Following the gorgeous lead single ‘Babystar‘ released last month, artist, producer, composer and experimentalist Matthew Herbert and drummer, composer and vocalist Momoko Gill have shared a new glimpse into their forthcoming debut album Clay with a second single, ‘Need To Run’. A beautifully restrained piece, ‘Need To Run’ blends soulful textures and a haunting sense of introspection. In describing the track, Herbert shares:
“We often think of states as binary—awake/asleep etc—but much of life is spent in a state of not knowing quite where you are or where you fit. Need To Run takes place somewhere within one of those moments.”
Listen to ‘Need To Run’ below and grab Clay when it drops on June 27th through Strut / Accidental.
Coinciding with the release of their debut collaborative album Tall Tales, out today through Warp, Mark Pritchard and Thom Yorke shared yesterday a final single titled ‘The Spirit’. The track arrives with a surreal new video from longtime visual collaborator Jonathan Zawada, marking the fourth video glimpse into the cinematic world of Tall Tales, following ‘Back In The Game’, ‘This Conversation Is Missing Your Voice’, and ‘Gangsters’.
Tall Tales is accompanied by a full-length feature film, also out today, screening in select cinemas globally. Developed over several years alongside the music, the film blends dystopian imagery with natural beauty, questioning our collective ideas of progress. Some screenings include a limited-edition zine, designed by Zawada, that expands on the film’s themes and visual language.
corto.alto has just shared a new track, ’32.Dip (108)’, a final gem from his ambitious 30/108 project, which saw him release 30 tracks in 30 days. It arrives after a huge year with wins for UK Jazz Act of the Year and The Innovation Award at the Jazz FM Awards, and follows the release of his Mercury Prize-shortlisted debut Bad With Names, which was one of our Album Picks of 2023. Built from the last of the 108 demos he made for 30/108, ’32.Dip (108)’ almost didn’t see the light of day, until the Glaswegian prodigious multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer found the missing link in a sample from his own track ‘Bye’, the closing piece on Bad With Names. As he puts it:
“This track was the last of the 108 demos I made for this project before beginning the long, tiring but ultimately rewarding process of working on the 30 tracks. It wasn’t included in the 30 singles because I never could figure out how to finish it. I ended up adding a sample of my own track ‘Bye,’ the last track on my Mercury Prize shortlisted album Bad With Names, and that felt like the missing piece. To me, ‘32.Dip (108)’ signifies the end of a sonic chapter for me as an artist, and the beginning of something new.”
’32.Dip (108)’ is offered with a visualizer and you can watch it below.
With their much-anticipated seventh album Necessary Fictions arriving next month, and following the mesmerizing lead single ‘Fallowfield Loops’, GoGo Penguin have unveiled a second single, ‘What We Are and What We Are Meant to Be’. The previous single introduced us to the album’s expanded textures and modular synth explorations, and their new offering pushes even further into the band’s present mindset. Stripped of improvisation and driven by a steady, dance-influenced bass synth, it’s perhaps their most direct and unadorned piece to date. As bassist Nick Blacka puts it, “It’s really simple, really melodic”, continuing:
“It’s not showboating, like ‘Hey, look at all the chops we’ve got, and how great we are!’ There’s not even any improvisation in it. Bass-wise, it’s just got a bass synth like a dance track. There’s still a part of me that’s like, ‘What are people going to think?’ Then there’s another part that just thinks, ‘Fuck it, they can think what they want! This is what we want to make right now, and it feels authentic.’”
Alongside the new single, the Manchester trio shared an accompanying video directed by longtime collaborator Rich Williams. Watch the video below and get ready for Necessary Fictions, out on June 20th through XXIM/Sony.
With just under a month to go until the release of her long-awaited new album Laini Tani, Nadah El Shazly has shared its powerful title track, along with a stunning accompanying video. Following on from the riveting and rousing first single ‘Ghorzetein‘, ‘Laini Tani’ blends freeform mawal-style vocal improvisation, Arabic scales, pulsing electronics and delicate harp. A disorienting and exhilarating listen, the track unfolds with both spontaneity and intent, constantly shifting its centre of gravity. The song, like much of the upcoming album, features harpist and experimental musician Sarah Pagé. Describing the track, Nadah shares:
“This song has a freeform mawal style beginning, where the words are about being in a relaxed, unbothered state and enjoying the moment. The beat comes in and breaks the mawal, and I start wondering what fate is bringing next. The melody switches to a more major scale when the beat disappears, asserting that if anyone wants to come visit, or enter my life, they should come back another time instead. And find me again later — maybe in a next life even! Musically it celebrates my close relationship with Sarah. We’ve been playing together since we met at Hotel2Tango recording studio in 2016 in Montreal, when I was recording my debut album, Ahwar. Sarah tunes her harp to Arabic scales, in this case, the Saba scale, and we can totally be in the same body and mind when we play together.”
Kafrawy directed the accompanying video. Watch it now.
Following the serene beauty of ‘Canopy‘, Resavoir and Matt Gold return with ‘Dewy’, a second stunner from their forthcoming debut album Horizon, due out on May 23rd through International Anthem. Like an orchestral dream, the track is beaming with warmth and colour, also owing to a radiant ensemble: Macie Stewart on strings, Claire Chenette’s oboe, Wills McKenna on flute, and Lloyd Billingham’s French horns. On the new single, the pair continue to blur boundaries, weaving their shared love of Brazilian music with ambient textures and jazz-inflected arrangements. ‘Dewy’ is the perfect echo of spring in full bloom, and you can listen to it below.
