Welcome to our newest edition of Between The Cracks—your go-to guide for must-listen music this weekend! We’ve gathered ten albums that deserve your attention. This week, we’re serving up a delicious variety of styles, from ambient electronics with a dash of modern classical to a sprinkling of jazz and more. It’s quite an impressive array if I do say so myself! So press play; hopefully, you may just stumble upon a new favourite to join your steadily expanding collection. Happy listening, music-loving folks!
Albums
Josh Johnson – Unusual Object
‘Unusual Object’ is Josh Johnson’s latest solo record comparable to a universe of pure sonic supernovae. Saxophone with subtle samples and grooves impart an ambient jazz feel on this record’s tracks and occasionally crosses into realms akin to classic Warp Records and Jon Hassell’s dreamworld tonalities. ‘Unusual Object’ is personal and modern. Johnson’s kaleidoscopic view of this world is being realized through his sense of individuality in making music. These qualities serve to bring the listener closer to him and witness him as an artist and a human. The track Quince, which uses drum samples by Aaron Steele, might become your favourite jazz track in 2024—who knows?
Shabason, Krgovich, Sage – Shabason, Krgovich, Sage
Meditation fuses with ambient electronics and dreamy pop, occasionally taking on a jazzy air. Ensconced in Matthew Sage’s converted barn studio nestled at the base of the Rockies, the talent-soaked trio – including Joseph Shabason and Nicholas Krgovich – manifest their exceptional talent of uncovering beauty within everyday moments. Press play and you can almost feel the Rocky Mountains’ wide-open spaces and the trio’s harmonious synergy bouncing off the studio’s rustic wooden beams. This is an album best enjoyed in life’s quieter moments – one that calls for your undivided attention and deep absorption.
La Yegros – Haz
Haz’ is the fourth album by one of the most magnificent artists on the South American continent, La Yegros. The queen of “Nu Cumbia” with her trusted accomplices, who have been with her for ten years, has embarked on a journey with a renewed sense of her musicality rooted in South America. Thematically, each track touches on intimate, melancholy and even painful subjects on the canvas of contemporary and global sounds. The album features La Yegros’s loyal team, producer Gaby Kerpel, aka King Coya and composer Daniel MartÃn, and acclaimed guest artists Eblis Alvarez and K.O.G. La Yegros, with her brilliant team has stitched together new rhythms with her charismatic voice, a mixture of acoustic instruments, and samples.
Benjamin Samuels – Dissensation
Sydney-based saxophonist & composer Benjamin Samuels’ debut album ‘Dissensation’ is a testimony of his unique and personal vision of the music itself. The origin of such vision can be traced back to his tours around the world and his familiarity with the world of jazz, dub, funk, hip-hop and afrobeat. In his own words, this album is a strong reflection of his personal and musical journey up to this very moment of his life. Each track is the culmination of his personal and professional experiences, which, when juxtaposed with his jazz and classical background, explain his musical adaptability as a performer and an improviser. From meditative and serene ‘Dissensation’ to chaotic ‘Crazy DNA’ and the hypnotic jazz dub of ‘Gb’s Groove’, Benjamin Samuels showcases his praiseworthy versatility in making music.
Laryssa Kim – Contezza
‘Contezza’ is the debut album from Italo-Congolese singer, composer, dancer and performance artist Laryssa Kim. This album was arranged and composed by Laryssa herself and features multilingual lyrics. This album sounds like a ritualistic, spiritual and magical journey through an introspective and relentless drive to rediscover oneself. The track “L’Attente – Auspicio,” incorporates wistfully soft, vaporous French lyrics, knitting a narrative of an obscure sense of alienation under the guises of familiarity. “Contezza,” an Italian word meaning “consciousness,” and this album, staying true to the name, does delve into shadows clinging to the brain and cascading thoughts build layers upon layers of velvety mystery.
Maya Shenfeld – Under The Sun
Maya Shenfeld’s new album was born from creativity and sparked in a Berlin studio and a marble quarry in Portugal. On Under The Sun, the classically trained musician and sound artist delves deep into our interactions with our surroundings and how we perceive our world. Modular synths and electronics weave hypnotically alongside the haunting reverberations of an organ, a spiritual choir, and field recordings gathered from unpredictable sound sources. The brilliance of this album lies in Shenfled’s expert use of repetition, empty spaces, and subtle details. It is as much a journey through sound as an invitation to reflect upon our relationship with the world around us. This is, without a doubt, an album not to be missed.
Jasmine Wood – Piano Reverb
‘Piano Reverb’ is the debut album from Dublin-based composer and producer Jasmine Wood. As a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter, Woods wields an eclectic style that uses elements from indie rock, electronic, and modern classical music. ‘Piano Reverb’ was recorded in a massive hall of an empty church in Ireland. She fell in love with the reverberating sounds in the empty church hall and spent a year composing for this album on her 100-year-old Blüthner grand piano. The album stands out remarkably by showcasing the dynamic interplay of purely acoustic sounds, mainly untarnished by digital enhancements. Woods’ use of light or non-existent digital arrangements creates a raw and authentic sound like the music is unfolding in your living room.
Ian Hawgood & David Cordero – Wild Air
Hawgood and Cordero have crafted a minimalist ambient journey on ‘Wild Air’ that immerses listeners in ethereal soundscapes. Centred on the Hohner Pianet amidst modest modular environments, the album’s eight tracks insist on simplicity, using a restricted palette to build lush audio spheres rooted in organic texture and tone. While capturing the attention of ambient fans who celebrate the duo’s ‘less is more’ approach, the album art visually conveys the introspective calm of the music within. Standouts like ‘A Path of No Hiding’ encapsulate the emotive heart of the work, while bookends ‘And There Were No More Lines to Draw’ and ‘Today Is Our Own’ establish its expansive nature and philosophical undertone. Exquisitely produced with understated depth, ‘Wild Air’ offers a rich sonic space that animates the air itself.
Gregory Uhlmann – Small Day
‘Small Day’ is the latest album from Gregory Uhlmann, a Los Angeles-based guitarist and composer who likes to “mix the prickly and the beautiful”. Uhlmann’s compositions incite a feeling of unfamiliarity, which, strangely, also invokes a desire to keep listening and discover what all these “prickly” ideas resolve to. ‘Small Day’ reigns over this uncharted territory of soundscape. His guitar works on this album will keep you guessing whether what you are listening to is actually a guitar. Uhlmann excels at making the guitar sound different from that of a guitar, which is intriguing as it opens his music to interpretation.
Four Tet – Three
It’s a reason to rejoice whenever Four Tet releases a new album! What we have with Three is an album of intricate, multilayered, mind-bending electronic music that always keeps you on your toes with unexpected twists and turns. Three subtly navigates an electrified perspective on the organic downtempo/folktronica sound that was previously showcased in his iconic Rounds LP. This is beautifully encapsulated by the already-heard singles ‘Loved’ and ‘Three Drums’, which bookend the album. An absolute must-listen.
