Dispatches from the Underground // December 2024 Pt. 1

New Music

Lo Five – Aspirant (Waxing Crescent Records) / Lo Five is one of those buy on sight artists, consistently great. Aspirant is a deep album of ambient textures, hazy melodics & softly sculpted percussion that hangs together so well. Big recommendation for the cold months ahead – BUNKR

Simon Joyner – Coyote Butterfly / If heartbreakers are your thing, you simply must hear Simon Joyner’s new album Coyote Butterfly before you go figuring your best of 2024 list. My god. Get some Kleenex – Leah Toth

whatsisname – Abstraction Layers

Passepartout Duo – Argot (h/t ‪tania)

Greg Foat – The Rituals of Infinity / The early dog walk, ‘Rituals of Infinity’ from Greg Foat, recent release blending IDM, beats and jazz beautifully together. It could easily all go wrong – but in the right hands it does not – Fraser H

King Jammy – King Jammy’s Unites The Nations With Dub / I don’t really think you need me to tell you how good this is – Nic Brown

Sly & The Family Drone – Moon is Doom Backwards (h/t Martin)

Daisy Rickman – Howl (Leyline) / I feel like I may be late to the party on this one but I heard it last week and it knocked me out. Like a slightly more modern take on Bridget St. John’s sound. Just so lovely – Tarotplane

VA – V (Syrup Moose Records) / Without a doubt, the biggest compilation that SMR has ever released. A perfect send off as the Great Moose enters hibernation for the year of 2025 / All money from the sales of this compilation, and all other compilations, will be privately donated to www.mecaforpeace.org – this is not an official collaboration

Listening Recommendations

Dane Law – Blue Forty​-​Six (Blue Tapes) / Was listening to this beauty a couple of days ago and it struck me how much it fitted this time of year, how it could almost be a Christmas record. Might try to post a #MusicForAdvent every day til Christmas now – Neil Campbell

Earth – Old Black (h/t phoenix)

The Gateless Gate – Autumnal / Recently I tried my hand at a series of 40+ minute ambient long-form pieces. ‘Autumnal’ seems to have been the most popular

Field Lines Cartographer – Phases of This and Other Moons (Castles in Space) / this is currently my favourite FLC album – Nigel Spencer/Folk Police Recordings

Kemper Norton – Helston 2014: Spingoed (Front & Follow) / Front & Follow present Helston 2014: Spingoed, a collection of remixes of the Kemper Norton track Helston 91, taken from his recent album Loor / Kemper Norton bring together a group of experimental comrades to reinterpret their work in their own unique ways. Featuring Embla Quickbeam, Ship Canal, Laura Cannell, TVO, Ekoplekz and IX Tab

Mana Raven – Note on Reliquology / Mana (of Hyperdub!) and I released this just about a year ago, right after all the year-end lists came out and everyone was checking out for the holidays. Power ambient, me on sax, him manning the modules – Elias FKA Big Voyage

Lucio Capece/Marc Baron – My Trust In You (Erstwhile Records) (h/t ‪Brandon Invergo)‬

Blaine Todd – Goodbye ‘Til I Do Good By You (Perpetual Doom) / Peeling LA pavement to the parallel universe honky-tonk of Blaine Todd’s “Goodbye ‘til I Do Good By You”/ Broken bottle counter-country cosmic cowboy classics; one of my favorite albums this year – ‪Graham Reznick

susu laroche – Prophets Talking Loud / Hypnotic as hell, dreamy and totally engrossing as per – InlandVampire777

VA – Vehlinggo Presents: 5 Years / Today we’re full tilt montaging to the incredible 2021 “Vehlinggo Presents: 5 years” compilation, curated by head of the namesake and much-missed Vehlinggo site, @aaronvehling.com / Best Drive soundtrack since Drive; non stop synthwave electro pop hits / The roster is insane; Deadly Avenger, Le Matos, Metavari, Mecha Maiko, FM Attack, and on and on – Graham Reznick

Reading

Cassette Tape Manufacturing by Crafted Sounds / I have a 2025 goal for info sharing, mentorship, and community building. Was pulling some tape manufacturing info together for a friend, and figured I’d sling it here too. Share with whoever. 

Interview: Nathan Bowles (Setting) – ‪Recliner Notes via Asheville Stages

New Playlist: November 2022 via Rosy Overdrive / From two years ago: The November 2022 playlist, featuring Lande Hekt, Bevis Frond, The Bug Club, Dumb, Nana Grizol, The Apples in Stereo, The Paranoid Style, Ribbon Stage, Sobs, Fazed on a Pony, The Tubs, Beulah, Damien Jurado, Subsonic Eye, Dimber, Connections & more: