Dumi Maichi Na Chi - Maraire Nyunga Nyunga Mbira
Tichazomuona

Roy Of The Ravers takes a break from his mischievious outings on Acid Waxa et al to lay down some of his braindance tackle on Emotional Response. White Line Sunrise II.I (Le Roy Soleil) can rightly be considered a follow-up to White Line Sunrise II and indeed it represents a similar kind of spectrum of electronica. Roy's sound is edging further into the kind of 'artist' territory where slower, softer tracks, odd vocal diversions and some pop sensibilities merge with the acid, electro, breakbeat and other well-established tropes of his sound. It's the kind of record which could easily broach this quirky fringe operator of UK electronics to a broader fan base, and there's no doubt he's got the melodic, emotional heft on tracks like 'Versace 101624' to get everyone on board.

The Observatory is one of those last few bands that can change and become your life. Stuck in Singapore, the wilful outlier of Southeast Asia, this ever-shifting group stubbornly evolves past its roots, most recently in an more improvisational, instrumental, and noise-adjacent territories in an EP with collaborator Haino Keiji. In DEMON STATE, Dharma and Cheryl Ong plus Yuen Chee Wai continue The Observatory?s bold partnerships, this time with electronic musician Koichi Shimizu. Together, they finally reach this long-gestating, total (yet I?m sure temporary), and rhythm-focused, electronic reinvention of The Obs?while briefly nodding to their past. The road is long; DEMON STATE is one pit stop in glorious hell. Partly stemming from a casual, improv studio session with Koichi in early 2020, the eight tracks on DEMON STATE?their first release on the Midnight Shift label?were formed from a gradual accumulation of sonic layers; they were foraged, recycled, and pieced together remotely also from solo bedroom recordings, a historical sample, nonhuman beats and effects, as well as journals and junk.