The Latest
Colombian-born, US-based artist Lucrecia Dalt has released “caes,” the third single from her forthcoming album, A Danger to Ourselves. The track, a powerful collaboration with Mexican singer and sound artist Camille Mandoki, is a stark and intense exploration of raw human emotion. The accompanying video, filmed between Dalt’s new home in the Southwestern US and Mandoki’s base in Mexico City, visually interprets the song’s theme of surrender.
The 18-year-old Palestinian oud virtuoso Samih Madhoun has released “Oud Music from Gaza Volume 2”, a profound testament to the enduring power of art in the face of unimaginable adversity. Recorded entirely in the Gaza Strip, throughout you can hear the everyday sounds of life, including ambulance sirens, rubble being moved and cleared, a reminder of the unchecked hell the Palestinians face.
This month’s edition of the Ceremonial Counties tape series from Folklore Tapes features Essex and Rutland, two counties that share strong links to Britain’s Roman history. Laurel Morgan’s contribution, The Last Stand at Ambresbury, draws lines between the mythic Boudicca and modern ideas about landscape, ecology, feminism and rebellion, while guitarist and improviser Richard Chamberlain creates seven distinct pieces, each inspired by a different phase of Rutland’s history.
Los Angeles-based songwriter Swimming Bell, the musical project of Katie Schottland, has released a surreal new music video for “95 At Night,” a standout track from her latest EP, Somnia. Directed by Christopher Good, the video is a hypnotic visual journey that draws heavily on Maya Deren’s seminal 1943 experimental film, Meshes of the Afternoon.
Decades after their conception during Thatcher’s reign, Mike Cooper re-releases “Law And Order” and “Our Emotional Style.” A stark protest titled “Requiem For The UK”, the songs use “cut-up” lyrics from Pynchon novels and improvised guitar. Cooper states that despite years of political change, “nothing has changed,” giving these sonic poems a renewed poignancy.
Grace Stewart-Skinner’s “Auchies Spikkin’ Auchie” is a remarkable debut. Its greatest strength lies in her fusion of the personal and the historical, where family heirlooms, such as poems from a beloved grandfather, become the foundation for a wider community archive. It not only preserves the Avochie dialect for future generations but also celebrates the spirit, humour, and resilience of the community that shaped it.
Listen to the latest Monday Morning Brew playlist featuring music from Grace Stewart-Skinner, Joshua Burnside & Laura Quirke, DUG, Big Thief, Anna Mieke, Cerys Hafana, Sam Amidon, Ye Vagabonds, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Afel Bocoum, Astrachan, Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp, Brandee Younger, Hayden Pedigo, S.G. Goodman and Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Tenniscoats, Alastair Galbraith, Natalia Beylis, Floating Action, Blue Lake and Dana Gavanski.
Teeth of Time, Joshua Burnside’s latest album, feels like a mid-career record: a precursor to middle age, to the wonders of parenthood, the mourning of what’s passed, and hopes for what’s to come. Christian Wethered caught up with him and spoke about folk, influence, and the world from which he writes. “I just try to write songs that feel honest to me.”
On fixe Idee, guitarist Eric Arn puts the mostly unadorned acoustic through its paces. Throughout this eclectic set, there are hints of early Robbie Basho, with a loose and free style of playing conjuring an image of carefree, sepia-toned summer life. It is the sound of an accomplished guitarist playing in his own style(s), and the result is excellent: singular, exciting and adventurous.
Known for his starry-eyed lofi folk-rock, Chicago-based artist Astrachan has today shared his thoughtful new single, “Picture of Doubt.” The track unfurls with a hazy, disoriented atmosphere, its lyrics navigating a profound sense of uncertainty. Recorded on a Tascam 388, the tangible warmth of ¼-inch tape lends the song a punchy, vintage character, creating a groove that feels both immediate and timeless.