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 discovered while exploring beyond the algorithm.
All releases are linked to the artists’ respective Bandcamp pages.
by The Superannuated Man
[Self-Released]
The diaristic aspect of this short collection of field recordings is apropos. With each track clocking in at two minutes, the sounds showcase a simplistic method of recording time and space as we move within the confines of our lives. With each track recorded on various days, titled accordingly, different dates hit multiple aspects of life, from the sound of footsteps and jangling of keys to more atmospheric drone-like compositions that are hard to place precisely. Superannuated Sound Diary reminds us that there can be beauty and meaning in the mundane, repetitive noise surrounding us; one simply has to tune their ear to find it.
02. Random Morse Transmissions
by NOUVELLES LECTURES COSMOPOLITES
[The Church of Noisy Goat]
Random Morse Transmissions plays like fragmented dialogues. Repetitive industrial noise, broken sounds, never quite placeable, pulse in and out, like a collection of data whose purpose has been obfuscated by a poor signal. The result is mesmerizing. As each track beckons further inspection, we try to find patterns and put the components together, ultimately failing to do so.
03. Skærgårdslyd
by Astrid Øster Mortensen
[Discreet Music]
A collection of lo-fi ambient folk that is equally dense, foreboding, and oddly relaxing. The quiet atmosphere adds a personal quality to Skærgårdslyd that makes it seem as though you’re listening to a set of sketches made in private, intended for a few ears but never a larger audience. This intimacy running through from beginning to end makes it one of the most effortless releases I’ve had the pleasure to listen to. It is easily replayable and definitely rewards those who do.
by Carlos Ferreira
[Aural Canyon]
Sublime fluidity flows through Carlos Ferreira’s Before Memories Fade, a meditation on memory; instead of resorting to static ambient drones, the compositions here move with grace and subtlety. It’s a reminder that while memories may be remembered through photographs, our perceptions of them are ever-changing. Through aging, we see the details formerly hidden in the shadows; through reflection, we come to better recognize our truths, and therefore, our fragmented recollections become fuller and more developed.
05. Arrhythmia
by murder me
[Self-Released]
A scattered and fun set of noise pieces, murder me’s Arrhythmia continues to expand on Lautaro Estévez’s brand of rhythmic noise jams. However, instead of bombarding your senses with harsh walls of noise, the five relatively brief tracks, exempting the title track, pack so many various sounds into run times that your attention never wavers.
Lagniappe Exposure 