Crucial Material – Best Releases of the Week (September 7th, 2018)

After a week hiatus because of Dimensions Festival in Croatia, we’re back in the loop to bring you our weekly selection of some of the best brand new releases!

A ton of good albums and EPs were put out these past couple weeks, and like always we tried to keep the selection as stylistically wide as possible to try our best to include something for everyone. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Woolymammoth “Meridian”

Genres: Jazz / Electronic
Label: Courteous Family
Purchase

Can’t say I’ve ever heard of Woolymammoth before, but let me tell you… this stuff goes. It kind of sounds as if Yussef Kamaal, Jameszoo, and Austin Peralta all got in the studio together and jammed out. The instrumentation is definitely irregular – basically just Jason Wool on a bunch of different keyboards joined by both Blair McGloiry and Kaelin Ellis on drums, why not? A little added bonus of Daddy Kev on mastering and there ya have it, a really good album.
-Selected by Mike Jones

Latin Underground Revolution: Swinging Boogaloo, Guaguanco, Salsa & Latin Funk from New York City 1967​-​1978

Genres: Salsa / Latin Funk
Label: Rocafort Records
Purchase

Rocafort Records have compiled an exciting mix of hard to find dance floor delights showcasing three different eras of latin music in NYC throughout the late 1960s & 1970s, coming to you in style with a triple-45 box set! The physical is already completely sold out, so hopefully it gets reupped soon!

Szun Waves “New Hymn To Freedom”

Genres: Jazz / Electronic
Label: TheLeafLabel
Purchase

“Sometimes in improvised music there can be a distance between listener and players, a sense you’re sitting back and admiring their interplay and abstraction – but with Szun Waves’ second album, you’re right in there with them, inside the playing, experiencing the absolute joy the three musicians feel as they circle around each other, exploring the spaces they’ve opened up. New Hymn To Freedom is a document of six entirely live improvisations – ‘no edits or overdubs’ – and its title couldn’t be more apt.”

Pinch & Peverelist Present “In Deep”

Genres: Bass / Techno / Grime
Label: Livity Sound
Purchase

Bass-wielding heavyweights Pinch and Peverelist present a compilation (and full mix) of twenty crucial tracks from the back catalogues of Livity Sound in preparation for their autumn tour. Okay okay so maybe the tracks aren’t necessarily BRAND NEW, but there are still a ton of good finds if you’re into the heavier sides of Techno and Bass music. Having the full mix included also adds a new layer of depth to how the tracks work together, and I’m getting more and more excited for their appearance here in Montreal because of it.
-Selected by Mike Jones

Abd al-Rahman al-Khamissi – عبد الرحمن الخميسي “Music From The Movie ‘Respectable Families’”

Genres: Soundtrack / Egyptian Tango
Label: Radio Martiko
Purchase

“Dark Tango, mysterious Twist and psychedelic Cha-cha-cha! Nothing you would expect from an Egyptian OST from the ‘60s. Romanticist and artistic all-rounder Abd al-Rahman al-Khamissi stands out with this absolute timeless musical production for his 1969 movie ‘Respectable Families’. Four abstract instrumental dances to express poetry through music!”

Oliver Coates “Shelley’s on Zenn-La”

Genre: Modern Classical
Label: RVNG
Purchase

Oliver Coates weirds it out with his latest full-length, perfectly placed in the RVNG Int. catalogue. I love the idea of a classically trained musician and composer taking their knowledge to the electronic realm and utilizing the tools available today as just more instruments to conduct. “Shelley’s on Zenn-La” (what does that even mean also?) will for sure please the ears of fans of Mica Levi, Holly Herndon, OPN and the likes!
-Selected by Mike Jones

Partner Music “High Praise Edits Vol. II”

Genres: Funk / Boogie / Edits
Label: XVI Records
Purchase

One for the selectors! Two killer cuts from Brighton’s Partner Music made specifically for the floor. First up, A-Side track ‘Patu’ launches headfirst into an off-kilter Bollywood infused dancefloor curveball. On the flip, ‘My People’ gives an injection of Latin Heat. One thing unfortunately left out was the original artist names and track titles…. but hey, next time!

Ital Tek “Bodied”

Genre: Electronic
Label: Planet Mu
Purchase

Ital Tek presents a collection of pensive and emotional drifters to lie on the floor with all the lights off and disappear to. I’d go into this one not expecting drops and bangers, but instead to almost treat it like a “Power Ambient” record along the lines of a Ben Frost or Lorn release. A lot of the tracks I wish included some more percussive elements, but I think leaving them out is the point. What excites me about this album is the fact that in say, a Techno mix, you could blend most of these tracks with the vast amount of perc-based Techno tracks out there to create an almost completely new set of songs. WHO WILL BE THE FIRST TO DO IT??
-Selected by Mike Jones

Adult. “This Behaviour”

Genres: Cold Wave / EBM
Label: Dais Records
Purchase

Ice cold stone faced grooves for the masses. “It’s confounding how often we negate the importance of disconnecting, getting weird, getting lost. Discomfort and joy intertwined. Day to day, theatrical self-presentation set to rest in our frantic social world. Public becomes private, almost too private. Looking out into frozen woods as you deliver your vocals. For who? For what?” Go get it player.
-Selected by Mike Jones

Happy listening, and don’t forget to support the artists making the tunes!