UNBROKEN CIRCLE

 RIPPED & DUBBED mixtape #7

Brand new two-hour mix this week, gathering together beautiful new expressions in folk singer-songwriting, instrumental guitar, widescreen kosmische, and jazz-adjacent experiments. I picked a lot of these up during the most recent Bandcamp Friday, and I'll drop links to where they can be had in full below. 

It was wonderful to hear of a new Rosali album due soon - her last LP, Trouble Anyway, has been a favorite of the past few years, and the stunning first single from the forthcoming No Medium has been living rent-free in my brain for two weeks. If its grace and melodic swagger signals what's to come on the full-length, there's no doubt it will make it to the top of 2021's stack. 

This mix closes on a trio of sidelong instrumental kosmische odysseys, and I wanted to draw attention in particular to the final track. This absolute high-water mark in contemporary duo improv from Zelienople’s Matt Christensen and Neatly Knotted / Nevada Greene’s Ben Chlapek has gone so outrageously under-the-radar in the four years since its release that the label is currently selling the remaining cassette copies for a single dollar. I myself fell victim to ignorance on this should-be grail, until a kind soul (remind me / forgive me - I've forgotten who) just up and mailed me a copy this summer with a very kind note to the effect of "I thought you'd like this".. Well, they were right! How about that for community? Get one for a buck, please - it's the deal of the century.

UNBROKEN CIRCLE

1. Keven Louis Lareau - "Not All Songs Have Been Sung" single [self-released]
2. Rosali - "Mouth" from No Medium [S P I N S T E R]
3. Meg Baird and Mary Lattimore - "Fair Annie" from Ghost Forests [Three Lobed]
4. James Jackson Toth - "Stumpranchers" from The Hired Hands: A Tribute to Bruce Langhorne [Scissor Tail]
5. Gerycz / Powers / Rolin - "Untitled" (lathe-cut bonus track from Beacon vinyl reissue) [Centripetal Force / Cardinal Fuzz]
6. Landon Caldwell - "Lathe of Heaven" from Deep Strand [Trouble In Mind]
7. Wau Wau Collectif - "Si Tu Savais Juste" from Yaral Sa Doom [Sahel Sounds]
8. Yasmin Williams - "Guitka" from Unwind [self-released]
9. Ezra Feinberg - "A Spider Painted Over" from Recumbent Speech [Related States]
10. Rob Frye - "XC175020" from Exoplanet [Astral Spirits]
11. Bil Vermette - "Kuiper Belt" from Hunting For Planet 9 [Trouble In Mind]
12. Ashan - "Unbroken Circle" from Sacred Spring [Inner Islands]
13. GROWING - "Primitive Associations / Great Mass Above" from The Soul of the Rainbow and the Harmony of Light [Laffs & Danger]
14. levinson / mahlmeister - "Ascend" from Shores [Trouble In Mind]
15. Prana Crafter - "3rd Ear Incantations" from 3rd Ear Incantations [Null Zone]
16. Christensen & Chlapek - "B" from Unknown Pressures [Dismal Niche]

CLOUD GATE

RIPPED & DUBBED mixtape #6

I posted mix #6 - CLOUD GATE - to Mixcloud a week-and-a-half ago, rushing to have it up in time for Bandcamp Friday, and neglected to update here with liner notes and links. Apologies! I'm still getting settled and reacquainted with my workflow after a move at the beginning of this month, the packing and unpacking process of which has brought many new sources of future R & D mixes (and podcast episodes?) to the surface, which I'm really excited to share soon.

For now, though, here's a thorough rundown of everything you heard on mixtape #6. And keep an eye on the Mixcloud feed this week, as mix #7 will be going up sometime tomorrow (Tuesday)!

CLOUD GATE takes its name from a fantastic new collection of trio recordings led by Elkhorn six-stringer Drew Gardner, on the always reliable Eiderdown Sounds label. This mix is made up entirely of instrumental music from the psychedelic and experimental edge of the underground, all released over the past few years, and flows through longform psych-rock improv, fingerstyle guitar and ambient passages, and closes on a massive sidelong modular trance-out from Looks Realistic (on the great Baked Tapes label). Follow the links to hear more and/or get a copy of these gems, and I'll be back tomorrow with the seventh Ripped & Dubbed mixtape!

CLOUD GATE

1. Riley Walker and Kikagaku Moyo - "Shrinks the Day" from Deep Fried Grandeur [Husky Pants]
2. Ashtray Navigations - "What Next?" from Greatest Imaginary Hits [VHF]
3. Osmium House - "Sensenmann II (Crossing Over) from Entrance Level [self-released]
4. Drew Gardner - "Cloud Gate" from Drew Gardner [Eiderdown Sounds]
5. Yasmin Williams - "Jarabi" from Urban Driftwood [S P I N S T E R]
6. Powers / Rolin Duo - "Iridescent" from The Nightland [Trouble In Mind]
7. Eli Winter - "Untitled" from Live at Rhizome 09-17-2019 [self-released]
8. amelia courthouse - "becker" from ruby glass [S P I N S T E R]
9. John Thayer & Craig Schenker - "Stone" from Mountain Rumors [Aural Canyon]
10. Willamette - "Lament Young" from Diminished Composition [Scissor Tail]
11. Aaron Dooley - "Cold Orbit" (single) [self-released]
12. N Chambers - "Hypoesthesia" from Spectrum Garden [Soft Profile]
13. Pulse Emitter - "Greek Islands" from Xenharmonic Passages [Expansive]
14. Looks Realistic - "Side B" from Field Footage [Baked Tapes]