Coyote – Teacher

We begin with a two chaps out of Nottingham, UK who present as Coyote who share a pleasant mellow cut titled Teacher. Their Nag Champa EP may cross genres yet all three cuts are strictly dub-wise. DJs / Producers Timm Sure & Richard Hampson (aka Ampo) are Coyote, between them they spent the 90s’ with residencies at many of the decades seminal parties. Coyote officially came into being in 2004, when Timm and Ampo decided to start making music together. You are advised to search out Coyote’s back catalogue. 

Anna Ferrer – Nana Des Forner

“I sing, compose, and deconstruct songs from other times” Says Spanish artist Anna Ferrer. Her album Pa (Bread in Catalan) pays tribute to the craft of bread-making and a reflection on her personal heritage. Hailing from the Balearic island of Menorca in Spain, Anna Ferrer decided not to continue the family’s four-generation baking tradition. Instead, she wanted to do with music what her family has done with bread for over a century. Nana Des Forner (The Baker’s Lullaby) perfectly explains why I love this collection of songs. Anna’s restrained vocal style is also potent, in turn making her music powerful and passionate. Like the histories, geographies, and cultures it speaks of, Anna Ferrer’s music is multi-layered and profound. Do try rot search out some of her live video, it’s with the effort. Excellent photo sleeve.

Scorie – Room Full Of Gangsters

In the sleeve notes for their EP, Gallandrome, we are told, “Scorie is a beef bourguignon where the red wine has been replaced by two bottles of  cognac. It’s a sunset drive with one wheel missing. It’s a tank top in the dead of winter and a  100% polyester turtleneck in the middle of a heatwave.” That may well be a bit over the top, yet on digesting this long-player for a few days I think I get the drift. The five tracks from this Parisian post-punk outfit are well crafted, in fact they are also packed with ideas I have no doubt Scorie will explore in further outings. Formed in 2023 with Germain Izydorczyk on vocals, guitar and keyboards, Antoine Barbier on bass, and Achille Germain on drums, with Arthur Dantcikian joining on guitar and keyboards a year later. Room Full Of Gangsters the cut we selected deserves the five and half minutes as the slow-burn reaches a crescendo. On first listen we had to hear it again and…again. Bravo! Excellent sleeve artwork.

Semi Precious – I Lost A Bird

Guy Barron who is Semi Precious kinda sent me his latest EP, I Lost A Bird with a message suggesting he would be pleased if I included a cut. I should add, Guy sounded somewhat reticent about promoting his work. Some musicians automatically have a shyness factor built in. Earlier work from Semi Precious had caught my attention and I had mentioned this in an email to Guy. About his new work the artist says, “Much of the EP was written away from the studio, was walking in Thailand and later pushing his newborn through South London’s parks.” I love that. It’s honest and humble. This is emotional music and I highly recommend you don’t overlook I Lost A Bird.

Sophie Sirota – Holding Tension (Radio Edit)

Sophie Sirota is a classically trained violist, singer and composer. Her career has spanned multiple genres and seen her collaborate as a session musician, live performer, arranger and composer with some of the most iconic names in modern music. Blending her classical training with modern experimental sounds, she is a member of Coastal Electronauts and the Free Range String Orchestra, creating ambient soundscapes by using looper and effects pedals to craft intricate, evolving textures. Her live performances, particularly at electronic events, have garnered attention for their atmospheric depth and emotional resonance. About the album Pressure Drop Sophia says, “In early 2023 I dusted off my electric viola (last used in a mid-‘90s trip-hop band) and a few effects pedals to perform at one of the Coastal Electronauts’ monthly meet-up sessions in Whitstable, Kent. This gave me the incentive to create a new piece to perform at every event, expand my pedalboard and creative output. This debut album is the result. A collection of sonic explorations shaped by two years of live performance and experimentation, both in Whitstable and at other events, every piece has been created with the feel of a live performance in the recording process.” Do investigate and make sure to check out the remarkable accompanying videos.

Jo Mango – The Bed

Jo Mango – The Lightswitch

Selecting two cuts from one artist is a guarantee of excellence. The Lightswitch is Jo Mango’s third solo album to date and first in twelve years. “The album is about the nature of music, as much as it is about its effect, the things it brings with it, my relation to it,” Jo says. “Know love and then put it away. Find another place and try to rest there,” Jo sings on The Bed. “Essentially this album is a meditation on how – or if – we can disentangle ourselves from the things we love so much, that are woven through our lives,” Jo explains. “For me, music is such a part of my life that is involved in everything: permeating how I go about my day, how I organize my living space. It’s a part of how I wake up, go to sleep. It’s part of the lens through which I view everything.” The Scotish musician is also a Doctor of Musicology, and has forged a career as a songwriting researcher. Her music touches me. This is an impressive collection of songs!

Linda & Norm – Moments To Want You (D.D. Mirage Dub)

We all need a good dose of dance music to help get through another day and what better than this beauty with a decidedly 80s retro vibe. Here we have Norman Gervais and Linda Durmann with five versions of Moments To Want You on Universal Cave Records out of Philadelphia. The original version was by the Jerry Lillard Band, released in 1981 on a German rock sampler. Linda & Norm cast the song in a new light, leaning into ’80s-tinged guitar pop à la Trevor Horn, with hints of psych bedroom pop in a distinctly Californian fashion. Sydney’s own D.D. Mirage delivers the smoky, dubby disco blend for our selected version. Thumbs up for this one and make sure you include the whole EP in your next party playlist.

Yu Su – A Jewel (ft. Dip In The Pool)

Yu Su is a Kaifeng-born, London based musician, DJ, sound artist, and occasional chef. Foundry is the second album from Yu Su who says searching for a style that was true to her roots and profession as an artist she ventured in a post-orientalist direction, and came upon a language of ‘in-between music’. With cover art featuring hammered metalwork by the artist Brendan Ratzlaff, for Yu the foundry represents a nexus of creation; a shared workspace where collaborators combined their materials and skills. A Jewel features a duet with Miyako Koda of cult Japanese art pop duo Dip In The Pool. Put this album on when you have people over for dinner, but don’t say anything about it. I promise you will be plagued with questions – but only allow the tiniest details out. You’ll be a hit even if your soufflé collapses as bring it to the table. Amazing LP!

Eliana Glass – On The Way Down

Now here is a curio – Eliana Colachis Glass is a musician and visual artist born in Australia, raised in Seattle, and based in New York. Her EP E At Home represents the original treatments of a selection of songs from her first album E; all recorded through one microphone on a small reel-to-reel tape recorder. Eliana says, “The machine instills the music with its own texture and feeling and I love how the voice records very grainy and resonant, similar to the way I hear my own voice in my head. E at Home features six songs, many of which I wrote with my brother Costa Glass. Each song was written at home on my mother’s piano.” Eliana dedicates the EP to her parents and childhood dogs Meli and Spike. I like that. Do not overlook this one.

変化への恐れ  –  ō 極道

My primitive translation suggest the artist is Fear Of Change, the cut title, Gokudō from the album, Yakuza. Other than that I have little information except this quotation came with the recording, “True transformation of the world arises not from what we do, but from the consciousness with which we do it.” Mthrl4nd out of Japan is the label but the link took me to a dead end. Perhaps you will have better luck. There is something intriguing and very good going on here.

Anthony Klash – The Drop

Admittedly a small taste of this extraordinary 12”, I promise to include the full version and dub in a future volume of LEM. I wanted you to hear just a sample of why I’m raving about this production. Along with name-checks for Guns Of Navarone and Al Capone, the insane whistling is as cool as Shinehead’s early 80s massive hit Billie Jean. Another brilliant release from the always top-notch London imprint Tuff Scout.

The photograph is by Gabriel Waters “Lemon on a white plate” from his 1986 series, “Fruit alone” image courtesy of Norman B’s collection