In this volume Life Elsewhere Music we travel all over the world for a healthy dose of new releases, Brisbane, Seattle, Vancouver, BC, London, Stoke-on-Trent, Sheffield, Glasgow, Richmond, Virginia, Melbourne, and the delightful British seaside town of Hastings. Our 60-minute world tour demonstrates the abundance of exceptional new releases from all over the globe. We begin in London with The Games We Play label managed effectively by Antony O’Loughlin. First up, it’s the startlingly good, Damage Meter by Monkid. From the instant you hear the rapid-fire chant of “Gimmie! Gimmie! Gimmie!” you know this is going to be one you’ll want to play again and again. We follow up with Cybermilk who give us the impressive Altered States from the EP of the same name, also on The Games We Play. These two cuts should prompt you to delve into the TGWP catalog. Special note, the name is usually stylized as “† ŦĦ€ ǤΔΜ€Ş Ŵ€ ƤŁΔ¥ †.” Austen, based in Brisbane gives us The Fire and says she is, “I’m just a down-to-Mars girl learning 2 be human.” Adding, “The Fire is about living on the line between volatile and steady, in a sweet spot of intensity. I wanted it to sound otherworldly, as a reflection of that feeling”. Make sure you check out the pleasing promotional video on her website. Also in Brisbane is the lovely Mammal Sounds imprint, where you’ll find a fellow who goes by the moniker of Lemonade Baby. His new release, Is It Too Late poses an important question that Mr. Lemonade sums up with this, “Put simply, this song about the feeling of instant regret and the guilt you feel when you hurt someone you love. You wish you could undo what you said or done but you can’t. So, make sure you apologize when you’re wrong and understand that no one is perfect, and people will fuck up!” Not going to argue with that, but we should give kudos where due, this is one great production. We’ve been hearing good reports about The Kundalini Genie even before we heard, Half In, Half Out from their LP of the same name. “You gotta see The Kundalini Genie live!” Yelled a friend from Glasgow who had the opportunity to see the band strut their stuff on stage. “Effing great band!” He shouted via Zoom, as spittle fogged up his camera. He sent me a video, from what I can see, I agree! Next, A Ritual Sea is Donna McCabe and Florian Chombart, Season (Like You) is from their terrific self-titled album. Donna does all the vocals and Florian composed and recorded the music. They are on Icy Cold Records out of Paris and you advised to make the effort to check their work out. Enchanting! Over in one of my favorite cities, Vancouver, British Columbia you’ll find Haleluya Hailu. Breakfast from her debut Greetings And Salutations EP, it’s an honest and admirable collection of songs. Haleluya did the vocals, mixing, and production, Frederick Bantoe joins her on vocals. She says, “My EP was Inspired by the sounds of the 80s but also nothing like it”. Adding, “I’m a pasta-loving curly-haired teenage music person based in Vancouver, BC. To my parents’ dismay, I make songs about being sad, other teenagers making me sad, and how I miss parties.” Apologies to Haleluya Hailu for pronouncing your name in a variety of ways. My producer tried to correct me as we were recording. As we only do one take for the show, we had to keep in my mess-ups. Sorry. Your EP is Fabulous! Kate Bollinger is out of Richmond, Virginia, she has a song called Shadows. There is a lovely trippy video to accompany that Shadows. Make sure you listen carefully to this one. Workhorse is from the LP, Gap Tooth from Jaala. This Melbourne-based three-piece is fronted by the enigmatic Cosima Jaala, who delivers bold and plaintive vocals with jaggedly syncopated guitar lines, alongside textural and elastic rhythms prodigiously executed by drummer Maria Moles and otherworldly synth palettes generated by electronic artist Fia Fiell. Nice artwork, too. Chris Anderson, Ellie Shepherd, Gareth Hughes, Taran Ali, Nic Bowden, and J Palindrones together are New Ghost. Trust me, they make excellent well-constructed new music as you will hear on the marvelous, Burning Out. New Ghost are from Sheffield, all the money raised from their EP Mono No Aware will be donated to Sheffield Women’s Aid. Top Marks! It really is a change to hear music coming from Seattle that cannot easily be credited as a Pacific Northwest sound. Bad Optics are Christian Smith, Max Stephens, Stephanie Jones, and Joshua Ihler who seem intent on making music they are comfortable with instead of clinging onto an obvious bandwagon. Beach Front Property from their double-sided single is more than a rant, this is an angry commentary. The words cover the sleeve. A good ‘un! While you are paying attention to lyrics, listen up for the next one, “Dyed my hair, refused to eat to stay cool!” Teenage angst in all its glory from HotWax a genuinely impressive trio from Hastings on England’s south coast. There is a back story behind this one I’d like to share with you. My friend Martin Sayers, messaged me with an update about his son Alfie. “Alfie has joined a new band, do you want to hear them?” He asked. Of course, I said yes. Honestly, I had forgotten that at the age of six, Alfie was already bashing away on a junior kit making a jolly good racket. Now that one-time little blond-haired scamp is 18 and working out behind a grown-up kit and the smart chap has joined up with two remarkable young ladies, both seventeen, Tallulah on lead vocals and lead guitar, Lola on Bass and vocals. On first listen, I will admit to being excited by their efforts, then Martin sent me a couple of videos. We have to get HotWax on the show I insisted to my producer. HotWax has more music to check out, go to the link and enjoy! Sadly, as the last volume of LEM was going out, news came in that reggae legend, Lee Scratch Perry had passed. It really is difficult to explain in a few sentences to impact and influence of Perry on not only reggae but all popular music. Quite simply, Lee Perry made over many years, so many ground-breaking releases. Included here is a cut from his Arkology LP, Curly Locks. Rest In Peace, Upsetter.
Playlist
- Monkid – Damage Meter
- Cybermilk – Altered States
- Austen – The Fire
- Lemonade Baby – Is It Too Late
- The Kundalini Genie – Half In, Half Out
- A Ritual Sea – Seasons (Like You)
- Haleluya Hailu – Breakfast
- Kate Bollinger – Shadows
- Jaala – Workhorse
- New Ghost – Burning Out
- Bad Optics – Beach Front Property
- HotWax – Stay Cool
- Lee Perry – Curly Locks
Artwork by Jules Aainsley-Welsh “Once upon a time we used little silver discs for entertainment” 2021 36” x 38” photo print on hardboard
LEM Vol 250
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