Mondo Times March
Kokoroko, Lucrecia Dalt, Lucas Santtana, Dina Ögon, Horse Lords, Terry Riley, RIP Wayne Shorter, RIP Spot & more..
Hey,
Back after a bit of radio silence last month, thanks to a challenging February both physically and mentally. I’d like to keep this as short and sweet as possible to make up for lost time, and include as much as possible without turning it into a mountain to climb for you.
IN HEAVY ROTATION
I’ve been listening heavily to new albums from Brasilian singer-songwriter Lucas Santtana, Swedish indie/folk/pop band Dina Ögon and Brussels based electronic music artist Roméo Poirier these last couple of weeks, as well as some albums from last year that I couldn’t delve into much like Gwenno, Horse Lords.
Been a fan of Mr. Poirier since 2020’s Hotel Nota, and I’ve always seen him as a counterpart of Jan Jelinek’s loopy micro electronics. No wonder the album is on Jelinek’s Faitiche records.
This third album from former lifeguard/Brussels-based electronic composer Poirier may very well be the most beautiful distillation of his gently psychotropic strain of loop-driven, summery, surf-side electronica to date. [..] Unsurprisingly, Living Room does not dramatically depart from the "Jan Jelinek inspecting a coral reef" aesthetic first debuted on 2016's Plage Arrière, but it feels like Poirier's sundappled, beach-friendly vision of languorously flickering loops is increasingly headed deeper into more exotica-inspired territory, which is almost always a good move in my book. [Brainwashed]
Kokoroko’s 2022 album was undoubtedly one of the best albums last year, and the UK afrobeat combo is a sight to behold live equally. This music video (their first ever) is an amazing achievement by itself, a short film soundtracked by 3 songs from the album centering around Makoko (Venice of Africa) and with visually arresting scenes from daily life. Must watch!
Lucas Santtana’s first single from his wonderful new album O Paraíso says “Let’s stay on Earth” and pokes fun at people trying to leave for planets, where they don’t know how to breathe. Simple, down to earth and full of wisdom. This will go down into the best of 2023.
Lucrecia Dalt’s ¡Ay!, this space opera about an alien landing on earth was one of my top selections from last year - as well as a lot of others on the internet. She’s somehow managed to get a video to more than a handful of the songs on the album. This song was one of my favourites from the album! On Rvng Intl. and if it’s the first time you heard about it, please check the album from start to finish.
Another RVNG Intl. act (the guys have been on fire!), this is exactly the kind of new-music/avantgarde madness that I’ve come to savour with just the right kind of grounding sanity keeping everything together. And they can perform it live too!
I’ve been seeing these guys since years thanks to the YT algo god, and now with their debut album on Anderson Paak’s label and with feats by Thundercat, Mac de Marco, Snoop and Herbie Hancock?! (OMG?) this went boom very quickly. Check this “My Favorite Things” cover, which is always a good thing!
PALEO FOOTAGE
I don’t remember how I stumbled upon this, but this is hands down one of the best things on the internet. A full set of Young Marble Giants performing live in 1980. This is how to do pop music + minimalism, kids.
UNDOMONDO DISCOVER WEEKLY
We start off with a drone from Wanderwelle’s new album, and electronica by Roméo Poirier. Shuffling through some modern non-English indie pop by my Swedish faves Dina Ögon, Brasil’s Lucas Santtana, and Ezechiel Pailhes a new found favourite from France, new material from US Girls, UK jazz vocalist Yazmin Lacey, new reggae/dub album featuring the vocals of Liam Bailey my favourite reggae vocalist these days. Turkish indie pop by newcomer Efza, reissue by 80s new wave star Kate Fagan, new ambient jazz by Svaneborg and some folk tip from Nighttime, Meskerem Mees, Tomberlin, Juni Habel and finishing on spiritual jazz by James Brandon Lewis. This might seem all over the place, but it’s a good recap of what’s happening in the last couple of months. Happy listening!
ELSEWHERE AROUND THE NET
♩This might be the best short-form content on instagram I’ve seen recently. Stories from people that worked w/ Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones while creating the THRILLER album. I mean come on! Stories in the Room.
♩Author Haruki Murakami's vinyl room. 10k records, mostly jazz. [Richard Littler]
♩A history of Trax Records and the fight for Chicago’s house pioneers’ royalties [DJ Mag]
A classic tale of white men, swindling the black men.
Chicago’s Trax Records released some of the most influential records in house history, but decades later, many of the artists behind them are still waiting to be paid.
♩Müstesna Records from Istanbul has a 2 volume Turkey Syria Earthquake Relief Comp. w/ tracks from artists like Bawrut, C.A.R., JD Twitch, Khidja, Eva Geist, Gilb’r and a lot more Turkish & international artists. [Vol. 1] + [Vol. 2]
♩Techno! Techno! Techno! Techno!
Mega long read covering A-Z of techno history, with a lot of comments from artists. [Disco Pogo]
♩Henry Rollins Shares Some Deep Cuts in His Record Collection [Discogs]
LIVES LIVED
Wayne Shorter
In his youth, the jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter was awarded the nickname “Mr Gone”, in recognition of his distant, otherworldly air. As he rose to prominence with the bands of Art Blakey and Miles Davis, with the fusion outfit Weather Report, with the singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, alongside the guitarist Carlos Santana and with his own groups, that sense of cool detachment helped him to create a musical microclimate that was unique and immediately identifiable.
Eventually Shorter, who has died aged 89, succeeded to the title of jazz’s greatest living improviser: a musician universally admired for his originality and breadth of vision. [Guardian obit] also In Memoriam: Wayne Shorter.
SPOT
Glen Lockett, an influential record producer who, working under the name Spot, helped define the jet-turbine sound of American punk rock in the 1980s, recording groundbreaking albums by Black Flag, Hüsker Dü, Minutemen and many others, died on March 4 in Sheboygan, Wis. He was 71. [NY Times]
That’s all folks! CU Soon!
