New music - w8
Soul Journeys: This Week's Musical Treasure Map
This week, I've unearthed four extraordinary albums that have been spinning relentlessly on my turntable. Each offers a distinct pathway through the landscape of contemporary music - from introspective hip-hop to sophisticated soul, experimental spoken word, and meditative jazz. Let's embark on this sonic expedition together, shall we?
MIKE - Showbiz!: Raw Emotion Distilled
LABEL: 10k GENRE: Hip Hop
There's something profoundly moving about witnessing an artist return to their roots. On "Showbiz!", MIKE has crafted a homecoming album that feels like stepping into a familiar room where the furniture has been rearranged in the most intriguing way possible. The New York rapper delivers his characteristically introspective rhymes over production that marries lo-fi aesthetics with soulful warmth.
What strikes me most about this record is how MIKE manages to navigate grief and personal growth without succumbing to melodrama. The album feels like a late-night conversation with an old friend - honest, occasionally uncomfortable, but ultimately healing. His delivery remains unhurried, each word given space to breathe and resonate like ripples across still water.
When he reflects on his mother's passing or contemplates his place in the world, you can feel the weight of experience in every syllable. The production serves as a perfect companion to these reflections - neither overpowering nor retreating too far into the background. Instead, it pulses with life, creating a sonic cocoon for MIKE's contemplations.
Where to buy: https://mikelikesrap.bandcamp.com/album/showbiz
For further explorations: If MIKE's introspective style resonates with you, venture toward Earl Sweatshirt's "Some Rap Songs," Navy Blue's "Song of Sage: Post Panic!," or Pink Siifu's "NEGRO."
Eddie Chacon - Lay Low: The Sweet Wisdom of Patience
LABEL: Stones Throw GENRE: Soul
There's a particular kind of magic that happens when an artist finds their voice again after years in the wilderness. Eddie Chacon's "Lay Low" embodies that rare alchemy. The former Charles & Eddie vocalist delivers sophisticated soul music that feels both timeless and distinctly modern.
What captivates me about this record is its remarkable restraint. In an age of excess, Chacon offers us minimalist sophisti-pop that says everything without shouting. The sparseness of arrangements creates space for emotional resonance, allowing his tender vocals to carry the weight of decades of lived experience.
When he sings "Maybe that's the way it's supposed to be" on the title track, you can hear acceptance that only comes from weathering life's storms. There's wisdom in these grooves, distilled through the lens of someone who's seen the music industry from both sides of the looking glass. The collaboration with producers John Carroll Kirby and Nick Hakim proves particularly fruitful, creating emotional landscapes that shift between crystalline clarity and hazy introspection.
Where to buy: https://eddiechacon.bandcamp.com/album/lay-low
For further explorations: If you're enchanted by Chacon's soulful minimalism, seek out Sault's "Untitled (Black Is)," Khruangbin's "Con Todo El Mundo," or D'Angelo's "Voodoo."
Damon Locks - List of Demands - International Anthem: Revolutionary Soundscapes
LABEL: International Anthem GENRE: Electronic
Some albums demand not just your attention but your participation in a cultural conversation. Damon Locks' "List of Demands" is such a record - a potent fusion of spoken word, experimental beats, and radical imagination that feels like essential listening for our troubled times.
What fascinates me about this record is how Locks constructs a vision of Black liberation through the careful collaging of cultural artifacts. Like a masterful DJ creating seamless transitions between disparate records, he weaves spoken word, samples, and rhythmic experiments into a cohesive tapestry that both challenges and uplifts.
Each track feels like a transmission from an alternative reality where art and activism are inseparable companions. The MF DOOM-meets-Nikki Giovanni approach creates moments of startling beauty amid unflinching social commentary. What emerges is not just criticism of what is, but an imaginative blueprint for what could be. Locks' decades of experience across experimental improvisation, hip-hop, punk, and poetry culminate in an album that defies easy categorization while remaining accessible and engaging.
Where to buy: https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/list-of-demands
For further explorations: If Locks' experimental approach resonates, venture toward Moor Mother's "Black Encyclopedia of the Air," Camae Ayewa & Nicole Mitchell's "Offerings," or The Comet Is Coming's "Trust in the Lifeforce of the Deep Mystery."
Green Cosmos - Abendmusiken - Frederiksberg Records: Meditative Jazz Excavation
LABEL: Frederiksberg Records GENRE: Jazz
There's something particularly satisfying about discovering overlooked gems from the past. "Abendmusiken," the sole 1983 release from German quartet Green Cosmos, feels like finding a treasure map in your grandmother's attic. Recently reissued by Brooklyn's Frederiksberg Records, this collection of meditative jazz compositions creates spaces both vast and intimate.
What captivates me about this recording is its masterful play with dynamics. The quartet weaves between tranquil passages where kalimba patterns create hypnotic foundations and more adventurous segments where saxophones soar with spiritual intensity. There's a cosmic quality to these compositions that brings to mind the best of the German Kosmische movement while maintaining a distinct jazz sensibility.
The album title translates to "evening music," and indeed, these pieces feel perfectly suited for twilight contemplation - that liminal space between day and night when boundaries blur and possibilities expand. Each track unfolds with patient deliberation, inviting the listener into a state of attentive calm. This is music that doesn't demand your attention so much as create a space where attention naturally deepens.
Where to buy: https://frederiksbergrecords.bandcamp.com/album/abendmusiken
For further explorations: If Green Cosmos' meditative approach appeals to you, seek out Pharoah Sanders' "Karma," Don Cherry's "Brown Rice," or contemporary offerings like Nala Sinephro's "Space 1.8."
Until our next sonic adventure, may your turntables keep spinning and your ears remain open to the boundless possibilities of sound.
Check out my FAB 50 playlist on Spotify for a fresh dose of great music:
