A weekly(ish) answer to the question “What have you been listening to lately?” It’s lightly annotated because I don’t like re-posting material without providing some context. I hope to write more about some of these in the future, but didn’t want to delay sharing them.
▰ I’m a sucker for many things, among them low-key propulsive fusion featuring Rhodes piano and a muted, economical horn section, along with liner notes stating which drummer is in the right channel and which in the left. This is the new Dosh track, “If U Strike Me Down,” off the forthcoming album Tomorrow 1972. Dosh is Martin Dosh, longtime drummer for Andrew Bird’s band.
▰ There’s an excellent new Kev Brown hip-hop instrumentals set out, The Music Underneath! The “GOOD.” Instrumentals. I’d love to know what the opening track samples. Its stately procession reminds me of David Byrne’s Knee Plays.
▰ Heymun has been summoning up her inner synesthete, channeling perfumes into music in an occasional series she calls “Scent to Sound.” This floaty, enjoyably askew ambience correlates with her sense that the particular fragrance suggests “Butterflies fluttering in my stomach.”
▰ Clint Mansell has a new horror score out, In the Earth, for the Ben Wheatley film, and it is a dark, intense, highly recommended listen. One track, “Spirit of the Woods,” is up officially on YouTube, and all 16 tracks are on streaming services.