pat moonchy - blood pink noise

on 'blood pink noise', italy based experimental musician pat moonchy uses electronic techniques to create pulsing, minimalist rhythms that evoke natural processes; chaos and decay. over this simple backdrop she deploys her surprising vocal technique. deep, breathy chanting drones, high pitched melodic cycles in a nonsense (or just personal) language, and other innovations, developed with the circular breathing of a jazz horn player and the harmonic approach of an eastern monk.

pat moonchy is able to take the philosophy of free jazz and apply it to vocal performance like no one else i have heard. I recommend 'blood pink noise' and her last album, 'durga puja', if you enjoy high experimentation in your music.



get it here for free from pan y rosas discos.

snowball II - i doughnut want to live

the last time i heard from LA based band snowball II, they sent me the trippy video for a heavy, shoe gaze type jam called 'can i come'. that was just the beginning of this year, and they already have a new LP due out soon.

the new one is called 'doughnut holes' and features new approach to their sound, going for more of a lush, dreamy indie-folk vibe. they pull it off just as well as they did the crushing, psychedelic shoe-gaze weight of their previous LP on the lead single 'i doughnut want to live'. it's all heartfelt, yearning vocals and shimmering, drifty guitars.


check it out here.

andrew weathers - rock & roll can & will heal us

andrew weathers is a prolific musical creator based in oakland, california. he's that classic kind of MFOA contributor who's super-numerous releases go back years and explore styles, genres and methods of production widely.

his latest release, 'rock & roll can & will save us' (great title) is mostly in the ambient mode, containing evocatively named, bright, vast synth-scapes. the songs have a retro vibe, reminding me a lot of brian eno, without to much of the ultra-lofi crust that can characterize many contemporary ambient releases. the fourth track, 'horchata chronologos', adds a layer of cosmic americana/drone/folk to the ambient sound by including some banjo and guitar burbling like a psychedelic brook on top of the synths. some people might find the title of this album misleading, but those people would be squares.



get it here, cassette or digital. andrew also runs a label called full spectrum records, which counts a cassette by MFOA favorite wes tirey among it's releases.

bity booker - mr sparrow and bright star EP

bity booker is an italian/australian folk singer (based in australia). her latest release is a two song EP called 'mr sparrow and bright star'. the songs are simple in their arrangement, mostly voice and guitar with a few whimsical touches such as bells, musical saw, and sparrow sounds, but the effect is mystical, mainly due to bity's precise, hypnotic fingerpicking style and elastic, 60's folk-revival voice.

the vibes on this EP are that of the subtle strains of the psychedelic that can be felt as the sun warms a pastoral landscape, driving away the morning mist from the fields and hollows.



get it here, limited edition CD, 7" vinyl, or of course digital.

david ivan neil - again again again again

i have lost track of how many releases canadian lofi singer/songwriter david ivan neil has sent me at this point, but 'again again again again' is a pretty good one. he has taken a number of his best compositions and revisited them with better recordings/performances, and made the collection the first release for his netlabel thank god for day jobs records.

the mission statement of said netlabel goes like this: 'TGFDJ records is an internet based independent music label whose goal is to build a community of like minded DIY artists'. this is a goal MFOA can get behind.



name your price for 'again again again again', and keep your eye on TGFDJR for future releases.

pulco - farmyard & library

'farmyard & library', the newest album by super prolific welsh DIY/lofi musician pulco, might be the ultimate example of his style. it's a long album of short songs, and it's all over the place. pleasant britpop melodies are sandwiched between industrial soundscapes, snaky guitar riffage, and spoken word experimentation. strange parables are recited over post-punk drum machine blast-beats.

i think there is a concept to this album, it is both a celebration and a condemnation of ultra-modernity, how the new things we find ourselves having to deal with can be freeing and can also be huge bummers. each time I listen to this, a strange comparison comes to mind; the donovan of the weird spoken word fable-song 'atlantis' jamming with swell maps and throbbing gristle. take that for what it's worth. also, in a trans-atlantic collaboration, i jam some guitar and drum machines on the deep cut 'unleash the hounds' (thanks ash for letting me contribute).



get it digital here or on cassette from liquid library.

j. alan schneider - lo & behold

j. alan schneider is a singer/songwriter from new york city. his latest album, 'lo & behold' is full of emotionally rich, personal, whispery jams with some intricate fingerstyle accompaniment. modern heartbreak-folk.

the production is minimal but works well with these delicate tunes. an occasional organ drone or rumbling piano chord fills out the atmosphere.



get it here.