Nicolas Bougaïeff "Sunday Summer"
Nicolas Bougaïeff returns to NovaMute with Sunday Summer, the final instalment in his Prime series following Primal Extensions and Prime Function.
Across the trilogy, Bougaïeff explores prime rhythms—polyrhythms derived from prime number ratios—inviting deep listening with disorienting grooves. Opener ‘Sunday Morning at Panorama Bar When Things Go Sideways’ is built around a 5:4 groove at 136 bpm, used as a pivot to mix in a middle section at 170 bpm, capturing the chaotic energy of its namesake. ‘Blue Seventeen’ unleashes high-velocity chaos with freakish pulses, laced with a subtle 17:4 pattern at the end of synth line phrases—first introduced in Bougaïeff’s earlier track ‘Tesseract Jazz’. ‘Organelle’ ups the pressure with muscular drum loops, gritty textures, and dystopian melodies that feel like otherworldly transmissions. Finally, ‘Summer Beach Bar Where Jodie Foster Goes in the Movie Contact’ is a red herring: the calmest track on the EP but also the most rhythmically complex, built around a 19:5 main riff with a dash of 23:5.
With Sunday Summer, Bougaïeff delivers a cerebral and emotive finale to the Prime series—full of tactile textures, asymmetry, and raw sonic curiosity.
Sababa 5 "Nadir"
A must-listen album for fans of The Heliocentrics, Khruangbin, The Dap Kings, and Moğollar.
Sababa 5’s latest album, ‘Nadir’, delves into a darker, more sophisticated, and cinematic fusion of psychedelic soul and Middle Eastern rock. The title, Nadir, is an astronomical term referring to the point on the celestial sphere directly beneath an observer, diametrically opposite the zenith. Metaphorically, it signifies the lowest point or a moment of adversity. This duality resonates with the band’s exploration of contrasting musical themes—melding the cosmic and the terrestrial, the ethereal and the grounded. The name encapsulates the album’s essence, reflecting a journey through deep, introspective soundscapes that are both otherworldly and rooted in raw, earthly grooves.
The Whimbrels "The Whimbrels"
A Whimbrels show involves racks of guitars tuned in different and unconventional ways, with the players constantly switching between them. There are counterpoint choirs, dueling e-bows phasing against each other, chunking poly and cross-rhythmic interludes, soaring arias of distortion from Westberg and Evans’ melodic and inventive guitars.
The New York Times once placed Arad Evans on “an index of creative or experimental electric guitar-based music in America – young lords of the wild in the post-rock tradition.” That description fits The Whimbrels perfectly. You may need earplugs.
Daisy The Great "The Rubber Teeth Talk"
“The title of our third album, The Rubber Teeth Talk, comes from a lyric in one of the songs on the record, Dream Song, describing “the rubber teeth” covering the clock during a freaky, playful fever dream. Throughout the album, the Rubber Teeth symbolize the voices in our heads — sometimes tender and creative, other times critical and self-sabotaging. At its core, this album is about embracing the unknown, driven by both bold imagination and intimate personal reflection. We were so lucky to be able to work on this project with the inimitable Catherine Marks, star of our hearts and fearless co-leader of the project. Each song exists in its own distinct world, blending lyrically inspired sonic details with our stacks of interlocking harmonies. We recorded the album with our band at Studio G in Brooklyn and finished it up in London with Catherine at Eastcote. It has been a really really special time and we can’t wait for everyone to hear the music.” – From Rough Trade Vinyl