World music – 7th Level Music

Rewind Review: Jean-Claude Vannier – Electro-Rapide (2011)

Jean-Claude Vannier is considered one of the greatest French pop and orchestral composers ever, having created a mountain of music in his time – much of it “library” music used as incidental music in film. He also released two albums with fellow legend Serge Gainsbourg (Histoire De Melody Nelson and L’Enfant Assassin Des Mouches).

Electro-Rapide is full of short, weird, funky tracks, many of which were never released until this 2011 compilation album from Finders Keepers Records saw the light of day. “Bombarde Lamentation” is such a track to open the album, immediately making this collection a treat for Vannier’s fans.

“L’Ours Paresseux” is a showcase for Vannier’s rhythm section (Pierre Alain Dahan on drums and Bernard Lubat on percussion). “La Girafe Au Ballon” was originally recorded for children’s TV shows but has a bass groove from Tony Rubio that you could drop into any sexy spy movie from the late 1960s. “Claquez Klaxons” is another previously unreleased track original made for death penalty protests in France.

Believe it or not, “Saturnin et Le Vaca Vaca” is a theme song to a children’s show about a real-life baby duck. The short and sweet “L’Automne À Barbès Rochechouart” is Vannier’s tribute to a Metro station in an African community in Paris. “Qu’est-ce Qui Fait Courir Les Crocodiles?” is Vannier’s attempt to write a theme for a comedic film. It works, and I’m surprised it hasn’t been reused as a sitcom theme by now.

“La Douleur De L’Orchestre” is another previously unreleased track. It’s a weird, somewhat melancholy tune using a full orchestra he kept around after recording other tracks. “Thème 504” was released as TV and film library music in 1968, but not used for such a thing until 1989’s Comédie d’été. “Le Ballet Des Accoucheuses” is a vocal track using a choir of pregnant women to snap, tap, chant, and breathe beats throughout it.

“Road to Cuba” was written, according to the album’s liner notes, “…in the taxy that drove me to the studio. I’ve never been to Cuba.” Indeed, there isn’t a hint of Cuban, Caribbean, or Latin music in it, but it’s still fun. “Je M’appele Géraldine” was another TV theme Vannier wrote that was later re-recorded multiple times, including one version with lyrics.

“L’Éléphant Équilibriste” is another children’s TV show theme that playfully lumbers around your speakers. The album ends with a reprise of “Bombarde Lamentation” recorded in 1973 and not released until 2011.

This is a fun collection and a neat addition to your library music archive if you’re into that sort of thing. If you’re not, this might spark your interest in that vast, still mostly unknown genre.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Various Artists – Life Is Dance! compilation (2011)

Bollywood music gets a lot of attention, but do you know about Lollywood (Lahore + Hollywood) music? Life Is Dance!, another excellent collection of obscure music from outside the U.S. by Finders Keepers Records, seeks to expand your knowledge of music from Pakistani films in the 1970s.

Most of the songs on this collection are by Altaf Hassain Tafo (leader of a group of family musicians), Nazir Ali, Kamal Ahmed, and M. Ashraf, and nearly all the tracks feature the stunning and prolific Nahid Akhtar on lead vocals. Life Is Dance! practically is an Akhtar album.

Her voice (along with vocals by Mehdi Hassan and A. Nayyar and weird male backup vocalist chants and shouts) get in your brain and under your skin on the crazy “Zambo Zambo” (from the bizarre spy movie Jasoos from 1977). The song combines electronic percussion and hand percussion from Tafo and psychedelic bits that might freak you out. The compilation’s title track (from the 1976 film Society Girl) is next with Ali mixing happy accordion with sci-fi synths, bold horns, and trippy guitar as Akhtar and guest vocalist Mehnaz sing / purr / roar throughout it.

Ashraf’s first track on the album is “Dear I Love You” from the 1975 film Zanjeer. It’s a groovy one with accordion somehow blending with (at the time) state-of-the-art synthesizers and slick bass lines. Ahmed finally goes the party (with Mehnaz on lead vocals this time) with 1976’s “Aage Bhi” (from the film Blackmail). It’s one of the grandest songs on the record with big horn arrangements and thrilling hand percussion.

Tafo and Akhtar return for “Shalo Sa Bharka,” another track from Jasoos. It feels darker and grittier than the first, which is not a put-down by any means. Then, the duo flip you on your head with 1979’s “Naughty Boy” (from the film Adawat), in which Akhtar scolds a lover for having naughty thoughts…which might be the same ones she’s having. Sohali Rana‘s lone contribution to the album is the instrumental oddity “Cobra Sway” from the 1970 film Khyber Mail.

Ashraf and Akhtar return for “Sheeshy Ki Botal” (from 1975’s Surat Aur Seerat), which features a nifty saxophone mixed with guitars that sound like they were plugged in after being buried in an ash pit for about three weeks. Abdul Hameed steps in for one track with Akhtar, the sexy and fun “Catch Me If You Can,” one of a few in which Akhtar throws in English verses and phrases now and then to grab your attention. The horn section on it is a lot of fun, and I’m surprised it hasn’t been resurrected into a modern film soundtrack instead of just languishing on the 1978 soundtrack to Dil Ke Daag. Akhtar’s playful vocals on “Too Ne Pyar Se Dekha” (from 1976’s Shabana) are delightful, as is Ashraf’s blend of classical instruments and hand percussion. It makes you want to dance around the room.

Another track from the two of them follows, “O My Love,” from 1977’s Shama-E-Mohabbat. It’s a grand, lush tune with some of Akhtar’s loveliest vocals on the compilation. She teams back up with Tafo on “Wey Titly Non Par” (from 1978’s Cheeta Chalbaz). Tafo hands the mic to Jehan and Cheeku on 1975’s “Dil Be-Qara Mangda Ae Pyar” (from Nawab Zada). The mix of tinny guitar, rapid tabla beats, and jaunty accordion is bizarre and fun.

Ahmed comes back for two more songs, the first being “Don’t Drink” (another from Blackmail) with Akhtar opening the song with her breathy request of “Oh…Don’t be silly.” You’re under her spell right away. The second is “Jawani Meri Bijli” (from 1976’s Warrant) with Jehan belting out powerful vocals over sizzling hand percussion beats and groovy synth bass.

Finally, from 1976’s Society Girl, we have Ali teaming up with Akhtar and Mehnaz for a song that you’ll put on your holiday playlists from now on – “Happy Chrismis.” You have to hear it to believe it. You’ll love it.

You’ll love this whole thing, really. It’s full of gems.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Various artists – DJ Notoya Presents Tokyo Pulse

Famous crate digger DJ Notoya has put together another excellent compilation of rare Japanese city pop and funk tracks from 1974 to 1988 – Tokyo Pulse. Some of these tracks were only released as a single or a demo, and never on a full album.

Starting with Naomi Chiaki‘s “Yoru E Isogu Hito,” the compilation drops you into the funky flotilla right away. It helps that Chiaki’s backing band is Godiego, a highly successful prog-rock band in 1978 Japan. Steve Fox‘s bass groove almost carries as much weight as Chiaki’s voice. Yumi Murata‘s “Ranhansha” is a great disco track that belongs in about a hundred movies from 1979. The horn, piano, and synth arrangements in it are all solid.

L-E-V-E-L were an all-female city pop trio who got help on their 1981 album eve and the track “Bagdad No Atari Nite” from none other than Masahide Sakum – creator of the legendary TR-808 drum machine. “Lake in the Forest” by GAM (Great American Music Band) is a weird blend of reggae and synthwave that somehow works despite all odds.

Nami Shimada‘s 1988 track, “Mitsumeteirunoni,” is bright city pop that makes you think that Japanese pop singers were light years ahead of U.S. ones in the 1980s. Tiffany wishes she had a single this cool. Bread & Butter cook up “Memory” from their 1974 album Barbecue. It’s fully of groovy hand percussion, porn music guitar, and even a wicked harmonica solo from Satsuya Iwasawa.

“After Image” is a stellar find, as it comes from Minoru Koyama‘s only album, 1980’s Hard to Be a Man. The bass walk on it by Mike Dunn is top-notch. “Island Cuckoo” by Chikara Ueda & The Power Station doesn’t team Ueda with the Robert Palmer-fronted 1980s band, but that doesn’t matter because it’s a solid jazz-funk track with sharp keyboard work from Ueda. The compilation ends with HIgurashi‘s “Anata Wa Doko Ni Irundesuka,” which could’ve been a Bond movie theme in another life.

This is a gold mine for city pop fans and might lead you down several rabbit holes to find other stuff like it. Be prepared.

Keep your mind open.

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Rewind Review: Bollywood Bloodbath compilation (2011)

I knew I was going to buy Bollywood Bloodbath as soon as I saw the cover and read “The B-Music of the Indian Horror Film Industry.” That cover image, by the way, is from the 1981 monster film Janni Dushman (which is readily available on YouTube if you’re interested).

The collection is packed with great Bollywood psych-disco-horror music ranging from 1949 to 1985. It starts with the spooky laughter of Rajesh Roshan‘s theme to 1981’s Sannata (The Silence), which adds synth wind sounds and ghostly vocals to the mix. Pulsing beats lead the charge on Hemant Bhosle‘s funky phantom track, “Sasani Khez Koi Baat” from another 1981 film – Sansani (The Sensation). Bappi Lahiri‘s “He Met Me in the Guest House” (from 1980’s Guest House) is a rare Bollywood track with English vocals (by Preeti Sagar) that’s a mighty fine lost disco track. Lahiri’s horn-filled (and monster roar-including) “Meri Jaan” is another cool gem from another 1981 movie about a weird snake monster called Dahshat (Shock) and has lovely vocals by Sulakshana Pandit, freaky synths, and almost spaghetti western guitar sounds.

Up next are the prolific team of Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma with “Aa Jane Jaan” from the giallo-like Intaqam from 1969. It combines bells, spy movie-like horn blasts and hand percussion beats, and mysterious sounds you can’t quite place…and it ends with what sounds like a fight or murder taking place on screen. More mysterious sounds abound in Ratandeep Hemraj‘s “Birha Ki Maari Koi” (from 1979’s Shaitan Mujrim (Satan’s Culprit)) as Jyoti, the lead actress, sings alongside howling dogs, creaking coffin lids, screeching cats, and a horn section that sounds like it might be drunk.

Lahiri returns with the simply titled “Dance Music” from 1982’s Maut Ka Saya – a film about a swamp monster. It’s a rather bouncy track (with sexy, nearly orgasmic laughing) that could be mistaken for a cumbia instrumental upon the first listen. Apparently, this swamp monster is a cool cat. So are the duo known as Sapan Jagmohan, who display their jazz-funk chops on 1978’s “Aji Kahan Gum Ho” from the occult film Darwaza (The Door).

The duo of Laxmikant-Pyarelal return on the theme for 1967’s psychological thriller Anita. The simple hand percussion instruments highlight the lead character’s paranoia. Usha Khanna (Bollywood’s first female music director) provides “Tere Jaisa Pyara Koi Nahin” from the 1981 movie Hotel (the plot of which was pretty much ripped off by Poltergeist a couple years later). Khanna uses a funky bass groove and strange synth notes to craft a slick track.

Roshan comes back to another track from Sannata, this one being “Marjaban Too Kuthe Part 1.” It’s a fun love song hidden in a movie about a series of brutal murders. Sapan Jagmohan’s “Sote Sote Adhi Rat,” from 1984’s Siskeyan is a standout on the record with its great guitar work, funk bass, disco beats, and lush vocals from Salma Agha.

After the short instrumental “Ab Kahan Jayenge Ham (Sad)” by Bhosle (another track from Sansani), we get the exciting theme to 1980’s Andhera (The Darkness) by Sapan Jagmohan. The movie blends a vampire film with a crime thriller, and the “crime” sound is prominent here. You’re expecting a chase scene or a fight to break out any moment. Lahiri’s title to Dahshat follows it with more bat-snake-who knows monster sounds combined with fast tabla beats and warped synths and guitars that sound broken.

Roshan delivers the (in terms of title) out-of-place “Superman, Superman” from Sannata. Two detectives are trying to find the serial killer in this film, not intrepid reporter Clark Kent, so why a song with Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, and Ursula Vaz singing about the Man of Steel is in this movie’s soundtrack is anyone’s guess. Nonetheless, it’s a blast and needs to be in the next Superman movie.

Another nice inclusion is “Dance Music” by Khemchand Prakash from what is considered to be the first Indian horror film – 1949’s Mahal (The Mansion). It’s not dance music for the nightclub crowd. It’s dance music for a strange ritual or for ghosts…or both. Another track from Maut Ka Sava by Lahiri is next, titled “Aafat,” and it combines surf guitar with city pop saxophone and Kraftwerk-like synths. I don’t how it works, but it does.

Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s “Chal De Rol” from Jaani Dushman is the most meditative track on the compilation with its excellent tabla work and swirling string instruments. My guess is that its supposed to call the crazy beast killing young brides in the film, but I could be far off base. Roshan’s “Marjaban Too Kuthe Part 2” is another lovely cut, and then we have “Dekho Dekho Dekho Magar Pyar Se” from 1985’s Cheekh (The Scream) by Nadeem Saifi and Shravan Rathod that could almost be video game music and has fun vocals by Alga Yagnik and wicked guitar riffs, tabla beats, and horn blasts.

The compilation appropriately ends with “Bindya Tarse Kajra Barse” by Rahul Dev Burman from the 1980 psychological thriller Phir Wohi Raat. Burman is sometimes known as the “Indian Ennio Morricone” for his massive output, experimentation, and talent.

Finding stuff like this is like finding a treasure chest of money in your backyard. It baffles you at first and then you’re elated by it.

Keep your mind open.

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Cornelius announces new album with a new single with Sean Ono Lennon – “Aeons.”

Today, Cornelius announces his new album ‘REFRACTIONS’, the forthcoming full-length from Japanese musician, producer and composer Keigo Oyamada. The album is to be released on August 19th on Eat Your Own Ears Recordings and marks a new collaborative chapter in his work. Along with the album announcement, he has also announced a Japanese tour as well as a show at London’s Barbican.

For more than three decades, Cornelius has occupied a singular space in contemporary music, transforming everyday sound into intricate rhythmic systems and immersive, cinematic soundscapes. ‘REFRACTIONS’ continues this trajectory while marking a subtle but important shift outward. Where previous Cornelius records often leaned toward introspection, this new work is shaped more explicitly through collaboration and exchange. A sentiment illustrated with the album’s lead single “Aeons”, featuring Sean Ono Lennon. The track sees Lennon contribute vocals and lyrics, bringing his distinctive melodic sensibility and lyrical voice into Cornelius’ ever-shifting sonic world.

The creative relationship between Kiego and Sean stretches back to the late 1990s, when Cornelius first encountered Sean’s work and was struck by its unusual harmonic language, melodic openness and experimental pop sensibility. Across the years, their exchanges have continued to evolve through shared projects and long-standing artistic trust, with Sean inviting Cornelius be part of Yoko Ono’s re-formed Plastic Ono Band, doing performances is LA, NY, and London.

“Aeons” represents one of their most direct collaborations to date. Speaking about the collaboration, Cornelius says: “As the world and my surroundings changed at an intense speed, I think all of that inevitably shaped this work. Rather than expressing these ideas directly, I approached them structurally – exploring continuity, transformation, and multiple coexisting states within a single, uninterrupted flow of time.”

That same sense of shifting perception runs through “Aeons,” a track built around fluid forms and subtle instability, where melody and texture appear, fracture and reassemble in constantly evolving configurations.

Sean Ono Lennon reflects on the collaboration: “I’m always honoured to work with Keigo, he’s one of my favourite humans on the Earth Planet!”

Listen to “Aeons (ft. Sean Ono Lennon)”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14-VSYqIRWw
‘‘Refractions’’ album links: https://linktr.ee/Cornelius_Japan

Emerging in the early 1990s after the dissolution of Tokyo pop group Flipper’s Guitar, Keigo Oyamada quickly developed a reputation as a meticulous sonic architect, building dense, playful and highly detailed musical worlds that dissolve genre boundaries entirely.

International breakthrough album ‘Fantasma’ (1997) established Cornelius on a global stage and is widely regarded as a landmark in experimental pop. Its collage-like approach to production drew comparisons to The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, Beck and The Beastie Boys, while helping define a new international appetite for adventurous Japanese music. Nearly three decades later, the album continues to resonate with new generations of listeners, with b-side “Typewrite Lesson” recently unexpectedly finding renewed life in a viral moment on TikTok and support from artists such as Rosalía.

“This time, instead of turning inward, I wanted to open the work through interaction with others,” says Cornelius of his new work. “I’ve come to feel more strongly that reality is not something completed within oneself, but something shaped through relationships and exchanges.”

That philosophy runs through the fabric of ‘REFRACTIONS’, which also features contributions from Arto Lindsay, Bid, and longtime collaborator Shintaro Sakamoto.

Across ‘REFRACTIONS’, Cornelius continues to explore shifting perception, memory and interconnected consciousness, not through narrative but through sound itself. Tracks behave less like fixed compositions and more like living systems: ideas branch, overlap and mutate, forming an evolving sonic landscape where multiple states coexist at once.

Despite its conceptual framework, the record remains deeply human in tone. There is a familiar warmth and playfulness embedded within its intricate construction, a sense of curiosity that has long defined Cornelius’ work. Drawing from psychedelic pop, ambient music, Brazilian tropicália, kosmische experimentation and minimalist composition, ‘Refractions’ ultimately resists categorisation, existing instead within its own internal logic.

For new listeners, ‘REFRACTIONS’ offers a gateway into one of contemporary music’s most quietly influential catalogues. For long-time followers, it reveals an artist still expanding and reshaping his language after more than three decades.

What emerges is not a fixed statement, but something constantly in motion: music that refracts, reshapes and reorients itself as it unfolds. ‘REFRACTIONS’ marks the beginning of a new chapter for Cornelius, an artist who remains entirely singular in the landscape of modern music.

Cornelius live dates:
10 Sep – Yokohama, JP – KT Zepp Yokohama
12 Sep – Tokyo, JP – CLUB QUATTRO
13 Sep – Fukuoka, JP – Zepp Fukuoka
19 Sep – Sapporo, JP – Zepp Sapporo
22 Sep – Nagoya, JP – Zepp Nagoya
23 Sep – Osaka, JP – Zepp Namba
26 Sep – Sendai, JP – Sendai PIT
2 Oct – Tokyo, JP – Zepp Haneda
3 Oct – Tokyo, JP – Zepp Haneda
6 Oct – Tokyo, JP – Zepp Shinjuku (TOKYO)
19 Jun, 2027 – London, UK – Barbican

Keep your mind open.

[It feels like aeons since you’ve thought about subscribing.]

[Thanks to Kate at Stereo Sanctity.]

Shuta Hasunuma projects an “AURA” with his latest single.

Tokyo-based artist and composer Shuta Hasunuma shares new single “A U R A” out today via Virgin Music Group. The track emerges from his ongoing project Shuta Hasunuma Philharmonic Orchestra, a contemporary “philharmonic pop orchestra” built around collective performance and the interplay of minimalist rhythm, vocal resonance, and layered sonic texture. “A U R A” draws out fragments of memory and sensation, a meditation on self-discovery set against a gently expansive worldview, moving from restless repetition into quiet, luminous stillness.

The single arrives just ahead of Hasunuma’s return to the U.S. for a rare run of solo performances, his first since 2019. He will play New York City at Public Records on June 13 and Los Angeles at Healing Force of the Universe on June 20, both preceded respectively by local DJ sets at The Lot Radio on June 12 and Dublab on June 18.

Hasunuma’s collaborative, interdisciplinary practice spans composition, installation, and genre-crossing work, with a wide range of collaborators including Jeff Parker, Ichiko Aoba, Arto Lindsay, Keiji Haino, Cornelius, Devendra Banhart, Foodman, and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto.

His work blends field recordings, electronic textures, and melodic composition into richly layered pieces, and in recent years has extended into video, sculpture, and installation, presented at domestic and international exhibitions and projects alike. His ensemble and solo music runs alongside soundtracks for stage productions and film.

Hasunuma has also developed a significant international art practice, with exhibitions at Pioneer Works in New York and Shiseido Gallery in Tokyo, where he received the 69th Minister of Education’s Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists. His credits include composing and conducting for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic opening ceremony.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Hasunuma’s debut on an independent U.S. label in 2006. To commemorate the milestone, he will perform “Shuta Hasunuma Double Philharmonic Orchestra” a 41-member large ensemble that brings his Philharmonic with a newly formed string orchestra, at Suntory Hall in Tokyo on August 6.

Stream “A U R A” now and catch Shuta Hasunuma live this summer.

June 18 – Dublab Radio (DJ)

June 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ Healing Force of The Universe (solo)

August 6 – Tokyo, Japan @ Suntory Hall (w/ Double Philharmonic Orchestra)

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Cody at Terrorbird Media.]

Leenalchi announce a new EP, “Here Comes That Crow,” ahead of tour dates.

Leenalchi (EEE-nal-chi) — the seven-piece Seoul-based band led by bassist Jang Young Gyu — announce their Luaka Bop debut, a new EP entitled Here Comes That Crow, out June 12th, and a North American tour. In conjunction with today’s announcements, they present the video for lead single and title track, “Here Comes That Crow.” The music of Leenalchi is taken from pansori, a traditional Korean style of musical storytelling often compared to opera. Rooted in shamanism and developed during the Joseon Dynasty (17th century), these songs tell epic tales of love, virtue, sorrow, and dragon kings. As if reverberating in our ears from a spiritual plane, the sounds emitting from Leenalchi’s singers are transcendent. Their line-up, as singular as their sound, features two bassists, drums, keys, no guitar, and four singers.

The psychedelic riffs found in Leenalchi’s songs are courtesy of Jang, the band’s enigmatic leader, who looms large in the country’s small but dedicated indie music scene. An NPR Tiny Desk concert of one of his former bands, SsingSsing, racked up 9.9 million views on YouTube and was praised by Tiny Desk founder Bob Boilen as “one of my most memorable Tiny Desk Concerts of all time.” He’s also a prestigious film composer, scoring soundtracks for some of Korea’s most celebrated movies like Train to Busan, The Wailing, and The Good, the Bad, the Weird.

Jang’s work with pansori began in 2007, after composing for choreographer Ahn Eun-me’s piece, Bari. With musicians from that project, Jang went on to form groups such as BIBING, SsingSsing, and eventually Leenalchi.

On “Here Comes That Crow,” as on most Leenalchi songs, Jang wordlessly directs his vision of cross-cultural funk with a collaborative spirit. First comes the rhythm section, developed with drummer Oh Hyung Suk, which sets the foundation for a song, then, singers Park Soo Bum, Ahn Yi Ho, Ra Seo Jin, and Choi Su In draw from the repertoire of pansori songs to discover the most distinctive and fitting sounds.

Adapted from a pansori tale about the Chinese warlord Cao Cao’s most decisive battle, “Here Comes That Crow” is an allegory about life’s precariousness. Ahn, together with his fellow Leenalchi members, wrote a poem to help listeners interpret the song’s meaning:

도용도용은 작은 배가 물위를 떠가는 모양을 그린 말이다. 조조도 조자룡도 쫓기는 자도 쫓는 자도 멈출수는 없다.
판자때기 아래가 저승인데 어느 누가 멈춰 설 수 있겠는가!

Doyung doyung goes the small boat seen floating down the river.
Whether the chased or the chaser, no one can stop—just beneath the boards lies the underworld!

Watch Video for “Here Comes That Crow”

As part of their training, pansori singers are required to spend time singing next to a waterfall, tasked to carefully observe and mimic the sonic nuances of water. The Korean language is full of onomatopoeias. The repetition in these words create their own rhythmic unit, each word functioning like a tiny song: Kwal-kwal (콸콸) is the sound of a running stream; gaegul-gaegul (개굴개굴) goes the frog; and mimetic words (a slippery floor is mikkeul-maekkeul (미끌매끌); sol-sol (솔솔) is a kind of gentle and subtle slowness).

The band counts many fellow artists as fans, including Brian Eno, Robyn, Japanese Breakfast, and Merrill Garbus (of Tune-Yards), who studied pansori while part of the group Roomful of Teeth.

This summer, Leenalchi will embark on their first-ever North American tour, making stops in Canada and the West coast, including Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco where they’ll support Japanese Breakfast, and a free show at The Getty in Los Angeles presented by KCRW. Tickets for all dates are on-sale now and available here.

Pre-Order Here Comes That Crow

Here Comes That Crow Tracklist:
1. Hihi Haha
2. Bird
3. Here Comes That Crow
4. Let’s Live for Today
5. Look At Me Look At Me
6. Ultimate Prescription

Leenalchi 2026 Tour Dates:
Fri. May 29 – Incheon, SK @ Asian Pop Festival @ Paradise City
Sun. June 21 – Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Jazz
Thu. June 25 – Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
Fri. June 26 – Montreal, QC @ Montreal Jazz Festival
Sat. June 27 – Vancouver, BC @ Vancouver Jazz Festival
Sun. June 28 – San Francisco, CA @ Stern Grove Festival (w/ Japanese Breakfast)
Wed. July 8 – Seattle, WA @ Vera Project (presented by KEXP)
Sat. July 11 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Getty (presented by KCRW)
Thu. Nov. 12 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Fri. Nov. 13 – Rotterdam, NL @ Grounds
Sun. Nov. 15 – Berlin, DE @ Gretchen
Tue. Nov. 17 – Hamburg, DE @ Knust
Wed. Nov. 18 – Copenhagen, DK @ VEGA Musikkens Hus
Fri. Nov. 20 – Aarhus, DK @ Turkis
Sat. Nov. 21 – Groningen, NL @ VERA
Tue. Nov. 24 – Dublin, IE @ Whelan’s
Thu. Nov. 26 – London, UK @ Jazz Cafe
Fri. Nov. 27 – Bristol, UK @ The Jam Jar
Sat. Nov. 28 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Sun. Nov. 29 – Manchester, UK @ Band on the Wall

~~ tickets available here ~~

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Sam at Pitch Perfect PR.]

Top 25 albums of 2021 – 2025: #’s 15 – 11

We’ve reached the top 15 of albums I reviewed (not released) over the last five years. Read on to see who made the list!

#15: Maquina – Prata (2024)

That cover image pretty much sums up the sound of this wild post-punk / noise rock / dance rock album. It’s a stunning record, and I’m happy to report they’re close to releasing a new one.

#14: Lair – Ngélar (2024)

Indonesian psych-rock? Yes, please. Funky, groovy, weird, and playful. This is a delight from start to finish.

#13: Sextile – yes, please. (2025)

Possibly the best dance-punk album of 2025. This record slams non-stop and gets you moving whether you want to or not.

#12: Ki Oni – A Leisurely Swim to Everlasting Life (2023)

A beautiful album about grief, our continued, changed existence after death, and a salute to Ki Oni’s late grandmother all wrapped up in lush ambient music.

#11: No Joy – Bugland (2025)

A brilliant return for No Joy and their shoegaze rock. This album sprinted into the top ten of 2025 for me the first time I heard it.

Speaking of the top ten, come back tomorrow to see who’s in the top ten of the last five years!

Keep your mind open.

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Austin Psych Fest 2026 – Day Two recap

I heard the thunder rumbling as I started the walk to the Far Out Lounge for the second day of Austin Psych Fest. I got about three blocks when the rain started. My phone’s weather app said it was just an isolated storm that would soon pass. I put on the raincoat I’d packed and continued walking…

…into a full-on thunderstorm complete with flash flooding and rain hitting so hard that at one point I thought it was hail. I later learned there were funnel clouds in the area at the time. I sloshed my way back to the Air BNB place I was sleeping in for the weekend, wrung out my socks, and waited out the storm for at least another hour before making the trip in the now sunny, jungle-humid afternoon.

APF had been delayed for those two hours due to a couple lightning strikes. As a result, the first four bands of the day – Commercial Breaks, Strange Lot, The Dead Canyon Family Reunion, and Grocery Bag – ended up with canceled sets. Annabelle Chairlegs barely managed to squeeze in their set when the festival finally opened.

So, first on the bill for me was Ty Segall. I hadn’t seen him since the (unknown to everyone at the time) final Psycho Music Festival in Las Vegas in 2021. As one photographer in front of me said before the set, “You never know what you’re going to get with Ty.” That’s true. You could get a lot of shredding, acoustic ballads, or even electro-infused dance rock. For APF 2026, Segall and his band brought the rock.

Ty Segall and crew bringing another kind of thunder.

It was a fun set from him, and a ripper of a way to start my festival day. He included at least two new tracks which sound great. The set had a heavy 1970s garage rock sound to it, and I’m surprised mosh pits didn’t erupt throughout it.

Segall’s set was followed by a double-bill of psychedelia. Up first were world travelers Al Qasar who had everyone dancing and grooving with their neat mix of Dutch, Brazilian, Arabic, Jamaican, and several other nations’ sounds. They even ended with a wild reworking of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus.”

Then, Melody’s Echo Chamber performed to a big crowd who fully embraced their mind-bending sound and light show. I saw a lot of, ahem, blissed-out people during their set having a great time.

Is it a jellyfish? A butterfly? A jellyfly? A butterfish? That edible kicking in?

Many of us zipped over to the smaller stage to catch New Candys’ set. The Italian trio (No longer a quartet?) roared for the whole performance, knocking out heavy riffs, shoegaze fuzz, and slapping beats. “Damn, those guys are really good,” said a guy behind me once they’d finished. He was right.

The day ended with our hosts, The Black Angels, performing their Passover album in its entirety as well as other tracks (including at least one new song). The crowd was packed for them. One group in front of me had some weird fire dance circle going with a couple lighters being waved near the ground. The Black Angels are currently touring to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Passover, so don’t miss them. It’s a good opportunity to hear a lot of deep cuts.

Don’t pass over a Black Angels show! See what I did there?

Up next: Latin psychobilly surf rock, psychedelic cumbia, and a lot of soul!

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Mativetsky Amiri Pagé – Metamorphose

Take a tabla player (Shawn Mativetsky), a santur player (Amir Amiri), and a harpist (Sarah Pagé), put them in a studio, have them encourage each other with experimentation and love of traditional Sufi, Persian, Indian, and classical music, and what do you get? Metamorphose – one of the loveliest albums of the year.

Opening track “Yavaran” is the only one with lyrics and those are from the Sufi devotional prayer of Yavaran Masem (“My friends, I am drunk.”). Amiri and Pagé’s vocals blend perfectly with the intoxicating sounds all three produce.

The title track hums and pulses like a happy cat stretching in a sunbeam upon waking, or someone who has just had an enlightening experience. Amiri’s santur is beautiful on the track.

“Quarter Tone Suite” is eleven-and-a-half minutes of trance-inducing bliss. Pagé’s harp leads the way, ushering us from our tent in the desert and into an oasis that you don’t remember seeing when you set up the tent the previous night. “Maktrismos” blends Amiri’s santur and Pagé’s harp so well together that you often can’t tell which is which.

Remember that desert oasis from earlier? You’re back in it (or did you ever leave?) on the final track, “Pathos,” which encourages you to let go of what’s troubling you, have a seat, a cup of tea, and just let things happen for almost thirteen minutes.

Again, this is one of the lushest, loveliest records you’ll hear this year. Let it change you.

Keep your mind open.

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[Thanks to Nick at Riparian Media.]