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Leanne Betasamosake Simpson – Viscosity : Listen
Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg writer, scholar, and musician Leanne Betasamosake Simpson recently announced Theory of Ice, out March 12th, 2021 on You’ve Changed. Today Leanne shares the single for “Viscosity,” an indictment of constant connectivity and a call to return to a more natural state of being. Theory Of Ice by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson Leanne has authored several award-winning books including Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies, This Accident of Being Lost,…
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Starlight Cleaning Co. – Don’t Take It Away : Listen
Mojave desert-based duo Starlight Cleaning Co. has announced their debut album. The self-titled record will be released on May 21st via SofaBurn Records. Starlight Cleaning Co’.s sound fuses the glittering LA pop sound with high-desert Americana; likewise, Gray and Dean’s powerful vocals mingle splendidly to echo the tradition of the great musical couples that went before them – Sonny & Cher and specifically Jenny & Johnny come to mind. Check…
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Satomimagae – Numa : Listen
Tokyo-based musician Satomimagae announces Hanazono, her fourth full-length album and first via RVNG Intl and Guruguru Brain. Today she shares the first single, Numa, and the accompanying video directed by Soh Iedeuchi. Hanazono is dreamy and understated, minimalistic and naturalistic, inspired by private moments of awe experienced in nature. Satomi’s musical history begins in middle school and involves obsessions with the guitar, delta blues tapes, and private experiments with songwriting.…
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If I Could Only Remember My Name
Ah…If I Could Only Remember My Name. A record that has travelled the roads and decades of my life burned into my heart and mind since I bought my first copy in some crumbling cardboard box marked $1 LPs all those years ago. The majesty of this album is in the artist’s ability to elevate the unfinished idea, to let it run in its rawest form completely unbound, the seed…
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River Zzyzx : Playlist
Another Saturday mix for you, again from my Bandcamp collection, a little more experimental this time around. Got some some elements of Indian classical, some new age-y, jazzy business, culminating in all of the pedal steel and bottleneck guitar of my dreams I’ve been really into instrumentals lately, particularly when I’m writing. I feel guilty about not paying attention to lyrics while I’m focused on other words, and I’m really…
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Leslie Mendelson – People’s Parties
Early last year, Leslie Mendelson released an excellent, highly-anticipated solo record that was unfortunately eclipsed in the news by the pandemic. When planned tours were relegated into bedroom live-streams, Leslie had to rethink how to perform her rock and roll songs on her own. The result was a sweet EP of acoustic versions of songs from If You Can’t Say Anything Nice, showcasing Leslie’s songwriting talent and proving that the…
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Deniz Cuylan – Flaneurs In Hakone : Listen
Film composer Deniz Cuylan has taken time away from scoring Netflix productions to compose a gorgeous record of classical instrumental guitar tunes. Hear the immersing, captivating first single here. The memory is distant but distinct: Deniz Cuylan, five years old, early 1980s, at home in Istanbul, Turkey, listening to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on his parents’ turntable. Those regal opening notes arise from nowhere and the music is instantly as real…
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Jeffrey Silverstein – Rivers Running By
Portland-based musician Jeffrey Silverstein has announced Torii Gates, an EP out 4/16 via Arrohawk Records. Hear the stunning first single, “Rivers Running By” here. Torii Gates by Jeffrey Silverstein The EP is a natural segue from Silverstein’s 2020 album, You Become the Mountain, a continuity that stems from Jeffrey’s previous signature pure and cleansing tones; with a heavy dose of some serious fuzzed out guitar bliss. Once again joined by…
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Fretwork and Filigree : Playlist
I love guitar music more than almost anything and it seems that we’re in something of a heyday for it. Here are a handful of my favorites, some new, some from a few years ago now, all thoughtfully sequenced. Whether it’s the rich, full warmth of solo guitar songs, or electrified, cranial improvisational jams; cinematic and sweeping or simple and sweet, it never gets old for me. Things start out…
