Utne Reader Music Sampler October 2011

By Staff
Published on September 28, 2011
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This sampler is no longer available. Check back tomorrow to download the November Utne Reader digital music sampler.


Buffalo Moon
Ecuadorian lounge meets breezy psychedelia on Buffalo Moon’s forthcoming album, Selva Surreal (October 25, Moon Glyph). On “Chica de Luna,” the Minneapolis-based ensemble channels a made-in-the-shade, fun-in-the-sun Baja-surf vibe.

“Chica de Luna” by Buffalo Moon  



iconAclass

iconAclass is the blown-speaker solo hip-hop project of Will Brooks, the lead MC of the singular rap-drone group dälek. “Long Haul” is the lead single from his new album, For the Ones, out on deadverse records.

“Long Haul” by iconAclass  



Creole Choir of Cuba

Singing in Cuba’s second language, Creole, the swelling voices of the Creole Choir of Cuba are an awesome force. The members, all of Haitian descent, tell stories that tap deep emotions and historical juju on Tande-La (Real World). “Fey” is a traditional vodou folk song that became a banned political anthem in the early ’90s.

“Fey” by the Creole Choir of Cuba



Mint

“Bedroom electronica” is something of a double entendre: On one hand, it refers to electronica’s minimal entry requirements, as you can stuff all the gear you need in your bedroom closet; on the other, it’s sexy music to turn up when the lights go down. Britain’s Mint rocks one of the most underrated beats in the genre. His new album, The Metronomical Boy, is out October 27 (Boltfish).

“Cartouche” by Mint  



Dessa

Dessa is the nightingale of narrative hip-hop and omni-dimensional, autobiographical balladry. “The Beekeeper” closes out Castor the Twin, a collection of re-arranged, previously released songs. Out on Doomtree.

“The Beekeeper” by Dessa  



Boy is Fiction

This summer, industrial and ambient label Tympanik released Emerging Organisms vol. 4, the latest installment of the critically-acclaimed compilation series. This collection features a number upcoming artists, including a bright new star in the genre, Boy is Fiction.

“Output 1-2 (33 1 1 1)” by Boy is Fiction  



Meshell Ndgeocello

Bass-playing songwriter Meshell Ndgeocello turns in a slinky, sly set of tunes on her new Weather, which is out November 8 on Naïve. Audacious in its understatement, the album will creep quietly into your subconscious.

“Dirty World” by Meshell Ndgeocello 



itsnotyouitsme

Looped strings and fuzzy atmospherics make everybody’s pain is magnificent a comfortable, hypnotic double album–slow moving music for people who like to watch the clouds roll past. Out on New Amsterdam.

it might be time to leave this place and go mingle with our heroes” by itsnotyouitsme  



Phillip Schroeder

New music composer Phillip Schroeder uses classical instruments and modern delay effects to create, in his own words, “lush, kaleidoscopic textures” through “canonic repetition.” His album Passage Through a Dream is out on Innova, the ever-adventurous label of the American Composers Forum.

“A Necessary Autumn” by Phillip Schroeder  


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