Here is a striking track from the team of Hieroglyphic Being (aka Jamal Moss) and his collaborator, saxophonist, producer and composer Jerzy Maczyński. The two are to release their Tune IN album on Yeyeh at the start of December under the banner Universal Harmonies & Frequencies, and if this single Multidimensional Transformation is anything to go by, it is going to be quite a melting pot of beats and ideas. The signs are good!
This is an album about change and the lasting effects it can have on people. Its title bears the name of a beloved hotel in Croatia visited by American harpist Mary Lattimore, and closing for renovation. She takes this as a stimulus for six pieces that explore the theme of change and how nothing can ever be the same again.
The musical material has its roots in improvisation but Lattimore honed the album over two years, both in a solo capacity and in the company of a host of collaborators. To that end she was joined by The Cure’s Lol Tolhurst, Meg Baird, Slowdive’s Rachel Goswell, Ray Montgomery, Samara Lubelski and Walt McClements.
What’sthemusiclike?
Beautiful. It is worth studying some of the stories behind Lattimore’s work, for it reveals something of her sense of humour as well as a softer side to her thinking. And Then He Wrapped His Wings Around Me – featuring Baird and Clements – is about a moment where she got to meet Big Bird with her mum, and he gave her ‘an incredible hug with this scratchy yellow wings’. The resultant track has a similar effect!
Arrivederci, with Tolhurst, is an intensely calming experience – written by Lattimore when she was at a low ebb after being let go from a project. It is styled as a round, a repetitive chord sequence where the harpist adds more and more melodic substance. Blender In A Blender goes on a compelling journey with Montgomery, becoming gradually more distorted and separated from a traditional harp sound and harnessing considerable power.
Lattimore’s titles are always eye-openers – so to speak – and Music For Applying Shimmering Eye Shadow gets music to match in the form of wonky, wobbly lines that falter over a much steadier base. It is as though one hand is faltering, the other an immovable object. There is a different kind of pitch variation in Horses, Glossy On The Hill, the idea of bells jangling together made by the clashing of semitones and microtones on the harp, before the instrument swirls in a gorgeous torrent of sound.
Yesterday’s Parties is a highly effective coda, the vocals of Goswell and Lubelski swooning as the harp plays delicate lines.
Does it all work?
It does. Lattimore’s imagination with the harp is key, producing some extraordinary sounds from the instrument in her manipulations and with studio trickery without ever becoming gimmicky or taking things too far. The underlying power in the music is also most impressive, as the likes of Arrivederci illustrate.
Is it recommended?
Wholeheartedly. This is music of beauty and inner resolve, and a powerfully moving album – arguably Mary Lattimore’s best yet.
A new release on Lo Recordings that is well worth your time! In the words of the label’s press release:
“Musical innovators Red Snapper release a new album on Lo Recordings. Live at The Moth Club, the follow up to 2022’s acclaimed Everybody Is Somebody long player, features nine tracks from a vast and impressive back catalogue on Warp Records and Lo Recordings and captures perfectly the energy of their celebrated sold out London show from May 2022 in Hackney.
With an incredible and genre bursting career that spans nearly thirty years, the new album demonstrates the band’s ability to constantly rework classic and new tracks, keeping them impassioned, experimental and relevant. The collection includes a version of Suckerpunch which originally appeared on their 1998 album Making Bones.’ It was released as a single on 15 September.
Those who have been paying attention to the career of X-Press 2 will know there is a great deal more to them than Lazy, the David Byrne collaboration that has taken up residence on UK radio the last 20 years.
The trio – as they were then – always stood for high quality house music, as the likes of Muzikizum and London X-Press will testify. Now that Ashley Beedle has left, founder members Rocky (Darren Rock) and Diesel (Darren House) have set about securing the X-Press 2 reputation with their fifth album, their first in eight years.
What’sthemusiclike?
Very, very fine. It’s clear that a lot of care and attention has been taken with this comeback, as there isn’t a note out of place or overplayed. Instead, the duo have fashioned a new set of club tracks that pay homage to classic house but sound current and are captivating the whole way through. The balance between vocal and instrumental is just right, especially when the former is represented by Bloc Party vocalist Kele Okereke and Sailor & I. These two deliver brilliant guest turns, with Phasing You Out (Okereke) one of the standout cuts, delivering the goods in a technological burnout with great lyrics.
In truth, Thee gets better as it goes on. The Rain, the Sailor & I guest spot, is a slow-burner that gets better with each listen. You Know (Everybody) is a powerful excursion into tribal territory, with big percussion hits at every turn. Reach For Me is a deeper, nocturnal number, and Muse is smoother still, but Cope turns up the dials to be a throwback to the mid-90s Alcatraz hit Giv Me Luv.
Does it all work?
It does. Thee, in spite of the ancient implications in its name, brims with inspiration and is a succession of punches that hit their target – namely getting people to dance.
Is it recommended?
Without hesitation. This is a very fine piece of work that shows just how durable house music can be with placed in the right hands.
Green-House is a project begun by Olive Ardizoni but now a duo featuring her long-time collaborator and confidant, Michael Flanagan.
Their music is indelibly associated with the natural environment, and especially its disappearance – asking how we can address the hollow feelings we have at its destruction, and pass those on to future generations. The Six Songs for Invisible Gardens EP addressed this in part at the start of the pandemic in 2020, a cassette release that included wild flower seeds for the listener.
The series of releases continued with Music For Living Spaces in 2021, the first full length Green-House LP, but now it has a sequel in the form of A Host For All Kinds Of Life. This is on a bigger scale to the previous album, functioning as a suite of discreet instrumental songs that have at their heart a powerful message, continuing to express joy at the environment even in the wake of its continued destruction.
What’sthemusiclike?
Green-House make music that works on two levels – the listener can take in the context above and hear it in a deep and meaningful sense, or they can retreat a little to observe as ambient music. Either way it works, for these instrumentals are rich in creativity and colour, presenting positive moods with verdant textures.
There is an Eastern feel to Coquina, with its persuasive flute line, that suggests we are in a garden full of bright flowers – and this is a vision that continues through the album. Lichen Maps, as its title suggests, is a little more mysterious, while Desire Path wends its way through flowing lines.
The musical statements become more thoughtful for Castle Song, but then a good deal more playful for Far More Other. Most meaningful of all is the enchanting title track, which twinkles at the treble end while a gently rocking statement on keyboard plays out beneath.
Many Years Later – looking a generation beyond, perhaps – has a sepia tint, its pitch wavering as it looks to sum up what has gone before.
Does it all work?
It does – though be careful you listen on the right audio equipment, for Green-House make treble rich music. This responds well on headphones especially.
Is it recommended?
It is. Ambient music is often the most thought provoking – and that is certainly the case here. Green-House make conscious music that delivers its message with subtle power.
Arcana.fm 