Christina Vantzou shares new single, ‘Kimona I’, from upcoming album, No. 5

20 October 2022

Photo: Julie Calbert

Christina Vantzou is preparing to drop her new album, No.5, on November 11th through Kranky. With the release date nearing, and following the mysterious ‘Red Eel Dream’ and the magnificent and immersive ‘Surreal Presence (for SH and FM)’, the phenomenal composer and visual artist has shared a new single titled ‘Kimona I’, and a visual accompaniment featuring footage from Lizzie Borden’s 1983 feminist film, Born in Flames. Speaking about it, Vantzou commented:

“Filmed in the early 80’s, mainly in the East Village, largely with friends, non-actors and activists, Born in Flames is a film about work, class & race divisions, and organized revolt. Meanwhile on No. 5, ‘Kimona 1 & Kimona II’ were written for workers, specifically low-wage employees at giant institutions.”

Of her collaboration with Christina Vantzou Lizzie Borden said:

“I was honored when Christina Vantzou approached me with her beautiful piece of music “Kimona I,” accompanied by scenes from my film “Born In Flames”. As we collaborated, I was stunned to see familiar images take on new meaning when set against her haunting, elegiac music. Thank you for your exquisite work, Christina.”

Watch the video for ‘Kimona I’ below.

Listen to s t a r g a z e’s second single, ‘Voicecream’, composed by Arone Dyer

20 October 2022

Photo: Reiner Pfisterer

Berlin-based experimental ensemble s t a r g a z e is gearing up to release their much anticipated One, an orchestral suite composed for them by Tyondai Braxton, Nik Colk Void, Greg Saunier, Arone Dyer and Aart Strootman. Following the monumental ‘Recollection Pulse #3’ composed by Nik Colk Void, s t a r g a z e have shared a second single, ‘Voicecream’, composed by Arone Dyer. She comments:

“it was such a foreign process to create – I typically write in real time, improvising with others, but this piece I wrote alone on Ableton, mostly with my vocals and MIDI, creating what I thought sounded like a realistic arrangement. Then, knowing nothing of the range or key of the instruments, I worked with trumpet / horn player Romain Bly to arrange the piece for s t a r g a z e, and we sent individual parts along with a click track to each of the performers to record on their own. Without a conductor some interesting twists and turns came about which I had to correct in post-production. I tried to make all the individually recorded instruments sound like they were coming from the same place. I learned so much in the process and it was really fun.”

Listen to ‘Voicecream’ below and watch out for the release of One on November 25th through Transgressive Records.

Ben LaMar Gay announces new album, Certain Reveries, and shares lead single ‘Água Futurism’

20 October 2022

Photo: Charles Bouril

There’s wonderful news from musical polymath Ben LaMar Gay, who has yesterday announced the release of a new album, following last year’s outstanding and adventurous Open Arms to Open Us. Entitled Certain Reveries, the album will see the light of day on November 11th through International Anthem. As the press release describes, Certain Reveries is “a collection of work involving sound, fabric, movement, rivers, shadows, Lagosian memories, light and listening”.

Performed in duo with percussionist Tommaso Moretti, the album was originally filmed by Chris Strong for EFG London Jazz Fest’s live-stream program in 2020. At the time, the tremendously talented and versatile composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer and poet presented Certain Reveries in three parts, each divided by a short film conceptualized, choreographed, and directed by him, as a tribute to the late multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer Eddie Harris.

Alongside the announcement, Gay has shared the album’s lead single, ‘Água Futurism’, a staggering 11-minute piece offered with a live video directed by Chris Strong. Watch it now.

In other related good news, Ben LaMar Gay is returning to the UK/EU this Autumn for a series of live dates, which includes a London show at The Barbican as part of CHICAGOxLONDON 2022. See the full run of dates below:

Oct 28 – Klub Stodoła, Warsaw, Poland
Oct 29 – Opus Jazz Club, Budapest, Hungary
Oct 30 – Fauves! Festival, Rome, Italy
Nov 2 – Jazzclub Fasching, Stockholm, Sweden
Nov 3 – Alte Feuerwache, Mannheim, Germany
Nov 4 – art.ist, Wiesbaden, Germany
Nov 5 – Palace, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Nov 6 – Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Berlin, Germany
Nov 8 – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels, Belgium
Nov 9 – Teatro Spazio 89, Milan, Italy
Nov 11 – Sala Vanni, Firenze, Italy
Nov 12 – Barbican Centre, London, England

Mansur Brown to release new EP, NAQI VOL.2, and album-length mixtape, NAQI

19 October 2022

Photo: Filmawi

One of the most talented young musicians on the effervescent London jazz scene, producer and multi-instrumentalist Mansur Brown is on a roll and has been for a while. Following his second album, Heiwa, released last year, Mansur put out an EP, NAQI Vol. 1, earlier this year. He’s following it up with NAQI VOL.2 and the NAQI Mixtape, a LP vinyl which comprises both NAQI EPs. “The first volume had a summery feel – I think of it as being out at the dance”, says Mansur . “While the second volume has more of an introspective feel. I think of it as being the car ride home.”

Both ‘NAQI VOL.2’ EP and NAQI mixtape are set for release on November 18th through his own AMAI Records and ahead of it Mansur has shared the staggering title track. He comments:

“Naqi means ‘pure’ in Arabic, and this track is about being pure of mind, pure of heart. If we don’t overcome our problems, or we carry them with us, we might not love in the purest way. We might seek affection or companionship in a way that’s codependent, or not healthy. But we can be revitalised by opening doors of stress or pain. It’s a way of starting a new chapter, and accepting that growth and development are a part of life.”

Listen to ´Naqi´below and order the EP and the mixtape on bandcamp.

Tom Skinner previews forthcoming album with new single ‘The Journey’

19 October 2022

Following the mesmerizing and gripping ‘Bishara‘, ingenious drummer-in-demand, producer and composer Tom Skinner has shared ‘The Journey’. The track is the second magnificent single previewing Skinner’s forthcoming album Voices of Bishara, which is set for release on November 4th through Brownswood / International Anthem / Nonesuch. ‘The Journey’ is offered with a live video recorded at St Luke’s in London and it features Robert Stillman (tenor sax), Chelsea Carmichael (tenor sax), Kareem Dayes (cello), Tom Herbert (acoustic bass) and Paul Camo (samples). The video was directed by Child and you can watch it below.

Le Guess Who?’s Who 2022: Asher Gamedze

18 October 2022

There’s less than a month 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.

Asher Gamedze

Bandcamp

Performing Thursday 10th November

Photo: Lungiswa Gqunta

South African drummer, composer, writer and activist Asher Gamedze is one of the most incredible and impressive musicians of today. Visionary and virtuosic, with a phenomenal adaptability to a wide range of styles, he relishes playing together and has performed and recorded with various artists and ensembles across genres like jazz, pop, rock, hip-hop and soul music. Gamedze first rose to worldwide prominence through his work with Angel Bat Dawid & Tha Brothahood in 2019. The following year he released his debut album as a bandleader, Dialectic Soul, an absolute masterpiece which was one of our Album Picks of the Year, and remains an active favourite. out side work | two duets is his latest musical offering, a conversational record of improvised duets with Xristian Espinoza and Alan Bishop. Needless to say we can’t wait to see Gamedze perform at Le Guess Who? and we asked him what other artists he is looking forward to seeing live. Read on to find out, with a few words from him.

 

Nancy Mounir

Bandcamp

Performing Friday 11th November (as part of Hidden Musics)

“her recent album is one of the most interesting engagements with an archive of music that i’ve ever heard, it’s like a really fresh take on sampling. i really love the layers of history, and the warm and sometimes tense spaces between notes and various voicings that you can hear in the music. Very excited to see how it’s performed live.”

 

Master Musicians of Jajouka

Offical Website

Performing Thursday 10th & Friday 11th November (as part of Hidden Musics)

“Music from the Maghreb and particularly from Morocco has been very important to my own study of rhythm, music and spiritual practice. This group holds so much knowledge of a tradition that has been continually developing over many years, it will be an absolute privilege to experience them.”

Tumi Mogorosi

Twitter

Performing Sunday 13th November

“Tumi is a dear friend and one of the most unique voices on the drum kit and as a composer in creative music today. The new album, ‘Group Theory: Black Music’, is fire!”

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.