Listening Clark :: Class Of 2023 :: Module Eleven
Hullo there, dearie…
I bet we’re all still smarting from the Pride hangover, I’m guessing; well, at least the journey for equality in personal freedoms and liberties for the LGBTQIA+ community only lasts a single calendar month of the year, eh???
By the way, if you’re starved of all things progressive and sweet after last month’s festivities, you’d do well to catch Nimona on Netflix, a queer delight of a movie that trounced all kinds of bigotry-sponsored development hellishness to find itself on one of the biggest streaming networks in the world. Seriously, it’s so lovely…
But enough about Not Music, here are the latest Ten Of Note from my listening schedule for 2023…
Listening Clark :: Class Of 2023 :: Module Eleven
BABYLON IX EP – Yuné Pinku
Lushly rave-centric future-pop this way plays from the Malaysian-Irish producer and their second EP, each of its tracks bestowed with the kind of transcendent euphoria that pierces the soul of the listener with equal amounts bliss and melancholy.
Behind the transparent surface – Mary Bellamy
An assignment that combines traditional instruments with those invented by the celebrated twentieth century composer Harry Partch, Bellamy’s pieces here register as some of the most rewardingly abstract musical moments of the year so far.
Beloved! Paradise! JazzI? – McKinley Dixon
Inspired by the works of Toni Morrison to the point of using three of the novelist’s works in the title, Dixon’s fourth studio album is a lush, tortured and ultimately rapturous slice of conscious hip hop, the rapper’s literate style on full and vital display throughout.
Death By Tickling – Scotch Rolex & Shackleton
A fierce collaborative album between UK dance music stalwart Shackleton and his Japanese counterpart DJ Scotch Egg, one which combines oriental musical influences with spacier techno leanings and samples to deliver a truly transporting mix.
Further Out Than The Edge – Speakers Corner Quartet
The South London quartet come good on their debut album, retaining a formidable vocalist roster including Kae Tempest, Coby Sey and Lafawndah among others to deliver a heart-pumping set of conscientious musings and ravings.
Party Gator Purgatory – Temps
Another collaborative supergroup-style project, this time spearheaded by comedian James Acaster, the constant in a cornucopia of alternative/experimental hip hop and soul performers that wondrously defies categorization with each minute, nevermind song.
Real Back In Style – Potter Payper
Something infinitely grittier now, courtesy of the legally-beleaguered rapper from East London whose undeniable prowess and conviction in terms of wordplay and storytelling runs thick and fast throughout their debut album.
The Omnichord Real Book – Meshell Ndegeocello
One of nu-soul’s most celebrated elders returns with typical supernatural authority for their thirteenth album, working as much as an expansive celebration of younger players and collaborators as it does a soulful treatise on reserve, happiness and pride.
when the poems do what they do – Aja Monet
Celebrated poet Aja Monet’s debut album of spoken-word poetry is an excoriating tribute to the black experience that is an epic in terms of length and content, which considering the sheer amount of historical and emotional turmoil therein is beyond fair.
Zango – WITCH
If you’re talking about the best comebacks of 2023, you have certainly got to include the 39-years-later offering from Zambia’s most venerable rock institutions, awesomely bringing as bright and bristling an example of their fabled Zamrock as ever before.
Well, that’s that…
I know I said I’d be taking a bit of a rest… however, it’s turning out to be something of a Hot Music Nerd Summer, so I surely cannot help but oblige, right?
Anyhoo, as ever, feel free to leave a comment below delighting/bemoaning my selections here. Until then, I guess I will see you in a couple of weeks…
xxxo
