Essential Sounds: 30.10.20
October 30, 2020
Some weeks, playlist inspiration can be thin on the ground, and other weeks there’s an abundance of new music – and the challenge comes from whittling it down to something cohesive and not six hours in length! Fortunately this week was the latter!
– Becky Laverty
If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:
Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou – Out of Existence (Sacred Bones)
Nothing – Famine Asylum (Relapse Records)
Soft Kill – Floodgate (Cercle Social Records)
Jesu – Alone (Avalance Recordings)
Hexvessel – Halloween (Svart Records)
Portrayal Of Guilt – It’s Already Over (Closed Casket Activities)
Respire – Cicatrice (Church Road Records)
Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean – I’ll Possess Your Heart (Self-Released)
Auðn – Verður von að bráð (Season of Mist)
Shagor – Nachtdwaler (Babylon Doom Cult)
Henrik Palm – Nihilist (Svart Records)
Pallbearer – Vengenance & Ruination (Nuclear Blast)
Botanist – Water (The Flenser)
Sólveig Matthildur – Venus (Artoffact Records)
Roya – Thousand Needles (Labrador)
Clipping – Enlacing (Sub Pop)
Boris & Merzbow – Away from You (Relapse Records)
Essential Sounds: 23.10.20
October 23, 2020
This week’s lengthy and experimental playlist is all about the healing power of music. Self-healing and self-care through music. Be resilient through whatever you’ve got going on in addition to the state of the world, and let these songs and artists inspire you to bounce back, dare to dream, and unleash your inner strength.
If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:
Storefront Church – The Gift (Sargent House)
Blunt Razors – Amber Waves (Deathwish Inc)
BleakHeart – Dream Griever (Sailor Records)
Salem – Red River (Self-Released)
White Hills & Simone Marie Butler – Honesty (Self-Released)
Deafheaven – Daedalus – Live (Sargent House)
Ett Dödens Maskineri – Låsta dörrar (Suicide Records)
Iskandr – Gelderse Poort (Eisenwald)
Liturgy – Lonely OIOIOI (YLYLCYN)
Goldmund – Day In Day Out (Western Vinyl)
Shilpa Ray – Hetronormative Horseshit Blues (Self-Released)
Mr. Gnome – Time (El Marko Records)
Marie Davidson, L’ Œil Nu – Back To Rock (Ninja Tune)
Iterum Nata – Thee (Secret Trees)
Yin Yin – Chông Ky (Bongo Joe)
Coşkun Karademir – Kara Tren Gelmez M’ola (CK Music Production)
Black Market Brass – Omega (Colemine Records)
Surprise Chef – New Ferrari (Mr Bongo)
Litte Barry, Malcolm Catto – Rest In Blue
Arbouretum – Let It All In (Madlib Invazion)
Essential Sounds: 16.10.20
October 16, 2020
As we move into yet another uncertain season, let this week’s lengthy and wildly diverse playlist be a beacon of hope. Take the time to rejuvenate your mind and let it run free. There’s a better future out there somewhere and your unbridled guidance is here.
Black Wing – Bollywood Apologetics (The Flenser)
Health, Soccer Mommy – Mass Grave (Loma Vista Recordings)
Public Memory – Midsummer Shadow (felte)
Promise And The Monster – Closed My Eyes (Icons Creating Evil Art)
Wardruna – Kvitravn (Fimbulljod Productions / Sony Music)
Garmarna – Gagen Flyr (Season of Mist)
Mary Lattimore – Sometimes He’s In My Dreams (Ghostly International)
Wobbler – Naiad Dreams (Karisma Records)
Death Valley Girls – Hypnagogia (Suicide Squeeze Records)
Romskip – Dagens Ungdom (Back To Beat Records)
Kohti Tuhoa – Vesi Virtaa (La Vida En Un Mus Discos)
War On Women – White Lies (Bridge Nine Records)
Touché Amore – Come Heroine (Epitaph)
Sturle Dagsland – Kusanagi (Self-Released)
Ingrina – Now (A Tant Rêver Du Roi)
Glassing – Twin Dream (Brutal Panda Records)
Arkheron Thodol – A Glimpse of Woven Light (Naturmacht Productions)
REZN – Mother/Forever Time (Self-Released)
Backxwash – Spells (Grimalkin Records)
Blackhandpath – Dark Souls (The Codeine Cowboy)
Health, JpegMaffia – Hate You (Loma Vista Recordings)
Clipping, Michael Esposito – Pain Everyday (Sub Pop Records)
A Roadburn curation at LGW OFF: Saturday 14 November, De Helling, Utrecht (NL)
October 14, 2020
Despite the uncertain times, Utrecht’s Le Guess Who? festival will present a Corona-proof program dedicated to Dutch artists (and to support local venues and partners as well) on November 14-15, called LGW OFF and we’re elated to announce that they have asked us to curate a stage at De Helling.
It’s no secret we’re huge fans of Le Guess Who? The festival’s an inspiration even in these times. We feel incredibly honoured, and we jumped at the chance to offer the festival – and its local and national visitors – a glimpse of the thriving Dutch underground, as it’s such a beacon of hope.
On Saturday 14 November, we will proudly present four Dutch bands that made an impact in Roadburn circles this year – both Doodswens and Turia will bring their much acclaimed, ritualistic (and experimental) take on black metal to LGW OFF, while deranged Dutch duo Plague Organ (ft. members from Cryptae, Imperial Cult and Dead Neanderthals) will play their first-ever live show and unravel a nauseating spell of dark kraut / avant-garde / ambient black and death metal deformity. To close the proceedings, darkened cosmonauts Radar Men From The Moon will perform their latest album, ‘The Bestial Light’, in its entirety, and showcase their enormous artistic growth over the last decade.
For those of you who can’t make it to LGW OFF, the renowned festival is offering a freely accessible online TV channel, called LGW ON, which will be showing videos, films and documentaries selected by past performers from 13 – 15 November.
Tickets for LGW OFF will go on sale at a later date – we’ll let you know asap!
If you have any questions regarding your visit in times of Covid-19, please visit LGW‘s FAQ.
Essential Sounds: 09.10.20
October 9, 2020
Behold! This week’s playlist is a swift run through a collection of tracks that have kept us engaged over recent days. Consider the SUMAC track to be a signpost to seek out the full album elsewhere, as it’s not on Spotify!
If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:
Dark Buddha Rising – Sunyaga (Svart Records)
Sangre de Muerdago – Xuntas (Música Máxica)
Gliss – Doubt (Self-Released)
Pg.Lost – Suffering (Pelagic Records)
Briqueville – Akte IX (Pelagic Records)
Sumac – The Iron Chair (Thrill Jockey)
Hellripper – Spectres of the Blood Moon Sabbath (Peaceville Records)
Of Wolves – Maker (Self-Released)
Anaal Nathrakh – Endarkenment (Metal Blade)
Infera Bruo – Rites of the Nameless (Prosthetic Records)
Wayfarer – Vaudeville (Profound Lore)
Essential Sounds: 02.10.20
October 2, 2020
It’s Bandcamp Friday – hopefully our weekly playlist will help you seek out some goods over at Bandcamp. It’s a brand new and unbridled journey of discovery to keep us all going.
If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:
Pharaoh Overlord – Without Song All Will Perish (Rocket Recordings)
Enslaved – Urjotun (Nuclear Blast)
Zeal & Ardor – Tuskegee (Self-Release)
Botanist – Bacteria (The Flenser)
Molassess – The Devil Lives (Season of Mist)
Shaam Larein – Memories (Icons Creating Evil Art)
Garmarna – Två Systrar (Season of Mist)
Iress – Nest (Self-Release)
Popular Music – Willow’s Song (Sanitarium Sound)
SUSS – Echo Lake (Northern Spy)
Jennifer Castle – Justice (Paradise of Bachelors)
Sarah Mary Chadwick – Sit Down And Pour (Chapter Music)
DM Stith, David Stith – Waving 1 (yk Records)
Luke Abbott – Kagen Sound (Border Community Recordings)
Ko Shin Moon – Canon Neon (Akuphone)
MountainKing – Minute (Opuulent)
The Heliocentrics – Space Cake (Madlib Invazion)
João Pais Filipe – V (Holuzam)
Ak’chamel, The Giver of Illness – To Travel the Path of Every Sickness (Akuphone)
Menahan Street Band – Queens Highway (Daptone Records)
Essential Sounds: 25.09.20
September 25, 2020
This week’s playlist has a couple of repeat appearances – not because we’ve run out of things too share, but more because some things warrant a repeat airing. Sometimes life moves so fast that it makes dawdling a little bit a pleasure – at least, I think so! There’s some brand new tracks in there too of course, and hopefully something to pique your interest.
– Becky
If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:
Svalbard – Open Wound (Church Road records)
Emma Ruth Rundle, Thou – The Valley (Sacred Bones)
Kurt Vile & John Prine – How Lucky (Matador Records)
Anna von Hausswolff – Persefone (Southern Lord)
Lingua Ignota – Jolene (Sargent House)
Henrik Palm – Given Demon (Svart Records)
Four Stroke Baron – Mean Mr. Mustard (Prosthetic Records)
Soft Kill – Roses All Around (Cercle Social Records)
Crippled Black Phoenix – Lost (Season of Mist)
MJ Guider – Simulus (Kranky)
Essential Sounds: 18.09.20
September 18, 2020
This week’s lengthy playlist is quite an exploration into the unknown. It’s a culmination of the many styles and sounds that keep us going, but it’s also a massive nod to the artists and bands that defy uncertain times by giving us hope through their artistry. Thank you all so much for keeping us inspired – or even sane! Without you, we would be lost.
If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:
Shortparis – KoKoKo (Universal Music)
штадт (Stadt) – Особь без лица (HNWA)
White Hills, Jim Jarmusch – Illusion (Self Release)
Selofan – There Must Be Somebody (Fabrika Records)
Manuela Iwansson – Strangers On A Train (PNKSLM Recordings)
Health – Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0 (Loma Vista Recordings)
War On Women – Wonderful Hell (Bridge Nine Records)
Audn – Ljóstyra (Season of Mist)
Armagedda – Evigheten i en obrytbar cirkel (Nordvis)
Threestepstotheocean – Notte In Pieno Giorno (Antigony Records)
Thousand Foot Whale Claw – The Garden from Above (Holodeck)
Kalandra – Slow Motion (By Norse Music)
Kjell Braaten – Østavind (By Norse Music)
Lili Refrain – Gula (Narcotica)
The Heliocentrics – Light in the Dark (Madlib Invazion)
Apache Sun – Broken Branches (30th Century Records)
Deradoorian – Saturnine Night (Anti)
Nordmann – Cryptonym (Unday Records)
Motor!k – Headlights (Out of Line Music)
Bergeton – Lambo (Meus Records)
Pedro Augusto – Formnt9 (Self Release)
Track Premiere: IJdelheid - Inside You
August 26, 2020
Ahead of its release, we’re excited to bring you the premiere for “Inside You,“ a brand new track, taken from IJdelheid’s debut-EP, ‘God Must Love Me’, which will be out on cassette this Friday, 28 August through Tartarus Records. IJdelheid is Ruben Wijlacker’s intimate vehicle to explore atmospheric dream folk, contrary to his playful yet sometimes schizophrenic take on black metal when he’s fronting Grey Aura.
Much like Grey Aura, IJdelheid (i.e. vanity) is very disquieting too, but in its own, brooding way, eliciting a melancholic feeling completely at odds with the lyrical themes of transgression, sexual violence and murder. Be it a deadly relationship between two lovers, and the metaphorical rejection and silencing of one’s darkest desires – Wijlacker doesn’t shy away from the dark and sinful prospects of life nor questioning religion.
Featuring guest vocals by Firoza Mulahella (who is one of Wijlacker‘s closest friends), ‘Inside You’ sees an “incarcerated man, fantasizing about a woman”, says the multi-talented Wijlacker. “It was written during October 2019, but this seems to be a fitting time to release it. With the current regulations regarding the Coronavirus pandemic, our physical contact with other human beings is extremely limited: often, we cannot touch those whom we love, and will have no choice but to withdraw into our own fantasies. As our longing intensifies, fantasies grow stronger. Our feelings of love, backed by a growing fear of abandonment and emotional starvation, may turn sour. We may want to claim our loved ones and hold them close, only to affirm our own existence and self-worth.”
Essential Sounds: 21.08.20
August 21, 2020
The best ideas are spontaneous ones, surely… the ones that come from a spark of inspiration and a sense of collaboration. Somewhere, way back when (it feels like a lifetime ago), we invited Thou to be our 2019 Artists In Residence, and they proposed a collaborative set with firm festival favourite, Emma Ruth Rundle.
We were thrilled at the thought of Emma lending her vocals to some Thou songs, or perhaps Thou adding the weight of their sound to Emma’s music, but what they magicked up – behind the scenes and both before and after the festival was something even more monumental than that. A true collaboration, a spiritual, creative and communal meeting of minds spawned a collection of original material which is now on its way to being ushered out into the world.
It’s been a labour of love, no doubt, and it’s feels like it’s been a long time coming, but Thou and Emma’s collaborative album ‘May Our Chambers Be Full’ is due for release this October. The first track is streaming now, giving a glimpse into the fuzzed out, sludged out majesty of the rest of the album; it seemed only fitting that we kick off this week’s playlist with that track – “Ancestral Recall.“ I’ve ordered my copy already – and if you want to do so too, click HERE.
As ever, the rest of the playlist is a collection of songs that have piqued our interest, stoked our creativity and kept us sane over the last seven days. Perhaps you’ll discover something new or reconnect with an old favourite. Either way, dive in…
– Becky Laverty.
If you want to seek out the tracks elsewhere, here’s the info you’ll need:
Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou – Ancestral Recall (Sacred Bones)
Svalbard – Listen To Someone (Holy Roar)
The Ocean – Oligocene (Metal Blade)
Convocation – The Abscence of Grief (Self-Release)
Audn – Eldborg (Season of Mist)
Vous Autres – Onde (Season of Mist)
Molassess – Death Is (Season of Mist)
Kairon; IRSE! – White Flies (Svart Records)
Lucidvox – Knife (Glitterbeat Records)
Ho99o9, Mike IX – Firefly Family (Toys Have Powers)
Uniform – Dispatches from the Gutter (Sacred Bones Records)
Servo – I (Fuzz Club Records)
Restive Plaggona – Served Cold (Several Minor Promises)
R. Elizabeth – Back from Ten (Night School)
Deaf Kids, Rakta – Miragem – Ao vivo (Selo Sesc)
J Zunz – 33:33 (Rocket Recordings)
Les Marquises – La Battue (Les Disques Normal)
Tempers – The Use Of My Belonging (Dais Records)
Sky Civilian – Floating In A Dream (Atomnation)
Pye Corner Audio – Self Synchronise (Lapsus Records)