A mission statement, taken from the Noland label Soundcloud: “NOLAND is not about global and local, not about identity, not about diversity and not about North and South cooperation. NOLAND is about a constellation of individuals, of identities, about laughing, arguing and the cosmic beauty of making music together in space which has…
I’ve always, like many people, hated the term ‘fusion’ music. There’s an Indian restaurant down the road from where I used to live that advertised itself as a ‘fusion’ restaurant, blending Indian cuisine with fresh, innovative recipes. “Yes, you can have Tikka Masala but we have some new ways for you to enjoy it” …
I always find it difficult to write about electronic music like this, as it seems so dependent upon space. Tollcrane’s latest LP has a cavernous, huge sound to it, that seems more suited to a warehouse than bursting though headphones. There is the sense that this is very much dance music, made for moving bodies,…
In a wonderfully nostalgic track, Rija Yousuf looks back, not to her childhood, but even further, to a pre-natal state. She asks, 'where do I begin again?', and the answer seems to be there, safe in a mother's womb. Swaddled in reverb, Nomad withdraws from the world.…
So I have no idea who this is, but there are lots of nice little touches here that suggest Slumber Bandit are a band(?) to look out for. There's something about this track that reminds me of French duo 'Air', especially 'La Femme D'Argent'. Maybe it's the electronic blips dotted around, or the shuffling percussion.…
First Impressions: T5 I get ‘interviewed’ at Durham Airport (fucking DURHAM airport) where a nice woman looks through my bags and says what's this? (hard drive) and what's this? (camera batteries) and have you ever been involved in tribal warfare? (no). I feel like a little schoolboy and I'm reminded of a time at school when the lunch lady asks…
Every time I listen to Nazia Hassan I can’t help but think: how did my parents listen to this? Amma and Baba, who both listen to ghazals and qawwali, sometimes ask me to put some Nazia on in the car. The thought of them growing up with Disco Deewane as their college anthem is…
What a start for Mooshymoo. The first EP to be released by the DIY label, this collection of 5 stunning tracks from Dalt Wisney, alter ego for Shehryar Hyatt, is one of the most interesting and layered additions to the Pakistani experimental scene, and remains so 9 years after its release. The EP begins, however,…
I came across Slowspin, aka Zeerak Ahmed, after falling into a soundcloud hole, prompted by Tonje Thilesen's fantastic article in Pitchfork Magazine entitled Searching for an Underground Generation in Karachi, Pakistan. First was Rise, a steadfastly lo-fi track, with a generous glaze of vinyl crackle covering the whole thing. The repeated lyric is almost indecipherable — don’t… very far? go back…
In an interview with The Quietus, Nawksh, the moniker for Karachi-based producer Danial Hyatt, says: “My music is a deep-dive into the most difficult, darkest parts of my psyche. There I attempt to befriend the monsters that lurk, and convince them to follow me back out, knowing they'll dissolve in the light of the Sun.”…
