On this week’s Timely Tunes playlist, I take you on a brief virtual tour of the globe outside of The United States (other than Hawaii and Puerto Rico) and Western Europe, highlighting a small sampling of beautiful and disparate sounds from around the world.

 

Timely Tunes

a weekly feature by Christopher Piercy

 

The term “world music” became a bastardized, financially cynical catch-all used by the Western record industry to connote marketable exoticism. In more recent years, there has been an increased interest in presenting the music as it truly is rather than as a neutered facsimile. This would be a nearly infinite playlist if I were to try to cover music from every corner of the map, but I hope that this might serve, at least, as a starting point in looking at the incredible culture the world has to offer from places often reduced to news stories of war, unrest, or poverty.

 

 

TIMELY TUNES, VOL. 52

TRACKLIST:

1. Selda Begcan “Adaletin Bu mu Dunya” (Turkey)
2. Nahwa “Mawaal Hejrak” (Lebanon)
3. Omar Souleyman “Mawal” (Syria)
4. Le Trio Joubran “Nawwar” (Palestine)
5. Kazim Alsaher “Eny Khairtek” (Iraq)
6. Hamidreza Nourbakhsh “Shab-e Tar” (Iran)
7. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan “Dam Hama Dam Ali Ali” (Pakistan)
8. Mahwash “Gar Konad Saheb-E-Man” (Afghanistan)
9. Ali Akbar Khan “Raga Vasant Mukhari: Alap” (India)
10. Naji Barakat “Mutawal” (Yemen)
11. Umm Kulthum “Aala Balad El Mahboub” (Egypt)
12. Dhafer Youssef “Tarannoum” (Tunisia)
13. Bonga “Mona Ki Ngi Xica” (Angola)
14. Master Musicians of Joujouka “Mali Mal Hal M’Halmaz” (Morocco)
15. Fela Kuti “Fefe Naa Efe” (Nigeria)
16. Youssou N’Dour “Set” (Senegal)
17. Ebo Taylor “Atwer Abroba” (Ghana)
18. Ali Farka Toure “Savane” (Mali)
19. Echo Del Africa “Yiri Wah” (Burkina Faso)
20. Mulatu Astatke “I Faram Gami I Faram” (Ethiopia)
21. T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo “Noude Ma Gnin Tche De Me” (Benin)
22. Fundi Konde “Ajali Haikingiki” (Kenya)
23. Konono No.1 “Paradiso” (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
24. Zinja Hlungwani “Ntombi Ya Mugaza” (South Africa)
25. Gabriel Alegria Afro-Peruvian Sextet “Toro Mata” (Peru)
26. Eduardo Mateo “Jacinta” (Uruguay)
27. Nara Leao “O Barquinho” (Brazil)
28. El Sexteto Miramar “Cumbiamba” (Colombia)
29. Daniel Melingo “En Un Bondi Color Humo” (Argentina)
30. Juan Vicente Torrealba “Caraquena” (Venezuela)
31. La Banda “La Avispa” (Costa Rica)
32. Jesus Acosta & The Professionals “Guajida” (Belize)
33. Vicente Fernandez “Hermoso Carino” (Mexico)
34. Ibrahim Ferrer “Marieta” (Cuba)
35. Dr. Alimantado “Born For A Purpose” (Jamaica)
36. Ismael Rivera “Arrecotin Arrecotan” (Puerto Rico)
37. Gabby Pahinui “Nani Ko’olau” (Hawaii)
38. Tasi Kabulo: String Band “E-Yo, E-Yo” (Papua New Guinea)
39. Surakarta Sekaten Gamelan “Srepegan” (Indonesia)
40. Min Huifen “Yangguan Pass Melody – Three Variations” (China)
41. Satomi Saeki and Alcvin Takegawa Ramos “Chidori No Kyoku” (Japan)
42. Ros Seresyothea “Jam 10 Kai Theit” (Cambodia)
43. Pham duc Thanh “Ly Ngua O” (Vietnam)

 

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This week ranges from throwback country to throwback Compton rap, with some free improvisation, Dylanesque rock, Norwegian jazz, and avant-doom black metal thrown in for good measure.  

 

TIMELY TUNES

 

Kevin Morby “Pearly Gates” (From “City Music”)

It’s only been a little over a year since Morby’s last album, but his rapid-fire prolificacy displays a songwriter in the midst of a fertile peak. His impressionistic, wordy witticism draws easy comparisons to Bob Dylan, or perhaps Father John Misty, but he is warmer than the former and less meta-ironic than the latter. “Pearly Gates” is a bouncy, joyful, but self-searching highlight from his best album yet.

 

Bill Orcutt “The World Without Me” (From “Bill Orcutt”)

Bill Orcutt was one of the most original guitarists to immerge from the outer realms of abstract American experimentalism in the early 90’s. As the leader of noise rock deconstructionists Harry Pussy, who drew from a diverse well of no wave, hardcore punk, and free jazz, they confounded the audiences of indie heroes and tour mates such as Sonic Youth and Sebadoh in their brief career. His new album showcases a gentler, but no less revolutionary exploration of solo guitar virtuosity and improvisation that is a spiritual cousin to the work of John Fahey and Sir Richard Bishop.

 

Colter Wall “Motorcycle” (From “Colter Wall”)

The twenty-two year old Saskatchewan Colter Wall has a deep, bourbon-coated voice that sounds at least twice as lived in as it really is. His assured and wonderful debut places him firmly in the camp of a new wave of country songwriters led by John Moreland and Sturgill Simpson who look back to raw, conversational artists like Guy Clarke and Townes Van Zandt (Wall covers the latter on this album). “Motorcycle” balances existential desperation with dark humor on an album that respects a simpler era of country music before the genre was coated by an impenetrable pop gloss.

 

MC Eiht “Got That” (From “Which Way Iz West”)

It’s been eleven years since his last album and five years since he set fire to Kendrick Lamar’s “M.A.A.D. City”, but MC Eiht’s “Got That” reconfirms him as one of the most underrated products of Compton’s classic era. His workmanlike flow is complimented by the ever-soulful production of Gang Starr’s DJ Premier, uniting East and West Coast into an exciting throwback that sounds fierce and hungry.

 

Arve Henriksen “Paridae” (From “Towards Language”)

Norwegian trumpeter Arve Henriksen’s distinctive, loose embouchure tone, inspired by the sound of the Japanese shakuhachi flute, creates fragile, filmic, and beguiling jazz. The last song on his latest album, his ninth solo record, features the vocals of Anna Maria Friman of Trio Medieval and it brushes up against the current reemergence of New Age Music as a fertile touchstone of experimentation.

 

Gravetemple “Athatolhatatlan Felemek” (From “Impassable Fears”)

This certainly won’t be for everyone, but if you are in the mood for some of the most extreme music released this year, Gravetemple deliver a blackened slab of impenetrable doom on the chaotic “Impassable Fears”. Stephen O’Malley, guitar god for decibel punishers Sunn O))), is joined by Attila Csihar, unrivaled vocal torturer for infamous black metal lifers Mayhem, and avant-garde polymath multi-instrumentalist Oren Ambarchi. The music works as an invocation of dark mysticism that Attila has described as an, “aim to break boundaries and to find new horizons via the challenging of our own concepts of existence via the channels of musical trance. To me it is like a contemporary way of Shamanism.”

 

TIMELY TUNES, VOL. 51

TRACKLIST:

1. Red Red Meat “Gauze”
2. Kevin Morby “Pearly Gates”
3. Bob Dylan “Mozambique”
4. John Fahey “Funeral Song For Mississippi John Hurt”
5. Bill Orcutt “The World Without Me”
6. Jerry Jeff Walker “Gettin’ By”
7. Colter Wall “Motorcycle”
8. Johnny Paycheck “Barstool Mountain”
9. The D.O.C. “Lend Me An Ear”
10. MC Eiht “Got That”
11. Marvin Gaye “Anger”
12. Hans-Joachim Roedelius & Noel Akchote “Piece quinze”
13. Arve Henriksen “Paridae”
14. Phillip Jeck “Saint Pancras (The One That Holds Everything)”
15. Gravetemple “Athatolhatatlan Felelmek”

 

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We have finally reached the 50^th volume of Timely Tunes. We are also halfway through 2017, so I thought I would do a brief recap of some of the best reissues and compilations released this year. A busy reissue season has seen everything from generous dips into Prince’s and Radiohead’s vaults to Nigerian disco and Brazilian electro-experimentalism.

TIMELY TUNES

 

Prince “Love and Sex” (From “Purple Rain Deluxe”)

“Purple Rain” was and remains a perfect album, but that doesn’t mean that Prince didn’t leave some (nearly as) magical outtakes from the sessions in the vault. The generous new reissue features a staggering collection of tracks that could have easily made the final cut. “Love and Sex” is a delirious, giddy, synth-y romp through Prince’s horny mind; a fully-formed hit that never was. Recorded just two days before the totemic “When Doves Cry”, Prince gives his newly acquired Yamaha DX-7 synth a fierce workout on this dance floor blast.

Oby Onyioha “Enjoy Your Life” (From “Doing it in Lagos: Boogie, Pop & Disco in 1980’s Nigeria”)

Fela Kuti created a framework for forward-thinking body and soul music during the stultifying oppression of 1970’s Nigeria before his compound was destroyed and he was imprisoned in 1977. What followed was a group of musicians who moved away from the political and toward the more purely physical music happening in America at the end of the decade. This compilation collects some scorchers that could handily worm their way into any DJ set. “Enjoy Your Life” is peak disco perfection.

CAN “I Want More” (From “The Singles”)

An unusual release, as I have never thought of CAN as a “singles” act, but it’s a wonderful introduction and encapsulation anyway. CAN are best exemplified by digesting their otherworldly albums (“Tago Mago”, “Ege Bamyasi”, “Future Days”, and “Soon Over Babuluma” are my favorites), but hearing their work in this context gives a new and exciting perspective. The German experimentalists (accompanied by African-American vocalist Malcolm Mooney from 1968 to 1970 and Japanese outsider Damo Suzuki from 1970 to 1973) were a fount of weirdo-brilliance; incorporating avant-garde minimalism, early electronic music, psychedelia, funk, and a cornucopia of other sounds. “I Want More” is a propulsive highlight from the otherwise scattershot, but somewhat underrated, 1976 album “Flow Motion”. LCD Soundsystem built their career on songs like this.

Mulatu Astatke “Mulatu” (From “Mulatu of Ethiopia”)

Composer and musician Mulatu Astatke is the king eternal of Ethio-jazz; an Addis Ababa-groomed phenom who took his groundbreaking fusion of African pentatonics, Latin rhythms, and Western jazz to London and New York City. A favorite of crate-diggers and hip-hop producers for decades, he has seen a renaissance of interest in the past decade, and this reissue is a fantastic introduction to his singular sound.

Grateful Dead “Loser” (From “May 1977: Get Shown the Light”)

I started collecting Grateful Dead bootlegs in the early days of Internet message boards when I was 12 or 13, and spent awhile submerged in the culture of Deadheads searching and trading for that perfect concert recording. The shows of May 5, 7, 8, and 9, 1977 are widely considered a, if not THE, peak of the band’s live prowess. I admit that I haven’t made my way through this entire exhaustive eleven-disc box set yet, but what I have heard is among the best distillation of what made me a believer. It seems that the Dead have come back into some critical favor over the past few years, but their output is ridiculously daunting to traverse. You can start in worse places than this if you want to catch the bug. If you thought they weren’t for you, it might just change your mind.

Lift To Experience “Falling From Cloud 9” (From “The Texas-Jerusalem Crossroads”)

For some reason, a 93 minute concept double album about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ by a group of cowboy hat wearing post-rock weirdos from Denton, Texas, released just a few months before 9/11, was unable to breakthrough to any sort of commercial success. Behind a wall of crushing My Bloody Valentine-indebted feedback and shot through with raw, wild emotion, the album did become an underground cult classic. Leader Josh T. Pearson, who was forced by financial necessity to be the album’s producer, was always unhappy with the final mix and this reissue gives the album the heft, subtlety, and depth of sound that it always deserved. Nothing before or since has sounded quite like this wonderful oddity, which means that it has only grown stranger and more compelling.

Radiohead “Lift” (From “OK Computer OKNOTOK 1997 2017”)

An eternity and a moment have seemed to pass in the twenty years since my mind was first blown by “OK Computer”. The new reissue features that perfect album complimented by era-specific B-sides and a few mythic, previously unreleased songs. One of the most sought-after tracks is “Lift”, a soaring anthem that sounds like a logical step forward from the world-conquering Britpop of “The Bends”. According to the band, they decided to leave it off because they believed that it would have been a huge commercial hit but were worried that it could have taken their career down a path they were trying to avoid. The decision obviously didn’t end up hurting them in the long run, but it’s nice to finally have an official release of a song that is as good as anything they wrote in their pre-obfuscating second act.

Manic Street Preachers “Leviathan” (From “Send Away the Tigers: 10 Year Collectors Edition”)

Ten years seems like a short turnover to re-release an album that never quite felt like a classic in the first place, but this generous reissue of “Send Away the Tigers” reveals that I may have underrated the album when it first came out. The band is forever haunted by the spectre of barbed wire lyricist/guitarist Richey James, who disappeared not long after the release of their bleak masterpiece “The Holy Bible” and was never found. Somehow the band managed to carry on, following it up with another superb album, “Everything Must Go”, before they saw a considerable dip in quality on their next two records. “Send Away the Tigers” was a revitalizing comeback (even if I prefer its follow-up “Journal For Plague Lovers”), and it’s a much more interesting album than I remember. Where this reissue becomes even more revelatory is in the bonus tracks, full of some excellent B-sides and rarities. Among the best is “Leviathan”, a swaggering rocker first released on the War Child compilation.

Sheer Mag “Worth the Tears” (From “Compilation (I, II, & III)”)

This collection serves as a catch-all for the great Philadelphia punk band’s first three EPs; 40 minutes of hook after hook after hook. Sheer Mag fully embraces everything that made bands like Thin Lizzy so eternal (and one of my favorite bands to ever walk this planet), while managing to throw in enough originality and grit to keep anything from sounding tired. Every song is a gem of expert pop-craft and venom.

Helium “Ocean of Wine” (From “The Magic City”)

Mary Timony’s Helium stand shoulder-to-shoulder with PJ Harvey and Sleater-Kinney as one of the greatest post-riot grrrl rock acts of the ‘90s. Unfairly, Timony’s work has been, comparatively, somewhat under-appreciated, but a series of recent reissues of Helium’s discography seeks to right those wrongs. 1997’s “The Magic City” is the confident, exploratory apex of their output; a still-fresh opus of experimentation and emotional heft.

Elliott Smith “I Figured You Out” (From “Either/Or: Expanded Edition”)

No one mixed psychic pain and hushed melodic virtuosity quite like Elliott Smith, and his greatest statement, “Either/Or”, still sounds just as vital twenty years later. He wrote sad-sack songs that were buoyed by a level of craft that was outside the grasp of most of his peers and those who later claimed him as an influence. “I Figured You Out” is one of his all-time best compositions, melancholy but not maudlin, but he left it off the original album and gave it to Mary Lou Lord because he was convinced that it “sounds like the fuckin’ Eagles”. That harsh assessment doesn’t actually ring true, but his self-awareness was one of many admirable traits.

The Beatles “A Day In The Life” (Remix) (From “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (Deluxe Edition)”)

“Sgt. Pepper’s” was the first CD I ever owned and “A Day In The Life” remains my favorite Beatles song. But over the years the album has become one that I have returned to less and less. Where once it felt revolutionary, it had grown somewhat stale and gimmicky to me in comparison to “The Beatles” or “Abbey Road” or “Rubber Soul”. When I heard that George Martin’s son, Giles, was being put in charge of creating a completely new stereo mix from the original master tapes, I was cautiously intrigued. The original stereo version of the album was infamously oddly mixed, a strangely unbalanced display of new technology, but fans had also grown accustomed to it. This new mix sounds absolutely revelatory, shining a new light on a classic album in a way that is respectful to the way the album should have sounded in the first place. Essential.

Fleetwood Mac “Where We Belong (Demo)” (From “Tango In the Night (Deluxe)”)

There was no reason that, in 1987, Fleetwood Mac could have been expected to create anything more than a horror show of embarrassment. Interpersonal soap operas, financial excess, and septum-destroying drug abuse should have left them in creative tatters, but “Tango in the Night” somehow managed the impossible feat of being both another mega commercial AND creative success. As the years have passed, “Tango” has only grown in my personal esteem, marrying the quirks of the mesmerizingly fantastic, coked-out “Tusk” (my favorite Fleetwood Mac album; sorry “Rumours”) with a laser-sharp pop focus that makes it one of the truly great late-career records by any “legacy” act. “Where We Belong” is a skeletal demo, but it is magical all the same.

Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello “That Day is Done – Original Demo” (From “Flowers in the Dirt – Special Edition”)

An admirable, if not always successful, experiment in collaboration between two of our great songwriters, “Flowers in the Dirt” is one of the most interesting oddities in either’s discography. The new reissue features the original album, which features some great, if occasionally over-fussed songs, but where the reissue really shines is in the extras. The demo version of “That Day is Done” strips away the unnecessary accoutrements to reveal the warm heart of a secular gospel gem. Two great voices, a piano, and an acoustic guitar was all that the song really needed anyway.

The Creation “Biff Bang Pow” (From “Action Painting”)

The Creation, in their original incarnation, only existed in a brief flash from 1966 until 1968, but they left behind a terrific string of vital singles and one shambolic album (1967’s unfortunately-titled “We Are Paintermen”). They never came close to achieving the success of their British Invasion peers, but they had all the nervous, proto-punk energy of The Who and at least a portion of the wit of The Kinks. They received some posthumous love from mod-revivalists like The Jam in the late-‘70s, but they remain a bit of an obscurity. My favorite reissue label, Numero Group, released this fantastic collection of their work that is a must for anyone interested in revved-up ‘60s British rock.

Soundgarden “Flower” (From “Ultramega OK (Expanded Edition)”

Soundgarden’s 1988 full-length debut, released on the legendary SST label, was a hint of the power the band was on the verge of harnessing. “Flower” opens the album and remains one of their greatest metallic pop confections. They perfected this amalgamation of heavy metal and Beatlesque pop melody on later albums, but “Ultramega OK” remains an essential document of Seattle before the scene became a global phenomenon. Kim Thayil was already a monster of the riff and Chris Cornell was a fully-formed vocal maverick.

Swans “I Am The Sun” (From “The Great Annihilator”)

“The Great Annihilator” was the first Swans CD that I was able to find and buy, after being introduced to their eviscerating music in the early days of MP3 dial-up downloading, so it will always hold a special place for me, even if it isn’t my favorite Swans album. It finds them caught in between the crushing brutality of their early years and their expansive third act, but is still worth revisiting. “I Am The Sun” is a bite-sized distillation of the dichotomies of love and hate that Michael Gira has built his career upon.

Alice Coltrane “Om Rama” (From “World Spirituality Classics 1: The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda”)

I have already featured another track from this revelatory reissue in a previous Timely Tunes, but it’s worth reiterating just how incredible this album is. Culled from a small catalog of idiosyncratic recordings by the blissfully enigmatic Alice Coltrane when she was living in the Hindu ashram that she founded and directed from 1983 until her death, this is, easily, one of my favorite records of the year. It is an example of the transcendental heights that spiritual music can reach.

Leimer “Testimony and Honor” (From “Land of Look Behind (Remastered + Expanded)”

I heard that this album was labeled “ambient reggae” by someone from “the Pacific Northwest” and very nearly avoided it on principle, but I’m glad I didn’t. Kerry Leimer’s soundtrack to the 1982 documentary of the same name is an unclassifiable mix of ambient beds of synth and, on this track, disembodied samples of Jamaican vocals. The film focuses on the impact of Rastafarian culture on Jamaican music, but the soundtrack stands on its own as a beguiling work of art.

Pep llopis “Muntanyes De Granit” (From “Polemusia La Nau Dels Argonautes”)

The label RVNG has begun re-issuing some long-forgotten mystic gems lately at a surprising clip, and this one by Spain’s Pep Llopis is perhaps the most intriguing yet. Llopis recorded this disarmingly original album in 1987 after exploring the islands of the Mediterranean. Influenced by American minimalists like Steve Reich, but achieving a unique sound that is enveloping, yet tastefully restrained; a beautiful rediscovery.

Anno Luz “Por Que” (From “Outro Tempo: Electronic and Contemporary Music From Brazil, 1978-1992”)

Brazil is home to some of the most beautiful music on the planet, but between 1964 and 1985, much of it came under a near-constant attempt to squash any creativity by a culturally oppressive military government. Inimitable stars like Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil were exiled, and others like Milton Nascimento were forced to find work-arounds in pursuit of transcendence. This vital collection of strange and wonderful sounds recorded as the country attempted to transition from darkness, is a portrait of exceptional experimentation. It’s full of highlights, but Anno Luz’s wordless, dreamy “Por Que” is especially haunting.

Dominique Lawalree “Musique Satieerique” (From “First Meeting”)

Dominique Lawalree is a mysterious composer who has spent his entire life in Belgium (and who now spends time playing piano and organ at church), and “First Meeting” is a compilation of the idiosyncratic work that he released on private press between 1978 and 1982. Influenced by the work of Erik Satie, John Cage, Pierre Boulez, and Brian Eno, the latter toyed with the idea of releasing Lawalree’s music on his own label, Obscure Records, before it folded. Until the release of this collection, his music was limited to titles distributed by English composer Gavin Bryars, and it is great to finally have a portion of his work plucked from obscurity.

Brother Ah “Inner Voice” (From “Divine Music”)

French horn phenom Brother Ah worked with Donald Byrd, John Coltrane, Sun Ra, Roland Kirk, Don Cherry, Thelonious Monk, and so many other heavy-hitters in the jazz world, but this Light in the Attic Records release collects three of his previously unreleased solo records (recorded in 1978, 1981, and 1985). It is incredible. Experimenting with elements of Eastern and “Third World” music, they reflect a restless creativity that sounds unlike anything else.

Tomorrow’s People “Open Soul” (From “Open Soul”)

Rereleased on Floating Points’ Melodies International label, this album, which sometimes sells for $1500, has finally been reissued. What truly sells the album is the cosmic and insane 20 minute title track. It’s a truly epic, exhaustive but never lagging, funk-soul workout that will probably blow your mind. Even if the rest of the album doesn’t quite live up to this high water mark, it doesn’t matter when this track starts playing.

Deathprod “Treetop Drive 3” (From “Treetop Drive”)

I regret not being able to make time for Deathprod’s allegedly levitating set at Knoxville’s Big Ears Festival this year. Performed in sensory-depriving pitch blackness, it was supposedly one of many highlights (I did see a lot of other incredible acts that weekend and recommend the festival to anyone who prizes boundary-pushing music). Helge Sten is a Norwegian soundscaper and is probably best known for being a member of the avant-garde improv group Supersilent, but his solo work as Deathprod is ambient drone at its most darkly affecting. These early pieces sound like beautiful decay.

 

TIMELY TUNES, VOL. 50

TRACKLIST:

1. Prince “Love and Sex”
2. Oby Onyioha “Enjoy Your Life”
3. CAN “I Want More”
4. Mulatu Astatke “Mulatu”
5. Grateful Dead “Loser”
6. Lift To Experience “Falling From Cloud 9”
7. Radiohead “Lift”
8. Manic Street Preachers “Leviathan”
9. Sheer Mag “Worth the Tears”
10. Helium “Ocean of Wine”
11. Elliott Smith “I Figured You Out”
12. The Beatles “A Day In The Life”
13. Fleetwood Mac “Where We Belong (Demo)”
14. Paul McCartney & Elvis Costello “That Day Is Done (Original Demo)”
15. The Creation “Biff Bang Pow”
16. Soundgarden “Flower”
17. Swans “I Am The Sun”
18. Alice Coltrane “Om Rama”
19. K. Leimer “Testimony and Honor”
20. Pep Llopis “Muntanyes De Granit”
21. Anno Luz “Por Que”
22. Dominique Lawalree “Musique Satieerique”
23. Brother Ah “Inner Voice”
24. Tomorrow’s People “Open Soul”
25. Deathprod “Treetop Drive 3”

~~~~~

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This week on Timely Tunes we have new music from 2 Chainz, Lorde and Chelsea Wolfe and a couple of playlist tributes to recently departed musicians. 

 

TIMELY TUNES

2 Chainz “Poor Fool” from “Pretty Girls Like Trap Music”

2 Chainz has long been one of the most entertaining rappers, and frequently his sharp-witted personality outshines the featured artists for whom he is providing guest verses. His albums have never fully connected with me from front to back though, which is what makes “Pretty Girls Like Trap Music” one of the most unexpected surprises of 2017. At thirty-nine, he is practically a septuagenarian in rapper years, yet this is one of the hungriest and best rap albums of 2017. It is hard to settle on just one highlight on an album full of greatness, but this track, which features Swae Lee of Rae Sremmurd in the supporting role, is a disorienting delight.

 

Lorde “Hard Feelings/Loveless” from “Melodrama”

Lorde already sounded like an old soul on her debut, released when she was just sixteen. Now twenty, she has managed to create a masterwork of incredible emotional depth and power on “Melodrama”. She is doing things within the pop framework that are shockingly new, strange, honest, and beautiful. “Hard Feelings/Loveless” is a devastating and complex portrait of loss that proves just how incredible and assured her still-young artistry is.

 

Chelsea Wolfe “16 Psyche” from “Hiss Spun”

No one channels darkness into beauty quite like Chelsea Wolfe. Her past albums have been tangentially connected to metal, but nothing has sounded quite as heavy as this new single. Guitar duties are shared between Wolfe and Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens of the Stone Age, and they interlock into a doomy, powerful maelstrom. Some of her best work yet…

 

 

I have also included Mobb Deep’s classic DJ Premiere-produced “Peer Pressure” in tribute to the all-time great Prodigy who passed away tragically this week at the age of forty-two. He was one of the best storytellers in rap, and Mobb Deep’s “Juvenile Hell”, “The Infamous”, and “Hell on Earth” remain a triptych of godlike ’90s New York hip-hop worth revisiting.

The playlist ends with Chris Cornell’s first solo work, “Seasons”, a track included on the soundtrack to the early ’90s Seattle zeitgeist film “Singles”. Over a month has passed since Cornell left us, and it still hasn’t completely sunk in with me. Soundgarden were one of the most important bands of my childhood, and their albums retain all their power to this day. Chris was, to me, the greatest rock vocalist of his generation, a virtuoso whose multi-octave voice scraped the sky but was also capable of immense nuance, and this track is an understated example of his versatility as a songwriter.

 

TIMELY TUNES, VOL. 49

 

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Timely Tunes has been on hiatus but we are back this week with five new tunes for you to check out. And as always, we also have a curated playlist for your summer listening pleasure. Enjoy!

TIMELY TUNES

 

Denai Moore “All the Way” (From “We Used to Bloom”)

British-Jamaican artist Denai Moore first came to my attention for her beautiful vocals on the SBTRKT album “Wonder Where We Land” in 2014. “All the Way” is an immaculately produced, aching track from her upcoming sophomore solo album; a duet with singer Kwabena Adepong, better known as Kwabs. Sad, yet hopeful, like so many of us seem to be these days.

 

Vince Staples “Rain Come Down” (From “Big Fish Theory”)

It is hard to believe that Vince Staples is only 23 years old. In a blink-and-you-miss-it hip-hop world where three years can see multiple trends come and go, often taking flash fire careers with them, Vince has established himself as one of the most consistent and independent voices. Kendrick might be the King, but Vince is carving out a lane of his own that is just as inspired. The third track released from his upcoming sophomore full-length sounds like nothing else on the rap charts; a gothic, minimalist, and understated track that finds him meshing perfectly with the raw but sensuous hook of Ty Dolla $ign over a bed of subsonic bass. Vince’s verses are virtuosic, bare, and effortless (“I’m the blood on the leaves, I’m the nose on the Sphinx/Where I’m from we don’t go to police/Where I’m from we don’t run, we just roll with the heat/I’m the back of the bus, take a seat”).

 

Torres “Skim”

Singer/songwriter Torres, born Mackenzie Scott, released one of 2015’s best and most under-appreciated albums (“Sprinter”), an intense and occasionally discordant record that positioned her as a worthy descendent of PJ Harvey. Her new single, “Skim”, is especially stunning; a coiled snake ready to strike. As she told NPR recently, “It’s basically about exploring all the dark corners of the mind and of the subconscious, and making sure that you’re not fooling yourself, you’re not hiding from yourself.”

 

Zola Jesus “Exhumed” (From “Okovi”)

Nicole Hummel has a spine-chilling and operatic voice, able to convey the crushing weight of a pained world. Her music often points toward the admitted influence of Diamanda Galas, but there is also plenty evidence of “Hounds of Love”-era Kate Bush or the solemn beauty of Dead Can Dance. “Exhumed” is a triumph in her impressive discography; a heavy, heart-rending, and towering monument.

 

Daphni “Tin” (From “FABRICLIVE93”)

The music that Dan Snaith has made as Caribou (formerly Manitoba) has, since 2001’s “Start Breaking My Heart”, slowly become more and more comfortable with embracing the impulses of the dance floor. His other alias, Daphni, is 100% committed to those impulses. “Tin” is a forward-momentum, UK garage-indebted anthem from the latest installment of the Fabriclive series of DJ mixes. The song first made an abbreviated, but jaw-dropping appearance on the Caribou Essential Mix on Soundcloud way back in 2014, and I am so grateful we finally have the full track. Now if someone could just tell me what that vocal sample is from, because it is driving me crazy that I can’t figure it out.

 

TIMELY TUNES, VOL. 48

 

TRACKLIST:

1. Roger Miller “Am I All Alone (Or Is It Only Me)”
2. Betty Harris “Cry to Me”
3. Denai Moore “All The Way”
4. Roberta Flack “Ballad Of The Sad Young Men”
5. Vince Staples “Rain Come Down”
6. The Knife “Silent Shout”
7. Terry Reid “Seed Of Memory”
8. Torres “Skim”
9. Mirah “Look Up!”
10. Sinead O’Connor “Jackie”
11. Zola Jesus “Exhumed”
12. Kate Bush “Cloudbusting”
13. Ahmed Fakroun “Ya Farhy Beeku”
14. Can “Shikako Maru Ten”
15. Daphni “Tin”
16. Floating Points “For Marmish”

 

~~~~~

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This week, Timely Tunes features new music from Kasai Allstars, Nite Jewel, Eric Schaefer, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Full of Hell. Plus, another brand new playlist to give you a head start on the weekend. Enjoy!  

Timely Tunes

 

Kasai Allstars “Kapinga Yamba” (From “Around Felicite”)

“Around Felicite” is the soundtrack to Alain Gomis’ lauded film about a single mother struggling to provide for her child as a bar singer in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The vibrant soundtrack is largely provided by Kasai Allstars, a 25-piece Congolese musical collective, who also act as the backing group in the film. The entire soundtrack is worth your time, as the band’s music is absolutely hypnotic in larger doses and is also interspersed with beautiful arrangements of Arvo Part orchestral works by Kinshasa’s Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste. “Kapinga Yamba” is a sunny highlight.

 

Nite Jewel “The Answer” (From “Real High”)

Ramona Gonzalez has been releasing dusky, sleepy underground pop music as Nite Jewel since 2009. 2012’s “One Second of Love” was one of my favorite records of 2012, but “Real High” is even better. The album is heavily indebted to nocturnal R&B from the early ‘90s, but “The Answer” is a bridge between the past and the present (and wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Solange’s last album).

 

Eric Schaefer “Kussa Karu Otome” (From “Kyoto mon Amour”)

A fantastically in-sync interpretation of a Hiromu Handa piece by Berlin-based drummer Eric Schaefer accompanied by Kazutoki Umezu on bass clarinet, Naoko Kikuchi with inspired koto work, and tethered to the subtle anchor of bassist John Eckhardt. The whole record is a symbiotic fusion of western and Japanese music that is both spontaneous and disciplined.

 

Ryuichi Sakamoto “Life, Life” (From “async”)

The first solo album from Japanese polyglot artist Ryuichi Sakamoto in eight years (after a battle with cancer) is a sublime work of measured ambience, patient melodicism, and deceptive simplicity. Sakamoto reunites with frequent collaborator and enigmatic vocalist David Sylvian on this meditative track: a recitation of a poem by Arseny Tarkovsky. If this piques your interest, and you have somehow never heard it, also seek out Sakamoto’s immortal “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence”, from the David Bowie-starring 1983 film of the same name. It is one of the most divinely beautiful pieces composed in the 20^th century, and the soundtrack was recently reissued on vinyl.

 

Full of Hell “Trumpeting Ecstasy” (From “Trumpeting Ecstasy”)

Full of Hell’s untethered brand of blackened grindcore has quickly made them one of the most exciting, and experimental, extreme metal bands in America. Their latest is, for the most part, a 23 minute onslaught of unrelenting brutality, but this penultimate track is an airy, rapturous, and unnerving respite during an apocalypse. The song is a collaboration with the subversive pop artist Nicole Dollanganger, and she ushers the album into a brief moment of unsettling beauty before everything crashes back into oblivion. Full of Hell have made the most of collaborations with both Japanese noise god Merzbow and terrifying sludge metal band The Body in the past, but this is their biggest creative risk yet. And it pays off.

 

TIMELY TUNES, VOL. 47

Tracklist:

1. Paul Simon “Diamonds On the Soles of Her Shoes”
2. Kasai Allstars “Kapinga Yamba”
3. Tim and Foty “Ndola-ngo”
4. Ananda Shankar “Cyrus”
5. Nite Jewel “The Answer”
6. Benoit Pioulard “Margin (Zachary Gray Remix)”
7. Jack Nitzsche “We Have to Stay (Demo)”
8. Tony Scott “Gambang Suling”
9. Eric Schaefer “Kussa Karu Otome”
10. Antonio Adolfo “Venice”
11. David Arden “Wasserklavier”
12. Ryuichi Sakamoto “Life, Life”
13. Lawrence English “Somnambulist”
14. Full of Hell “Trumpeting Ecstasy”
15. Harold Budd “The White Arcades”

~~~~~

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After a week-long break, Timely Tunes is back with a new track from Willie Nelson, a previously unreleased track from Prince, the return of the temporarily dormant LCD Soundsystem, and new music from Jason Isbell and Perfume Genius.

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Timely Tunes

Willie Nelson “God’s Problem Child” (From “God’s Problem Child”)

It seems that, often, lesser-known artists don’t get the attention they deserve until after they pass, while big stars are lauded for their earlier triumphs and the art they make later in life is all but ignored. Willie, at 84 years old, is still very much with us, and this new album does not feel like a grand final statement like the ones left behind by David Bowie or Leonard Cohen. Nelson’s voice still seems younger than his years, and this vibrant album is all the more reason to celebrate him while he is still with us. The title track features the voice of Nelson’s good friend, Leon Russell, on what would be his last recorded vocal performance before his death. The two are also joined by Jamey Johnson and Tony Joe White, who co-wrote the song. But it is Nelson’s unmistakable guitar playing that is the star voice of the track.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit “Cumberland Gap” (From “The Nashville Sound”)

Jason Isbell has had an inspiring career. He was a dynamic guitarist and occasional vocalist in The Drive-By Truckers, arguably America’s greatest band over the past two decades, until alcoholism and other issues lead to him going solo. He could have easily drifted off into obscurity, or worse. Instead, he got sober, and has become one of the best songwriters working. He is an honest and compassionate outsider writing songs that are the antithesis of the songwriting-by-committee Nashville machine.

LCD Soundsystem “Call the Police”

LCD Soundsystem’s retirement in 2011 seemed awfully premature, and it turns out that James Murphy must have felt the same. If they HAD decided to stay gone, they would have left behind three classic albums and some of the most iconic singles of their era. Reforming always presents sizeable risks to your legacy. Fortunately, this new double A side single is fab as ever, and “Call the Police” is one of their greatest anthems yet.

Prince “Electric Intercourse” (From “Purple Rain” Deluxe Reissue)

What exactly is contained within Prince’s mythological vault of unreleased music? If this posthumous outtake from the “Purple Rain” sessions is anything to go by, there might be quite a few honest-to-god treasures. “Electric Intercourse” sounds of-a-piece with the rest of “Purple Rain”, which is to say, it’s brilliant. It’s hard to understand how something this good didn’t make the cut, but Prince’s batting average was higher than everyone else’s in the 1980s. He had genius to burn.

Perfume Genius “Sides” (From “No Shape”)

Mike Hadreas (Perfume Genius) just keeps topping himself. “No Shape” is another in a string of incredible albums by the young artist; a transcendent ascension above the debris of our current near-dystopia and a heavenly tribute to the love and devotion between he and his partner Alan Wyffels. “Sides” is a show-stopping duet with Weyes Blood’s Natalie Mering that sounds like it could fall apart and disappear into the ether at any moment.

 

TIMELY TUNES, VOL. 46

Tracklist:

1. Kris Kristofferson “The Silver Tongued Devil and I”
2. Willie Nelson “God’s Problem Child”
3. Drive-By Truckers “Margo and Harold”
4. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit “Cumberland Gap”
5. Jackson Browne “Fountain of Sorrow”
6. New Order “Procession”
7. LCD Soundsystem “Call the Police”
8. Brian Eno “St. Elmo’s Fire”
9. Gloria Ann Taylor “World That’s Not Real”
10. Prince “Electric Intercourse”
11. George Michael “One More Try”
12. Perfume Genius “Sides”
13. Julee Cruise “Mysteries of Love”
14. Arthur “Blue Museum”

~~~~~

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This week’s Timely Tunes features new music from John Moreland, Robyn Hitchcock, Waxahatchee, La Santa Cecilia and Gas. Check it out! 

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Timely Tunes

John Moreland “Sallisaw Blue” (From “Big Bad Luv”)

Oklahoma treasure John Moreland is one of the great modern country revivalists working today. If you have seen him in concert or listened to his previous album, 2015’s “High on Tulsa Heat”, you already know that Moreland is capable of reducing you to a tear-soaked mess. “Sallisaw Blue” reminds me that he also has a playful, honky-tonkin’ side that is just as endearing. There is a gritty looseness to this track that hints at his roots in punk rock bands during Moreland’s youth. “Big Bad Luv” comes out on May 5^th and is his first on legendary label 4AD.

Robyn Hitchcock “Virginia Woolf” (From “Robyn Hitchcock”)

As the leader of neo-psychedelic cult band The Soft Boys in the late-70’s, Hitchcock took his Lennon/Barrett worship and injected it with just enough venom to make his band palatable to the punks (see: “I Wanna Destroy You”). His subsequent solo career has been a winding, lysergic stroll through the mind of one of Britain’s great eccentrics. I saw him play an intimate acoustic show last month and his humour was sharp, weird, and wild as ever, and his new record is an especially strong addition to an already magical discography.

Waxahatchee “Silver” (From “Out in the Storm”)

I began last week’s playlist with a song from Waxahatchee’s excellent third album “Ivy Tripp”…unaware that Katie Crutchfield’s project would release a brand new song the same week. “Silver” is a straight-ahead blast of assured indie rock balanced between melancholy and resolve. “I went out in the storm and I’m never returning,” she sings and lifts into the air.

La Santa Cecilia “Amar Y Vivir” (From “Amar Y Vivir”)

Los Angeles-based La Santa Cecilia blends a wide range of Latin American influences (cumbia, bolero, mariachi, bossa nova) into an intoxicating mixture. On May 12 they will release a new visual album recorded live in Mexico City focused on the band’s roots in Latin culture. The band is named for the Mexican patron saint of music and they are great ambassadors for the power of music in a fraught socio-political climate.

Gas “Narkopop 3” (From “Narkopop”)

Cologne-based electronic artist, and Kompakt Records co-founder, Wolfgang Voigt has over 160 releases under at least 30 different pseudonyms(!), but his abstract ambient project Gas is perhaps the best-known and most-beloved. This is the first album in seventeen years under this moniker and it’s as close to perfect as anything he has ever released. Whereas much ambient music is made to passively blend into the environment, Voigt’s work envelops you and pulls you into ITS world.

 

TIMELY TUNES, VOL. 45

Tracklist:

1. Guy Clark “Rita Ballou”
2. John Moreland “Sallisaw Blue”
3. Terry Allen “Lubbock Woman”
4. Neil Young “Albuquerque”
5. The Kinks “Arthur”
6. Robyn Hitchcock “Virginia Woolf”
7. Julian Cope “An Elegant Chaos”
8. R.E.M. “Strange Currencies”
9. Waxahatchee “Silver”
10. Mitski “Thursday Girl”
11. Grupo Latino de Uruguay “Resalsa”
12. La Santa Cecilia “Amar Y Vivir – En Vivo”
13. Andres Landero “Virgen de la Candelaria”
14. Gas “Narkopop 3”

What are YOU listening to this week?

~~~~~

 

 

 

 

 

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There is a lot of jazz and jazz-adjacent material on this week’s Timely Tunes playlist. When I mentioned that to my girlfriend, she opined that I have probably been drawn to jazz lately as a calming force in a seemingly increasingly distressing world. I hope that these playlists give you, at the least, a distraction from the world’s chaos.

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Timely Tunes

 

Land of Talk “Loving” (From “Life After Youth”)

Is 2017 the year of resurrected Canadian indie rock? Like fellow northern souls Broken Social Scene, it’s been seven years since the last Land of Talk album. During that hiatus, Elizabeth Powell reportedly lost a whole solo record’s worth of work due to a crashed computer: art tossed into the digital void. Featuring swooning backup vocals from Sharon Van Etten and ending on a crescendo of eviscerating guitar, “Loving” is the sound of reinvigoration.

Taylor Haskins “Circle Theory” (From “Gnosis”)

Trumpeter Taylor Haskins combines jazz and electronic music in an oft-thrilling way on his latest album, “Gnosis”, integrating a diverse but symbiotic camaraderie of analogue and synthesized instruments. One of his collaborators is the electric pianist Henry Hey, who has also worked with David Bowie. On “Circle Theory”, the closest antecedent I can think of might be the jazzier outliers in Squarepusher’s discography.

Kamasi Washington “Truth” (From “Harmony of Difference”)

Washington has quickly risen to the top of the pack of modern jazz composers, pushing the form forward while retaining a tangible attachment to his predecessors. His last album, 2015’s “The Epic”, lived up to the title, containing nearly three hours of consistently engaging and revelatory music. Everyone, including me, seems enraptured at the moment by Kendrick Lamar’s new album, and it’s worth noting that Washington contributes string arrangement on the track “Lust”. “Truth” is another epic achievement: a thirteen-plus minute, rapturous exploration of joy through the power of a large-scale jazz ensemble. Timeless.

Jorge Reyes “Plight” (From “Miracle Steps (Music From the Fourth World 1983-2017)”)

In 1980, trumpeter and composer Jon Hassell collaborated on a project with Brian Eno that was the genesis for a type of music he dubbed “Fourth World”, with a stated objective “to describe the possibility of music in global terms beyond First World, beyond Third World, beyond High-Tech Art classical, beyond pop”. This new collection of tracks explores the disparate strains of Fourth World music, and shines a light on how influential these sounds have been on the more outré artists involved in electronic music today. This particular track is from cult Mexican artist Jorge Reyes, who utilizes pre-Columbian instrumentation, chanting, and ghostly synths to achieve a strikingly dark, yet meditative sound.

Actress “CYN” (From “AZD”)

Over the course of five unpredictable albums under the guise of Actress, English producer Darren Cunningham has continued to push back against any easy categorization. Aggressively experimental, constantly evolving, and heady, his music draws from both club music and the far reaches of the avant-garde at the same time. The sampled voice of late New York artist, graffiti writer, rapper, and polyglot theoretician Rammellzee peeks through the static haze, connecting Cunningham’s work to the influence of the former’s Afrofuturism and attempts to alter the perception of language’s role in society

 

TIMELY TUNES, VOL. 44

 

TRACKLIST:

1. Waxahatchee “Bonfire”
2. Land of Talk “Loving”
3. Yuck “Get Away”
4. Squarepusher “Circular Flexing”
5. Taylor Haskins “Circle Theory”
6. The Jazz Crusaders “Out Back”
7. Kamasi Washington “Truth”
8. Brother Ah “The Sea”
9. Laraaji “The Dance No 1”
10. Jorge Reyes “Plight”
11. Jon Hassell “Empire iii”
12. Rammellzee & K-Rob “Beat Bop”
13. Actress “CYN”
14. Autechre “Goz Quarter”

~~~~~

 

 

 

 

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This week on Timely Tunes we have five recent songs and a 15-song playlist for you to enjoy. Check them out, let me know what you think and then feel free to tell me what YOU are listening to this week. 

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Timely Tunes

 

White Reaper “Judy French” (From “The World’s Best American Band”)

A Louisville band that melds the snotty, cocky attitude of the early aughts garage rock revival with the earworm hooks of Thin Lizzy and Cheap Trick. It’s a combination that isn’t entirely novel, but White Reaper’s new album is a particularly successful synthesis. To illustrate with a cliché: “Judy French” is the sound of a flying karate kick off of a Marshall stack.

AZ “Save Them” (feat. Raekwon and Prodigy) (From “Doe or Die 2”)

There might not be another rapper more underappreciated in history than AZ. He is best remembered by most for his iconic verse on Nas’ “Life’s a Bitch” (my vote for best rap song of all time), and his debut album “Doe Or Die” is a totemic work of mid-90’s east coast rap. AZ has said that his new album will be his last, and “Save Them” is a vicious and alive posse banger featuring Wu-Tang’s Raekwon and Mobb Deep’s Prodigy. If it truly is his retirement, this is a good bookend.

Amber Mark “Lose My Cool” (From “3:33 am”)

An effervescent, tropical house jam and triumphant summer break up anthem? Not quite. It actually details the heartbreaking loss of Amber’s mother and how she reeled while attempting to process the pain. Some of the greatest pop moments are those which successfully mix sorrow and joy, and “Lose My Cool” is successful at just that.

Ibibio Sound Machine “Give Me a Reason” (From “Uyai”)

Ibibio Sound Machine manage to combine Nigerian funk, American disco, and 1980s new wave synth-pop into an irresistible blend on the charged-up lead-off track from their second album. London born Nigerian singer Eno Williams is a dynamic party starter.

Jefre Cantu-Ledesma “A Song Of Summer”

Cantu-Ledesma has been a member of underrated post-rock group Tarentel since the mid-90’s, as well as the co-founder of one of the great underground record labels: Root Strata. Last year he released the EP “In Summer”, which was one of the best things I heard in 2016. His latest single, the dreamy “A Song Of Summer”, is another stunning example of how well he harnesses the beauty found in distortion. The nexus of noise and bliss.

TIMELY TUNES, VOL. 43

Tracklist:

1. Thin Lizzy “For Those Who Love To Live”
2. White Reaper “Judy French”
3. Cheap Trick “Auf Wiedersehen”
4. Mahavishnu Orchestra “You Know, You Know”
5. Rakim “It’s Been A Long Time”
6. AZ “Save Them” (feat. Raekwon & Prodigy)
7. Apple & Three Oranges “Gotta Stand For Something, Pt. 1”
8. Amber Mark “Lose My Cool”
9. Sergio Mendes “Magalenha”
10. Michael Jackson “Get on the Floor”
11. Ibibio Sound Machine “Give Me a Reason”
12. Ebo Taylor “Heaven”
13. Oneohtrix Point Never “Child Soldier”
14. Jefre Cantu-Ledesma “A Song Of Summer”
15. Tim Hecker “In the Air II”

~~~~~

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