tribal lore

Posted by exy

https://exystence.net/blog/2026/03/22/nubiyan-twist-chasing-shadows-2026/

https://exystence.net/?p=323668

As AI becomes an increasing threat to humans trying to make a living from creative activities, Nubiyan Twist’s latest album is a defiant riposte. It is a celebration of the joyful energy and chaos that comes from musicians getting together in a room to play. While that could imply a scrappy sound, it would be a wildly inaccurate description of the ensemble. Chasing Shadows represents a skilful interception of jazz, afrobeat, R&B and electronics, fused with a mastery that reflects the nine-piece band’s background having formed in 2011 while studying at the Leeds College of Music.
Their fifth album resists the temptation of indulging in extended jams, all eleven tracks timing around the four-minute mark. New vocalist, Eniola Idowu, brings an extra soulful touch…

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…to the songs on which she features as well as displaying considerable versatility. A four-piece horn section consisting of Nick Richards (alto sax), Denis Scully (tenor sax), Jonathan Enser (Trumpet) and Hannah-Mae Birtwell (baritone sax) are one of the standout elements throughout the record bringing energy and emotion, as exemplified on opening track, ‘Azimuth’ on which Idowu tries to come to terms with her thoughts, driving herself crazy with self-analysis. Lewis Moody adds jazzy piano flourishes to create a mood that is tasteful but emotional and driven by Finn Booth’s busy drums. On the dappled ‘Sunlight’, Idowu switches between rap and jazz-tinged soul vocals while trying to find healing. ‘Echoes’ develops from smouldering soul to a high energy dance workout. With its command to “no be fake” and “open to your soul let your spirit fly”, ‘Body Flows’ hits a sweet spot between jazz funk and Afrobeats while Idowu switches nimbly between singing and rapping.

Numerous guests are dotted throughout ‘Chasing Shadows’, in part taking advantage of contacts that bandleader and producer, Tom Excell, has made performing with Damon Albarn’s Africa Express. The Pharcyde’s emcee Booty Brown provides a rap on the space age funk of ‘Red Herring’, sketching a tale that serves as a metaphor for the misdirection of tech giants and the AI industry, representing a refusal to be snared by the illusion. Grammy-nominated Malian singer, Fatoumata Diawara, provides vocals on the title track. The song is an exploration of motherhood, the difficulties of being away from her children while touring and what is passed down between the generations. With some excellent guitar lines from Excell, horn section blowing in unison and drums providing fluid rhythmic propulsion, it is one of the album’s highlights.

‘How Far’ sees M.anifest share vocals with Idowu on a tale of “braggers and boasters, toil on their holsters” which mixes African guitar with chilled-out grooves. The especially dynamic and thrilling ‘Message’ has effective vocal interplay between Mr Williamz and Idowu, high stakes horn propulsion and a trumpet solo that adds to the wild mood. The Zawose Queens provide a call for unity and justice on ‘Mlonje – Voices Joined’, a piece of dizzying rhythmic complexity. The instrumental ‘Threads’ has Patrice Rushen guesting on jazz piano and throws some samba percussion band shapes as well as boasting some cool horn blowing. Joe Armon-Jones, whose virtuoso playing can be heard as part of Ezra Collective and Nubya Garcia’s band, contributes Rhodes to ‘Rhythm of You’, a piece of lover’s rock-tinged positivity that ends ‘Chasing Shadows’ on a mellow high.

What makes ‘Chasing Shadows’ so impressive is the way that various styles marry seamlessly. It is a record that has variety and cohesiveness, managing to combine smoothness with energy. Oozing positivity even when confronting life’s trials, it is a celebration of a collective coming together for the joy of creating music. — silentradio.co.uk

https://exystence.net/blog/2026/03/22/nubiyan-twist-chasing-shadows-2026/

https://exystence.net/?p=323668

Posted by exy

https://exystence.net/blog/2026/03/22/midori-hirano-otonoma-2026/

https://exystence.net/?p=322177

We last encountered Midori Hirano in the company of a pair of Berlin electronic improvisers, noting that “A grounding cadence of piano arpeggios, a tremulous wash of strings, the fluting pulse of synthesizers, Berlin experimental artists Sebastian and Daniel Selke (“the brothers”) and Midori Hirano mix together organic and electronic sounds in this meditation on the scale.”
Here the Berlin-based artist — who trained on classical piano but has more recently shifted to analog and modular synths — revisits the spare, searching aesthetic on her own, mostly on synthethic keyboards but also on piano.
On the synthy side, consider the purity of “Before the Silence,” as it negotiates a brief but luminous keyboard riff. It rolls like a wheel,…

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…the end of one phrase tucking into the beginnings of the next. A tootling flute-like sound dances across the surface. But despite the electronic instruments, there’s no uncanny valley here, just very clear tones, haloed by space and echo and, yes, silence. The piece grows more dissonant towards the end, a whistling tone wash in the background, vibrating like open air power lines.

The piano cuts are rarer but just as enlightening. “Was It a Dream?’ which closes, is romantic in its intensity, a Chopin nocturne showed by vibrating electronic hiss. “Rainwalk,” by contrast is more forthright and melody. You wouldn’t be surprised to hear a jazz vocal emerge from its sophisticated, lounge-y architecture.

But consistently, the hallmark of this music is clean-ness, quietude and separation. You’re never in a murk or mess or noise. Hirona says that OTONOMA translates as “the space between sounds,” and that’s about right. Both the spaces and the sounds are very beautiful. — dusted

https://exystence.net/blog/2026/03/22/midori-hirano-otonoma-2026/

https://exystence.net/?p=322177

Posted by exy

https://exystence.net/blog/2026/03/22/exek-prove-the-mountains-move-2026/

https://exystence.net/?p=322651

After a half-dozen full-lengths and a clutch of EPs and live releases, plus one miraculously injury-free van crash in the French countryside, EXEK has arrived. The seventh studio offering from the Melbourne-based sextet, Prove the Mountains Move, comes courtesy of Brooklyn’s DFA Records, which has been fusing together rock and electronic music since the halcyon days of flagship act LCD Soundsystem.
First emerging as acolytes of Public Image Ltd.’s immortal Metal Box (aka Second Edition), EXEK has subsequently been delivering dubbed-out death-disco the equal of paragons such as The Rapture and Anika. Each EXEK album finds the group adding and subtracting elements to their core sound; Prove The Mountains Move finds…

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…the group in exploring new territory once again: The bucolic synth layers and soaring Robert Fripp-like guitar of “Sidestepping” cross into Eno’s Another Green World, but get a shot in the arm via rhythmic momentum bordering on effervescent. A Stereolab-esque bassline undulates in the background of “You Have Been Blessed,” the cracked dream pop vibe hypothesizing a 1980s-era scenario in which Christopher Cross penned a song for Roxy Music. Channeling the dramatic sweep of John Cale’s mid-’70s run, “Don’t Answer (When They Call)” finds beauty and relief in accepting paranoia and dodging responsibilities. “Tyres” taps back into PiL’s mainline as singer Albert Wolski spits fire over top of a “Poptones”-esque bass lick, while the closing “Chef’s Hat Renaissance” syncs sun-kissed guitars with the dub foundation that undergirds EXEK’s songs. With its mixture of post-punk, dub, and avant-pop, Prove the Mountains Move grabs a spot near the apex of DFA’s venerated catalog, slotting effortlessly into the label’s mise-en-scéne. — daily.bandcamp.com

https://exystence.net/blog/2026/03/22/exek-prove-the-mountains-move-2026/

https://exystence.net/?p=322651