DJ Kampire: Happy Kampire
Touring the globe with curated sets of African club music spanning the 1970s to the present day, East African DJ Kampire is a tastemaker extraordinaire, as her debut compilation so richly attests
Miki Yui: Deep Listening
Miki Yui has produced a beguiling body of work rooted in elemental electronics and field recordings. She describes being shaped by the art and music of Düsseldorf, the influence of her late husband Klaus Dinger, and her recent conversion to modular synths
Molchat Doma: This Is Not My Beautiful House
Having moved from their native Minsk to LA, the fourth album from Belarusian post-punk/synthpop outfit Molchat Doma also marks an expansive and propulsive “technicolour reinvention” of their sound. Taut, moody, imposing and typically brutalist, it’s one heck of a gut punch
Unicorn Ship Explosion: Horn Of Plenty
A detuned mass of driving electronics, oblique kosmische vibes and out-there transmissions, the first album by Stroud duo Unicorn Ship Explosion is an almighty statement of left-field intent
Propaganda: Wishful Thinking
German synth supremo Ralf Dörper invited classical percussionist Michael Mertens to join Propaganda in 1983. Their debut album, ‘A Secret Wish’, is still a dark-hearted classic, but the reunited pair are now looking to the future with a fresh incarnation of the outfit that made their names
Suzanne Ciani: Every Trick In The Buchla
With a recording from a live performance in New York surfacing 50 years after she made it, Suzanne Ciani reflects on playing with Beck, getting tear-gassed, parking karma and, of course, quadraphonic sound
Alex Paterson’s Record Collection
Norwood, London, September 2022
Thomas Dolby: This Charming Man
In 1984, Thomas Dolby’s ‘The Flat Earth’ album saw him outgrow his persona as MTV’s favourite “outgoing boffin” and flourish into a songwriter of impressive versatility. With an expanded digital version recently released, is he still “hyperactive now he’s grown”? He may be more reflective, but as he explains, life still has its fair share of adventure and excitement
Robyn Miller ‘Myst Soundtrack’ (Cyan, 1995)
It’s the mid-1990s and my daughter and I are sitting with our noses practically rammed up against the screen of our Power Mac 5200
This Heat ‘24 Track Loop’
Charles Hayward and Charles Bullen of This Heat talk about ‘24 Track Loop’, an astonishing cut which anticipated jungle through sheer post-punk audacity