Bibio’s tenth studio album, BIB10, out now

03 November 2022

Bibio has been turning our heads for a long time, constantly taking exciting and unexpected turns from album to album since his 2005 debut album. Last month saw him release his tenth studio album aptly titled BIB10. “I like contrast between my albums,” Stephen Wilkinson aka Bibio explained. “When I finish an album, I crave doing something different for the next one.”

With influences drawn from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, BIB10 brings the groove back to forefront, with irresistible funky pop songs touching on disco and soul. Speaking about the album, he comments:

“I think as ten is such a milestone, I wanted this record to be more of a party album. It also has its dreamy and melancholy moments, but there’s a lot of fun and playfulness in this album”

BIB10 is out now through Warp. For a taste of what Bibio is throwing at us, watch his self-directed video for ‘S.O.L.’ below, and listen to the lead single ‘Off Goes The Light’ straight after.

Sarathy Korwar shares third single ‘Remember To Look Out For The Signs’

01 November 2022

As The Leaf Label prepares for the release of Sarathy Korwar‘s impending third album Kalak, a new mesmerizing single from the London based, American born and Indian bred percussionist, producer and composer is now streaming. Titled ‘Remember To Look Out For The Signs’, it follows previously released singles ‘Remember Begum Rokheya’ and ‘Utopia Is A Colonial Project’. “’Remember To Look Out For The Signs’ is currently my favourite song on the album,” Korwar said of the track. “Hypnotic and polyrhythmic drum grooves that epitomise the cyclicality of KALAK. It’s a warning call, a reminder that change happens incrementally and if we don’t pay attention, it might be too late.”

The single is offered with a visualiser filmed by Korwar and Fabrice Bourgelle. Watch it now.

Kalak is out on November 11th through The Leaf Label.

Le Guess Who?’s Who 2022: Flash Amazonas

31 October 2022

There’s just over a week to go before Le Guess Who? takes over Utrecht. With over 150 artists set to perform, how do we make sense of such a monumental line-up? We made a list of the artists we’re most excited to see and asked them for their recommendations.

 

Flash Amazonas

Bandcamp

Performing Saturday 12th November at LE:EN (part of DJ Fitz presents)

Photo: Sunao Maruyama

Colombian musician Julián Mayorga and Japanese producer/multi-instrumentalist Ryota Miyake hit it off when they met in 2015 at an artistic residency in Montreal. Quickly churning out countless musical ideas, the pair decided to start Flash Amazonas. A perfect pairing, they are not afraid to take risks and embrace daring compositional choices, taking in disparate influences including DIY punk bolero, Latin American music, Japanese new wave and synth pop, spiced up by a tongue-in-cheek approach. They have just released their second album last week, uva uva, an exuberant and exhilarating 11-track feast capturing the work of two multi-talented artists at the top of their game. We can’t wait to see them performing it live at Le Guess Who? and today they tell us which three bands they’re most excited to see at the festival. Read on to find out.

 

Romperayo

Website

Performing Saturday 12th November at EKKO (part of Coco María presents Club Coco)

“One of the most exciting and innovative projects in new Latin American music! Pedro Ojeda’s approach to percussion is unique and so beautiful and inspiring!”

 

Masayoshi Fujita

Website

Performing Saturday 12th November at Janskerk
“Ryota played at the same event with him once in Tokyo – it’s great to see him performing abroad.”

 

Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul

Website

Performing Saturday 12th November at TivoliVredenburg

“Kakkoii! <3 HAHA”

 

Le Guess Who? will take place 10-13 November. For the full line-up, tickets and more info visit leguesswho.com. And take a look at other artists we’re excited about picking their own Le Guess Who?’s Who.

Bandler Ching set to release debut album in January, listen to first single ‘Awpril’

28 October 2022

Back in 2020, Brussels based quartet Bandler Ching baited us with Sub Surface, a thrilling and groovy EP blending contemporary jazz, electronics, hip-hop, noise and global beats. Following a period of exploration, the band have finally announced the release of their debut album. Entitled Coaxial, the record will see the light of day on January 27th through Sdban Ultra. Speaking about it, the band’s composer and saxophonist Ambroos De Schepper had this say:

“We start from Jazz and we give it our own attitude with improvisation and a lot of freedom and eventually mix it with influences such as electronics, beats, hip-hop etc”

Alongside the news, Bandler Ching have today shared the visualiser for ‘Awpril’, the first intoxicating single lifted from Coaxial. Take a listen now.

Le Guess Who?’s Who 2022: Masayoshi Fujita

28 October 2022

There’s less than two weeks to go before Le Guess Who? takes over Utrecht. With over 150 artists set to perform, how do we make sense of such a monumental line-up? We made a list of the artists we’re most excited to see and asked them for their recommendations.

 

Masayoshi Fujita

Website

Performing Saturday 12th November at Janskerk

It’s no secret we love vibraphone wizard, multi-percussionist, and composer Masayoshi Fujita. As well as honing in on his own solo work, Fujita’s sonic explorations include forays in a myriad of styles, projects and collaborations, such as his electronic dub releases as El Fog, or his experimental improvisations with the likes of Jan Jelinek. Last year he released one of the most beautiful and beguiling albums of 2021, Bird Ambience, a record that saw him merge influences he’d keept separate, and turning the spotlight on the marimba alongside drums, percussion, synths, effects and tape recorder. Obviously we can’t wait to see Fujita perform at Le Guess Who? and we asked him which artists he’s most looking forward to! Find out his recommendations below, with a few words from him.

 

Marina Herlop

Bandcamp

Performing Sunday 13th November at TivoliVredenburg (curated by Animal Collective)

“I really love her style of mixture of modern electronic and Indian music. So sad that I will miss her show as I’ll be leaving on that day but can’t help mentioning her name here.”

 

Astrid Sonne

Bandcamp

Performing Friday 11th November at Stadsschouwburg (curated by CURL)
” I’ve been listening her music since a while. Her works are pretty diverse and I’m curious what she’ll play live this time.”

 

Hatis Noit

Website

Performing Friday 11th November at Jacobikerk (part of Uncloud presents)

“I chose her not because we’re label mate and friends, but her performance is one of a kind and beautiful.”

 

Le Guess Who? will take place 10-13 November. For the full line-up, tickets and more info visit leguesswho.com. And take a look at other artists we’re excited about picking their own Le Guess Who?’s Who.

Nico Paulo announces self-titled debut album and shares first single ‘Now or Never’

27 October 2022

There’s already releases slated for 2023 that are seducing our ears. One of them is the debut album from Portuguese singer songwriter Nico Paulo, who now calls St John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador home. A self-titled album, it is set for release next Spring through Forward Music Group. It seems a long way away but we can already wrap our ears around the enchanting and bewildering first single ‘Now or Never’. Of the track, Nico comments:

“In an effort to fully understand how things end and why, Now or Never looks to unpack what happens when you stay empathetic through heartbreak. The lyric “kiss me now or never, hold me close or let me go,” is one of the first lines I wrote and it has stayed relevant to my experiences ever since. This line has haunted me for almost a decade and recent experiences of loss and reconstructing of the self helped me to finally transform it into a song.”

‘Now or Never’ comes with a gorgeous accompanying video directed by Sarah Kierstead and you can watch it below.