New music - w10

Week 10 Music Discoveries: Jazz Horizons, Raw Folk, Ambient Explorations, and Funk Revivals

Greetings, music travelers. There's something profoundly satisfying about discovering new albums that expand one's sonic horizons, isn't there? This week, I've been immersed in four releases that demand attentive listening—each offering a distinct journey through sound, culture, and human experience. Let's explore together.

Yazz Ahmed - A Paradise In The Hold: Cultural Fusion at its Finest

LABEL: Night Time Stories GENRE: Jazz

British-Bahraini trumpeter Yazz Ahmed continues her remarkable journey of cultural exploration with "A Paradise In The Hold," an album that effortlessly bridges the gap between her dual heritage. This fourth album finds Ahmed collaborating with vocalists like Natacha Atlas, venturing into lyrical territory for the first time with songs in both English and Arabic.

What distinguishes this album is its extraordinary fusion of traditional pearl diver melodies from Bahrain with contemporary jazz sensibilities. The resulting soundscape feels both familiar and otherworldly—like discovering a long-lost musical dialect that somehow speaks directly to your soul.

Ahmed's trumpet playing remains exquisite—luminous, thoughtful, and imbued with a melancholy beauty that evokes both longing and belonging. The compositions truly shine when they're "fast and free," allowing the musicians to explore uncharted territories while maintaining an emotional anchor to tradition.

BIG TIP!!

Purchase: https://yazzahmed.bandcamp.com/album/a-paradise-in-the-hold

For further explorations: Avishai Cohen's "Big Vicious," Shabaka Hutchings' "Sons of Kemet," and Ibrahim Maalouf's "Kalthoum."

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Richard Dawson - End of the Middle: Authentic British Folk with Unapologetic Heart

LABEL: Weird World GENRE: Indie

When an album title declares itself as "Perverts," you know you're not in for light entertainment. Ethel Cain's latest release on Daughters Of Cain Records is a mesmerizing journey into the shadows of American gothic storytelling, wrapped in electronic textures that both comfort and disturb.

Cain continues to develop her distinctive sound - a haunting blend of ethereal vocals, droning synths, and percussion that emerges like distant thunder. The production creates a sense of vast space, as if these songs are being performed in abandoned churches or empty factories after midnight. It's music for the small hours, when the mind wanders to places both beautiful and terrifying.

What strikes me most about "Perverts" is how it refuses easy categorization. While electronic in its DNA, it draws from Southern gothic literature, religious imagery, and the darker corners of Americana. Tracks like "Stranger in the Alps" and "Ptolemaea" showcase Cain's gift for creating sonic environments that feel like complete worlds unto themselves.

Purchase: Bandcamp

For further listening: If you're drawn to Cain's atmospheric darkness, investigate Chelsea Wolfe, Lingua Ignota, or early Zola Jesus.

Roberto Musci - Goodbye Monsters: Cosmic Soundscapes from an Italian Master

LABEL: Soave GENRE: Ambient

Italian composer and multi-instrumentalist Roberto Musci has spent decades exploring the intersection of music, spirituality, and cosmic wonder. "Goodbye Monsters" continues this lifelong quest with compositions that transcend conventional boundaries of time and space.

Drawing inspiration from varied sources—time spent in a Hindu monastery, meditations on space exploration, imagined future settlements in deep space—Musci crafts soundscapes that feel simultaneously ancient and futuristic. The album becomes a vessel for contemplating our place in the universe, inviting listeners to look both inward and outward.

Particularly moving is "Memories Of A Piano Player," Musci's tribute to the late jazz pianist Keith Tippett. The piece demonstrates Musci's remarkable ability to honor influence while maintaining his distinctive musical voice. Other standouts include "Quantum State," exploring parallel realities through sound, and "Panthalassa," which blends South American marimba with traditional Chinese music to evoke the ancient ocean surrounding Pangea.

Purchase: https://www.forcedexposure.com/Catalog/musci-roberto-goodbye-monsters-lp/SOAVE.032LP.html

For further explorations: Jon Hassell's "Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics," Ariel Kalma's "An Evolutionary Music," and Don Cherry's "Organic Music Society."

Cymande - Renascence: The Triumphant Return of Funk Pioneers

LABEL: Sub Rosa GENRE: Funk

When Cymande stopped performing in 1974, few could have predicted their enormous influence on future musical landscapes. Sampled countless times by hip-hop producers and revered by funk aficionados, this British-Caribbean collective laid groundwork that continues to reverberate through contemporary music.

"Renascence" arrives as the culmination of a slow-building comeback, ten years after their last reunion record. The remarkable aspect of this album isn't just that it exists, but that it captures the group's original spirit with such vibrancy. Their distinctive fusion of funk, jazz, African rhythms, Rastafarian influences, and Caribbean sounds remains intact—perhaps even more focused with the wisdom of decades.

The social consciousness that characterized their early work remains present, with lyrics addressing contemporary concerns while maintaining an underlying message of unity and resilience. For listeners familiar with Cymande only through samples, this album provides a perfect opportunity to experience their groove-centered philosophy in its complete form.

Purchase: https://www.cymande.com/album/renascence

For further explorations: Khruangbin's "Con Todo El Mundo," The Heliocentrics' "Out There," and William Onyeabor's "World Psychedelic Classics 5."

Final Thoughts: The Unfolding Journey

What these four albums share, despite their stylistic differences, is an unwavering commitment to authentic expression. In an era of algorithmic recommendations and disposable streaming content, these artists remind us that music remains one of humanity's most profound vehicles for connection and meaning.

Whether you're drawn to Ahmed's cultural explorations, Dawson's unvarnished storytelling, Musci's cosmic soundscapes, or Cymande's life-affirming funk, I encourage you to engage with these albums as complete works. Give them the space and attention they deserve. Let them unfold at their own pace. The rewards, I assure you, are substantial.

Until next time, keep exploring.