Abundance Of Stuff

Well it's been quite a couple of weeks for new releases, a bit like the old days when you didn't know which releases to get because there were so many that you wanted to hear. Now though the ones you don't buy you can just download, I suppose, plus many are free downloads anyway. Beatking and Young Thug releasing new albums/mixtapes in the same week is a good week which ever way you look at it. God I'm still getting my head around Thugga's Barter 6 and the first volume of Slime Season and now we've got Slime Season 2. His new mixtape Slime Season 2 (after only a couple of listens) is quite possibly up there with his two classics Black Portland & 1017 Thug. Young Thug also has a collaboration mixtape with Migos about to drop at any moment plus another official solo LP. He's the new James Brown ie. the hardest working man in show business. Beatking's 3 Weeks is his third album of the year as well and his quality control is usually the highest in the rap game only rivalled by Kev Gates. Beatking has signed with Sony and he made an LP for them in 3 weeks. It's not as dementedly bangin as something like Gangster Stripper Music 2 from last year but he's still funny, profane, non PC and hey it wouldn't be a Beatking release without a version of Kiesha, surely this is the 17th time this tune has turned up, I expect a version on all his albums till he retires now. Is earnestness starting to sneak in to his array of aesthetics though? He may be stupid but Beatking's not dumb so naming this album 3 Weeks feels to me like a disclaimer as it's probably the lesser of his three releases this year. He's letting you know this was chucked together very quickly. Hopefully I'll have some further thoughts on this stuff once my mind has processed it all. Boosie Badazz (some of this sounds outstanding, after one initial listen), Zuse and Amber London have released worthy new material in the rap zones too in the last week or so. Recently Gangsta Boo, Skipper, Ty Dolla Sign and Lil Herb have put out mixtapes worth listening to as well and I reckon I've probably missed a few too.

In electronic zones Rustie creator of possibly the best record of the 2010s (well at least one of the top 9), Glass Swords, has a new album called EVENIFUDONTBELIEVE and it sounds really bloody good compared to last year's disappointing Green Language so that's exciting news as I was ready to write him off. Arca and Mark McGuire have new LPs plus I just discovered Steve Moore's synth soundtrack The Guest that was released earlier this year. That Visionist album Safe still has me transfixed and slightly perplexed as I can't quite pinpoint why I like it so much. Then there's the archival box from Harmonia which I guess is really only of interest as it includes the previously unreleased Documents 1975. I believe this is getting its own separate release which I can't wait for, in fact I'm gonna have to download that right this second I think.

Then I discovered That Bret Easton Ellis does podcasts. I've checked out the episodes with Kim Gordon, Ariel Pink and Doors drummer John Densmore, which are all worth listening to. This guy can talk and then talk some more. Sometimes I wonder if he needs guests at all. His epic intros are gloriously verbose. It's all about Bret and it's fascinating as is his obsession with LA.

Finders Keepers Radio did an excellent Halloween special although their shameless self promotion is starting to wear thin. These guys are obviously massive music fans but business and marketing are starting to cloud their vision slightly.

Last but not least I've discovered the dudes from the legendary but now dead sharity blog Mutant Sounds have started doing podcasts as well. They've done two episodes so far of Mutant Sounds Radio. If you loved the Mutant Sounds blog you'll know what you're getting here ie. Seminal music from subterranean fringe dwellers brought to public consciousness by counter obscurism.

Oh and one last thing......I was going to post this tune last week as I've been getting into the 2003 Ricardo Villalobos LP Alcachofa and then I noticed this has been issued on a 12" recently which is weird. Anyway me love this tune a lot.

This is on the other side of the 12" and is the opening track from Alcachofa and it might even be more awesome than Dexter. Legendary.

Oh then there is more stuff..... this time in Hauntological zones......maybe next time......

Emeralds - Just To Feel Anything

I've been meaning to write about Emeralds new LP Just to Feel Anything since I mentioned it in a previous post. I've had notes scribbled down for over a month now. Anyway my computer is playing up or is it blogger? Doing a post at the moment is quite frustrating. Anyway Emeralds are a group I thought were really going to push through some kind of sound barrier into something new, not just update the Kosmiche stylee. I think maybe they previously came close or did bring something new to the Kosmiche table. Perhaps it's my recent Back To The Future phase ie. re/listening to UK hardcore/Darkside/Jungle etc. that has put some things into perspective. In the early 90s the future was really actually happening.  This new Emeralds LP seems to be their most retro and least forward thrusting to date. I think they've added beats. Did any of the other LPs have beats? In my notes I have written (and this is from a while ago):

Nostalgia for Top Gun,
Nostalgia for Dire Straits,
Nostalgia for Harmonia,
Nostalgia for Arcade games,
Nostalgia for Pink Floyd,
Nostalgia for Cluster,
Nostalgia for Bruton Music's BRK series of library LPs.

Nostalgia for the future might be what I'm trying to project onto them. I mean this is nostalgia for the future but an older future. Not a future so much rooted in the UK early 90s so much as a 70s/80s vision of the future. If nobody is going into a new future can I value one vision of future over another? Who's being more cynical me or Emeralds?

Anyway having said all that it's another top record from Emeralds albeit one that's a little more guitar centric. Atmospheric, sad, uplifting and beautiful as usual. Nice. Is that enough?