Quirke
QUIRKE002

Often spotted about town, it’s no secret that JCow is diligently, quietly (and not so quietly) crafting big tunes. This release is the sound of that inevitable 2020’s shut-in inspiration. Written during those periods, they are finally seeing the light of day.With focused time in the studio, some serious imagined musical landscapes are the result. Tracks designed for dance-floor breakouts and closed-eye catharsis. We’ve heard these tracks come a long way from inception. Cerebral and kinetic, each track has a unique character, functional yet bound to stand out in any set.Tracks like ‘a complex range of human emojis’ pay-no-mind in referencing the past with a sly smirk and an updated twist, while the title track ‘in my elem3nt7’ conjures up a certain mystical environment - The tracks bold narrative shift midway is a notable payoff. Swerving boldly into new territory, the percussive motifs fade and return from new angles, sounds cutting and slicing through the speaker like angelic machine gun fire. The drum programming is truly used like a weapon on this one, with those majestic horn samples like calls from the ether.Exaels ‘swampbuggy’ reworking of title track on the B2 provides the perfect alternate universe, working its way from a sparse ambience into an inspired IDM-leaning breakbeat epilogue.

ORANGE MILK RECORDS: ... Annulus is Ryu Yoshizawa’s third release on Orange Milk as Koeosaeme. His 2019 LP Obanikeshi was a barrage of high resolution abstract compositions, and Annulus picks up from there, refining the style and adding an extra layer of inspiration from the Southeast Asian folk music of Burma, Thailand, China, etc. He inserts music concrete with silky repetition, making you feel as if you are walking through parts of Asia, contemplating experimental music. Annulus is peaceful, melodic, atonal, and flows together as one big piece. Part 1 of the record is concrete music, and Part 2 is described as abstract music. It is distinctly Japanese despite other western influences like Steve Reich and Jon Hassell; music meant for a documentary that will be made in the distant future. Annulus features collaborations with Hidekazu Sakamoto, Seth Graham, and LXV.Koeosaeme is Ryu Yoshizawa. From 2004, he has been a member of the sound artists group “OFFICE INTENZIO” under Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Yukihiro Takahashi. In addition, he is in charge of live event backup support and recordings for Ryuichi Sakamoto, Yukihiro Takahashi, Kyoka and many others. He also produces music commercially for Lotte and Square Enix.

EM Records: ...Here's a tasty treat for all fans of DIY pop music: a multinational confection, the perfect blend of sweet and smart. Based around the core members Matt Jones, originally from Western Massachusetts, and Busan native Jee Eun Lim, who met in Korea in 2011, The Jee Jee Band fuses simple pop structures, airy instrumentation and breathy vocals with clever lyrics, in both Korean and English, often of a satirical or political nature. Currently based in Northern California, the band quietly celebrates Korean culture while also evidencing a cosmopolitan classic pop sensibility, blending K-Pop and other Asian pop elements with a classic and yet contemporary US/UK pop feel. The songs on "Glass Fish", all very fresh-sounding, feature performers from South Korea, America, and, on one song, the Khmer-language vocals of Cambodian filmmaker Vanntey Morn. Jones' Western Massachusetts pop roots allowed him to enlist the skills of former members of Sunburned, Sebadoh and others to help record this charming and refreshing release, sure to appeal to fans of the K Label, DIY sounds, and pure pop.