Album Recommendations

In a powerful intersection of art and environmental science, sound artist Yoichi Kamimura’s new album, “ryūhyō,” offers a poignant auditory document of Japan’s dwindling sea ice. The record is a sonic elegy for a changing ecosystem. Locals recall a time when the ice was thick enough to walk on, emitting a whistling sound known as Ryūhyō-Nari. Today, that sound is gone.

Jazzman Records take us on a deep dive into the resilient, often defiant, spiritual jazz of the Soviet Bloc. From the early 1960s to the precipice of the 1980s, the tracks curated here reveal a fascinating dialogue between global modernism and deeply rooted local traditions. A radical, intoxicating brew that “no amount of guns, tanks or polonium tea could overcome.”

Released back in November, dessus oben alto up is the first collaborative recording between Andrea Belfi and Jules Reidy. A personal favourite is ‘alto’, which fizzes with a transformative vibrant energy.

The Instruments was a project centred around cellist and composer Heather McIntosh. Released in 2008, Dark Småland has both blissful and melancholic moments, with vast vistas to lighten the soul.

Japanese sound artist FUJI||||||||||TA returns to Hallow Ground with his second full-length MMM for the Swiss label, his most complex so far–a masterpiece of conceptual and formal rigour.

Never the Same Way Twice is a new album from The Memory Band, marking the twentieth anniversary of their debut EP. These previously unreleased recordings present a tantalising glimpse of two decades of hauntological and heartfelt collective excursions across the ancient and magical British landscape.

On LORCAN, Vancouver-based Laucan and Brighton-based producer Samuel Organ explore ethereal folk and avant-garde electronica. Listen to the album opener, Aignish On The Machiar, featuring a field recording from a 1973 trip to the Inner Hebrides.

On ËNDLËSS, Adelaide-based 6-piece Sons of Zöku concoct an upbeat, heady blend of psychedelic rock that blends in sing-along chants and a limb-stretching mass of influences including Eastern music, folk, jazz and soul—made for carefree, long summer days.

Montreal fiddler Alexis Chartrand has joined forces with multi-instrumentalist Cédric Dind-Lavoie for their new album Au Chemin 4. If you are a fan of The Gloaming and Martin Hayes’ The Common Ground Ensemble, I’m sure you’ll love this.

Steve Gunn & David Moore’s “Live in London” was recorded at Cafe Oto during their 2023 spring tour of ‘Let the Moon be a Planet’…using pieces that appeared on that album, they have created five new compositions from a place of joy and camaraderie.

On Ark Angel II, Alex Homan’s experimental freeform guitar flourishes guide the listener on a meandering walk…warbling tapes, glitchy sounds and occasional cacophonous outbursts all serve to remind you that it’s sometimes necessary to get intentionally lost in order to truly appreciate freedom.

Released this month on Ireland’s Nyahh Records, Mohammad Syfkhan’s “I Am Kurdish” comes highly recommended from us – filled with an atmosphere of joy, love and happiness, the release also underpins the label’s strong support of independent artists and their innovative roster.