboration with producer and singer Ellen Christi. Has to be experienced in full! - the lost art of listening to complete albums. -
“… poetry and observations from a profound life devoted to the path of finding truth in beauty and speaking truth to power.”
♩ Listened to the new Dennis Bovell MBE compilation! What an opener!
“Dennis Bovell’s prolific and eclectic career encompasses a huge range of music: from dub poetry to lovers rock to post-punk to disco to pop and beyond. His production work encompasses such diverse figures as The Slits, I Roy, Maximum Joy, Fela Kuti, The Pop Group, Janet Kay, Saada Bonaire, Orange Juice, Golden Teacher, Steel Pulse and more.This compilation focuses on the period during and immediately after Bovell’s involvement with the Jah Sufferer Sound System, digging deep to find deep cuts and lesser known versions, mainly from 1976 - 1980”
♩New one out on Western Vinyl for Luke Temple (Here We go Magic) - one of this generation’s underrated singer-songwriters. He reworks “I Can Dream” a former song by one of his past monikers Art Feynman into a fuller technicolor psychedelic band-pop. I recommend both versions!
♩A haunting video to one of the most instantly striking songs I listened to this year from the lutenist Jozef van Wissem. An apt lament for all the wars and death going around the world.
📖 I read this Wonderful long form essay from the always brilliant Quietus editor John Doran that starts with AFX, Brain Dance & Cornwall and digresses into how the brain works on/off LSD and back.
"LSD was the perfect fuel for the domestic intronaut, the post club tripper, the rural raver, the dune dancer, and this is the basis for IDM’s partial Cornish roots."
"And let’s have it straight: the obstacles to access in electronic dance music had been higher elsewhere. It’s not like anyone could just wander into David Mancuso’s parties. Detroit’s original, foundational techno scene was itself exclusionary."
♩Got a new playlist on Spotify and soon on Apple Music hopefully! That took a long time!
The opener Bach piece was nicked from a Pitchfork feature about music that made Beverly Glenn-Copeland. Got some new folky singer songwriter material from Jessica Pratt, Laura Marling, Jonnine and Briana Marela.
Mid playlist pivot to a bit more funky stuff from Gitkin (Khruangbin-ish) & new album from Goat. Bala Desejo might be the new generation Tropicalistas, and member Dora Morelenbaum has a new album out!
Jazz from international jazz treasure Charles Lloyd, Jaubi with a Bollywood tinted noir movie for Mingus.
Finishing with this year’s best song? I mean if you haven’t watched the video please do. This song has gotten all the ideologies of the world under control, just like that!
📖 Quincy Jones passed away. New York Times obit. Vulture obit.
📖 Marcus Barnes wrote a personal memoir about Fabric’s 25th year over at his newsletter Music is the Answer.
📖 Over at Zen Sounds - Stephan Kunze made me love reading interviews again: Check out these recent ones with Bogdan Raczynski, Felicia, Sarah Davachi
📖 If you have time for another interview, Read this with one of my fave avant metal (?) bands Oranssi Pazuzu. Which I’ll be watching in December in Barcelona. Their new album is out and it is like an alien artifact, without being structurally progressive.
Talk soon!