Issue #38 ~ May 2024
Not Only In The Mind Of One
I almost didn’t make it this time. I’m out of gas. Time is slippy. My screen and I are not on good terms. I wish I could simply close my eyes and dictate this newsletter from a warm, natural pool in a green and luxurious place somewhere far away. But here we are again. The Regular.
I’ve cobbled this edition together and snuck it over the finish line in some kind of miraculous feat of passion and foolishness. To quote the subject of an ongoing email thread with my colleagues: Music Is Good, but it’s 2024…
click the cover to listen or go your own way ~~
David Darling & The Wulu Bunun - Mudanin Kata (2003)
I’ve been hanging onto this one all winter, waiting for a fairer season to spring it on you ; ) Sure it’s partially the chirping birds and rustling leaves that lend the album its springtime mood, but it’s also the voices of the Wulu Bunan. There’s something that feels so rejuvenating, so assured and forthright about their performances. The Bunan are an indigenous people from Taiwan, and these particular singers live atop a remote mountain in a village called Wulu. Their traditional, microtonal choral music is joined here by American cellist David Darling (who, among other things, released on ECM and wrote the music for both Heat and Child’s Play). Anyway, Mudanin Kata is a rare and bracing collection of totally gorgeous music. There’s a brief interview here with Darling, that includes some nice discussion of the project, its origins and the broader context surrounding it.
Dear Nora - Skulls Example (2018)
This album is the best fucking hang. It’s fun and unexpected, it’s warm and sweet. It’s somehow lighthearted and profoundly existential. I biked past a car the other day with a little sticker in the corner of the passenger side window that said, ‘Get in loser, we’re going to therapy’. And that’s the vibe I’m catching from Katy Davidson on the cover up there: ready to rip around some desert vistas and go deep. Skulls Example is sun-dappled rock of a curious persuasion.
Charles Rouse - Two Is One (1974)
A rare jazz-rock record that owes its swagger to the sparsity and looseness of its grooves. Something like On The Corner if it was baked not fried. I suppose the spaciousness is partly due to a lack of keys, which gives the guitar, bass, horns and cello an open field in which to thread unlikely melody. There’s something quietly curdled about the whole thing that assumes its final form on the last track, moving effortlessly from a soured devotional into a wriggling post-bop jam with a storybook ending. Seriously fun.
Mixman - Dub Like Wildfire (1991)
I’m starting a new bit where, in each issue, I tell you that something is my “favorite dub album of all time”. But really, truly, take a moment and listen to this immense heater. This burning wildfire. This unparalleled banger. This, my favorite dub album of all time.
ICYMI, I started a donations page. All the money I receive will go back towards music (eg. purchasing physical/digital music, merch, concert tickets, supporting other music outlets, etc.). If you’re not able to support the newsletter financially (no presh!), you might also consider liking / sharing / following on Instagram.
ALSO, I started a ~*fun*~ tracking sheet that provides transparency on donations and spending. It also includes links to my Bandcamp + Discogs profiles. This is as much about accountability as it is an experiment in tracking my own financial investments in music over a calendar year.
I’m super interested in feedback / dialogue / suggestions. If you have ideas about the newsletter, want to share music with me, have specific questions / requests, don’t hesitate to get in touch. And please: share this newsletter with a pal if you feel so inspired!
Yrs.,
Andrew P.
andrewdanielpatterson [at] gmail [dot] com