Got a nice overtime paycheck last week. Naturally, I splurged.
Ambient pickups:
Aqueduct Ensemble -
Improvisations on an Apricot
Toshifumi Hinata -
Broken Belief
Gigi Masin -
Talk to the Sea
Ana Roxanne -
~~~
Slow Dancing Society -
The Sounds of Lights When Dim
Hiroshi Yoshimura -
Music For Nine Post Cards
Improvisations on an Apricot is interesting in that there is a delicate blend of jazz and ambient music. Perfect for me, as it gives me the best of both worlds with an underlying, yet prominent, saxophone.
Both the Hinata and Masin records are on the
Music From Memory label, currently one of my favorites. Hinata's LP is kind of groovy with ambient sections, and Masin employs a much more focused ambient sound across a 90-minute (!!) beautiful compilation.
Ana Roxanne's album was purchased on a whim as a recommendation from one of the co-owners of Musique Plastique in Portland (my favorite shop in the city). After listening to it, I found it pretty engaging. Although brief (just under 28 minutes), I get hints of Grouper's quiet vocals in the tracks where Ana sings, as well as lots of environmental sounds in the purely instrumental tracks (rainfall, footsteps, insect sounds, etc.). Should be a mainstay and get some plays during the night hours.
Slow Dancing Society was a pick that I saw on Matt Kessler's
Too Many Records YouTube channel. Although not really a follower of his, when he listed this as one of his 100 favorite albums and upon learning that it was an ambient release, I was curious. It is an interesting mix of how ambient music can symbolize the changing of the seasons. 50 minutes across a single translucent LP made me raise an eyebrow, but it sounds great. Only $16 shipped from Bandcamp!
The last ambient record is a long-standing classic in the genre. Unfortunately, my copy of
Music For Nine Post Cards has some surface noise on side A for the first few minutes that ends up being distracting. Even worse, the last track has loud popping that prolongs for over a full minute! Really is unfortunate for such a beautiful record...how good is Light in the Attic's customer service, for anyone who has had experience?
Jazz and other pickups:
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers -
Indestructible
Lou Donaldson -
Mr. Shing-A-Ling
Dexter Gordon -
Doin' Allright
Autechre -
Tri Repetae
Sharon Van Etten -
Are We There
The Blue Note records need no explanation. Strengthening my limited IDM library with an Autechre record (sounds pheonmenal on this most recent reissue through Warp), and tried out Sharon's previous full-length. Curious to dig into more of Sharon's work, as I like this more established sound of her older records.
Lastly, picked up Hatchie's EP at the show I went to last Friday! Brought my
Keepsake jacket and she signed both after the show at the merch table. Really kind and sweet girl.