Jammo’s Digest: June 2023

Friends, Romans, and Country fans, it hath been a while. I’ve been away, it’s been good. Recently I quit all of my social media accounts (Fediverse discluded) and, at the risk of being the kind of person who says things like “The best things in life aren’t things” whilst backpacking through some far-flung poverty-stricken country on dad’s credit card, I do actually feel as though I’ve got my life back.

Days have grown longer, stress has reduced, and so weiter. Perhaps I’ve gone so far up my own arse listening to the likes of Jaron Lanier bang on about the evils of Facebook and Instagram, that I’m in danger of starting a medieval-inspired Gameboy-chip-core project, who knows, but I’m happy(er).

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MUSIC

Wolfgang Dauner Quintet – Take Off Your Clothes and Feel the Setting Sun (MPS): The weather is ridiculous at the moment. Virtually consistent temperatures of 25-30°C throughout May and June are just not fucking normal. So, this swinging bit of Psyche Jazz from Wolfgang Dauner’s 1969 album ‘The Oimels’ seems a good fit, though at this point I may just take my skin off!

Wonky Electro wizard, Si Begg

S.I. Futures – Eurostar (Novamute): Thou shalt not question Si Begg! I’ve been playing this glitch-ridden take on Kraftwerk since it came out, I don’t want to say how long that is, you have Google! Nonetheless, I still love it! Twisted bass, oodles of heavily processed samples and that gorgeously melodious vocoder line. What’s not to like?

Electrelane – Love Builds up (Too Pure): Beautifully evolving Kraut-inspired excellence from Brighton’s equally excellent Electrelane. Built around a noodling Farfisa and fuzzy guitar flourishes, Love Builds Up spirals its way through 5-and-a-bit minutes of what sounds like The Stranglers interpreting Neu, and straight into this old mans heart.

Rahill – Haenim (Big Dada): I’ve no idea what’s being sung on this track, but Dad’s been on Google and found out that Haenim –which means ‘The Sun’– was originally sung by South Korean folk artist Kim Jung Mi and later translated into Farsi by Rahill for this version. Its gorgeous naive melodies put me in a beautiful space, and I will love it forever (both versions).

Al Lover – Integrated Paradox (Fuzz Club Records): I absolutely adore the entrenched neo-kraut sound of this track from Al Lover’s 2022 release “Cosmic Joke” on Fuzz Club Records. My mate Charlie sent me a photo of a sticker a while back, which read “Weatherall is Watching”. Now, I’m no god squadder, but, if he is, I think he’d be chuffed to bits with this. Part Kosmisch, part Madchester, It sort of reminds me of Llywbr Llaethog’s ‘Ffanny’. A proper tewn!