#13: October Standouts
Recommendations and releases from Oct '24
October came through with an overwhelming stack of records. I procrastinated by writing about Unsound Krakow in a collaborative review with Julie, and now here we are one month late. I’m thankful for the reception that piece has been getting and if you haven’t checked it out, you can read it here.
I finally came home from Europe this week but before I left Milan I got the opportunity to play at Radio Raheem Milano. I called the show Dub Pressure and focused it around dubstep adjacent tunes I’ve been collecting the past few months. I hadn’t touched DJ equipment in a few months and my latest playlists didn’t sync to my USB so it was a bit bumpy but it was amazing to get a chance to play internationally at such an amazing station located in the beautiful Triennale.
I’ve updated the playlist featuring picks from this month that you’ll find below
Albums
A barrage of killer new albums in October. It was near impossible to hone this into just 10 picks but I’ve ordered the releases to follow some flow, from the haunted post punkish releases of Jabu and Moin, to the frenetic freewheeling Goat and Geordie Greep, and the SOPHIE-esque excursions of Toma Kami and Babii and more.
Jabu - A Soft and Gatherable Star
A beautifully haunted record that slowly reveals itself and grows with each listen. Jabu explore abstract textures and echoing dub with deep bass lines and minimal, sparkly guitar lines for a modern take on bristolian post punk / trip hop.
Moin - You Never End
Moin's enigmatic post-rock takes on new life as vocalists join the fray intertwined with re-framed grunge and shoegaze, creating a heady alchemy that's both unsettling and comforting. A new phase where the abstract becomes strikingly direct.
Goat - Goat
Goat are back with their rollicking, blown out take on psychedelic biker rock featuring hedonistic funk, merciless fuzz, and hypnotic grooves ignite alongside unexpected detours into free jazz, hip hop, and breakbeats that showcase a band effortlessly straddling past, present, and future.
Geordie Greep - The New Sound [Rough Trade]
Geordie Greep's solo debut whirls like a deranged carnival through brass-soaked Brazilian tropicália, prog jazz-funk and Broadway excess. The Black Midi frontman's theatrical speak-sing delivery leads a 30-piece ensemble with cartoonish flair between the absurd and the profound.
Toma Kami - missed heaven
Born in his grandmother's countryside sanctuary, Toma Kami's 'Missed Heaven' trades his signature club thunder for crystalline detail, weaving hyperpop euphoria, sweeping pads and rhythm, and breaks into pristine emotional landscapes.
BABii - DareDeviil2000
BABii flexes her Björk-level aptitude and penchant for deep world building as she enters something akin to Dante’s Inferno. It’s the pure unadulterated fun we all need sometimes and a comforting salve to those who felt pain listening through SOPHIE’s posthumous release (along with Toma Kami above).
Ludwig Wandinger - Is Peace Wild?
In hotel rooms between shows and heartbreak, Ludwig Wandinger strips rhythm bare to craft beatless nocturnes that search for serenity, while guest vocals float through like midnight whispers questioning the nature of peace itself. Don't miss ‘Fire’, where Evita Manji transforms Lana's 'Young and Beautiful' into a spectral lullaby.
Forgetting You is Like Breathing Water - s/t
FYILBW's debut is a whip-smart fusion of powdery ambience, low-key Americana, and tempered free jazz. Trumpeter Will Evans and multi-instrumentalist Theo Trump, childhood friends reunited, trade deep, memorable phrases alongside provocative found-sound experiments and brass murmurs into a haunting, picturesque tapestry.
Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn - Quiet in a World Full of Noise
Dawn Richard trades in her maximalist sound for an avant-garde take on R&B and ECM style jazz atmospherics on her second collaboration with Spencer Zahn. Through whispery vocals, orchestral textures, and minimalist piano compositions, she crafts a dreamlike meditation on trauma and healing.
Milan W. - Leave Another Day
Belgian producer Milan Warmoeskerken makes a hard shift into oaky, autumnal dream pop and neo-psychedelia with an unusual suite of twisted love songs poisoned by toxic desire with a heavy nostalgic '80s tilt.
Molina - When You Wake Up
Following in the sonic footsteps of her college classmates Astrid Sonne, Clarissa Connelly, Erika de Casier and ML Buch, Danish-Chilean artist Molina’s debut brilliantly blends MBV-esque shoegaze, ethereal ambience, and scuzzed out trip hop.
DANIAILYAS - Enough For Me to Remain
DANIAILYAS weaves gossamer threads of sound across oceans as Barcelona's Dania Shihab's otherworldly vocals float through Portland-based Ilyas Ahmed's delicate guitar work like morning mist through bare branches. Not one to miss for fans of Grouper (Ilyas has played with Liz Harris in fact).
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - “No Title As of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead”
A raw distillation of resistance and hope, GYBE's most vital post-reunion work transforms war’s horrors into orchestral swells that pierce like air raid sirens, while beneath the chaos, a defiant heartbeat urges listeners to choose love over despair.
Fergus Jones - Ephemera
The debut album from Fergus Jones (FELT founder formerly known as Perko) floats through rain-slicked streets where turn-of-the-millennium dub techno melts into ambient dreamscapes with brief guest excursions into trip hop and hip hop.
Other Albums
Spiral XP - I Wish I Was a Rat
Chat Pile - Cool World [The Flenser]
Machine Girl - MG Ultra [Future Classic]
Clinic Stars - Only Hinting [Kranky]
Electronic Albums
Low End Activist - Municipal Dreams
Caspa - ORIGINAL BAD BOY SELECTOR
Compilations
Switching up the order this month because there have been some stellar comps and I’ve realized the end of this newsletter often gets cut off in your inbox. I will try to get more concise in these roundups but make sure to load the full email to catch all the picks or view it in your browser where you can also listen along with embeds.
A heady crew of artists invited to interpret sheet music to play with musical notations and explore what it would mean to explore sound through a series of questions.
The result is “ethereal scorescapes to hyperstimulating scratches. Sounds and shapes weave together, blurring the boundaries between the two” [Pay What You Want]
Woozy’s annual WZY.5 compilation summit gathers for its fourth installment, celebrating 9 artists of dubwise disposition that maintains the label and its founder EMA’s spellbinding tradition in futurist soundsystem music.
Debut compilation by Leenie’s Black Petal party out of denver, colorado featuring a crew of locals alongside some hot club music provocateurs from across the continent.
The second of three compilations featuring artists from Martyn’s 3024 Mentoring Program released in the past three months exploring what a record label can be in 2024. All three comps are worth listening through, sheesh.
EPs
Few words this month for the EPs because it’s really all about the albums and comps.
Singles
Obsessed with some of these tracks, give ‘em a quick spin here by reading in browser.
That’s all for this month, thanks for reading and stay tuned for end of year lists. If you enjoyed this email please share it with a music loving friend and subscribe for more <3