Liner Notes / Record PR Recap 2022
Here's a selection of reissues and new releases I've worked on this year.
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.
Over the last four years, I’ve had the pleasure of being able to work on the other side of the fence by writing liner notes and release sheets for a number of independent record labels from around the world, including Awesome Tapes From Africa, Glossy Mistakes, Frederiksberg Records, Isle of Jura and Mānuka Recordings. 2022 in particular, has been a bumper year for me in this regard. It’s been fantastic getting the opportunity to help set the agenda around a litany of wonderful reissues and new releases from such a diverse range of styles, genres and countries. Deep house, Algerian and Danish folk, uptempo RnB, ambient, modern city pop, Chutney soca, you name it. Anyway, here’s nine releases I’ve worked on this year.
Stevia aka Susumu Yokota, Fruits of the Room (Glossy Mistakes)
In 1997 and 1998, the late great Japanese composer, producer, and DJ Susumu Yokota released two of the most eclectic albums of his decades-long career, Fruits of The Room and Greenpeace. Recorded under his Stevia alias for Tokyo Techno pioneer DJ Miku’s Newstage Records/NS-COM, they were Yokota-san’s homage to the foundational days of club music in Japan. Across Fruits of The Room, he takes us on an expansive odyssey through his personal visions for deep house, street soul, jungle/drum & bass, digital dub and the slipstream moments between genres. A totally inspired dancefloor exploration.
HAMSI Boubeker, Le Chant Des Profondeurs (Frederiksberg Records)
In 1988, HAMSI released his second album, Le Chant Des Profondeurs. A heady concoction of Kabylia region Berber traditional music, “drinking songs, Irish music, Breton folk music and jazz,” the eight songs HAMSI presents on Le Chant Des Profondeurs draw deeply from the Kabyle traditions the women in his family have kept alive for generations. “It was necessary to produce this album, to make my music and the messages in the lyrics travel so that people discover all humans are alike,” HAMSI explains. “Le Chant Des Profondeurs is an ode to freedom, peace and brotherhood.”
Danny Scott Lane, Wave To Mikey (Glossy Mistakes)
Wave to Mikey, the fourth album from the Los Angeles-based actor, musician and photographer Danny Lane is a nocturnal, neon-lit ode to the friendships that shape us. “I made this album for my friend Mikey from back home,” Danny explains. “We were pretty much inseparable for a large part of our lives, and our musical and social minds were always in sync in a special way. Then with age, we drifted apart, especially since I moved to Los Angeles. This album is just a little wave hello to an old friend and a kindred spirit.”
Ole Knudsen, Det Handler Om Kærlighed (Frederiksberg Records)
In 1992, the Danish guitarist, singer-songwriter, composer, percussionist, and music teacher Ole Knudsen self-released his second and final album, Det Handler Om Kærlighed (It’s about Love). Culminating in the infectious melodies of ‘Slingrevejen’, which has become a bit of a cult classic among Danish record collectors.
Stevia aka Susumu Yokota, Greenpeace (Glossy Mistakes)
In 1997 and 1998, the late great Japanese composer, producer, and DJ Susumu Yokota released two of the most eclectic albums of his decades-long career, Fruits of The Room and Greenpeace. Recorded under his Stevia alias for Tokyo Techno pioneer DJ Miku’s Newstage Records/NS-COM, they were Yokota-san’s homage to the foundational days of club music in Japan. Across Greenpeace sees Yokota-san conjuring up a heady concoction of dusty loops, sampledelic breaks, kraut-rock and psychedelic downbeat. A remarkable listening experience based on the inspired era of a genius.
Natalie Yorke, Chutney Boy (Frederiksberg Records)
An unsung gem, ‘Chutney Boy’ by Natalie Yorke is an intoxicating example of chutney soca, as reimagined from a London Soundsystem music perspective. Driven by a galloping groove, a bubbling bassline, and hypnotic synths, the song sees Yorke effortlessly delivering a catchy folkloric chant and nimble verses that evoke the influence of Trinidad’s Indo-Caribbean population.
Summer Vee, Key To All Your Love/Judas (Mānuka Recordings)
Previously best known for her viral youtube demo ‘Euphoria’ and contributing ‘Aint The Same’ to the soundtrack of the well-loved The Panthers drama miniseries, Key To All Your Love/Judas sees Summer Vee delivering on her promise as one of the most exciting young vocalists in Aotearoa. On the A-side, ‘Key To All Your Love’, she connects with a cast of collaborators, including Mānuka Recordings' in-house arranger and producer Kenny Sterling, drummer Julien Dyne and saxophonist JY Lee. On the flip-side, ‘Judas’, Summer revisits this fruitful creative partnership with the addition of backing vocals from Lijah Mavaega.
The Kyoto Connection, The Flower, the Bird and the Mountain (Isle of Jura)
During the late 2010s, music lovers around the world began obsessively listening to increasingly esoteric albums on Youtube. More often than not, they’d leave the browser on autoplay. This was how Facundo Arena, the composer and producer behind The Kyoto Connection, discovered the technonaturalistic pleasures of Kankyō Ongaku (environmental music), a distinctly Japanese interpretation of European, British and American minimalist composition and ambient music. “It was a kind of algorithmic magic,” he says.
Instant House, Lost Horizons (Isle of Jura)
In 1993, Instant House released their deepest single, Lost Horizons, through Jungle Sounds Recordings. The A-side, ‘Lost Horizons (The Mind Travel Saturday Night Sunday Morning Mix)’ is a seventeen-minute and twenty-second sojourn into the vibrant club sounds of early 90s NYC. Driven by a Latin-accented man-machine beat that marches into infinity, it comes backed by two shorter mixes, ‘Lost Horizons’ and ‘Lost Horizons (Percussion Bonus)’.
FIN.