I Got Five On It

Five listening recommendations for your week.

Selected Works is a weekly (usually) newsletter by the Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) based freelance music journalist, broadcaster, copywriter and sometimes DJ Martyn Pepperell, aka Yours Truly. Most weeks, Selected Works consists of a recap of what I’ve been doing lately and some of what I’ve been listening to and reading, paired with film photographs I’ve taken + some bonuses. All of that said, sometimes it takes completely different forms.

I had high hopes for this week. High, high hopes. Of course, as it goes, that meant coming down with gastro on Sunday night. The next two days were a feverish blur during which I briefly lost confidence in my ability to do anything I do for work. Sounds fun, right?

However, by Wednesday, I felt ready to eat again, and later that day, I had even managed to fit in a swim at the beach. Sounds good, right? Here’s the first kicker. Without noticing it, I managed to blister my feet on the hot concrete and sand nearby, which I guess I didn’t notice at first due to spending the next forty minutes in the cool, clear waters. I sure noticed afterwards, though - ha-ha!

Today, I’ve been juggling work with looking after my nephew and battling with the letter D on my keyboard. You can’t tell it from here, but it’s really not working properly, and the whole experience of typing with it, or more aptly around it, is driving me insane. Off to get it cleaned or fixed tomorrow, I guess. Good things are coming, and I’ll make up for all the lost time soon. Until then, here are five listening recommendations I’ve pulled together for you. Cheers!

Now, this is what I call lovely, bubbly, bouncy, water-drip synth pop. The longstanding Dallas, Texas-based composer, producer, and remixer J.T. Donaldson connects with Franco-Belgian musical royalty Penelope Antena, the daughter of Isabelle Antena and Denis Moulin, for a downtempo track that might as well have emerged out of a collective set of dreams. The Ben Hixon mix on the flip is nice as well.

Continuing the watery theme, Shanghai-based producer/DJ Knopha debuts for Tokyo’s mulemusiq label with the short Water Play EP. Expect what it says on the lid: several watery ambient tracks on a new-age lean + a magical remix by Kuniyuki. Not a lot that needs to be said here right now, but plenty to feel.

Maximum love to everyone going through it thanks to the Los Angeles wildfires right now. Maximum love to everyone in the world who is feeling pain. Puli’s Swirling album has a balmlike quality to it. West Coast Balearica for the sunset beach lovers who are together, apart, waiting to reunite, or may perhaps never ever meet again. As always, cherish the day.

Here is a genius album about wind that I completely missed when it came out last year. In light of recent events, some of this music possibly sounds completely different to how it did when it was released, but that’s just the way it goes with these things. Landing in a zone somewhere between yacht rock-indebted indie, synth-pop, braindance, and the Balearic beat, genius producer Photay has done it again. Five albums in, this guy has a strong strike rate.

I hope you like high-tek retrofuturistic jazz odysseys that feel equally indebted to Pat Metheny, Timeline, Innerzone Orchestra, Clyde Stubblefield, Tony Allen, Sun Ra and Underground Resistance.

FIN.