Review: A decade has now passed since the birth of Harry 'Munir' Septiandry's Midnight Runners project, a studio outfit turned live band whose sound mines South-East Asian funk, soul and disco for inspiration. The Indonesian outfit's latest release, 'Nusantra Tropic Disco Volume 1', is arguably one of its' strongest yet. Rich in vintage 1970s synth sounds, tropical colour and live grooves that variously draw on disco, jazz-funk and library music, it feels fresh and exciting despite its nostalgic inspirations and authentic period instrumentation. Highlights include, but are no way limited to, vibrant and percussive disco opener 'Kaliuga', the spacey and warming 'Ratna and Galih' and soaring, future peak-time Indonesian disco anthem 'Kasih Bersemi'.
Review: Balear-y-eyed city pop from contemporary singer and pop musician Xiaolin, continuing her cover version releases on Bless You with another knife-edge crossing into dream pop. Having already covered 'Plastic Love' by Mariya Takeuchi and Prudence Liew's 'Afterwards', Xiaolin's is now revered as a deft rerubber of golden classics. Now comes 'Half A Dream', a version of Tina Liu's 1897 lead single, hailing from the urbane City Girl album. South Korean producer Mogwaa may back up the B-side with a remix, but for us, it's the doozy pads and laggard sample-pack hits on the A1 that make this one; the whole track sounds like one long hypnopompic awakening, as we blearily embrace the day, breathing in the downtown air.
Tierney Malone & Geoffrey Muller - "Transmission For Jehn: Gnossienne No 1" (Exclusive Spoken Word Piece) (4:58)
Review: Khruangbin might be the most logical and fitting choice for a Late Night Tales compilation in recent memory. The Texan psychedelic chill artists have always had a sense of the exploratory and unknown running through their blissful grooves, and the fundamental idea behind this series was always about opening up doors to new musical discoveries for listeners.
In many ways, the Houston trio have gone above and beyond. Melding a breadth of sounds that have emerged from an equally diverse set of cultures, we visit Hindi-disco, South Korean rock, African bass, Belarusian folk. Capped off with an exclusive version of Kool & The Gang's 'Summer Madness' conceived by the compilers themselves, it's a case of 15 gateway tracks all of which belong to artists and genres that are crying out for you to dive in.
Review: Spacetalk Records returns from a period of hibernation with something special: a new collection of ultra-rare, little-known nuggets from label co-founder Danny McLewin AKA Skyrager. Unlike his previous compilations as part of Psychemagik, there's no killer concept behind Traces of Illusion, just a desire to share some of the dusty obscurities he's found during years of determined crate digging. Musically, it's a mixture of psychedelic folk, leftfield synth-pop oddities, blue-eyed soul, acid-fried blue-eyed soul, Balearic boogie, Americana, ambient jazz, AOR, late 80s dancehall-soul and even a spot of grizzled progressive rock. In other words, it's as educational as it is entertaining, and packed to the rafters with private press treats and impossible-to-find curiosities.
Review: Seven years since the last Smith & Mudd album kissed our ears... Gorthlek is a long-awaited treat that's landed (by no coincidence we suspect) right at the start of prime sandy season. Picking up where they left us (together and as part of the Bison collective), it's every bit as soul soothing, soft-focus and poised as you'd expect. It's the weight and richness that will grab most fans the hardest; amid the floral pastoral instrumentation on tracks such as "Alrick" and "Gorthlek Part 1", there's real swampy bluesy fusion such as "Mr Coats", there's fiddle-flipping cosmic folk on "Enos" and naked piano striking drama on the closure "Gorthlek Part 2". Instrumental Balearic bliss.
Review: Oakland culture hub Cone Shaped Top, boost Tomu DJ's sophomore album to the world and it's an absolute bounty of flavours, ideas, textures and tales. At its most urgent and fast-paced, it takes the form of dubwise, reggae influenced drum & bass ('Tortfeasor'), at its most stripped back it's the hazy psychedelic rock of 'Window'. Elsewhere we're struck by lo fi house ('Flowers'), ESG-style post punk funk ('New Groove') and full-on psychedelic soul ('Distant Memory'). And that's not even half of this beguiling adventure. This really is an exceptional body of work.
We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you've provided to them or that they've collected from your use of their services.