Council Meeting Memo #119 — Five for Friday
Grand River: Tuning The Wind (Umor Rex, Album)
‘A single, long-form wind drone that slowly evolves from gentle ambience into a dense, stormy swell before easing back into calm, kosmische-tinged tones.’ Particularly affecting in the closing phases where it really gathers momentum at its own languid pace. Wholeheartedly recommended. (SA 🇵🇸)
Daniel Bachman: Moving Through Light (Self released, Album)
‘Moving Through Light is a 75‑minute, continuous solo guitar work where Bachman feeds acoustic guitar into heavy processing and layers it into dense, shifting drones. The instrument often dissolves into electro‑acoustic haze, but melodic fragments and fingerpicked lines keep surfacing, giving it a human, reflective core.’ Had this on hard rotation for a whole day and it did things to me. (SA 🇵🇸)
Jason Crumer: Services Rendered (Breathing Problem Productions, Album)
Scratching an itch here to stick some words to this incredible record from 2021. ‘‘Services Rendered’ is a long, meticulously constructed harsh‑noise album that plays like a psychological narrative rather than a simple wall of sound. It’s physically overwhelming but emotionally precise, turning distortion, room tone, and cut‑ups into a tense, draining, and oddly cathartic listen.’ The follow up album ‘Thin Ice’ also works as an effective companion piece. (SA 🇵🇸)
Various Artists: Archive I (Kino Disk, Compilation)
My favourite new label! ‘An aesthetic more than a set of individual artists: a hard drive dump of dub‑techno, broken electro and skeletal DJ tools sequenced for immersion rather than drama. Short untitled sketches bleed into longer sub-bass studies, emphasising texture, function and continuity. Its deliberate anonymity can feel opaque if you’re not tuned into this kind of reduced, system-focused club music.’ (SA 🇵🇸)
Deep Glens: Earn Grips (Self released, Album)
‘Tightly wound, hyper-detailed IDM that treats rhythm as a shifting algorithm rather than a stable groove. It feels cerebral, glitchy, and process-driven.’ Have no idea how this found me, but I’m glad it did. (SA 🇵🇸)
