July-October Music.

I got very busy after June, in the mad dash to get the OMR compiler component out the door, and so I got behind on writing up music.

Of course, I didn't stop listening! So, I'll try to go through some of what I found awesome over the last few months. 

John Lee Hooker's Decoration Day: Heartbreaker of a blues song. 

Sarathy Kowar's album Day to Day is fascinating. Bhajan is :thumbsup:. 

John Scofield's jazzy take on House of the Rising sub. Fun, especially as I've been learning to play guitar, and the straight forward traditional House of the Rising sun was one of the first things I learned to pick up. 

Swedish born Snoh Allegra... well, I'm not going to write much better than this.

I have a huge appreciation for finely constructed pop music that's a little on the edge. This Banks song is right up my alley. No idea what's going on with the video, and lyrically: ? ? ?. But finely constructed pop. 

I only recently discovered Derrick Hodge as an artist on his own, but he's played on Robert Glasper's albums before, so I've almost certainly heard him play before. I actually wanted to embed his song Transitions, but Soundcloud tells me not available in Canada. Sad face. 

Stormzy: Solid modern grime. 

Rag'n'Bone Man - Human. Great, heartfelt. 

Alright. I think that's enough for this edition. I'm sure I missed an enormous amount, and will find new things. But, hopefully I'll do these more frequently and have less enormous gaps!

A Real Camera

This weekend we went out on two different adventures. First was a trip Andrea and I took to Rouge Park, to wander around in the woods, and the second was a trip to an apple orchard to pick ourselves some apples for pies.

They were both a lot of fun. Interestingly they were both trips I brought my Fujifilm X20 on, after about six months of doing most of my photography with my phone. 

Boy, what a reminder of how even an older camera can really dramatically outshine a phone camera. So much talk about how phones have replaced point and shoots is very true; the best camera is the one you have with you.  

However, the difference in quality between my phone (iPhone 6s) and this three year old Fuji is so noticeable. 

Having a zoom lens, even only 4x, helps immensely with framing, and I find the Fuji puts out crisper, brighter pictures than I typically get from my phone.  

The downsides are definitely there though. One is of course size. As well, I find that on average the Fuji is a touch slower to autofocus, and heck of a lot slower to actually write out a photo. Perhaps if I bought a faster SD card that could be helped. 

Anyhow. Long way of me saying: not vacationing without the Fuji any time soon, and I suspect, I will eventually replace it with another stand alone camera, even if the iPhone 7's depth effect is amazing.  

June's Music Post

Happy Canada Day! 🎉🇨🇦🎉

I'm celebrating by being on top of doing my June Music Post... only a day late. Boy though, was June ever full of good stuff. This one is extra long because of it. 

It's a fantastic album to put on, and watch the landscape drift by on a train. 

Find this alongside the Instrumental, Acapella and Radio Edit below: https://jonwayne.lnk.to/ThatsOKAW ARCS002 - Jonwayne "That's O.K."

Jonwayne +1 

I'm not quite sure what I think of Kaytranada's album, but there's definitely something special in this track. 

I was surprised to see this in the playlist twice, but, I definitely really liked it... 

The slide guitar ragas of Grammy-nominated Debashish Bhattacharya are deeply grounded in India’s musical traditions yet profoundly innovative. Combining revolutionary reinvented guitars with a boundary-bending melodic and rhythmic approach, Slide Guitar Ragas From Dusk Till Dawn is an album of sublime and joyous musical meditations. For more information, visit www.worldmusic.net/dusk-dawn

Download the album at https://djshadow.lnk.to/tmwfso DJ Shadow, widely acknowledged as a crucial figure in the development of experimental, instrumental hip-hop, has returned with ‘The Mountain Will Fall’ via Mass Appeal Records [and Believe Digital in France], his first full length release since 2011. The 12-track album finds DJ Shadow exploring new realms in addition to the deep samples and kinetic soundscapes that helped to launch his career 20 years ago. On ‘The Mountain Will Fall’ he’s shifted further toward original composition, a vast experimentation of beats and textures, synthesizers and live instruments including horns and woodwinds. The album features Run The Jewels, Nils Frahm, Matthew Halsall, Ernie Fresh and more. DJ Shadow will host two more of his #radioface Beats 1 shows this summer. His BBC Essential Mix will debut on July 2 and he created a radio station for Pandora, the Producer's Who Inspire Him Everyday: http://pdora.co/25IhBgI DJ Shadow is embarking on a massive tour this week with recently announced US headlining dates for September and October. The album is available in all formats with artwork designed by Paul Insect including a gatefold double LP. Order 'The Mountain Will Fall' here: https://DJShadow.lnk.to/TMWFYT ALBUM TRACK LIST: 1. The Mountain Will Fall 2. Nobody Speak feat. Run The Jewels 3. Three Ralphs 4. Bergschrund feat. Nils Frahm 5. The Sideshow feat. Ernie Fresh 6. Depth Charge 7. Mambo 8. Ashes To Oceans feat. Matthew Halsall 9. Pitter Patter feat. G Jones & Bleep Bloop 10. California 11. Ghost Town 12. Suicide Pact 13. Swerve (iTunes Bonus Track) TOUR DATES: June 24 – Artefact Festival – Strasbourg, France June 25 – Le Grand Mix - Lille-Tourcoing, France June 28 – Gretchen – Berlin, Germany June 29 – Gloria Theater – Cologne, Germany July 1 – Montreux Jazz Festival – Montreux, Switzerland July 2 – Pitch Festival – Amsterdam, Netherlands July 5 – Mojo Club – Hamburg, Germany July 6 – Vega – Copenhagen, Denmark July 8 – Les Ardentes – Liege, Belgium July 9 – Pohoda – Trencin, Slovakia July 14 – Super Bock, Super Rock – Sesimbra, Portugal July 16 – Peacock Society – Paris, France July 17 – Benicassim – Benicassim, Spain July 20 – ABC – Glasgow, UK July 21 – Motion – Bristol, UK July 22 – Secret Garden Party – East Anglia, UK July 23 – Blue Dot Festival @ Jodrell Bank – Cheshire, UK July 24 – Mass Appeal Records’ Live at the BBQ – NY, NY (Central Park Summerstage) July 27 – Brixton Electric – London, UK July 28 – Island of Obonjan – Sibenik, Croatia July 30 – Audioriver – Plock, Poland August 19 – Plaza Condessa – Mexico City, Mexico August 20 – Hellow Festival – Monterrey, Mexico September 27 – House of Blues – San Diego, CA September 28 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA Septemeber 29 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA September 30 – 1015 Folsom – San Francisco, CA October 1 – Star Theater – Portland, OR October 2 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC October 3 – Showbox at the Market – Seattle, WA October 6 – Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN October 7 – Metro – Chicago, IL October 8 – Phoenix Concert Theatre – Toronto, ON October 9 – Club Soda – Montreal, QC October 10 – Theatre of The Living Arts – Philadelphia,PA October 11 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA October 13 – 9:30 Club – Washington, D.C. October 14 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY October 15 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY October 27 – Pitchfork Festival – Paris, France

Download the album at https://djshadow.lnk.to/tmwfso DJ Shadow, widely acknowledged as a crucial figure in the development of experimental, instrumental hip-hop, has returned with ‘The Mountain Will Fall’ via Mass Appeal Records [and Believe Digital in France], his first full length release since 2011. The 12-track album finds DJ Shadow exploring new realms in addition to the deep samples and kinetic soundscapes that helped to launch his career 20 years ago. On ‘The Mountain Will Fall’ he’s shifted further toward original composition, a vast experimentation of beats and textures, synthesizers and live instruments including horns and woodwinds. The album features Run The Jewels, Nils Frahm, Matthew Halsall, Ernie Fresh and more. DJ Shadow will host two more of his #radioface Beats 1 shows this summer. His BBC Essential Mix will debut on July 2 and he created a radio station for Pandora, the Producer's Who Inspire Him Everyday: http://pdora.co/25IhBgI DJ Shadow is embarking on a massive tour this week with recently announced US headlining dates for September and October. The album is available in all formats with artwork designed by Paul Insect including a gatefold double LP. Order 'The Mountain Will Fall' here: https://DJShadow.lnk.to/TMWFYT ALBUM TRACK LIST: 1. The Mountain Will Fall 2. Nobody Speak feat. Run The Jewels 3. Three Ralphs 4. Bergschrund feat. Nils Frahm 5. The Sideshow feat. Ernie Fresh 6. Depth Charge 7. Mambo 8. Ashes To Oceans feat. Matthew Halsall 9. Pitter Patter feat. G Jones & Bleep Bloop 10. California 11. Ghost Town 12. Suicide Pact 13. Swerve (iTunes Bonus Track) TOUR DATES: June 24 – Artefact Festival – Strasbourg, France June 25 – Le Grand Mix - Lille-Tourcoing, France June 28 – Gretchen – Berlin, Germany June 29 – Gloria Theater – Cologne, Germany July 1 – Montreux Jazz Festival – Montreux, Switzerland July 2 – Pitch Festival – Amsterdam, Netherlands July 5 – Mojo Club – Hamburg, Germany July 6 – Vega – Copenhagen, Denmark July 8 – Les Ardentes – Liege, Belgium July 9 – Pohoda – Trencin, Slovakia July 14 – Super Bock, Super Rock – Sesimbra, Portugal July 16 – Peacock Society – Paris, France July 17 – Benicassim – Benicassim, Spain July 20 – ABC – Glasgow, UK July 21 – Motion – Bristol, UK July 22 – Secret Garden Party – East Anglia, UK July 23 – Blue Dot Festival @ Jodrell Bank – Cheshire, UK July 24 – Mass Appeal Records’ Live at the BBQ – NY, NY (Central Park Summerstage) July 27 – Brixton Electric – London, UK July 28 – Island of Obonjan – Sibenik, Croatia July 30 – Audioriver – Plock, Poland August 19 – Plaza Condessa – Mexico City, Mexico August 20 – Hellow Festival – Monterrey, Mexico September 27 – House of Blues – San Diego, CA September 28 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA Septemeber 29 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA September 30 – 1015 Folsom – San Francisco, CA October 1 – Star Theater – Portland, OR October 2 – Commodore Ballroom – Vancouver, BC October 3 – Showbox at the Market – Seattle, WA October 6 – Varsity Theater – Minneapolis, MN October 7 – Metro – Chicago, IL October 8 – Phoenix Concert Theatre – Toronto, ON October 9 – Club Soda – Montreal, QC October 10 – Theatre of The Living Arts – Philadelphia,PA October 11 – Paradise Rock Club – Boston, MA October 13 – 9:30 Club – Washington, D.C. October 14 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY October 15 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY October 27 – Pitchfork Festival – Paris, France

May Music Post

Given that it's now June, I suppose I ought to finally post my May music post: 😅

New Chance the Rapper Mixtape: 

New Submotion Orchestra album is really great!

No idea where I found this one... probably GP. But great album by the Whitefield Brothers

Some smooth jazz... why not? 

And a lovely cover: 

I had the opportunity this month to go see the Ladom Ensemble. Good stuff (but I'm biased; Friends with the Pianist: Hi Pouya!). Here's their promo video: 

They are on tour as we speak, so, if you're in eastern Canada, keep an eye out, they could be playing near you!. 

Alright. That's all for now folks. Be back with June's... before August.