SINGLES CRUISE 07.22.19

CHARLIE STRANGE - "I FOLLOW"

Centered around building and repeating vocal lines of unrequited searching, the London-based Charlie Strange's reverb-drenched compositions filters the gauzy minimalism of Grouper through the ambitious dream-pop of Beach House's quiet grandeur. Looped vocal lines, resonant piano and swirling guitar lines find purchase when they converge into each other, creating a compelling crossroads of musical ideas. 

DREW DANBURRY - "1996, FOR LUKE GRAHAM, RYAN HIBLER AND AARON MICKELSON"

I have great memories of seeing the affable Provo-based musician playing these forlorn-yet-hopeful songs in the mid-aughts. Dressed up with kitchen-sink instrumentation or strummed out on a cheap acoustic guitar, Danburry's songs are rife with nostalgia and enough insight and life experience to not trust ourselves with our own memories. on "1996..." squares these two sentiments with unblinking fairness and sentimentality. 

CEECIDE - "I KEEP HAVING THESE DREAMS"

It's rare to find a song that pulls its inspiration from Daisuke Miyatani and samples a guitar riff from a Midwestern emo band. If you know me IRL, you'll know that is my venn diagram sweet-spot of musical proclivities. Ceecide captures the sweetness and melancholy of both musical modes, painting a two-gazes-long sonic portrait of stillness and loss. 

HARUHISA TANAKA - "1110"

On Haruhisa Tanaka's latest pure drone dive in subterranean tones and submerged melodies, "1110" dons the diving bell and goes deep into swells and subtle tonal shifts that lap and swirl around one another without losing grasp of its gentle, descending drift. "1110" is the latest on the rising Tokyo based experimental label Pure Goohn. 

LAUGE & MATT TONDUT - "ABOVE THE CLOUDS"

The Copenhagen based ambient artist and Australian modern classical composer have collaborated on a piece of intentional beauty that marries Tondut's minimal and deeply felt piano lines with Lauge's floating ambient textures and resonant pulls. Both drift upwards, pulling the trajectory skywards, developing a god's eye view of the composition hinted at in the title. 

SIMON MCCORRY - "CRYSTALLINE"

The third single from McCorry's acclaimed "Borderland" album, the UK artist is a terrifylingy talented cellist, who through a bevy of effects pedals and processing, coaxes soaring, majestic drones, crystal tones and bowed cello lines to create sprawling tracks that range from A Silver Mt. Zion to Stars of the Lid. Listen on Spotify

AALBERS - "EFE"

Originally set to a dance performance in Barcelona, "efe" is a slowbuild of hypnotic percussion and textures constructed around guitars easing into sheets of soft distortion, modular synths crisp and precise as a brand new patch cable, samplers and contact mics. Capturing hundreds of precise movements through the course of this building and shifting track, Aalbers has crafted a wholly engaging listen. 

DATACH'I - "AKEMIES"

There is a certain subset of people out there who look at Datach'i's massive modular synthesizer and do not get immediately overwhelmed with anxiety. For his latest on the famed Planet Mu, the L.A. based producers is swimming in a beautiful pool of crisp IDM beats and nostalgic, tape-worn ambient passages. Written after the passing of his father "Akemies" feels warm and familiar, even if you have no history with the genre. 

OSKAR KAPPLAND - "TELL ME WHERE YOU'VE BEEN"

"Tell Me Where You've Been" when understood in context is less of  a course demand, but an invitation to sit and tell a story about some of the dark roads we sometimes travel. Written in the wake of his father's death, the Swedish pianist and composer reflects back on a private and dysfunctional life and wonders what it would be like to truly try to understand his father's predeliction towards darkness.