Sneaker
The Flow

Efficient Space: ...Efficient Space continues to expose Australia’s esoteric musical history with Oz Waves - a collection of 80s DIY recordings, compiled by odd wave anthropologist Steele Bonus. Definitive proof that inhabitants of the Down Underground were links in a global network of creative kooks, Oz Waves connects those who utilised mobile recording rigs and small press releases to create and disseminate misfit synth-punk, tape loop experiments and inner city pop. Through overseas mail order exchanges, anonymous groups like Zerox Dreamflesh could find place on Belgian compilations, while Chris and Cosey lullabied their son to sleep with Irena Xero and her interdisciplinary art collective Zip.

Bonus selects 10 survivors from this fertile period (1982-1989), most of which were only issued on cassette in tiny editions of 5 to 100 copies. M Squared affiliates Prod join the extraterrestrial Software Seduction, minimal wave neglect from He Dark Age and the irreverent cut ups of The Horse He's Sick and MK Ultra & the Assassins of Light. The remaining tracks have been sourced from musicians’ private archives and are being officially released on Oz Waves for the first time - Andy Rantzen’s industrial dub Itch-E & Scratch-E precursor, the buoyant vocal-drone of Ironing Music and Moral Fibro, Sydney’s short lived answer to Weekend and Marine Girls. With detailed track by track notes, lines are drawn to Severed Heads, Scattered Order and other antipodean post-punk royalty.

As a DJ, Steele Bonus has gained notoriety via the exquisite selections that form his ongoing mix series Odd Waves. Sydney-born, Amsterdam-based, his graphic design has not only been responsible for sleeves on Efficient Space, but also trusted Amsterdam connoisseurs Music From Memory and Young Marco’s Safe Trip.

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.

Sky Diver Records: ...Half baked bedroom psych stacked full of jangly guitar, effects, overdubs and electronics from 1977 by unknown Toronto native Martin Wall.

Lavalava: Four cuts on an upfront slab of wax for turntable enjoyment ahead of a big compilation entitled ‘LV VA’, which is to be released in due time, showcasing music from over 30 artists, from almost as many locations.This sampler 12” sneak-previews four of the more energetic, off-kilter (brain) dance tracks ahead of the full release…For example, the bitcrushed grime of ’Jackpot’, a highly infectious piece of freak music that perfectly defies proper categorisation, produced by the unlikely, but even-better-for-it, pairing of Wilted Woman and Christoph De Babalon, together as SUDS.Then there’s that big bass mutation of ‘Alva’ a high-pressure soundsystem time-bomb that crosses between dancehall, grime and tekno, produced by Zoe McPherson, proving once again that rhythm can be exploratory, full of intrigue, and hard-hitting at the same time.There’s also a big, bashy linkup from UK Funky veteran Roska as Bakongo, alongside one of the ’Hard Drum’ pioneers, and now Bristol-resident NKC who has been pushing that sound to deadly effect. Together, they created ‘Teardown’, a pure, undiluted drum tool, reduced strictly to to the most hard-hitting, and dance-able rhythmic elements.Last, but not least, one of Bristol’s finest crafters of dancefloor sonics, Lurka has delivered a prime example of his highly intricate, low-slung production style with ‘Patterning’ a lean cross of chuggin’, fizzin’ hi-tek dancehall, filled with heaps of funk and a deadly amount of bassweight.