Listen to Flock’s new single ‘Meet Your Shadow’

02 October 2024

UK supergroup Flock are gearing up to release their much anticipated second album, Flock II. Bex Burch, Danalogue, Sarathy Korwar, Al MacSween and Tamar Osborn, who make up the project, had previously teased the record with lead single ‘Capillary Waves’. With the album arriving at the tail end of the month, Flock have let loose a second taste from it, the intoxicating and beguiling ‘Meet Your Shadow’. Speaking about it, Danalogue explains:

“Meet your own shadow is about delving into parts of yourself that you don’t necessarily want to look at, parts we don’t want to accept about ourselves, the darker aspects. Personally this was one of my favourite improvisations from our recording session, born from a series of compositional games, where we each got to lead a section. It has a sort of raw urgency and darkness that I tend to lean towards, so I took back to my studio later to give it some extra synths and production, to try and take it all the way, very happy the rest of Flock were okay with how it ended up!”

Listen to ‘Meet Your Shadow’ below. You’ll be hitting the play button the second it ends.

Flock II is out on October 25th through Strut Records

New group LEDJ set to release debut EP, Circuit Breaker, later this month

01 October 2024

There’s an exciting new band emerging from London’s musical melting pot – LEDJ. Made up of saxophonist James Arben (Musical Director for Mulatu Astatke), keyboardist Danny Keane (Heliocentrics, Nitin Sawhney), along with drummer Luke Christie and tuba player Ed Ashby, both founding members of the Hackney Colliery Band, their sound merges experimental jazz with infectious rhythms and a love for the dancefloor, drawing on influences including New Orleans Brass with Ethiopian influences, Nu-Jazz, hi-life, electronica and pop.

Circuit Breaker marks LEDJ’s debut EP, referencing the lockdowns of 2020-2021 when the group began writing. The EP arrives on October 24th through Bridge The Gap, and last week they’ve dropped the title track as a lead single. A perfect introduction to their music, ‘Circuit Breaker’ combines folk-like melodies, afro-punk, and dancehall grooves with electronic soundscapes, and you can listen to it below.

Alex E. Chávez premieres video for new single ‘catalina’

29 September 2024

We’re less than three weeks away from the release of Alex E. Chávez‘s debut solo album Sonorous Present. Following ‘cómplices de luto’ and ‘The Shadow’, the talented multi-instrumentalist, producer, educator, and scholar is previewing the album with new single ‘catalina’. Of the track, Chávez comments:

“Delicate, brief, “catalina” is dedicated to my older sister—Catalina—who was the fatal victim of domestic violence at the age of 18. A song of grief and regret, I lament not being able to say goodbye to her: “inside of me, everything falls apart without you; rather than my own reflection, I see you in the mirror.” I was eleven at the time, and this act of violence and loss deeply shaped my family history and my path as a writer.”

‘catalina’ is offered with an animated video directed by Estudio Pneuma in collaboration with Celestial Brizuela, and you can watch it below.

Sonorous Present is out on October 18th through Artivist Entertainment.

Elias releases soundtrack for multimedia project The End

27 September 2024

An outstandingly talented drummer and composer, and a longtime favourite of ours here at CTD, Elias Devoldere is one of Belgium’s most cutting-edge and visionary artists. Involved in wide range of projects and collaborations including Nordmann, John Ghost, Robbing Millions, SUWI and Hypochristmutreefuzz, among others, Elias, as he is plainly known, has also composed for dance productions and theatre.  Last year he released his debut solo album,  Bloomed > Exploded, a dreamy and shimmering record composed, played, recorded and produced entirely by him, and which we were lucky to see performed live in Porto.

Elias has teamed up with fashion designer Dorien De Kesel and film duo Wannes Vanspauwen & Pol De Plecker, for a multimedia project called The End, which was born “from the desire for more collectivity in the crafts and collaboration between the arts”, as the press release describes. “The collaboration stems from the belief that an equal collaboration between different makers leads to a more powerful, sustainable result.”

The End is offered in the shape of a stunning short film portraying a group of people travelling by horse and cart through an apocaliptic landscape, towards a better world. Watch it now.

Elori Saxl previews upcoming album, Earth Focus, with lead single ‘Grows Along The River Slow’

27 September 2024

Photo: Peter Coccoma

Back in July, American experimental electronic composer Elori Saxl released her mini-album Drifts and Surfaces, and she is ready to follow it up with a new album. Entitled Earth Focus, the album is a collection of new material composed to soundtrack the PBS TV documentary series of the same name. Focusing on environmental challenges, each episode on the series looks at a specific location like the Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave Desert, amongst other places in Southern California. Her music “underscores the emotional narratives of these places, emphasizing the interplay between humans and nature and the impact of human-constructed environments”, as the press release describes.

Earth Focus arrives on November 15th through Western Vinyl, and ahead of it Saxl has shared the first single ‘Grows Along The River Slow’. Of the track, she says:

“It was inspired by the languid flow of the LA river and the plants that grow within and alongside it, pushing through cracks in cement and finding ways to flourish despite the human-built landscape. The track features analog synths with synthetic harp and flute samples that eventually give in to real acoustic flute performed by Stuart Bogie. I would say this track is me leaning into the psychedelic and floaty sounds of Californian music a bit beyond my comfort zone as a New Yorker, but it felt right for the series to lean deep and create music evocative of the musical scene past and present in Southern California.”

A serene and engrossing piece, ‘Grows Along The River Slow’ is after your ears.

Surya Botofasina teases upcoming album with new single ‘Your Soul is Perfect (Supreme Uniter)’

24 September 2024

Photo: Squint

A staggeringly talented keyboardist and vocalist, Surya Botofasina recently got us well excited announcing the release of his second album, Ashram Sun. Releasing on October 18th through Spiritmuse Records, it follows his incredibly stunning and contemplative Everyone’s Children, released a couple of years ago. Surya had already shared the celestial and soothing single, ‘(The Circle) of Compassion’, and now he’s enticing us again with ‘Your Soul is Perfect (Supreme Uniter)’, a luscious and groovy track featuring Surya’s mother Radha Botofasina on harp and vocals. Speaking about it, Surya says:

“The question of our individual purpose as we traverse on Earth is often one we are scared to meet. The intention of this song is to acknowledge the truth about us all- we are beautiful for the beings that we are, with a Light that can never be extinguished. Having courage to be content and happy is no small feat when mental health is involved… The Supreme Uniter is not only a nod to this, but to Meghan Stabile as she dances to this one from stars back to down to us. All of this is only possible due to Magnificent Shakti of Swamini Turiyasangitananda.”

Listen to ‘Your Soul is Perfect (Supreme Uniter)’ below.