Words by Justin Turford
We don’t really cover single releases (apart from the occasional premiere) so we thought we would start a new section on the blog where we shout about some random new singles we have been sent or discovered ourselves in some dusty corner. All kinds of music that we may not have time to cover as albums or one time one-offs. Enjoy! Tell your friends!
Chizawa Q ‘Beluga’ (R&S Records) - banging jazzy Detroit-esque techno from the Japanese producer’s ‘Xenoverse’ album. The album follows Chizawa Q's debut EP Lost Asia and features collaborations with Masaki Sakamoto, Kowalewski, and remixes from Makoto Shimizu.
Silvan Strauss ‘DIVING’ (Kabul Fire) - rhythmically wild new single from the ace German drummer and his jazz pals from his forthcoming ‘FLUKIN’’ LP out in Jan 2025. (** Video features a live version of the track).
FLOCK ‘Meet Your Shadow’ (Strut) - UK supergroup FLOCK ft. Bex Burch, Sarathy Korwar, Tamar Osborn, Danalogue + Al MacSween share their intense! second single from forthcoming album ‘FLOCK II’. 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!”
Hot 8 Brass Band ‘Big Tuba’ (Tru Thoughts) - the usual big and brassy funk explosion from NOLA’s Hot 8 in tribute to Bennie ‘Big Pete’ Pete, the band’s co-founder and sousaphone player who very sadly passed away in 2021. (Here’s an interview Justin did with Big Pete in 2016 - https://www.truthandliesmusic.com/magazine/bennie-pete-hot-8-brass-band-an-interview-july-2016-previously-unpublished).
“We love you big tuba, and we miss you big tuba, won’t forget you big tuba”
Miramar ‘Un Astro’ (Ansonia Records) - stunningly romantic and string-drenched bolero fusion from NY based Miramar who have previously had excellent releases on Daptone and Barbès Records.
Benji Bower & The Terra Collective Orchestra present ‘Terra Coda’ (Tru Thoughts) - Benji Bower’s 60-piece ensemble, The Terra Collective Orchestra join here with artist and producer Kathleen Frances on the lush and poignant ‘Love Letter’. Benji characterises the song as “beautiful yet crushing”, describing it as a heartfelt apology to the earth.
Cyril Cyril & Le Syndicat du Futur ‘La Meteo / Le Monde Embêtant’ (Bongo Joe Records) - Gnarly post-punk funk double-sided 7” from Geneva’s Cyril Cyril and their children!
“The kids, Jeannot, Zoé, Marilou, Marlowe, and Lénaïs, played a myriad of instruments, including typewriters and ping pong balls and sang sharp, joyful and manifesto-like texts to express how absurd and boring the adult world seems to them. La Meteo focuses on adults' obsession with the weather. Every day, and now even every hour, adults are glued to their apps tracking storms. It’s utter nonsense, and the children see it. They understand the climate emergency, they understand the future doesn’t quite work, and this track turns it into a hallucinatory report with a cutting sense of humour.”
Romperayo ‘La Canoa del Soldado’ (Little Beat More) - sweltering and nostalgically produced new single from the Colombian tropical tripsters with a heavier, more dancefloor ready remix from Captain Planet on the flip.
Nicola Cruz ‘Miso feat. machìna’ (Nous’klaer Audio) - masterfully crafted electronics meets ritual from the Ecuadorian producer Nicola Cruz’s new album 'Kinesia'. One for the head as well as the body.
Voodoo Drummer ‘Elf Dance’ - We love this interpretation of the waltz by the legendary Moondog (Louis Thomas Hardin) by the Afro-Dionysian duo Voodoo Drummer AKA Stavros Parginos (Cello) & Christos Koutsogiannis (Drums & Balafon). NOT FOR SALE but you can listen here!