I’m presenting a list of the best things I’ve been listening to lately without too much commentary since I’ve been pretty engrossed in various deadlines plus healing from Apocalypse Knee (fell down and was wheelchair/walking-frame bound for a couple of weeks). I will say that all of these were most excellent listens and at least three out of four indie/rock acts listed below are acts I’ve seen live. Metric and The New Pornographers both seem to be taking on their musical legacies and ruminating on it in their new albums and the result is brilliant. Tinariwen’s Hoggar is one of my favourite albums by this group formed by Tuareg musicians of Algeria and Mali (I’ve also seen them live). In other news, I’m gobsmacked by the brilliance of Dagmar Zuniga which melds field recordings with psych-folk; a must-listen for fans of Grouper. A new discovery for me!
- Romanticize The Dive — Metric
- Hoggar — Tinariwen
- The Former Site Of –The New Pornographers
- in filth your mystery is kingdom/ far smile peasant in yellow music — Dagmar Zuniga
New Music/Classical/Experimental
Sean Shibe’s Vesper was much-anticipated by me and does not disappoint this struggling classical guitarist in search of new inspiration and a reason to keep going on this musical journey. I was also delighted by Flore Laurentienne’s Volume III and Regate is close to becoming Piece of the Year for me! I discovered Margaret Hermant’s awe-inspiring Freedom through the Classicaltronics playlist on Apple Music, which has been on regular play with me, along with the deepchill playlist over on YT music which serves some pretty amazing stuff and has kept me company while I write up a storm both academically and creatively (yes, actively working on the novel and various short stories).
- Vesper — Sean Shibe
- Volume III — Flore Laurentienne
- Freedom — Margaret Hermant
I’m excited to discover newer composers working in the borderlands between classical music, experimental and electronic music and ambient music because this is where I want my direction in composing music to lead for me. Everything else, remains a mystery because musically at least I’m facing a crisis as both a music student (currently without a teacher and somewhat battle-scarred) and a composer. Apart from my musical crisis and Apocalypse Knee, other things are going relatively well in my life so that helps me be strong in this respect. Ergo, I shall keep calm and soldier on.