Council Meeting Memo #088 — Five for Friday
SnPLO: Lastday Cookie (Pin, Album)
A recent talk about music journalism and its irrelevance in this day and age + the really unnecessary abstract-bordering-on-pretentious press release for this record = forcing me to restart writing reviews again. So, late to the party on this (released at the tail end of 2024), brought up to speed by my MainstreamFM brother Phil from NYC. Hypnotic dub techno smudged with oils / rusted with corrosive liquids. Comfortably familiar and totally alien at the same time. Repeat playback yields clarity. SA
Jogging House: Unrund (Seil, Album)
No, its not a new fitness <> music genre, but instead the chosen alias of Frankfurt’s Boris Potschubay. He’s been doing woozy ambient music for over a decade now and this is his latest. And most pleasant it is too. Floaty chords that occasionally edge into fuzz and hum which stops you from zoning out. Plus the cover art has chickens on it too! SA
Flutter Ridder: Flutter Ridder (Students of Decay, Album)
When summer finally arrives to London — and to be clear my definition of that is having 5 days or more of consistent sun and heat. The two musical genres that I gravitate towards both start — not with an E — but with a D…..Drone and Dub Techno. So this totally fulfils what I want out of the former. Edible Norwegian nuggets of tone shift that never, ever outstay their welcome. Lean in and revel in the detail or just sit back and zone out. It’s your choice. SA
Olga Anna Markowska: Iskra (Miasmah, Album)
I mean, you can totally come to some pretty accurate assumptions about the music within without having to actually hear it. The visual design, track titles, the vibe of the artist….it’s all there. But put aside all preconception and indulge. Because this really is quite decent. Spatially acute with plenty of room for things to get weird. As if the spindle hole on the record was intentionally punched off-centre, throwing everything into an ever-increasing state of instability. Exit track ‘Dusk’ got the most rewinds. The label isn’t too shabby either. SA
Djrum: Under Tangled Silence (Houndstooth, Album)
Clearly polytheistic in bent, here’s a music maker refusing to worship at any single altar. Djrum is a star designer of multiple architectures in which to move, feel, contemplate. Swooping, melodious and driven, even at times breathtaking. Under Tangled Silence slips free of genre’s moorings to glorious effect. CB
