Welcome to The Roux! Every Friday, new music is released. Though the internet and streaming make it easier than ever to discover something new, the main channels usually rep the same established big names. This leaves equally great records on the sidelines. Each of these artists is talented and accomplished in their own right. With this weekly feature, I do the searching, so you don’t have to, selecting five releases that were discovered while exploring beyond the algorithm.
All releases are linked to the artists’ respective Bandcamp pages.
01. Poisson Bracket
by Poisson Bracket
[Night Time Noise Service]
A richly complex tapestry of the organic and found sound stitched together with remarkable dexterity, Poisson Bracket reveals its beauty through repeated listening. There is a lot to take in, from ghostly samples to more lively beats. The album never bores; instead, it reveals the infinite designs that can be made by manipulating sound, ever-changing, eerily familiar, yet newly uncovered.
02. Spit in Your Eye
by Una Visión Agradable
[Self-Released]
All sounds found, pushed, and pulled through digital manipulation, Spit in Your Eye is an album dedicated to the spirit of improvisation. Ghostly rhythms emerge through the dense fog of noise, propelling the album forward on the opening title track. Things turn a bit more sinister on “10 Ways to Say I Love You,” where ragged noise slices through the drone, assaulting the listener to attention. Both “The Greyhound” and “Novacaine” offer more ambient material to balance the collection. The epic eleven-minute closer “Ringtone #1” is apt, a soundtrack to the horror of late-night paranoia.
by Logan Threedouble
[Self-Released]
American Folk Music is a self-described investigation of the effects capitalism has on the creator and the culture at large. Perhaps this is most felt on the second track, “The Thought of Working Every Day,” where a pop vocal is looped and mutilated by noise, and the closing “Culture Culture Culture,” where similar effects are implemented. The remaining pieces here are much more ambient in nature. Taken concurrently, I am reminded of mindless commutes, driving through “Morning Fog” with the radio station cutting in and out, a mixture between pop and gospel, public radio and static. This is where I believe the mission statement comes in, this endless commute to work, to consume, to shit, to eat, repeat.
04. Loops For Eugene Von Bruenchenhein
by YS
[Self-Released]
Much like Eugene Von Bruenchenhein’s multi-disciplinary artistic career, YS release acts as a sonic mirror of his work. Across one fifteen-minute composition, the time bursts with assorted sounds and surfaces. Much like his paintings, it’s all very freeform, organic, and ever-shifting.
05. Debut
by Dance of Soul
[Kopi Records]
Mohamad Nikpour’s work as Dance of Soul, aptly titled Debut, features six dance-inspired tracks rich in ambiance. Buried underneath are infectious grooves that curve the compositions into ecstatic territory. Finally, “Beyond” concludes the album out in the most blissful way. While just an extended play, Debut is over in about twenty-five minutes, Dance of Soul builds my anticipation for a long-playing release. If everything is as finely composed as it is here, It will be a captivating experience.
Lagniappe Exposure 