They’re not easy to find, but there are a few bands like Radiohead out there. In this list of similar artists to Radiohead, you’re sure to find something you like (even if you don’t agree with all of the artists on the list). Since the release of their debut album Pablo Honey in 1993, Radiohead … Read more
Tracing its origins back to the 1960s, ambient music is entering its seventh decade as a genre. And, so far, the 2020s are looking like some of the best years that ambient music has seen. Perhaps it was something to do with lockdowns and pandemics, but in the last couple of years, there has been … Read more
Blending electronics, field recordings, and chamber music, Wax Ephemeral is the debut album from Manchester-based composer Rachael Philip. Described as ‘a tribute to the carousel of life, death, and recycling and revival into new forms,’ the record is absorbing and immersive. With a background in film and commercial soundtracks, Philip’s sound worlds are strikingly visual. … Read more
It feels as if ambient and experimental soundscapes are the most suitable musical response to our times. With sentiment around the ongoing pandemic decaying from a fragile optimism to a dreary, head-down resignation, music that tries to address the situation with words often grates, and misses the mark. Listen: Sleepsang – Beyond Beyond, the new … Read more
The debut EP from Birmingham-based future jazzers Zyggurat represents a passage through imagined landscapes. Travelling across abstract wilds to urban civilisation and beyond, the band arrive at Earth II. Led by Pete Grimshaw (synths, trombone, samples, production), Zyggurat combines elements of jazz, electronica, experimental, and ambient music. The journey is cerebral and sonically pleasing. Underpinned … Read more
Spacey Basement Cult’s new release sees the Leeds trio continue down the experimental-wonk-pop rabbit hole. The tongue-in-cheek description on their Bandcamp (“chill beats you can’t study to”) is suggestive of the artistic milieu the group push off from, if not where they land. There may be a quick nod to seminal electronica artists of the … Read more
Poet and saxophonist Seigfried Komidashi collaborates with Sheffield-based producer Zillch on his new EP Sagittarius Rising, combining jazz samples with lo-fi, experimental production, elements of noise, and spoken word. Bold, meandering, and at times abrasive, Komidashi’s low-energy vocal murmurs combined with unpredictable and at times lopsided production makes for a listening experience that is at … Read more
Age of Glass is the enchanting final single from L.A. Salami’s new album, The Cause of Doubt & a Reason to Have Faith. With reverb saturated harmonicas, rolling chromatic guitar picking, and implacable references to the ‘Age of Glass’ concept, this is something to marvel at. Lying musically somewhere between folk and experimental, Lookman’s performance … Read more
Producer, a composer, and academic Kayla Painter is an experimental sound design artist who has a lot to say to the world. Influenced by many of the early Warp Records artists, she uses field recordings and manipulates audio to create intricate, complex, and at times stunning soundscapes. Coinciding with the release of her AA-side Prey … Read more
Sheffield DIY music collective, Hatch, have just dropped their first-ever release. The album travels through punk, power pop, experimental, and beyond, for a wild ride that wonderfully captures the eccentric, unpredictable, and boundary-pushing dynamism of this oddball collective. Comprising 18 tracks, all from members of the Hatch family, the record is exclusively available on Bandcamp, … Read more
The new single ‘Jones On The Phone’ shows Jackie Moonbather at his most experimental and most enigmatic. Slow, hip-hop grooves, punctuated with bass pops, piano glissandos, and draped with luxurious melodies, the mysterious lyrics gesture towards addiction (to a have a ‘jones’). The Blancmange Lounge producer and artist developed from a guitar-based, almost punky form … Read more
Endless Rushing Waves of The Same may indeed describe a mood that, on a better day, we might feel in the midst of this strange time. But as the name also suggests, this record is concerned with something bigger. Something wider-reaching than this peculiar moment in history, and something more personal. In their words, the … Read more
Finding an album that you can disappear into like a reverie is a rare pleasure. Calf, the newest release from Aaberg (aka Hunter Mockett) seems to be fit for that exact purpose. It’s an album of thoughtfully constructed guitar music which dissolves the world outside, creating space for your mind to roam. Listen Now: Aaberg … Read more
In the world of live coding, Alex McLean is a prime mover. His open source TidalCycles software is used by musicians across the world to code music quickly and dynamically in real time. He co-founded the Algorave movement, bringing programming out of obscurity and onto the dancefloor. Writer Sarah Sharp (proficient in Microsoft Office, handy … Read more
There’s an immediacy to Symrun’s ‘Soundcloud rap’ – at once glossy, noisy, and ambient – that’s difficult to deny.
Jackie Moonbather’s 2018 Month of May record was one of our favourites of the year. We couldn’t get enough of it. Now, one year on from that release, he’s put out a single continuous video that spans not one but three tracks from the record, slightly reworked.
Experimental grime producer Utah? runs us through his stunning new EP, ‘Bronze.’
We spoke to Vula Viel about her love of Dagaare music and what it means for a white woman to play African music in 2019.
