Mixtape: Fractured Air – July 2020

July’s mix features the majestic “Wondrous Love” by folk legend Shirley Collins who recently announced details of new album (and follow up to 2016’s “Lodestar”), “Heart’s Ease”, which is due for release via Domino on 24th July. It’s first single is the timeless gem “Wondrous Love”, as Domino state: “its tune comes from an 18th Century English ballad about the infamous sea captain William Kidd, who was hanged for piracy in 1701. Collins first heard the hymn at a Sacred Harp Convention in Alabama (Collins and Alan Lomax recorded it on their field recording trip in 1959). Shirley has decided to sing it now, she said , “because songs are stored in my memory for a great many years, and suddenly it seems the right time to bring them out again.””

Independent music treasure and visionary artist Julianna Barwick returns this month with the magnificent “Healing Is A Miracle”, her Ninja Tune debut after remarkable releases for numerous indie labels over the last decade including Asthmatic Kitty, Dead Oceans, RVNG Intl’s FRKWYS series and Gregory Euclide’s THESIS label. New York-based Barwick’s fourth full length once again finds the gifted composer meld her church choir singing background during her rural Louisiana upbringing with her deeply innate gift for building expansive, immersive and wholly transformative sound worlds. “Healing Is A Miracle” finds Barwick collaborate with special guests and  fellow music visionaries Mary Lattimore, Jónsi and Nosaj Thing.

Fresh from the release of  The Soft Pink Truth (Drew Daniel)’s fantastic “Shall We Go On Sinning So That Grace May Increase?”, M.C. Schmidt and Drew Daniel announced the hugely anticipated return of beloved electronic pioneers Matmos this month with the celebrated duo’s mightily ambitious and intriguing “The Consuming Flame: Open Exercises In Group Form” (Thrill Jockey). Featuring a dazzling array of contributions from 99 musicians (Daniel Lopatin, Marisa Anderson, Yo La Tengo, David Grubbs, Jennifer Walshe, So Percussion to name just a few), where the sole instruction was to “play anything that they wanted, but the tempo of any rhythmic material had to be set at 99 beats per minute”, the results are bound to yield some of the most rewarding music of 2020.

Back in June came one of this year’s true gems, “Arrow”, by Los Angeles-based artist Sarah Lipstate via her Noveller guise. Like fellow contemporary guitar luminaries such as William Tyler or Aidan Baker, Noveller’s electric guitar compositions constantly evolve, expand and inspire, creating an enthralling, near-symphonic, free-flowing body of work in the process. “Arrow” is released via Ba Da Bing Records and is yet another wholly unique and breathtakingly original opus from one of independent music’s most gifted artists.

Other new releases in July’s mix come from: the special Numero Group compilation on Dale Warren’s fascinating 24 Carat Black project; Yair Elazar Glotman & Mats Erlandsson’s breathtaking collaborative album “Emanate” on FatCat’s ever-dependable 130701 imprint; Ricardo Donoso’s glorious “Content” full-length for Denovali; the legendary Jon Hassell returns with the eagerly anticipated “Seeing Through Sound (Pentimento Volume Two)” – out 24th July on Ndeya records – so far unveiled are the magnificent pair of tracks “Fearless” and “Unknown Wish”; the sublime post-punk-infused debut self-titled EP by Sydney-based Loose Fit heralds a hugely exciting and intriguing opening chapter for this special band (FatCat); Ceaselessly innovative indie greats Dirty Projectors continue their glorious ongoing series of 5 E.P. releases scheduled for 2020 with this month’s “Flight Tower” (Domino), this time with Felicia Douglass at the helm.

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Fractured Air – July 20 Mix

01. Flying Lotus – “Fire Is Coming” (feat. David Lynch) (Warp)
02. INVŌKER – “Batumi” (Azzur)
03. T. Gowdy – “Up CTRL” (Constellation)
04. Darkstar – “Wolf” (John Talabot’s Materia Dub) (Warp)
05. Ital Tek – “Open Heart” (Planet Mu)
06. Rival Consoles – “Vibrations on a String” (Erased Tapes)
07. Matmos – “No Concept” (Thrill Jockey)
08. Ricardo Donoso – “Forking Path” (Denovali)
09. Oneohtrix Point Never – “Good Time” (Good Time OST, Warp)
10. Spiritualized – “Spread Your Wings” (Fat Possum/Sony Music)
11. Noveller – “Pre-fabled” (Ba Da Bing)
12. Spectrum – “All Night Long” (Sony Music)
13. Television Personalities – “Diary Of A Young Man” (Fire Records)
14. Charlie Megira & The Modern Dance Club – “The Valley Of Tears” (Numero Group)
15. Loose Fit – “Pull the Lever” (FatCat)
16. Protomartyr – “Michigan Hammers” (Domino)
17. Girl Band – “Ereignis” (Rough Trade)
18. Dirty Projectors – “Self Design” (Domino)
19. Nightmares On Wax – “Me And You” (Warp)
20. 24 Carat Black & LaRhonda LeGette – “I Need A Change” (Numero Group)
21. Takashi Kokubo – “回廊の音楽” (Glossy Mistakes)
22. Jon Hassell – “Fearless” (Ndeya)
23. Ka Baird – “Imagination” (RVNG Intl)
24. Angel Bat Dawid – “Transition East” (International Anthem)
25. Becca Mancari – “I’m Sorry” (Captured Tracks)
26. The Beatles – “Yes It Is” (Apple)
27. Roy Harper – “One for All” (Science Friction)
28. Shirley Collins – “Wondrous Love” (Domino)
29. PJ Harvey – “Prayer” (The Virtues OST, Invada)
30. Yair Elazar Glotman & Mats Erlandsson – “Procession” (130701)
31. The Transcendence Orchestra – “Overview Effect” (Editions Mego)
32. Owen Pallett  – “Paragon Of Order” (w/ London Contemporary Orchestra) (Domino)
33. Max Richter – “All Human Beings (Voiceless Mix) Pt. 3” (Decca/Universal)
34. Julianna Barwick – “Healing Is A Miracle” (Ninja Tune)
35. Brigid Mae Power – “Head Above The Water” (Fire Records)
36. Rebecca Foon – “New World Reprise” (Constellation)
37. Arthur Russell – “In Love With You For The Last Time” (Audika)

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