“We set out to immerse the audience in nonspeaking peoples’ worlds, much in the same way that the book immerses us in Naoki’s world.”
Imagine a daily life in which your faculty of speech is taken away. Explaining that you’re hungry, or tired, or in pain, is now as beyond your powers as a chat with a friend. After you lose your ability to communicate, the editor-in-residence who orders your thoughts walks out without notice. A dam-burst of ideas, memories, impulses and thoughts is cascading over you, unstoppably. …
The best albums from the worst year ever.
Here’s a write-up of my favourite ten albums from the last twelve months, ranked in reverse order.
10. Julianna Barwick - Healing is a Miracle
I’ve been a fan of Julianna Barwick’s ethereal vocal compositions for over a decade now (Jesus… time flies, huh?) With her previous offerings, I always found myself loving 50% the tracklist but growing increasingly trigger-happy with the skip button for the other half. With Healing is a Miracle, she’s made the holistic, can’t-miss-a-single-song record I’ve been waiting to hear. Where, previously, Barwick would sing in predominantly hushed, librarian-esque tones, on Healing, her voice sounds more powerful and present than ever before. There’s a wide array of moods on display on the record too - as well as the wistful, melancholic textures we’ve come to expect from the singer, (on tracks like ‘Oh, Memory’ and ‘Safe’), there’s also the deep unease of ‘Flowers’ and the uplifting, bass-filled, wall of sound on album-opener, ‘Inspirit’. …
Shit year in general - great year for music.
Now into my third year of this tradition; here’s a write-up of my favourite albums from the last twelve months, ranked in reverse order. Here’s the first part: #20 to #11.
20. Zora Jones - Ten Billion Angels
After years of mixtapes, collaborative projects and a lot of remixes, Fractal Fantasy’s ‘fairy squadmother’ FINALLY delivered a full-length solo release for us to sink our teeth into. Ten Billion Angles realises a vision Jones’ has been refining for the best part of a decade; mixing her and (label co-head) Sinjin Hawke’s unique synth-driven sound with cyborg-sung R&B vocals. …
Done in reverse order 20 to 1 for extra suspense. Originally shared on Insta but now here with links to listen :o
20. Body Meat - Truck Music
Weirdo pop music I imagine art school students might vibe to. Kinda like if Jlin made a record in Uganda with Jai Paul.
19. Telefon Tel Aviv - Dreams Are Not Enough
Formidable return from the Nine Inch Nails & Vatican Shadow collaborator whose last album ended in tragedy when one of the band members took their own life the day before its release. …
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