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EM Records: ...The second of two EM Records 12-inch vinyl-only "tribute releases" in support of the Kuzoku film "Bangkok Nites", this time by rap group stillichimiya, local heroes in their Yamanashi homeland. Based on samples from Dao Bandon's biggest hit, the classic luk thung Isan tune "Man on a Water Buffalo" [EM1131CD/LP], the tracks here, including a remix by Compuma, are a grittier, real-world counterpart to the dreamy first release in the series.

Editions Mego: ...Reflecting Ambarchi’s profound love of Brazilian music – an aspect of his omnivorous musical appetite not immediately apparent in his own work until now – Simian Angel features the remarkable percussive talents of the legendary Cyro Baptista, a key part of the Downtown scene who has collaborated with everyone from John Zorn and Derek Bailey to Robert Palmer and Herbie Hancock. Like the music of Nana Vasconcelos and Airto Moreira, Simian Angel places Baptista’s dexterous and rhythmically nuanced handling of traditional Brazilian percussion instruments into an unexpected musical context. On the first side, ‘Palm Sugar Candy’, Baptista’s spare and halting rhythms wind their way through a landscape of gliding electronic tones, gently rising up and momentarily subsiding until the piece’s final minutes leave Ambarchi’s guitar unaccompanied. While the rich, swirling harmonics of Ambarchi’s guitar performance are familiar to listeners from his previous recordings, the subtly wavering, synthetic guitar tone we hear is quite new, coming across at times like an abstracted, splayed-out take on the 80s guitar-synth work of Pat Metheny or Bill Frisell. Equally new is the harmonic complexity of Ambarchi’s playing, which leaves behind the minimalist simplicity of much of his previous work for a constantly-shifting play between lush consonance and uneasy dissonance.

A five part tome to the ongoing trials and tribulations of navigating relationship and parenthood, “double checks on the corner” is a song cycle that encapsulates so much of what is seen as a hyper-domestic experience but digs deep into the nuances that are left behind doors or in text threads.Bringing together the emotive songcraft that made “quiver” a highpoint in Ahmad’s back catalogue with the production aesthetic that makes her last two albums stand alone in the world, the melancholic lyrical observations on “double checks against the corner” are placed front and centre within the warm arrangements, constructed in the home with sounds from her most trusted collaborators.

PENG Sound Records: ...The answer to Gorgon Sound's four track EP (PengSound003), this release - Gorgon Sound VS. Dubkasm - The Versions (PengSound004) contains a counteraction version to each original title, dubbed straight off the Dubkasm mixing desk.Originally released on 2 x 12" in 2013, and available again, reissued in a limited screenprinted & hand-stamped edition vinyl edition, via our store << RWDFWD.COM >>