Your best new music 2016, what it is and why others might like it

PS. Is it a bit odd we seem incredibly free with detailed advice and recommendations about HiFi equipment but reluctant to post personal views about music?

Bruce,

exellent choice: big fan of Cave, Tindersticks,,,,you may add Bill Callahan ....

Bill Callahan=Smog too of course.

Personally I find it difficult to say more than they/he/she are like  so and so or are a tuneless  noise.

What does :- "Rich, atmospheric, melancholy, arty indie music"  mean?

or "there is much to enjoy for fans of intelligent, crafted music".  What is ignorant music? One assumes that some craft has been used. Sounds a bit snobby to me.

Basically my guide is that somewhere inside a little voice says "good" or "bad" and I don't have the words to purvey those nuances to others. 

So I guess my posts will remain un-enlightening. Unless my muse strikes.

T38.45 posted:

Bruce,

exellent choice: big fan of Cave, Tindersticks,,,,you may add Bill Callahan ....

 

add on....I bought now almost all records of Daniel Lanois (Vinyl)...

BigH47 posted:

Personally I find it difficult to say more than they/he/she are like  so and so or are a tuneless  noise.

 

What does :- "Rich, atmospheric, melancholy, arty indie music"  mean?

 

or "there is much to enjoy for fans of intelligent, crafted music".  What is ignorant music? One assumes that some craft has been used. Sounds a bit snobby to me.

Basically my guide is that somewhere inside a little voice says "good" or "bad" and I don't have the words to purvey those nuances to others. 

So I guess my posts will remain un-enlightening. Unless my muse strikes.

I think we can all identify music that is dumb, just chucked out or indeed poorly made. I didn't write the Guardian review. I find the language used in HiFi equipment reviews often meaningless myself.

The point is to maybe make somebody interested enough to listen or investigate further; and make their own minds up. Sorry not to pique your interest. My last suggestion for you was Wilco 'Star wars' and that also went badly !

Finding and sharing music is what this bit of the forum is about, surely.

Bruce

Hopefully I can start with a album cover...

I found this in Rough Trade a couple of weeks ago ... it's actually dated 2015 but hope you don't mind me including it in the thread.

Lubomyr Melnyk is one of the world’s fastest yet little-known pianists and, since his 2013 album Corollaries finally opened him up to a new audience, the fact that he can play up to 19.5 notes per second has been touted as his defining quality. The effect is of iridescent notes that could be a thousand wind chimes, caught between turmoil and serenity. Melnyk’s titles are often fitting: Parasol sounds like sunshades spinning in the daylight, and Ripples in a Water Scene like ripples in a water scene; the crushingly sombre The Pool of Memories might well induce a pool of tears. He adds acoustic guitar to some pieces, and flute on the final two tracks, which are dedicated to the Amazon. The finale sounds like a spa relaxation CD gone off on an unhinged, psychedelic tangent, as if he’s trying to conjure the elements. While that may not strictly be possible, Melnyk’s truly defining quality is surely the constant tingle that his music leaves in your heart.

Well the Guardian review (above) is full of flowery words I can't hope to replicate ... just say it makes me happy on a sad day, and brings me down to earth.

Eloise

I'd like to add, nonkeen 'The Gamble'. 

The latest work of Nils Fram, and a collaboration with two old school friends, re-working musical ideas they forged 30 years ago and would send to each other on cassette. I don't imagine there'll be a Guardian review of this album, and it might not be to everyone's taste.

The AMG overview: Nonkeen is a German experimental trio consisting of pianist/composer Nils Frahm and his childhood friends Frederic Gmeiner and Sebastian Singwald, who have been creating music together since they were in primary school. Their improvised recordings reflect on their youth and upbringing, and musically resemble a hazy mix of Krautrock, mellow electronic jazz, and ambient music. The trio first started recording together in the late '80s, when Berlin-based Singwald visited Frahm and Gmeiner (who grew up in Hamburg) with a tape recorder, and the three began corresponding by sending each other audio tapes filled with music and dialogue.

The plot thickens; duly, they started a three piece band, after playing a "gig" at a fairground, two cars fell from a carousel into their equipment, after which they decided to never record as a group again. Of course Frahm has gone on to record some excellent music, and become somewhat of a superstar in as much of the tenets of his genre will allow. 

I'm immediately reminded of early electronic/indie music I used to be so keen on in the early 90's, Seefeel's Quique in particular; multiple listens already, and although early in the year, this is already a stand out album for me.

BTW Bruce, love the Tindersticks, their Live in London 2010 album was on heavy rotation for sometime in our house. 

Great thread.

Have you heard the Nils Frahm 'Piano Day' album 'Solo'?

Played on the 'worlds tallest piano' which has to be seen to be understood really. It has a very unusual quality, and is an ambient/minimalist piece. There is a pitchfork review online

It is available free as a high quality download from www.pianoday.org where you'll find more details of the truly bizarre, 800kg, 5.5metre tall instrument.

Bruce

I am a fan of Sokolov - so perhaps a bit biased. But I think his last album is again a very special one. I have added a review from the Guardian - a balanced one...

Ayear ago, Deutsche Grammophon inaugurated its exclusive contract withGrigory Sokolov by releasing a recital of Mozart and Chopin he gave at theSalzburg festival in 2008. This follow-up includes part of another Salzburg recital: Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata, and the Rameau and Brahms encores following it come from the 2013 festival, while the Schubert was recorded in Warsaw three months earlier. It’s a less consistent collection than the earlier one, but still with enough moments of pianistic magic to make it thoroughly memorable. The Hammerklavier is certainly different from the norm – the outer movements are classically restrained, almost relaxed, with miraculously transparent textures, and the emotional centre of gravity is rooted in a radiant account of the slow movement, though the sense of wholeness and scale of the sonata are unmistakably retained. Some of the Schubert is more problematic, though. Sokolov emphasises the emotional and dynamic extremes of the D899 Impromptus with a sometimes exaggerated rubato that can be uncomfortable, and he turns the three posthumous pieces of D946 into major statements too, so that the first of them in E flat minor lasts longer than his opening movement of the Hammerklavier. Perhaps best of all is the final encore, the second intermezzo from Brahms’ Op 117, in which every tiny nuance, every fleck of colour, seems perfectly placed.

This is my top jazz album of the moment - I am almost sure it will end up in my top ten of the year. Lyrical balanced jazz...

Bruce Woodhouse posted:

Have you heard the Nils Frahm 'Piano Day' album 'Solo'?

Played on the 'worlds tallest piano' which has to be seen to be understood really. It has a very unusual quality, and is an ambient/minimalist piece. There is a pitchfork review online

It is available free as a high quality download from www.pianoday.org where you'll find more details of the truly bizarre, 800kg, 5.5metre tall instrument.

Bruce

No, I haven't. But I will check it out when home this evening. Thanks for the heads up. 

A perfect example of threads like these at their very best. Much obliged.

Rich.

My favourite 2016 album so far is Tord Gustavsen's What Was Said. John Fordham, writing in The Guardian, said of it:

"Tord Gustavsen, the lyrical and scholarly Oslo-born pianist, got big with a blend of pensive improv and Norwegian hymns, but lately he has moved closer to jazz. This album, however, finds him returning to simple songs with religious roots, and to collaboration with a remarkable singer (he has previously worked with compatriots Solveig Slettahjell and Silje Nergaard) in the tender-toned German-Afghan Simin Tander. Tander sings Norwegian traditionals and hymns in Pashto, and Beat icon Kenneth Rexroth’s stark renewal poem I Refuse and Persian sufi mystic Rumi’s writings in English, while Gustavsen gradually adds melodic embroidery, glimpsed grooves and electronics, with Jarle Vespestad’s fragile percussion the only other instrumental sound. The set occasionally suggests an early Gustavsen band spliced with Susannah and the Magical Orchestra, and the mixture of the instrumentalists’ distilled reflections with Tander’s palette of hummed tones, sighing note-bends and pristine inflections represents a beguiling new Gustavsen collaboration".

It really is a super album, just like all of his. As is typical with ECM, it has sound quality to die for.

I was given the Lubomyr Melnyk album for my birthday today, and will be giving it a spin later. What a coincidence that it's been mentioned here. And yes, the Nils Frahm Solo album is well worth getting hold of. 

Whilst the Mark Knopfler love-in continues over on "What are you listening to..." I'd like to add another rather special album to this thread. 'Jesu/Sun Kil Moon' Jesu/Sun Kil Moon. 

Anybody already acquainted with Mark Kozelek's work will know what to expect. I've never been a fan of Godflesh, and on paper this isn't a collaboration that should work, but it does; In much the same way as King Creosote & Jon Hopkins' Diamond Mine (an album I return to frequently) would seem ludicrous given their respective fields, but something clicks, and it's testament to each's artistry that they produce a work where truly the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts. 

I haven't actively sought out any reviews, instead relying on the old copy/paste trick from AMG: "...Broadrick's backing tracks range from heavy, lumbering shoegaze guitars to atmospheric synthesizers and trip-hop drum loops, and several guests contribute backing vocals, including Will Oldham, Slowdive's Rachel Goswell, and Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock. But even though Jesu appears on the marquee first, the album is undoubtedly dominated by Kozelek's lyrics and personality. He spits out his autobiographical lyrics more furiously than ever, and at 80 minutes, the album is easily his wordiest release yet. The very fact that one of the songs is titled "Last Night I Rocked the Room Like Elvis and Had Them Laughing Like Richard Pryor" indicates how his live performances have morphed into some sort of weird musical performance art spectacle. He vents his frustration with hipsters who only talk to him to ask about rare vinyl pressings of his albums while all he can think about is problems with relationships and friendships, returning to the phrase "what does rekindle mean?..."

The contribution's alone are worth the price of the album. Bonnie "Prince" Billie, Slowdive (Souvlaki is in my top 20), AND Isaac Brock!

Make no mistake, this is Mark Kozelek's album, and after the first three tracks, Justin Broadrick's contribution segue's into another Kozelek masterpiece imbued with his unmistakable aural watermark. 

Enjoy. (or not). 

Thanks Richard

I could not get on with Kozelek's 'Benji' and eventually gave up although April and Admiral Fell promises get lots of listens. I will search some samples of this collaboration.

Mentioning the glorious Diamond Mine; are you aware Quboz have a high res version? It is just that bit richer and cleaner if you fancy it. Lovely, lovely music.

Bruce

This may have been released at the end of 2015, but I was only able to get it this year

From Gramophone (but is a must for fans of piano music - not just "classical" piano)

Huwge posted:

This may have been released at the end of 2015, but I was only able to get it this year

From Gramophone (but is a must for fans of piano music - not just "classical" piano)

"The piano works of Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882-1943) span his entire creative life, from early ragtime influences to the complexity and substance of his final works for the instrument. Given his importance as one of the first composers of African descent to achieve a sophisticated and serious fusion of Negro folk music and spirituals with European art-music traditions, not to mention his skills as a concert pianist, it’s surprising that no one until Clipper Erickson has essayed Dett’s complete piano output on disc.....

 

This historically and musically important release not only fills a crucial catalogue gap but sets reference standards. No serious aficionado of the history of American piano music can afford to miss it."

 

Bought this one interesting..

Bruce Woodhouse posted:

Thanks Richard

I could not get on with Kozelek's 'Benji' and eventually gave up although April and Admiral Fell promises get lots of listens. I will search some samples of this collaboration.

Mentioning the glorious Diamond Mine; are you aware Quboz have a high res version? It is just that bit richer and cleaner if you fancy it. Lovely, lovely music.

Bruce

Jesu/Sun Kil Moon will certainly not be to everyone's taste. I really liked Benji, and was glad to see it appear on a few "best of 2015" lists, we play it often, I find his honesty touching. Admiral Fell Promises is excellent, just a nylon string guitar for company, very accomplished. 

I'm vaguely aware of Quboz, but have Diamond Mine Jubilee Edition on CD and vinyl, so reluctant to subscribe to another streaming service, particularly since their future appears to be hanging in the balance. Honest Words from the extended Jubilee Edition is another masterpiece in my opinion, the superlatives for the album could go on and on.

Have you heard much of other artists from the "fence collective"? The Pictish Trail is worth checking out if you're not familiar.

Rich.

Richard Bennett posted:

Have you heard much of other artists from the "fence collective"? The Pictish Trail is worth checking out if you're not familiar.

Rich.

Been listening to Pictish Trail "Secret Soundz Volume 1" on Spotify.  Thanks for the mention above.  Very enjoyable.  Parts remind me of The Bench Connection "Around The House In 80 Days", a one-off album by Matt Deighton and Chris Sheehan partnering as The Bench Connection, an album also recommended here many years ago.  regards, Jeff A

Nice idea for a thread beyond just the endless succession of album covers from the internet with no annotation, which I find difficult to believe anyone at all finds useful...

Here's a highlight from so far this year for me:


Where Have You Been All My Life?

It seems difficult to me to fathom the success of Bon Iver (who I like) and Mumford and Sons (who I don't, much) when one band (one person really - Conor O'Brien - writes everything and performs most of it) has produced a trio of brilliant studio albums (the last of which, Darling Arithmetic, he performed and produced entirely on his own). 

But, he went on tour with his old mates and decided to re-record a selection of songs, old and new, as a group, live and in one take, but in a studio, and this album of the results was released in January.

O'Brien has a a lovely voice and his languid, liquid singing is the star here, as well as a selection of acoustic instruments (especially the double bass) the maturing lyrics.

A good place to start, and will possibly have you searching out the other records.

Richard Bennett posted:

Bruce Woodhouse posted:

Have you heard the Nils Frahm 'Piano Day' album 'Solo'?

Played on the 'worlds tallest piano' which has to be seen to be understood really. It has a very unusual quality, and is an ambient/minimalist piece. There is a pitchfork review online

It is available free as a high quality download from www.pianoday.org where you'll find more details of the truly bizarre, 800kg, 5.5metre tall instrument.

Bruce

No, I haven't. But I will check it out when home this evening. Thanks for the heads up. 

A perfect example of threads like these at their very best. Much obliged.

Rich.

Thanks from me, too.  Had never heard of him before, but downloaded Solo and Screws (also free).

Very interesting sound from that huge piano.  I do think it'd be better without the percussive sound (cymbal?  recording artefact? part of the odd piano? Can't tell without turning it up louder than current situation permits) I can hear on it, but I'm enjoying it so far.  Thanks again for the tip.

It is interesting isn't it? I assumed the more percussive sound was the nature of the instrument itself.

Reminded me a bit of Arvo Part 'Alina' as a piece of work-the spaces between individual notes almost as important as the notes themselves. Almost mesmeric at times. For something not a million miles away try Bing + Ruth 'Tomorrow Was The Golden Age'. More electronic minimalism than purely classical.

Bruce

I keep returning to the Dino Saluzzi Groups' El Valle De La Infancia, a musical journey through the artist's beloved Argentina. Many captivating moments in this record. The track "Pueblo Pt.1 - Labrador" starts with a study for guitar of untold beauty and tenderness. "The Tristecita" opens with a saxophone conveying sadness tinged with optimism. "A Mi Padre y Hijo A Mi" brings tension, questioning, resolution and, finally, joy. A fascinating, moving and rewarding journey.

From the ECM website :

"Argentinean bandoneonist-composer-improviser Dino Saluzzi returns to his roots with El Valle de la Infancia. Recorded in Buenos Aires, it’s the first of his discs to feature his “family band” since 2005’s Juan Condori. Here Dino is heard with his brother Felix on tenor sax and clarinet, his son José María on guitars and nephew Matías on basses. Friends joining the party are 7-string guitarist Nicolás “Colacho” Brizuela, known internationally for his long association with singer Mercedes Sosa, and drummer Quintino Cinalli, brought in by Dino to gently expand the sense of freedom that informs his music. “This work is alive with different genres”, writes Leopoldo Castilla in the liner notes. “From dances such as zamba to carnavalito to chacarera... The music captures the natural world of its origins; North Argentina, ablaze with mourning, despairing with joy.”

Further reading and partial listening here :

http://player.ecmrecords.com/d...infancia/cms/project

In principal it would be wrong to put something after one run in this post. But the latest one of Avishai Cohen is that good, that I am not hesitating to put it there. I am not making the mistake to compare it with Miles Davis as it's different. Even if you don't normally love trumpet based jazz you might like this one, as it's very contemplative and nice. In a way it reminds me also a bit of the work of Mathias Eick...

...and now for something completely different. Some folky psych-rock

Heron Oblivion.

Eponymous album from a group of musicians including Meg Baird from Espers (who I had heard of) and a bunch of others I had not. Daft name for a group too.

What you get is a folky, almost medieval sounding female voice that is suddenly subsumed by crunching howling rock, with extended wigouts that may have you jumping across the room air guitar in hand. Or not. Shades of Low meets Fairport Convention meets Neil Young

Benign it is not, and probably one of those records that even if you like you may only want to listen to occasionally, and generally with the neighbours out. Fun though, and very well put together.

Reviews below, and you can listen in full on Bandcamp before making the plunge.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03...-opposites.html?_r=0

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/a...1622-heron-oblivion/

https://heronoblivion.bandcamp...album/heron-oblivion

Bruce