Published on
August 2, 2024
Category
Features
Essential weekend listening.
This week’s rundown is by VF’s Kelly Doherty and contributors Annabelle Van Dort, Emily Hill and James Hammond.
Ciel & CCL
Tilda’s Goat Stare
(Naff Recordings)
Two of Canadians finest musical exports come together for a highly anticipated EP, Tilda’s Goat Stare, featuring unreal remixes by legendary Bristol producer and DJ, Yushh and Naff head honcho Priori. The collaboration, partly inspired by the duo’s love of experimental cinema, features clips of dialogue from the cyberpunk feminist film Teknolust starring Tilda Swinton. Traversing the darker sides of progressive house and techno, Tilda’s Goat Stare is a trippy dance floor groove designed for sweaty basements.–EH
Suzanne Ciani
Buchla Concert at Galeria Bonino
(Finders Keepers Records)
Following on from the Buchla Concerts 1975, Finders Keepers bring forth another gem from Suzanne Ciani’s archive, heading back a year earlier for her first-ever live performance with the Buchla synthesizer. An early example of Ciani’s understated position as a true pioneer of synthesizer composition and live electronic music, her intuitive qualities with the idiosyncratic Buchla are already well-versed here and full of the effervescent sounds that she’s known for.–JH
Chrystabell & David Lynch
Cellophane Memories
(Sacred Bones)
Film icon David Lynch returns with his fourth studio album—his third in collaboration with vocalist Chrystabelle— out now on Sacred Bones Records. Drenched in a moody mystique, Cellophane Memories sees Lynch configure his concept of ‘mood music’. Chrystabelle’s vocals layer and loop in hypnagogic layers; restrained guitar lines fit for low-lit rooms, circle and swirl like smoke in the air— stellar.–AVD
Meshell Ndegeocello
No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin
(Blue Note)
Meshell Ndegeocello marks the 100th anniversary of James Baldwin’s birthday with her second album for Blue Note Records. Combining Baldwin’s own words with Ndegeocello’s cross-genre, Church service-esque delivery, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin brings together the paths of two daring cultural titans for a transcendent experience.– KD
James Tenney
Postal Pieces
(Blume)
James Tenney’s multifaceted works of the 1960s included Elvis plunderphonics, trailblazing computer music, and a host of “postcard” compositions that make up the subject of this mesmerising collection. Writing sparing and cryptic scores on postcards, each one was dedicated to and posted to Tenney’s peers who included the likes of Max Neuhaus, Harold Budd and La Monte Young. With facsimiles of these postcards included here and the music realised in the recordings, this suite of five works seeks extended compositional forms and “meditative perceptual states” among a host of metallic tones, bracing percussion, double bass, trombone and phasing cello notes.–JH
Various Artists
Kampire Presents: A Dancefloor in Ndola
(Strut)
Legendary DJ and Nyege Nyege member Kampire kicks off Strut’s new compilation series with A Dancefloor in Ndola. Across 13 tracks the Kenya-born, Zambia-raised and Uganda-based selector explores music from across the continent with a particular focus on highlighting music by African women during the 1980s. Bouncing from house through to rare groove and South African bubblegum, it covers a vast amalgamation of sounds and joyful moments stolen on dancefloors.–EH
Los Reyes 73
Los Reyes 73
(Mr Bongo)
For the latest instalment in their Cuban Classic Series, Mr Bongo reissue the electric debut from Los Reyes 73, originally released in 1975. An intoxicating synthesis of sensual son cubano, psychedelic grooves and hard-hitting funk, Los Reyes 73 is a blistering pinnacle of 20th-century Cuban music. Full of driving rhythms, tripped-out guitars and irresistible percussive freak-outs, this is a record sure to fire up any dancefloor.–AVD
Teen Daze
Elegant Rhythms
(Easy Listening)
Canadian producer and musician Teen Daze returns with Elegant Rhythms after an uncharacteristically long break of three years. Inspired by ’80s synth-pop and ’00s vaporware, Elegant Rhythms is a breezy outing that dabbles both in the polished indie-pop and delicate dreamy electronic that has marked Teen Daze’s career to-date. –KD
