A slightly more truncated/ manageable/ non-paywalled set for The Lot Radio this month, as most of my morning was spent checking out handmade math board games in a school cafeteria (definite winner: Manhole!), 3D-printed NYC landmarks, and a chaotic Mexican hat dance as rendered by 8-year old maniacs. Then and only then did I train out to Brooklyn for an early summer set. Listening notes below:
Masahiko Satoh - Utpala
Greg Foat & Gigi Masin - Sabena
Wilson Tanner - Pilot
Bartosz Kruczynski - Dream VI
Corker Conboy - In Light of that Learnt Later (Purelink remix)
Ballaké Sissoko & Derek Gripper - Koortjie
Okay Temiz - Penguin
Christoph Haberer - Miniaturen
James Devane - Maybe Tomorrow
Paul St. Hilaire & René Löwe - Faith
Hotspring - Day Moment
Warren Doris - Let It Show (dub)
Robert Palmer - Too Good to be True
Prince Istari - Gnossine Dub No 2
Eiko Ishibashi - Fether
Srirajah Sound System - Si Phan Don Lovers Rock feat. Molam Inteng Keawbuala
Mameen 3 - Tropicamellow
Hidrogenesse - La Carta Era Muy Larga (Dub)
Nuno Beats - With Wine
I don’t know a ton about Japanese jazz keyboardist Masahiko Satoh, but this ‘80s album I have from him –with former Bill Evans bassist Eddie Gomez and drummer Steve Gadd– is pure ‘80s blaaarrgh. Amorphisim is agonizingly slick and chops-heavy; it really is the pits. But it also epitomizes ‘80s jazz (and smooth especially), in that there is one number that is just total one-off magic, where you wonder if they even knew what they were up to. That’s “Utpala,” wherein Gomez picks up the bow and Satoh switches to Korg and renders his best Hosono impression.
Many many many lovey Balearic compilations are coming through this summer, from Colleen’s most recent entry to Growing Bin don Basso’s Sitting in the Trees set. Two made it to the set this time around, John Gomez and Nick the Record’s Tangent comp and soFa’s Elsewhere. My only lament (aside from missing out on the chance to pick up that 7 inch of the Srirajah Sound System which is now an eye-watering triple digit piece of wax) is that I didn’t find a way to slot in Harry Panday’s “Love Your Mother and Father,” my token nod to Father’s Day weekend:
I don’t know much about Belgian DJ/ producer soFa, save for a collaborative zone out Şelale with legendary Turkish percussionist Okay Temiz. Temiz is an integral cog on the international free music scene, straddling the worlds of Don Cherry, Johnny Dyani, and the like. Or as a recent reissue of his 1980 solo album puts it, Drummer Of Two Worlds. It’s a nuts document (just check the cover art), a true Turkish Delight of crazy layers of sweet sonic madness, way too much to take in a single session. “Penguin” is one of the more restrained pieces here and it’s still bananas.
I feel like most recent radio sets have reveled in the magic that can be conjured by duos and that’s certainly the case with a few selections here (yes, Wilson Tanner is also a duo). One of my favorite listens of the year is this magical exchange between kora master Ballaké Sissoko and guitarist Derek Gripper. Also opened a recent brunch set with this album and it’s transportive.
It’s kinda mindless but also quite delicious to pair sloooow Erik Satie études with dub effects. And yes, lots of dub effects boinging and bouncing around throughout the set. Love how this new Hotspring on Mood Hut applies gentle but affective echo to its low-key hushed songs.
Correct yet sorta unfairly, Eric Harvey quipped how Robert Palmer “could Pat Boone his ass onto MTV” by tightening and whitening the likes of Cherelle and The System, but I have a weak spot for his island-y Island cuts. The steel pan-kissed “Pride” is always “in the bag” but I dig this reggae deep cut, even if it did set off the copyright police.
Hope there’s enough bandwidth to deep dive on Principe Discos and/ or Eiko Ishibashi at some point in the near future, but we’ll see if my brain melts in the next 72 hours.