Mixtape #121

It’s no secret we love Laurence Pike. A relentless drummer, phenomenal improviser and inventive composer, for the last two decades he has recorded and played with an array of bands, setting up his drumkit at the junction of electronic, jazz and post-rock. His 2018 debut solo album, Distant Early Warning, and its follow up, Holy Spring, both blew us away and made it to our Album Picks of the Year. Reacting to the catastrophic wild fires in his native Australia, Pike released his powerful third album, Prophecy, this summer. We asked him to put together this month’s mixtape and he wrapped up his “Pandemic Favourites” for us. An hour made up of the tracks he has found himself delving into as of late, this is the soundtrack we needed to end the year beautifully!

  1. Takashi Kokubo – 回廊の音楽 [Glossy Mistakes]
  2. Haji K – A White-Tinted Sky [Daisart]
  3. Paradise Cinema – It Will Be Summer Soon [Gondwana Records]
  4. Hiroshi Yoshimura – Surround [Misawa Home]
  5. Finis Africae – Hybla [EM Records]
  6. Phillip Wilkerson – The Way Of Heaven [Stereoscenic]
  7. Luke Abbott – Ames Window [Border Community]
  8. Lindsheaven Virtual Plaza – Polynomial Voices [Asura Revolver]
  9. Kit Downes – Circinus [ECM Records]
  10. H.Takahashi – Pollen [Where To Now?]

Mixtape #79

Australian trio PVT, formerly known as Pivot, had us right from the release of their debut album nearly a decade ago. Going even stronger today, brothers Richard and Laurence Pike and Dave Miller have a much anticipated fifth album, New Spirit, out next month. So we're ecstatic to start off 2017 with a mixtape put together by Richard Pike:

"I'm not sure how these have directly influenced New Spirit, but it's a selection of tracks that I found myself coming back to during songwriting. So I guess that means something. I avoided vocals in this mix because at the time I was only focused on finding the right sound palette, and letting my own lyrical ideas evolve over that palette. I otherwise have nothing against vocalists. This mix is very electronic. With a focus on futurism."


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Mixtape #50

To celebrate our fiftieth mixtape, we've turned to a band whose shows are like crazy birthday parties: The Octopus Project. The quartet, based in Austin, Texas, won us over a long time ago with their uniquely fun live shows and their exquisite, diverse and intricate compositions. We're very chuffed to present the splendid selection of tunes they've mixed for us. So loosen your tie, let down your hair and let's celebrate!


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Luke Abbott set to release somophore album this summer

Luke Abbott - Wysing Forest

Luke Abbott has recently announced the follow-up to his 2010 debut album Holkham Drones. The upcoming album is called Wysing Forest, taking its name from the Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridgeshire. This is where Abbott recorded the effort, which was initially the fruition of a residency project lasting six weeks. Wysing Forest is mostly made up of live recordings, as Abbott explained. “Some were recorded at a performance at Wysing in front of a very small audience and some were recorded in a temporary studio I had setup during my residency”. With an emphasis on improvisation, he added that “a lot of what has ended up on the record was originally recorded as first-takes or sketches of ideas.”

‘Amphis’, an epic 12-minute track, is the first taste to be let loose. Listen to it now and watch out for the release of Wysing Forest on June 23rd via Border Community

Luke Abbott’s Brazil gets visual treatment ahead of EP release

LukeAbbottMore than a year after Luke Abbott‘s debut album Holkham Drones came out, the last single ‘Brazil’ is well matured and about to drop in stores on Monday December 19th via Border Community. The Brazil EP includes remixes from Gold Panda and Etienne Jaumet. ‘Grumble’ is a new track also included in the EP.

You can now watch the video for the single, directed by Katherine Mager and Luke Abbott himself with poetry by Sam Riviere.