#4145: New Releases, August 2018

New Sounds | Aug 31, 2018

It’s that time of the month on New Sounds to check out some music that caught the ear for August of this year. Hear new releases (or those new to us), including Taarab music from Zanzibar, piano-based music by Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds, and Afro-funk by Brazilian big band Bixiga70.

Hear updated Taarab music from Siti & the Band from their 2018 release Fusing the Roots. Taarab is the traditional festive wedding music of the Zanzibar archipelago, off the coast of Tanzania which combines Arabic instruments like oud, or qanun, along with Western instruments like violin or accordion, and is generally a male-dominated style. Siti & the Band- comprised of singer and oud player Siti Amina, violinist Rahma Hassan Ameir, and qanun player Gora Mhammed Gora- intentionally channel the spirit of Taarab legend Siti binti Saad, the first woman from East Africa to record her music.

There’s also music from Bokanté – a global pop band put together by Michael League of instrumental jazz collective Snarky Puppy, and fronted by Montreal-based Guadeloupian vocalist Malika Tirolien. It’s from their forthcoming record, What Heat in collaboration with the Dutch big band Metropole Orkest. Also, listen to music from the 10-piece Afro-Brazilian big band Bixiga70, from their forthcoming record, Quebra Cabeça.

Hear the latest from London and Berlin based producer Daniel Brandt – something like playful cinematic techno minimalism- featuring Brandt on piano, drums and synthesizers, Pascal Bideau on guitar and bass, plus Florian Juncker on trombone. Plus, hear a portion of the latest record by Australian trio The Necks. True to form, this single, groove-based work unfolds over an hour and is called "Body” from the album of the same name. That, and more.

ARTIST: Daniel Brandt
WORK: Flamingo [1:30]
RECORDING: Channels
SOURCE: Erased Tapes | Due out Oct. 12
INFO: erasedtapes.com

ARTIST: Siti & the Band
WORK: Nielewe [4:29]
RECORDING: Fusing the Roots
SOURCE: Stone Town Records
INFO: sitiandtheband.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Bokante & Metropole Orkest
WORK: All The Way Home [5:19]
RECORDING: What Heat
SOURCE: Real World Records
INFO: realworldrecords.com

ARTIST: Bixiga70
WORK: Pedra de Raio [5:33]
RECORDING: Quebra Cabeça
SOURCE: Glitterbeat Records GB 063CD | Due out Oct. 12
INFO: bixiga-70.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Daniel Brandt
WORK: Flamingo [5:07]
RECORDING: Channels
SOURCE: Erased Tapes | Due out Oct. 12
INFO: erasedtapes.com

ARTIST: The Necks
WORK: Body [15:31]
RECORDING: Body
SOURCE: RERNECKS13
INFO: thenecksau.bandcamp.com

ARTIST: Olafur Arnalds
WORK: remember [6:05]
RECORDING: Re:Member
SOURCE: Mercury KX/Decca/Universal Music
INFO: Available at Amazon.com, iTunes, or Spotify

ARTIST: Jon Hopkins
WORK: Feel First Life [5:33]
RECORDING: Singularity
SOURCE: Domino Recording Co.
INFO: jonhopkins.bandcamp.com

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