Punk is not dead
Amyl and the Sniffers, Billy Nomates, King Woman, Boys Own, GAN & Vaporwave, Middle Eastern Music, Web3 Musicx , New Undomondo Discover Weekly…
Ahoy there!
Summer is over, and what you’re hearing is a faint transmission from the time-starved lands of Undomondo. Once again there’s so many good music in the world and not enough time, but hopefully we’ll slay the dragon together in the coming weeks!
PUNK IS NOT DEAD
The reports of Punk’s demise are greatly exaggerated, it is not dead! Or maybe it has died every decade and was resurrected by artists who break out of the mold. Here are some of them; I’ve mentioned UK’s Billy Nomates many times on this newsletter, Ozzie powerhouse Amy Taylor aka Amyl, Swedish post-punk band Viagra Boys (whom have Amy featured on their latest) and finally not really punk musically but in essence, damn King Woman’s album packs a punch! Been on repeat since my friend Golem recommended it. Straight to the end of year list!
Also 👂 tune in to Billy Nomates’ Mork N Mindy with Sleaford Mods, Heels off her last EP, Guided by Angels another single from Amyl and The Sniffers’ newest, this cover of John Prine’s classic In Spite of Ourselves by Viagra Boys and Amyl, and King Woman’s Psychic Wound.
The Discover Weekly playlist is also back online after a long Summer period. I’ve done a new playlist with a lot of jazzy keys, neo soul & hip-hop. Main dish served comes from the UK in the form of new albums by Little Simz, collaborator Cleo Sol, her band Sault (which has been the soundtrack to our Summer), and Jordan Rakei whom hail from the UK’s neo soul scene.
Other points of interest Jamila Woods covering Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car, new hip-hop and beatz from Stimulator Jones, Damu the Fudgemunk, The Poets of Rhyhtm, Sven Wunder, new Jazz is Dead featuring Azymuth - which reminded me of Mos Def’s classic Umi Says.
Will do a few thematic playlists in the coming weeks, some ambient electronics, a Caribbean compilation, some samba-cancion from 60’s Brasil, an Americana Heartland AOR one in the pipes!
PALEOFOOTAGE
These two have been laying in my share folder for some time. Great footage which showcases the depth of “Middle Eastern” music (before total Islamification and wars). First one is from Egypt showcasing the talents of orchestra leader Abd El Halim and keyboardist and composer Magdy al Hossainy (which is better known for his Western style Arabian funk).
Next up is a holy grail 4 hour concert programme footage by Syrian artist Sabah Fakhri, who is renowned for extremely long live performances - this doesn’t even come close to his reported 14 hours!!!
AROUND THE NET
♩On the Necessary Pain and Pleasure of Deafening Amplification: Giga guitar god Marc Ribot’s take on distortion.
♩Fast Forward the Future: Short essay and wonderful photos from the proto acid house & balearic scene ignited by Paul Oakenfold and co’s fateful return from Ibiza to the UK in 1988.
♩How the vinyl industry reached breaking point: The rise of vinyl sales and how indie bands are priced out of the vinyl pressing cycle.
♩We’re about to enter a new era of virtual concerts. And it is going to get very, very weird: New Abba visuals will be totally virtual.
Using 160 cameras focused on the members as they wore motion-capture suits over a five-week shoot, ILM “captur[ed] every mannerism, emotion and the soul of their beings,” resulting in something that’s not “a version or a copy of ABBA, but actually them.”
♩ Genre is disappearing, what comes next:New Statesman on the increasingly fuzzy genre tags.
Genre was once a practical tool for organizing record shops and programming radio stations, but it seems unlikely to remain one in an era in which all music feels like a hybrid, and listeners are no longer encouraged (or incentivized) to choose a single area of interest.
♩In the future musicians will be more like Bach than Kanye. One thing that I’m extremely interested in these days is the intersection between web3 technologies and music. MUSIC x substack and their work on the web3 publishing site mirror is at the frontier of this new era. Web 2.0 failed us, but the blockchain does seem to provide the backbone for an internet native economy and musicians can be one of the first professions to make the move.
GAN
The world of AI assisted art is growing parsec a day, and GAN [generative assisted networks] trained videos are a thing now. If you don’t know what AI assisted art is check these two accounts for a headsup. The final images are mostly eerie dreamlike landscapes and dismorphed figures, I guess the androids don’t dream of electric sheep, but hallucinate.
MIXXED
NYC’s Disco Tehran is a treasure trove digital radio station I chanced upon recently. This Dimitra Zina mix hits a sweet spot for me, 70s latin and jazz from Greece film music!. The second mix is by my Turkish mate Baba Noir who lives down south in Australia, featuring some Azerbaijani mugham music. If you are from a Western audience, definitely check both and you’ll be in for a treat.
LIVES LIVED
Richard H Kirk of Cabaret Voltaire, the figurehead of the influential UK industrial/electronic pioneers has passed away aged 65.
🎶 The genius of Cabaret Voltaire’s Richard H. Kirk in 5 tracks (RIP)
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Too-da-loo!!! Don’t forget to subscribe, share and enjoy!
Cya in the next week or so!