Maya Shenfeld "In Free Fall"
Sounding like Caterina Barbieri covering Wendy Carlos’s gamechanging “A Clockwork Orange” OST, Berlin-based artist Maya Shenfeld’s debut is a thoughtful, gorgeous expression of limber synth technique and advanced compositional skill.
Shenfeld’s musical background is diverse: she’s played in punk bands, composed for new music ensembles and worked in a fine art context. On “In Free Fall” she attempts to distill her experiences into a coherent whole, and does so while taking thematic cues from German artist and theorist Hito Steyerl, whose work is referenced in the title. Shenfeld originally trained as a classical guitarist and studied composition before having her horizons expanded by punk and improv. More recently, she studied with Italian modular whizz Caterina Barbieri, whose influence looms large in Shenfeld’s harmonious synth-led compositions.
Phew "New Decade"
Phew, the prolific Japanese experimental artist also known as Hiromi Moritani, has announced a new album. New Decade is out October 22 via Mute—her first release for the label since 1992’s Our Likeness. The lead track is “Into the Stream.” Check out the video directed by Lisa Aoki below.
According to Phew, the album centers on the perception of time. “During the ’80s, and up until the ’90s, things progressed along a line from past to present to future, but I think that’s changed, especially since the start of the 21st century,” she said in a statement. “Personally speaking, I’ve stopped being able to see a future that extends from the present.”
Barnyard "Good Morning"
Melbourne duo Good Morning have announced their new album, ‘Barnyard’, will be released later this year.
‘Barnyard’ follows on from their 2019 record ‘Basketball Breakup’, and is their first since signing to US label Polyvinyl back in April. The record was made “in slightly simpler times” at Wilco‘s recording studio, The Loft, in Chicago over a five-day period.
Can't Swim "Change of Plans"
Speaking about the upcoming album, vocalist Chris LoPorto says, “all of our endeavours as a band have led us to make what I think is the most honest and transparent album in our discography. We spent way less time recording what we thought we should be writing and put down whatever came naturally. The recording process was certainly the easiest to date as well – we knew what we wanted going into it. I’m constantly writing songs and some of the tracks on Change Of Plans have been in the demo stage for almost four years now so it feels great to finally have them all together on one release.”