Jane Paknia – Glimmers (John Wizards Remix)

I do like compilations, especially when they bring music I’m not familiar with. Eat Your Ears Recordings have over the past two decades shared innovative and diverse sounds including Ride, Four Set, Caribou and Jane Paknia with the fascinating John Wizards remix of Glimmers. The New York based composer and electronic musician’s debut EP Orchid Underneath crosses and delightfully mixes genres and includes Jane’s original version of Glimmers. The cover art by Kushagra Gupta is splendid, as is the beautifully foil stamped sleeve for the EYOE Vol 1. This is a collaboration between designer Tom Phillips and artist and screen-printer Tazelaar Stevenson.

Lola Demo – Holding Her Bones

A big favorite at LEM, Lola Demo AKA Erika Bach with her distinctive voice continues to intrigue us with the latest single, Holding Her Bones. It would be fair to say that Lola/Erica has carved out her own niche albeit that you could do a shopping-list of “sounds like” if you wanted to ignore the fact that this Greece-based artist is certainly “one-of-a-kind”. She has an alluring back catalogue to check out, including her work with British musician/producer Barry Snaith in their duo m1nk.

Según Lee-French – Ghosting (Zombie Rremix)

You may recall we first heard from Según Lee-French with his radical reworking of The Specials Ghost Town, the important 1980s protest song about the lockdown in Britain. Now Según is back with Ghosting is a dark contemporary tale of online love. We selected the Zombie Remix an Edie Brakes Re-evaluation by Colin Thorpe. Do check out the curious image that accompanies this single. Excellent work all-round and how about you share your feedback with us.

Julia Sabra – Skyscape

An exquisite voice here. Julia Sabra is a Lebanese musician, songwriter, composer and sound engineer. She co-founded dream pop trio Postcards and is the band’s lead singer, lyricist, co-composer and multi-instrumentalist. “This album is a collection of songs written between 2020 and 2024 in Beirut. I wanted to capture them the way they were written by keeping the rawness and fragility intact, like the late-night voice memos I send to my bandmates as soon as I have a first draft of a song.” Writes Julia, adding, “Most of the tracks were done in one take only. Some were recorded in the studio, and some in the church I grew up going to every summer in Dhour Shweir.” In consideration of the current inhumane crisis in Lebanon Julia has included a poignant (and harrowing) video for Skyscape. The album, Natural History Museum should not be overlooked.

Mystery Tiime – Thank You Deeply

Mystery Tiime – A Cruel Trick

Maudlin Tales Of Grief & Love the album from Mystery Tiime fascinates me. It has been on repeat play for a few weeks now at LE Tower. From the songs to the sleeve artwork to the name spelling, this one had me searching for not clues, but a reference point. A collection of miserable, heartbreak songs will always win me over. This is the new musical project from Ayman Rostom aka The Maghreban who according to the sleeve notes had intended for other people to sing his songs. He had put down guide vocals for the demos and it soon became apparent that his raw and reflective voice was the only one that could tell these tales. Then Ayman goes on to say, “Some people said it sounded like Robert Wyatt, I had never much listened to his stuff before I started singing, it’s a compliment, I mean he can’t sing either.” It’s interesting how colloquial accents stir up opinions. If you asked most Londoners of certain age to sing/speak the lines to the songs on Maudlin I bet they would not stray too far from Mr. Rostom’s interpretation. That quintessential London-English sardonic monotone drone can be heard on a myriad of other artist’s work, for example, Ray Davies, Bowie, Ian Dury, Peter Perrett even Jagger when he’s not doing his needless parody of a down-home-counrty-boy. I’ve included two cuts because I’m so impressed with Rostom’s work. This is a long-player to listen to in one sitting, then listen again. Cry your eyes out as you wonder how he made the decision to select the minimalist computer drum beds along with a sophisticated production. Top marks!

Michael Rose – Stepping Out Of Babylon

Twilight Circus – Stepping Dub

Quite possibly, one of the most distinctive voices in modern era reggae, Michael Rose consistently makes splendid “truth & rights” reggae you can dance too. One of the founder-members of famed Black Uhuru, Rose warns us of the folly of Babylon. We segue from the vocal version into the Twilight Circus Stepping Dub. Available on the UK’s Partial Records as a repress from the 2017 7” which sold immediately. Seriously, what a voice!

Tess Parks – Running Home To Sing

If you have not grabbed yourself  copy of Tess Parks’ latest LP what are you waiting for? Certainly, Pomegranate has to be a contender for best album of 2014. I’m tempted to list well-considered descriptors for Tess Parks’ talent and how completely satisfying this LP is. Beyond the vulnerability Tess exposes here she succinctly manages to draw us in to reflect on our own world(s). Ms. Parks should be congratulated on the latest chapter in her accomplishments. If Tess allows herself to strike her own path forward, we are in for extraordinary future work from an incredibly talented artist. Make sure you listen to my conversation with Tess Parks.

Sunken – Friends

This is a good ‘un. Poppy Billingham, Finn Billingham, Clem Appleby, Finn Boxer and Jonah Winslet are Sunken from London. I searched out their earlier releases to confirm my initial reaction to the single Friends. Yes, Sunken are deserving of your attention. What we have here are seriously good musicians with competent songs and efficient, effective production. More please from Sunken. A extra large thumbs up.

Amy Papiransky – Fine Print (featuring KT Tunstall)

Friday’s Daughter the LP from Amy Papiransky caught my attention because of the effortless honesty she weaves into her songs. From the beautiful harmonizing with her hero, KT Tunstall to the charming duet with newcomer, Lewis McLaughlin Amy showcases a confidence, yet subtle sensibility in her delivery. A classically trained and infinitely talented multi-instrumentalist, Amy is a music teacher by trade, she has been writing and recording her own material for the last eight years. Possibly, this album tends toward the more traditional of genres rather than the more oblique cuts I often select. You have to agree, excellent music is always worthwhile exploring, no matter the genre. A most enjoyable album. Highly recommended.

Lanny – Ur An Angel Im Evil

First things first. I love this album! Bliss! Bliss! Bliss! Is the solo project of Lan McArdle (Ex-Void, Joanna Gruesome). McArdle has been releasing solo music under various monikers for years. Bliss! Bliss! Bliss! is their proper debut and sees them exploring an idiosyncratic, deconstructed take on the hook-heavy guitar pop they’re known for. McArdle writes, “I was feeling the aftermath of this relationship in a way that was, at times, laughably acute and painful. I find that when I’m suffering periods of extreme depression there’s a kind of loop that starts occurring when profound despair is replicated to the point of ridiculousness. A lot of the lyrics contain that sense of bathos, which the album title sort of encapsulates. The word ‘bliss’ just kept popping into my head at totally inappropriate moments. Text-to-speech…felt appropriately bathetic.” The LP is available on Gob Nation the South London collective whose catalogue is a must to explore. Full marks for the very cool sleeve artwork.

Y’Know – Treat Me Nice

Four cuts and four dubs here on the Why Now EP from the Toronto duo of Bally and N1_Sound. Mysterious and fittingly on the Spiritual World imprint. According to the info I received, the EP is limited to 200 12” copies. I mistakenly made that 2000 in my voice-over info on the show. Play this one before the party heads to the Chillout room, ‘cause you can still move to these dubbed out beats. 

Cøntra X Satuma – What Can I Do

Just a little taste of this double-sided single. The full version will be up on the next volume. My ears say the one has a decidedly retro feel in so many ways. The end result works perfectly. From The Gradient Perspective label out of Washington DC. Cool sleeve.

The photograph is from the series “James fights the untamed hose” circa 2009 by Norman B. Courtesy of Norman B’s collection