Craig Scott is a multi-instrumentalist and composer hailing from Leeds, who brings us music I’m hearing more and more of these days. His aesthetic is like some electronic soundscape if Ornette Coleman made soundscape electronica. There’s this jammy non-sequitur thing happening, and I like it a lot. A lot of technically proficient players here in LA, NYC, even a few in Nashville I’m aware of are turning to improvisatory electronic editing, samplers, etc. for releases and performance. It preserves a humanity that’s still surprising, which is worth its weight in gold, and he is in good company.
Check another of his Leeds projects Ikestra for some serious funk groove in your jam.
My friend and frequent collaborator Amir Oosman is one of my favorite multi-percussionists alive right now, as I mentioned in my review of Joomanji’s Manj. In the below video with Keelan Tobia, you can watch the two of them perform an original composition for tenors, snare, and drum set. They’re not only ridiculously clean in their execution, but as performers they’ve got personality and flair that takes this video over the edge. Cleverly framed by producer Logan Shillinglaw IV, who has a really cool name, the video has already garnered thousands of views since it was uploaded yesterday.
Rounding out several other promos I’ve been sent:
Musique Le Pop is rather pleasant New Wave electro pop. In other words, eighties music with modern synths. I can dig that.
Leron Thomas‘s new single Appear To Stack off of Take It has a very strange quarter-notey type of groove for a funky track, but the way the timbral changes are introduced with the electronics and brass and whatnot really did it for me. Pretty enticing voice, too, I just wish the rhythmic production was a little less repetitive. In this case, though, maybe that’s the point?
The email I got informing me of Gunfight @the Gates by doubleedgedscissor had some janky links in it and wasn’t formatted well. However, the music is unique, a blend of heavy synths, outside drums grooves, processed vocals, homebrewed alien electronics and the occasional sitar. Not linking to them would be a crime against whatever race happens to inhabit whatever awesome planet they’re from.
Still more reviews to come. As I say on my Contact page, I try to shout out each and every one of you who contacts me via this blog. I intend to keep that promise! If you’ve got something you want reviewed, linked, mentioned, or sullied, by all means let me know!
