Natural Music #6: May Standouts
Some standout Albums, EPs, Singles, and Mixes from May 🌀
I’m often unsure how to open this newsletter up so I’ll keep it brief. Last edition I talked about the brooklyn proto-psy-swampy-bass continuum and some of the artists and parties really pushing it forward.
On Sunday evening, Recess, a party bearing the flame of this movement held its fourth edition with a stacked lineup featuring Rrao, DJ Temporary, LOIF, Succubass, Concept (Eros & DJ Deadname) and more. I had the pleasure of working with Paul and Eugenia and Mike before and after the party and I don’t think it could have gone any better.
Recess is one of the best parties in the city hands down. The intentionality in the space, the artistry, the lights, the sound and the heads only crowd is a rare but beautiful combination to find. I met countless people and had endless laughs but also deep connections and found a true ecstasy on the dancefloor that you just don’t find often living in cities with strong scenes that raise your standards for a good time.
Okay well that’s enough rambling for now, if you’re in town for the next Recess, it’s not a party to miss.
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Find all the picks below + more on this Buy Music Club List or check out playlists featuring highlights from everything on this NL.
If you’re looking for a list of noteworthy concerts over the next few months in NYC you’ll have to open this email in your browser and click here or scroll all the way to the bottom.
I’m thinking about a random one-off post of summer concert recomendation’s so stay tuned for that.
Albums
Lip Critic - Hex Dealer
Lip Critic's debut album sounds like the fucked up amalgamation of Death Grips, The Garden, Machine Girl, Model/Actriz, and Daughter.
Noisy, twisted electronic garage punk madness that hits like a freight train with massive sub warping basslines but also surprisingly wicked hooks that claw through the barreling assault of noise.
Kevin Richard Martin - Black
'Black' is a musical eulogy to Amy Winehouse by KRM (a.k.a. The Bug). It’s an album of mostly beatless ambience possesed by the ghost of the artist. Fragmented moods and hypnotic drones melt together, as its circular beauty is set adrift, floating away into an endless void.
The slo-mo dream rotations remain as blurred and impressionistic as they are repetitive and haunting... An eerie cocktail of spectral jazz, shoegaze drone and dubbed out ambient music.
Beak> - >>>>
An album of “head music” (according to the press release) with nine songs that should be listened to “as an album, not as individual songs”. The band, featuring Geoff Barry of Portishead, returns to the lo fi cosmic psych-post-kraut rock of their debut with an album released with no fanfare or press on a random Tuesday.
Jawnino - 40
A rising star in the UK underground rap scene, known for his laidback flow and unique blend of grime, jungle, cloud rap, and dream-pop. His debut combines bass-driven beats with coolly delivered freestyles over warping breakbeats and airy synths. Nathan Evans of
wrote a stellar profile on the anonymous artist for Crack thats worth reading if you vibe with the sound.Aroma Nice - Old Haunts [YUKU]
A trip down memory lane of Breakcore, Jungle, Drum and Bass and mid-to-late 90s IDM offering a bonanza of breakneck breaks, earth-shaking bass and floaty melancholy pads. A surrealist tale of contrasting worlds told through a whirlwind of eclectic, sub-heavy dance styles that pummel with hardcore drive and club-focused sound design, ultimately delivering in the words of bandcamp comment “technicolor breaks-phoria”
Anycia - Princess Pop That
A breezy, laidback listen that captures the Atlanta rapper's carefree, cool-girl persona. Over the course of the album, Anycia glides between catchy pop melodies and her trademark raspy, nonchalant flow with unapologetic confidence and playful raunch.
Kacy Hill - Bug
Lush atmospheric dreamy bedroom pop, it’s nothing groundbreaking but it’s also a perfectly pleasant quick listen.
Other Noteworthy May Albums
Jessica Pratt - Here in the Pitch [Mexican Summer]
Jane Weaver - Love In Constant Spectacle
How to Dress Well - I Am Toward You [Sargent House]
Dylan Dylan - Love Theory [Shall Not Fade]
Pink Siifu - GOT FOOD AT THE CRIB'!! VOL.2
From the Archives
An essential pick from our top 100 albums of 2023. If you like the picks on this newsletter check out the full list for much more from last year.
v/z - Suono Assente [post punk, experimental rock, dub, krautrock]
While its brief twenty-eight minute runtime flashes by, Suono Assente never feels rushed. It’s a record that encapsules the original spirit of post-punk: Truly playful, experimental and innovative echoing in spirit artists like Arthur Russell, Moin, or PiL.
Compilations
EPs
One Hundred and Fifty Steps VEP [Bait]
New French imprint Bait by Beatrice M is a label focused on the crossover of two spheres: snare heavy bass-music and immersive mental techno. The outcome is psychedelic, contemplative and at the same time calls for gun fingers and backspins. Bait’s second VEP is a 4-track dive into a rather modern phenomenon: 150bpm dubstep.
The release kicks off on a strong note with ‘plotting smth’ a subby wobbly stepper with crisp percussion fluttering about by L.A.’s rising bass-music star Carré and the other 3 tracks are equally invigorating.
Maara, Amor Satyr - Spiritual Ambush [Wahang]
3 trippy bangers from the minds of Maara and Amor Satyr, a match made in heaven.
Paige Julia - Anathema EP
Explosive bass bin rattling breakbeat science from New Zealand.
HONEY B, nextdimensional - Honey Dimensional
A collaborative project from dextrous brooklyn party starters HONEY B and nextdimensional full of breaks and bass.
Sam Link - Concerta [Yuku]
Six broken beat tracks with heavy UK sound signatures traversing jungle and bass.
Turning Torso - Aurora
Four cuts of guitar and drum forward compositions in a jazz fusion style that intertwine through shoegaze, downtempo and IDM references.
Naima - City Lights [self released]
Some extremely slept on hugely vibey, dreamy bedroom r&b from Queens based artist Naima. For fans of L’rain, Blood Orange, Tirzah, Kelela, or Solange.
The infectious bassline and 80s-esque drums/synths on ‘WannaGo’ layered with her dreamy vocals have such timeless quality that feels like a breath of fresh air.
This pick comes courtesy of SOS, a Brooklyn community-based network that highlights underrepresented artists and hosts intimate creative events centered around the emotional connections we have to the arts.
Slolek - Object Desire [Of Paradise]
Slolek, returns to Of Paradise with Object Desire, a 4-track collection of saturated electronica, experimental bass, and fractured jungle.
‘A cinematically tinged journey across arid landscapes and through cavernous rooms, Object Desire is a desert-kissed masterpiece of expertly harvested sounds, an incredibly majestic and thought-provoking journey with a darkly ambient core.’
Mia Koden - 34u [self released]
Mia Koden put together a mix of 100% unreleased new material and let people vote what three tracks should be on this EP. These are the 3 winning tracks, a ‘136-142BPM bass n percs trilogy 👽’
Winter - She’s Still Sleeping
Dreamy, feedback washed “star-projecting music” from LA artist Winter.
Other EPs
Significant Other - When It Rains
Juking around | dj acabou o suco | Suck Puck Records [name your price]
Singles
Some standout tracks from the month of May.
Rites explores the hybrid compositional space between classical and electronic influences as 1/3 of a trilogy called tides inspired by a nostalgia for natural spaces, and the mystical energies that they hold, whether that be ancient woodland or coastal landscapes. (mixed by 96 Back)
Maurice Fulton on his weirdo bass tip
Sets & Mixes
An ongoing lists of my favorite mixes and sets from the year can be found here but these are a few that particularly caught my attention this month.
100% Nikki Nair productions, many unreleased bangers
I had one personal note about this mix: slippery stuttery bass played over ambient floating pads. pi/live always delivers
Wyatt on his DnB / Jungle tip
A tapestry of 100 percent original and exclusive Actress music you won't find anywhere else. Flowing between pensive, rugged and stargazing moods across an album's worth of unaired tracks.
If you enjoyed this newsletter I’d really appreciate if you shared it with a friend or two. It’s a lot of work but the point is helping people discover new music and sharing is the key to that.
Playlists
NYC Concerts in the Next Two Months
Thur, Jun 13 - Sun Ra, Kim Gordon, Slauson Malone @ Central Park Summerstage [FREE]
Fri, Jun 14 - Bendik Giske w/ Concrete Husband @ Public Records
Fri, Jun 14 - Protomartyr @ Warsaw
Jun 14-16 - Dripping Fest
Sat, Jun 15 - Liturgy @ Le Poisson Rouge
Sun, Jun 16 - Haley Heynderickx @ Baby's All Right
Tue, Jun 18 - Juana Molina @ Public Records
Wed, Jun 19 - ShrapKnel / Phiik Lungs @ Public Records
Wed, Jun 19 - Marina Allen • Jana Horn @ Union Pool
Thu, Jun 20 - Camera Obscura @ Webster Hall
Fri, Jun 21 - Wilco / Cut Worms @ Beacon Theatre
Sat, Jun 22 - FULL BODY 2, CLUB CASUALTIES, PURELINK @ TV Eye
Sat, Jun 22 - Hannah Frances @ Public Records
Tue June 25 - Sen Morimoto, Naima @TV Eye
Wed, Jun 26 - Horse Lords @ Le Poisson Rouge
Wed, Jun 26 - Whitney Johnson and Lia Kohl + More Eaze @ Public Records
Thu, Jun 27 - Ethel Cain @ Central Park Summer Stage
Fri, Jun 28 - Chanel Beads, Mei Semones @ Bryant Park
Fri, Jun 28 & Sat, Jun 29 - Tinashe, Julia Fox, A. G. Cook, Arca, @ Under the K Bridge
Sat, Jun 29 - George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic @ Damrosch Park
Sun, Jun 30 - LIP CRITIC @ TV Eye
Tue, Jul 2 - Hiatus Kaiyote @ Brooklyn Paramount
Sat, Jul 6 - MARISSA NADLER, THE INFINITY RING @ TV Eye
Thu, Jul 11 - Cassandra Jenkins @ Public Records
Sat, Jul 13 - Mabe Fratti @ Public Records
Sat, July 13 - MIKE'S YOUNG WORLD IV: EARL SWEATSHIRT / SKAIWATER / STACY EPPS / STAHHR / MYAAP / SIDESHOW / MIKE @Von King Park [Free]
Tue, Jul 16 - Snooper @ Elsewhere
Wed, Jul 17 - Cola @ Bowery Ballroom
Thu, Jul 18 - Ben Howard / John Francis Flynn @ Central Park Summer Stage
Mon, Jul 22 - Hana Vu @ Bowery Ballroom
Wed, Jul 24 - Medhane + Kahlil Blu @ Public Records
Tue, Jul 30 - Lianne La Havas @ Webster Hall
Sat, Aug 3 - The Body & Dis Fig w/ Cel Genesis @ Le Poisson Rouge
Sat, Aug 3 - Drugdealer @ Bowery Ballroom
Wed, Aug 7 - DIIV @ Brooklyn Paramount
Fri, Aug 9 - Tirzah, Loraine James, Purelink @ Knockdown Center