Tea for Two
Jonnine, Laura Groves, Colin Stetson & Brìghde Chaimbeul, Otoboke Beaver, Summer Undomondo Discover Weekly, RIP João Donato, Sinéad O'Connor, Brian Mc Bride
Hello all, been a while, hope you have been looking for some new stuff to listen to!
Heavy Duty
Jonnine
I have gotten enchanted by Australian Jonnine Standish this summer. This short 20 minute album “Maritz” was released on February, but I got a hold of it in June and although it has a dark Victorian aesthetic, it worked actually good in 40C by the seaside.
This particular song Tea for Two talks about two ghosts having a cuppa, might be my fave song this year!.
There are two ghosts in the graveyard, They are having tea for two, Don’t interrupt them, Or they might interrupt…Boo!
Brìghde Chaimbeul + Colin Stetson
I’ve been a fan of Irish/Celtic/Gaelic folk music since my adolescence; know an unhealthy amount of Dubliners & Chieftains songs by heart, and I am a history major, so I’ve been quite interested in the Island culture & folklore. So movies like “The Banshees of Inisherin” or the music of Scottish smallpipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul get in me skin, instantly!
The Scottish smallpipes, with their double-note drones, were in danger of falling into obscurity before Brìghde (pronounced Bree-chuh) Chaimbeul, a native Gaelic speaker from the Isle of Skye, became part of their more recent revival.
Her new album released this year on Hidden Notes, features another favourite Mr. Colin Stetson, indie’s most well known bass saxophonist, fusing together “rich textural drones, trance atmospheres and instrumental folk traditions”.
Colin Stetson - When we were that what wept for the sea
And look just like that there’s a new Colin Stetson album, “an urgently composed, nearly spontaneous dedication to his father, who recently died somewhat unexpectedly” that features Ms. Chaimbeul on two songs.
A methodical listener who frequently returns to Glenn Gould's 1981 recording of Bach's Golberg Variations, as well as Irish and Scandinavian folk, all these inspirations are made very clear by the saxophonist in the album's soundscape, which also features Iarla Ó Lionáird on vocals, Scottish smallpipes by Brìghde Chaimbeul, and guitars and strings by Toby Summerfield and Matt Combs, respectively. [The Quietus]
Mr. Stetson is also featured on ambient/drone mammoth Tim Hecker’s newest album.
Laura Groves
Last but not least, Yorkshire born multi-instrumentalist Londoner Laura Groves’ Radio Red has been featured as album of the month for August on many outlets. This is a very mature Kate Bush or Carly Simon 80’s piano pop sound updated to 2020’s, that seems to be inspired by the exact same stuff Netflix runaway kiddo horror hit “Stranger Things” was inspired by. You’ll get it once you stop reading and listen to this:
Live
Otoboke Beaver
I’ve been a fan of this particular type of Japanese fastcore grrl bands since the cult Afrirampo. Some of you might have seen the drummer in some tiktok/short/reel and went “woah” because of her crazy licks. Their songs are very catchy, their Engrish is very broken, and they seem to be extremely fun on stage. Can’t go wrong! Interview.
Undomondo Discover Weekly
Tea for two, by the seaside!
A playlist for seasides and vacaciones: Belbury Poly, Jonnine, Huw Marc Bennett, Dora Morelenbaum, Moon Mullins, ANOHNI, Beverly Glenn-Copeland, Herbert, Mort Garson, Monica Zetterlund & more…
Elsewhere around the Net
♩What Happens When a Pop Star Isn’t That Popular [NYT]
The streaming economy has essentially created a swath of pop stars who may never muster the virality or the major-label support required to reach the upper echelons of the charts or sell out stadiums, but nonetheless have devoted fan bases and consistent income from touring and licensing — essentially, the kind of model that indie musicians have relied upon for years.
♩How Hip-Hop Became America’s Poetry (NYT)
"Hip-hop has done nothing less than change poetry — no small feat for a 50-year-old artistic movement."
In September of 1992, Pearl Jam celebrated their seemingly overnight success by staging a free show in Seattle's Magnusson Park, drawing a crowd of over 70,000 people. During the show, Eddie Vedder, the lead singer, embarked on a death-defying feat. He climbed the stage scaffolding with 100 feet of microphone cable trailing behind him, looped it over the top, rappelled down, and swung out over the audience.
♩The evolution of Steve Albini: [The Guardian]
“We gave ourselves licence to play with this language because we felt no threat from it,” he told me. “We thought [the far right] was a historical anomaly, a joke for lonely losers. Even as the right wing became more openly fascist, we were still safe – and that’s where my sense of responsibility kicks in, like: ‘Oh yeah, I get it now. I was never going to be the one that they targeted.’”
♩Clubbing Is Becoming Big Business. What Does This Mean for Dance Music? [RA]
These two have definitely been killing the underground nightlife in the last 5 years, at least in Istanbul & Barcelona, two scenes that I know better.
Homogenised lineups are already a major complaint and with more profit-minded players involved, the issue is only set to exacerbate, squeezing out independent operators in the process.
(…) Fees for top-tier artists skyrocketed when Hollywood talent agencies like CAA and William Morris Endeavor (WME) got into the DJ game, he explained, noting how big DJs went from having agents to entire teams. Smaller agencies adopted the same business practices and it became an industry norm, he added.
♩At Wei's, Club Culture Comes With A Side Of Dumplings (RA)
From David Mancuso's Loft parties to the basement sessions of Cedar Room, New York has a longstanding tradition of afterhours frolics outside the club. Building on this rich heritage is a Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn that's become an unexpected haven for house heads.
Passing into history
Joao Donato
Very sad to hear that Brazilian pianist and composer João Donato has passed away. He was and will always be one of my favourites from Brazil.
I had chanced upon his funky/jazzy '75 Lugar Comum album many years ago when I had a slight interest in Brazilian music. It's safe to say it has been one of my gateway albums. Bananeira, Patumbalacundê, Ê Menina, Naturalmente all classics.
One of my fave ever renditions..
And a pot of gold here, a full concert from 1975, RIP Señor :(
Sinead O’Connor
Remembering Sinéad O’Connor’s Sublime Music and Righteous Rage [Vanity Fair]
She sang about miscarriages, child abuse, police brutality, the shite government. She sang love songs that sounded like fuck-you songs, and fuck-you songs that sounded like love songs. She whispered. She keened. She wailed. She belted. She dared you to take her side, making it clear it wouldn’t be easy.
Brian Mc Bride
† Remembering Stars of the Lid’s Brian McBride With 10 Essential Recs (Pitchfork)
The ambient artist, who recently died at age 53, made music that felt almost unbelievably pure, like a visitation from the divine.
In a 2017 interview, when asked about his greatest accomplishment, McBride mentioned how listeners had reached out to him over the years to say how much his work helped them through particularly rough moments in their lives. “These times are fucking hard,” he said. “They’re fucking hard no matter what it is that you do. And so the littlest things are of extreme importance. To think that I could be one of those little things is great.”