Suarasama - Fajar di Atas Awan

Founded in 1995, Suarasama, a Sumatran group led by composer Irwansyah Harahap forms most of the songs around stringed instruments and plays three – guitar, oud (a.k.a. ‘ud), and a Malay lute called a gambus. Many of the songs feature female singer Rianthony Hutajulu. They plays contemporary music, exploring conceptually or instrumentally the sounds of African, Middle Eastern, Indian, Sufi, Pakistani, Easter European and Southeast Asian traditions. Fajar di Atas Awan (Dawn over the Clouds) was originally recorded by Philip Yampolsky in 1997, towards the end of his work on Smithsonian Folkways’s Music of Indonesia series. And now, re-released by Drag City, the tag world music is now a free-folk. Highly recommended.

Suarasama - Fajar di Atas Awan

Tangerine Dream - Green Desert

This 5th release of German kraut gods Tangerine Dream is originally recorded in 1973 but released in the mid 80's. These proto-experimental tracks deploy acoustic drumming, weird percussions and ambient synths yet still manages to remain musical in its time. Perfect for your evening paper time.

Tangerine Dream - Green Desert

Megapuss - Surfing

Devendra Banhart: “Well, I have a band — it’s me and the drummer from Priestbird, Greg Rogove. What started off as a joke — “Let’s start a band and let’s make up song titles” — to our surprise and shock, we started writing songs, and we’ve written eight songs that I’m really really proud of and excited about. We’re gonna record a real record, and we’re called MEGAPUSS.”

Megapuss - Surfing

MV & EE with The Golden Road - Astral Bleachers, Big Moment: Pete's Pick Volume I

Deluxe limited edition CD-R in pro-printed gatefold sleeves featuring the first instalment from legendary king of the tapers’ pit Pete Coward and his pick of recent live blats from Matthew Valentine, Erika Elder and their flower travelin' Golden Road. The tracks seem focussed on the kind of motion that would highlight moments of weird pan-cultural/methodological osmosis, with live takes that run from some of the most beautiful group-mind mass flux orchestrations through classic barn-stomping big band hoedowns. Even Zuma danced to this.

MV & EE with The Golden Road - Astral Bleachers, Big Moment: Pete's Pick Volume I (Link by a good friend, TheBlackPope.)

Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna

The NY wyrd dance party gang did it again! this time with more psycho beats, dubstep injection, brain-melting electronic glitcheries and even a ghetto hip hop collaboration with MC Tinchy Strider! from a great expectations come great satisfaction. DANCE!

Gang Gang Dance - Saint Dymphna

Sun Araw - Boat Trip

Cameron Stallones, the co-pilot of the Long Beach Travellers "Magic Lantern" has come out with another stunning soundtrack to tropical rainforest psych party following the marvelous "The Phynx". This 2 tracks carbon-rusted noise gem is one of the best pick of the year.

Sun Araw - Boat Trip

Brightblack Morning Light - Motion to Rejoin

Listening to the 3rd album from the New Mexico-based duo of Rachael Hughes and Nathan Shineywater, is like having a small teepee barbecue party in the chilly open air of the Appalachian mountains. A very very perfect album for a trippy summer evening. Light the roachos up, brother.

Brightblack Morning Light - Motion to Rejoin

Nisennenmondai - Neji/Tori

Nisennenmondai, a group that creates epic architectural masses of instrumental sound treading somewhere between Lightning Bolt’s noise and Neu!’s Krautrock. Himeno Sayaka, Zaikawa Yuri and Takada Masako met at a noise club while in university in 1999, but apart from a string of self-released EPs and various hand-pressed cassettes/CD-Rs, the group has not released a proper full-length, and has been difficult to source outside of Japan. Neji/Tori is a compilation of two previous EPs that serves as a good introduction to the band’s sound; the songs are stylistically similar enough that there’s no problem in sticking them alongside one another. Twisted kawaiiness.

Nisennenmondai - Neji/Tori

Koi Pond - Volcano

Koi Pond is a three piece from NYC made up of some generally awesome dudes. Erik Roper plays bass and is a legendary artist/illustrator who does work for numerous bands, labels and publications such as Arthur, Southern Lord etc. while also playing in other bands such as Under Satans Sun and Mattalama. Pete Vogal plays synth while also jamming in Bow Ribbons, and designs arwork for clothes, David Aron plays drums, is the perpetrator for Little Cakes Gallery, used to skateboard alot, makes rad visual artwork, and jams in USUN with Mark Borthwick and Hisham Bharoocha. Despite these dudes epic resumes, Koi Pond is epic all on its own. Volcano is all about cosmic grooves, deep often minimal, endless repetitions that slowly evolve into more psyched out blissed out trances. Roper and Arons tight rhythmic foundations create the perfect backdrop for Vogal's synth improvisations. This is a meditative listen that never gets old, it just keeps grooving on and on forever. Like Neu! covering Dark Magus in a Tibetan Monastery.

Koi Pond - Volcano part 1
Koi Pond - Volcano part 2