Chorus.fm Record of the Week Club • Page 50

Excited for @OhTheWater’s pick next

 

@OhTheWater

I still need to listen to Into the Wild, so I'll be doing that today!

 

Oh boy let me wrap this class up then I will think

 

My pick is going to be W.A. Matheiu's 1987 album Available Light. I discovered it earlier this year after this tweet and fell in love:

The album is largely instrumental piano with the exception of the standout track "To the Well", which features vocals by Bobby McFerrin. I've been obsessed with the album, and specifically that track, since I heard it. I still don't feel smart enough to talk about why I like this style of ambient jazz so much, but I can say that I constantly find myself returning to it. Sorry @OotyPa , I think you've heard this one already based off of you liking my posts in the jazz thread!

 

stunningly beautiful album that I'll be happy to return to. great choice!

also checked out his other albums (which are weirdly under a diff artist on spotify) and they're equally wonderful.

 

Pitchfork literally just referenced Arthur Russell's home recordings in their review of the new Porches album, so I've been meaning to look into him. Might as well start at the source!

 

Arthur Russell is absolutely worth looking into, but I don't know how much you will get of his stuff from this haha. Very different vibes.

 

If you want a new album, peep that German Error Message album that I keep trying to push on people from this year if you haven't already. Probably my AOTY

 

Arthur Russell is amazing. World of Echo remains unlike anything else I've ever heard

 

When I first was listening to this record, I was so blissed out on the instrumental that I was kinda dreading when the vocals were going to show up. Then they fucking hit in "To the Well" and I was Vince McMahon in the meme. Elevated to another level, so beautiful that I welled up. I only associated Bobby McFerrin with "Don't Worry Be Happy", so this was something completely unexpected.

Seems kinda like a proto Bon Iver/How to Dress Well track. I can hear Arthur Russell a bit on it too, I guess.

 

you ever listen to this? give the Aspidastafly track a go

 

I have not! This is great.

 

hitting play now.

 

Man, there’s something about solo piano works that feels like pure magic and really tugs at my heartstrings. “Transparencies” is so beautiful.

I’m always seeking out more of this shit so please if anyone has recs, share it now. I just recently got into Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru’s work as well and it is truly food for the spirit.

 

Just a gorgeous record front-to-back. Faves are Transparencies, What Are These Lights? (For Whiton), Music for Honey - Bee Dancing, Picture Windows, To the Well, and The Moon at Noon. Will obviously be returning to this one again and will be sure to check out all his others I haven’t heard yet as well!

 

I hadn't been paying attention to song titles aside from "To the Well", but this time I feel like "Transparencies", "Hill Song" and "Picture Windows" stood out.

 

for sure, not really something you can cherry-pick songs from. but I did add those songs to my personal ambient/instrumental music playlist so I was just calling em out. the obvious technical standout is To the Well but I personally felt notably swept away by Transparencies and Picture Windows... The Moon at Noon is a beautiful title, and the song sort of evoked that imagery, so that stood out as well.

I see that he has done albums beyond solo piano efforts. Would be intrigued to see how those sound

 

I've started listening to this album maybe five times now and I can't latch onto anything. Fault's probably on my end.

 

Gonna hit this at some point today, I'm in a shit mood but I could use something to calm me down

 

This is lovely, but I don't think I'm in the right headspace for it. Definitely going to revisit as the weather gets colder and I am (hopefully) a little less anxious

 

This record is so gorgeous and calming. I've swear I've heard a few of these tracks somewhere before but I can't place where. Really enjoyed it and I'll definitely be putting this on again when I need something to help me relax

 

Listening to this on my porch this morning, really nice record. Nothing particularly stands out as interesting or noteworthy, but I also don’t listen to solo pianists often. Def a nice soundtrack to a gloomy morning though

 

Similar feelings here — really nice record that I don't have a ton to say about, other than that solo piano music always reminds me of listening to my brother practice piano when we were kids.

 

big fan of Bill Evans, McCoy Tyner, Harold Budd, Eluvium, Nils Frahm, Emahoy Tsege Mariam Gebru, Goldmund, Ironomi... among other jazz, ambient, and neoclassical artists. other piano-centric albums that I hold dear to my heart:

can't forget Harold Budd and Brian Eno's The Pearl, and A Winged Victory for the Sullen's S/T, but those are more spacious and less straightforwardly "melodic"

 

I love me some solo piano so this was really nice. I was a fan of the more plodding tracks but the ones that got into faster melodies/arpeggios were fun. The vocals on To the Well are a really nice touch.