growing-at-the-edges

[growing-at-the-edges]

This one grew on me and has become a recent fave

[growing-at-the-edges]

I'm shocked and glad to have a new collection of Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru's piano compositions to listen to all the time

[growing-at-the-edges]

I'm psyched for the new John Andrews album that came out today. It is so laid back yet some great artistry and ideas behind it. I loved touring with him back in the day

[growing-at-the-edges]

I'm loving this jangmyungsun album from 2018 that has just entered my life. It looks like we might play together in the summer which would be really fun

[growing-at-the-edges]

I'm glad XV made the definitive anthem for the feeling of needing a pen. I love the unhinged energy of this record

[growing-at-the-edges]

I was recently reminded of this indeterminist Gavin Bryars piece and wanted to revisit it. This version is condensed and quite conventionally pretty compared to other noisier and longer form ones but I've been enjoying it for that very reason.

[growing-at-the-edges]

I've been learning this on piano. I love the spooky chords. It is definitely breaking me out of muscle memory zone and showing me interesting harmonization ideas

[growing-at-the-edges]

I remember being captivated by Susan Alcorn's jazz-inflected pedal steel years ago at Silent Barn and have tried to periodically check in on her work ever since. This one seems to be further in the free jazz zone but I've been really liking it

[growing-at-the-edges]

I think this intensely observational yet not annoyingly self-conscious style of lyrics is very difficult to pull off and I'm very inspired by this album

[growing-at-the-edges]

I remember seeing Liza perform on a mountain trail near a well filled with bellowing bullfrogs, her music barely rising above the frog chorus and rustling leaves. I remember being amazed at how her delicate guitar seemed content to weave itself into the forest assemblage. That is when I became a fan. I'm looking forward to this whole album coming out.

[growing-at-the-edges]

The simplicity of these bedroom pop recordings and the fantastic use of field recorded loops reminds me of a time where making music felt more "magical". It is making me pretty emotional and inspired. I'll add what his label put as the description because I think it's apt:

Isik Kural’s in february documents the everyday poetry in the passing and returning of time, as if material snapshots of life’s temporality. Across the album’s twelve songs, each composed from chance loops and cocooned within the soft container of Isik’s memorable voice and melody play, time is held on to hopefully, impossibly, eternally. Follow the sundial butterflies when they split the scene.

[growing-at-the-edges]

I have been digging into this album and appreciating the idea of building so many compositions around delayed vocals. I often find myself overwhelmed in my own songwriting practice until I'm able to find a constraint which facilitates the cohesion needed to follow an idea further. This new album from Lisel, a result of her travels in the neo-classical and pop worlds is a good reminder of the compelling results of realizing a concept to its fullest.

[growing-at-the-edges]

I've been enjoying following Joni Void's Time Capsule series. This one seems to mainly focus on NYC and LA as opposed to Montreal and has some old friends and some new (to me) names who I'm excited to research further.

[growing-at-the-edges]

some nice ambient stuff on this album

[growing-at-the-edges]

I watched the movie Godland this week and was moved by a scene in the Icelandic countryside where two characters duet on accordions to create, to my ears, an otherworldly folk music. I was reminded of Oidupaa Vladimir Oiun's album of throat singing accompanied only by his makeshift accordion playing which is so buoyant it stands in stark contrast to what must have been a dreary Russian prison camp where it was recorded.

[growing-at-the-edges]

Carlos has been a fixture in the recording process for a handful of my albums. I'm a big fan of his newest one, Not Mine which does a great job showcasing his off-kilter pop sensibility and occasional Prince-like croon. This song stands out as it sheds its humble lo-fi boom-bap beat to go full technicolor with a powerfully nostalgic string arrangement which friends know I am a sucker for.

[growing-at-the-edges]

Ahwar by Nadah El Shazly has basically been on repeat since I heard it earlier in the week, I am very interested in artists who are able to craft whole worlds with diverse ensembles; who can make detail-rich albums that reward the listener with each successive listen.

Thanks to Justin for sharing!

Sharing this one because she’s playing in NYC on Saturday.  It was a real favorite of mine during the pandemic.