:Episode One Hundred Seventy-Nine: 3.13.2020
| Artist | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| White Heaven | Mandrax Town | Out |
| Horse Lords | Fanfare for Effective Freedom | The Common Task |
| Trees Speak | Soul Sequencer | Soul Sequencer (Single) |
| Espers | Travel Mountains | Espers |
| Elds Mark | Varder | Elds Mark |
| Black Market Brass | So Who (pt.1 & pt. 2) | Undying Thirst |
| Shabaka and the Ancestors | 'Til The Freedom Comes Home | We Are Sent Here By History |
| The Master Musicians of Jajouka | The Middle Of The Night | Apocalypse Across The Sky |
| Altın Gün | Vay Dünya | Gece |
| Mdou Moctar | Ibitlan | Ibitlan (Single) |
| Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith | Expanding Electricity | Expanding Electricity (Single) |
| D.K. | Going Into Trance | The Goddess Is Dancing |
| Military Genius | When I Close My Eyes | Deep Web |
| Lorelle Meets The Obsolete | Lux, Lumina (CC Crain Remix) | Re-Facto EP |
| Hilary Woods | Cleansing Ritual | Birthmarks |
| Gil Melle | Desert Trip | The Andromeda Strain OST |
Open playlist in Spotify
* Not on Spotify:
Nothing this week. Sometimes, they really do have it all.
Description
Among the highlights of this week’s show:
A brand new, orchestrally-accented, ten-minute-long “single” from Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, providing a sample of her forthcoming album. To my relief, her minimalist Buchla stylings don’t get lost amidst the additional instrumentation (including a small choir). Reminiscent of Alice Coltrane’s later work, on which the synthesizer was her primary instrument, and she was backed chorally by members of the ashram at which she served as Swamini.
An incredible seven minute staccato guitar workout by Horse Lords, an avant-garde-leaning post-rock group from Baltimore. This is what Tortoise might’ve sounded like if they had completely set aside their pop sensibilities. There’s the same jazzy, rhythm-centric, world-influenced sensibility, but screwed down as tight as the bolts on a NASA rocket. One of my favorite albums so far this year.
The psychedelic afrobeat of Minneapolis’s Black Market Brass. We hear a ten minute long, two-part piece, nearly prog-like in its complexity, that sounds a bit like Fela Kuti and one of his various combos taking on Steve Reich’s Drumming.
There’s also the instrumental, Ash Ra-ish synth-folk of Tucson’s Trees Speak, some spiritual avant-jazz by Shabaka and the Ancestors, and just in time for the pandemic, a track from Gil Melle’s early electronic score to 1971’s The Andromeda Strain.