New-not-new suggestions and contemplations.
Hello, Friends.
We’re starting this new week off with something neither new or reissued necessarily, with Le Voyageur from the all-time iconic Ali Farka Touré. Produced by World Circuit founder Nick Gold and Ali’s son Vieux Farka Touré, the album collects together nine previously unreleased compositions that were captured at various points in his illustrious career. Posthumous releases can often be contentious, but not only do these songs sit together beautifully, there is so much energy in them as a coherent set. Amazing percussives, hypnotic and knotty guitar lines and such majestic vocals (including the guest of Malian superstar Oumou Sangaré on three tracks.) An album fitting of his legacy.
On the stereo as we write to you (and likely staying there muchly this week) is In A Minor Groove, the absolutely joyous collaborative record from Dorothy Ashby & Frank Wess. The air is just so light, with flautist / saxophonist Frank Wess laying down sweet and winding lines and Dorothy Ashby - the most swinging jazz harpist of all time - creating amazing soundscapes. Sometimes rhythmic, sometimes hypnotic; she really is a wonder and this album is a proper treat.
This release is created using the original mono sources, not the rechanneled stereo edition (and jumbled track listing) that formed the repackaged ‘Dorothy Ashby Plays for Beautiful People’ on Prestige.
This one gets a Solid Gold Drift Recommends™
The week’s most sought-after reissue is Horse Of The Dog, the gothic-psychobilly sounds of The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster. As our Dinked colleges' declared on announcement; We have a short bucket list of "been out of print for way too long" releases. Let's tick this beast off!
Originally released in September 2002, the debauched and blown up mix of The Birthday Party and The Cramps has kept finding new fans and Horse Of The Dog sounds just as riotous as it did on release. Great fun.
+ Available on limited Glow in the Dark vinyl.
Lastly today, another absolute stonker on Numero, with the eponymous 1995 releases from Unwound. The LP compiles their EPs for Kill Rock Stars and Gravity Records with five more session outtakes; a hard and vital set that sounds wild and fierce in 2023.
+ Available on exclusive ‘Rising Blood’ colour vinyl.
It’s looking like a pretty robust week over here!
- Drift