Happening Again #60
The almost-three quarters
Hello!
It’s a packed issue this fortnight. And sixty! It feels like some sort of milestone, even though it really isn’t. Happening Again can’t even claim a pension these days.
I’m back in Moonbuilding Weekly again, reviewing Dan “Danalogue” Leavers’ fantastic debut solo record ‘Teleportations’. It’s a science fiction album in every sense, and there’s a bonus trippy full-album visualiser to go with it.
Elsewhere for Juno Daily I spoke to Joakim Forsgren, a Swedish artist and musician who records as Autorhythm. His recent album ‘Self Help Manual’ is great, but the story behind it is fascinating. It’s the tale of a man that not only refused to let serious illness get the better of him, but grabbed it by the horns and used it to his advantage.
Yes, I know you’re all listening to the new Boards Of Canada album. Yes, I am too. No, I haven’t included it here because I haven’t properly absorbed it and therefore cannot give a fully formed opinion on it. That is the dedication I have to this whole music writing business dear reader. Although I did enjoy all the memes about the heatwave being an elaborate PR campaign for the band.
Anyway, here’s what I’ve been spinning recently…
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Parasol
END SKY ATLAS
Orange Milk
“Wendy Carlos at a rave” is how I’d describe this second album from Sydney, Australia’s Chuyi Wang. I was instantly hooked from the second I heard those MIDI keys on the opening bars of ‘The First Turn Of The Screw’, and the entire album has this exciting, frantic energy that runs through it like lightning. But in some ways, that almost sells it short. While the title track might start like a bunch of static ricocheting within a glowstick, by the second half you’re treated to an ambient synthscape accompanied by a sombre string melody. There’s dashes of hyperpop to ‘Find (New Earth Mix)’, while the slow electronic lament of ‘Predictive Heart’ slowly glitches and decays before bubbling back into life. There’s a full-bodied sound palette on display with ‘End Sky Atlas’; “MIDI is a miracle” says Parasol on their Bandcamp page. In their hands it certainly is.
Dan Moore
KIELDER WATER MUSIC
Bandcamp
It’s always nice when something like this drops into my inbox. Bristol-based Dan Moore creates meditative and moody soundscapes, and has featured on BBC Radio 3’s Night Tracks, played piano on Massive Attacks recent single ‘Boots On The Ground’, and has worked with the likes of Damon Albarn, Adrian Utley, and Seb Rochford, to name but a few. He’s also a member of both the Will Gregory Moog Ensemble and Modulus III. Quite the CV! ‘Kielder Water Music’ is his ode to Kielder Dam in Northumberland - in his own words “built for an industrial expansion that never came”. Combining field recordings, electronic piano, and a string quartet, it’s an EP in four distinct parts. And it’s gorgeous. I love the unexpected drum ‘n’ bass feel ‘The Architect’ has, skittering forward alongside a twinkling arpeggio. Contrast with the string-led ‘A Shift In The Land’ that invites you to drift slowly with it before bursting into orchestral sky-high euphoria. It’s not hard to understand why Moore is a musician in demand. More like this please.
Fire-Toolz
LAVENDER NETWORKS
Warp
I have words on this record in other outlets, so I shan’t repeat myself. In a word: banger. Angel Marcloid’s debut for Sheffield’s Warp is a ferocious one, and her very specific blend of experimental, glitch, post-vaporwave, metal, cybergrind, IDM, and more is a force to be reckoned with. Moving in ways you never expect, ‘Lavender Networks’ is a wild rollercoaster full of screaming vocals, textured static, fantasy synthlines, and thudding bass. I reckon it’ll be up there as one of my favourites of the year. Warp are lucky to have this.
Gnoomes
FOREIGN AGENT
Rocket
I was so happy to hear that psych-rockers Gnoomes have a new album on the way. The band, the duo of Sasha and Masha Piankova (although I’m also counting recent canine addition Fižol as a member as well) are now based in Slovenia, having relocated several years ago from Russia for obvious reasons. ‘Foreign Agent’ (tongue-firmly-in-cheek with that title I’m sure) is the first single taken from upcoming LP ‘Foley’ and it’s a corker. Slowly building with a mix of motorik percussion (recorded back in their native Perm by former bandmate Pasha Fedoseev (do yourself a favour and check out his work as KIKOK)), hazy guitar chords, and wiggly hallucinogenic electronics, it all makes for a heady cocktail. But it’s Gnoomes, I expect nothing less.
SUSS
COUNTING SUNSETS
Northern Spy
New York City-based ambient country trio SUSS’s latest album ‘Counting Sunsets’ has been on almost-permanent rotation recently. Divided into 10 ‘Sunsets’, each track expands on the groups trademark slow-moving Americana. Think Ry Cooder and Hayden Pedigo, but more fuzzy, more minimal, and yet more atmospheric. ‘Sunset IV’ and ‘Sunset V’ are my personal favourites, although I also love the melancholy of ‘Sunset VI’. But frankly it’s all gold. The way the band utilise negative space, as well as squeezing every inch out of those decaying steely chords is a marvel. This is the perfect album for the recent hot weather, but I know I’ll still be listening to this come the end of the year.
John Carpenter
LORD OF THE UNDERGROUND
Sacred Bones
The Horror Master, along with son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, returns with the latest entry in their musical canon. Upcoming album ‘Cathedral’ follows their scoring work for the most recent string of ‘Halloween’ films as well as their ‘Lost Themes’ albums, their “soundtracks for the movies in your mind”. ‘Lord Of The Underground’ is the first single taken from upcoming LP, which looks to be the full works. An album and a graphic novel based on a dream Carpenter had in 2024? “An abandoned cathedral. A gruesome murder. A powerful supernatural entity living in the catacombs. It all comes to a head in downtown Los Angeles. What will happen and who will live to tell the tale?” reads the blurb. ‘Lord Of The Underground’ has a heavier sound than some of the trios’ other work, full of Gothic synthesisers, Davies’ gnarly guitar chords, and ecclesiastical chorus, but still full of those panicked ‘Halloween’-esque electronics. There’s never a dull moment with John Carpenter who, when I interviewed him back in 2018, was far more interested in talking to me about video games than anything film or music related.
That’s it for this time. As always you can find my ramblings elsewhere in both print and online in Electronic Sound. I am going to tentatively dip into the world of microblogging again, so follow me on Bluesky if that’s your sort of thing.
But before I go, here are some things from across the internet that have caught my eye…
// A recent New York times investigation has uncovered that Steven Rosenbaum’s book ‘The Future Of Truth’ about the effects of AI on truth contains quotes entirely made up by AI. Because apparently the future can get even more stupid. In response, Rosenbaum has started his own “investigation” into how this happened (spoilers: because he used ChatGPT and Claude for “research”). What happened to good old fashioned human-led research?
// An autonomous submarine examining the ice shelves in Antarctica discovered strange structures under the ice, lost contact with researchers, then disappeared. Aliens? Hidden intelligent civilisation? Dark under-god that we’ve disturbed? Well, no, probably not.
// Lots of films have caught my eye recently, so a quick rundown…
// I don’t know a lot about Canadian mockumentary series ‘Nirvanna The Band The Show’, but I do know it has a not-insignificant cult following, as does its film adaption ‘Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie’. It’s finally getting a UK theatrical release via Vertigo. Kooky off-beat comedy? Might be worth a shot.
// I’ll always look forward to a new Nicolas Winding Refn film, even if I end up not caring for it (looking at you ‘Only God Forgives’). ‘Her Private Hell’ is a horror-sci-fi that involves a mysterious mist, an American GI, and Sophie Thatcher (who I don’t think I’ve seen in anything since ‘The Boogeyman’). As always, it visually looks a treat.
// I was a big fan of ‘I Saw The TV Glow’, so I’m very much looking forward to Jane Schoenbrun’s next film ‘Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma’. The film follows a queer director who becomes obsessed with casting the “final girl” in her horror franchise. They had me at Gillian Anderson.