Having gained access to a vast quantity of ethnological recordings of the Abenaki language made in the mid-1900s, Obomsawin set about creating a record steeped in the history of her ancestors, working against the traditional concepts of curation and contextualisation to allow the material its own life. “With help from [Andrew] Broder’s turntables,” we continued, “Obomsawin is able to reclaim a community from within the ethnological study, her work not aiming to chisel the material into a neat narrative but instead liberate the authentic chorus of voices from which it was made.” The title was the perfect embodiment of this style, Obomsawin placing her own voice alongside that of her great-grand relative, Malian, dissolving the span of time between them so that both might exist on a common plane. “If the Western act of studying and recording the Abenaki people was a process of commodification, then Automatic represents the opposite,” we concluded. “Not merely a repatriation but a complete reversal, Obomsawin taking that which has been desiccated for preservation and rehydrating it so that it might once again exist in its natural form.”

With the release of Automatic less than a month away, Obomsawin has now returned with new single, ‘Triage’, complete with a video co-directed with Lokotah Sanborn. Centring on the history of Allen Island in Maine, the location where the Abenaki people first encountered European explorers, both song and film employ an almost folk horror sensibility in order to represent the full haunting weight of imperialist violence, stretching out with a slow, pervasive build. From hushed beginnings, the mood shifts into a hesitant ambient style which plays as mournful over the monochrome images, before shifting into an accelerated, almost panicked style of jazz. The resulting climax is at once poignant and disorientating, and it is no accident the closing section of the video cuts to near silence, just the sound of the breeze in the aftermath.

Automatic will be released on the 16th October via Out Of Your Head Records and you can pre-order it from the Mali Obomsawin Bandcamp page.

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It is this experience which ultimately came to shape Automatic, Mali Obomsawin’s new full-length, coming this autumn again via Out Of Your Head Records. The period saw the Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist, singer and composer gain access to a vast quantity of ethnological recordings of the Abenaki language made in the mid-1900s, material previously held exclusively at Obomsawin’s alma mater, Dartmouth College, allowing her to delve far deeper into the history of her ancestors than ever before and reclaim the material from the outsiders who seized it. What results is a record crafted by an Odanak person directly from Odanak voices, working against the external curation and contextualisation which can drain a culture of its life. “Behind Automatic is a deep awareness about institutions’ predatory relationship with Native material,” Obomsawin explains. “I wanted to make a record that institutions couldn’t own.”

A host of collaborators help bring the sound to life, with Andrew Broder (turntables, electronics), Adam O’Farrill (trumpet), Taylor Ho Bynum (cornet), Allison Burik (bass clarinet), Yuma Uesaka (tenor saxophone), Noah Campbell (tenor saxophone) and Zack O’Farrill (drums) all lending their talents, as well as longtime collaborator and other half of Deerlady Magdalena Abrego (electric guitar). But in truth the record’s cast is larger by orders of magnitude. Because, with help from Broder’s turntables, Obomsawin is able to reclaim a community from within the ethnological study, her work not aiming to chisel the material into a neat narrative but instead liberate the authentic chorus of voices from which it was made. “The turntable is an instrument that explores time and temporality,” as she continues, “and is able to give a form of agency to the ancestors in the recordings.”

The lead single and title track of Automatic offers an encapsulation of this style. Here, Obomsawin’s own voice is presented alongside that of her great-grand relative, Malian, eroding the temporal distance between two individuals and thus collapsing the distinction between then and now. If the Western act of studying and recording the Abenaki people was a process of commodification, then Automatic represents the opposite. Not merely a repatriation but a complete reversal, Obomsawin taking that which has been desiccated for preservation and rehydrating it so that it might once again exist in its natural form.

Photography by Nolan Altvater Gerard, graphic design by Neosha Pendergraft

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After releasing their sixth album See Through You on DedStrange last February, post-punk icons A Place To Bury Strangers are sharing a series of remixed singles from the record. After offerings from the likes of The Pleasure Majenta and GIFT, the most recent sees Annie Hart take the reins for a reimagining of album opener ‘Nice of You to be There For Me’. A version which strips the harsh immediacy of the original in favour of something reflective and shining, the original’s needle replaced by an ethereal air. Where Oliver Ackermann previously railed against greed with a building volatility, here his words carry the melancholy of hindsight. Mourning mistakes rather than threatening to set them straight.

Illbe – It’s Time

Described as being inspired by the “‘beyond the grave feel’ of Nick Cave’s radical introspection,” Illbe‘s latest single ‘It’s Time’ introduces the dark and alluring tone of forthcoming EP, Long Gone. The project is the alter ego of Liège‘s Gauthier Gilissen, a musician who draws upon cinema as the source of his sound, aiming for something between the nocturnal paranoia of neo-noir and a Lynchian surrealism. ‘It’s Time’ finds its narrator navigating such a world. Searching for answers within an unforthcoming environment, the patient Cave-esque delivery furthering the existential mystery at the heart. Check out the video directed by Corentin Cuvelier below:

‘It’s Time’ is out now and you can get it from the Illbe Bandcamp page. Long Gone will be released next month.

Kelsey Magnuson – Faking It

Following on from previous single ‘Beep Beep‘, Olympia‘s Kelsey Magnuson has unveiled another track from forthcoming debut Don’t Budge on Earth Libraries. Closing out the album, the song again highlights Magnuson’s ability to sound at once earnest and playful, as though the thoughts communicated are entirely meant, yet delivered with a certain self-awareness. But ultimately the needle settles on the sincere side of things, ending on a sense of hope which feels all the more heartfelt for its plainness. “Cuz growing up feels like were faking it ’til we learn to fake it better,” Magnuson sings in the final lines. “Growing up up feels like were faking it so why don’t we fake it together?”

Laveda – Surprise

The music of Laveda always promises lush textures and heartfelt emotion, and new single ‘Surprise’ is no exception. Introducing an upcoming second album to be released later this year on Papercup Music, the single offers a bright, upbeat sound which belies the turmoil of the lyrics. A juxtaposition which both embraces the nostalgia of the dream pop/shoegaze style while also refusing to retreat fully from the realties of living and working through pandemics and other challenges. “Being alive is just getting old,” Ali Genevich sings, “I’m not surprised that I’m not sober.” Check out the video directed by Genevich herself and shot By Derick Noetzel and Valerie Barbosa below:

‘Surprise’ is out now and available from the Laveda Bandcamp page.

Mali Obomsawin – Odana

Mali Obomsawin is a Wabanaki bassist, composer, and songwriter whose work opposes the Western idea that indigenous cultures are somehow inflexible and backward looking, highlighting the continuous process of resistance and adaptation required to survive in the face of colonialism. Obomsawin recently announced a new album, Sweet Tooth, on Out of Your Head Records. A collection of songs which draws on many threads—jazz, folk, Wabanaki stories and Catholic hymns—to explore contemporary indigenous life and celebrate its endurance and creativity, even when faced with great violence and cruelty. “My people have had to innovate endlessly to get our stories heard,” Obomsawin explains. “Learning to express ourselves in French, English, Abenaki… but sometimes words fail us, and we must use sound.” Lead single ‘Odana’ introduces the record perfectly. A ballad first written in the 1700s, it pays homage to the Abenaki reservation in Quebec, Odanak, founded by Obomsawin’s Sokoki and Abenaki ancestors in 1660 as they fled to modern-day Canada to escape Royally-sanctioned persecution by English colonizers.

Pale Angels – Casper

Based between the Welsh city of Swansea and Rahway, New Jersey, Pale Angels make what label Specialist Subject Records describe as “transcontinental punk trash.” They have just announced a brand new record, their first in six years, titled Plastic Legacy pt II and lead single ‘Casper’ is a glimpse of what to expect. For all of its punk rock fuzz and grittily desperate vocals, it’s actually a lot more sincere than SSR’s label suggests. Founding members Jamie Morrison and Michael Santostefano are joined by Vacation songwriter Jerome Westerkamp on drums to create something with a real emotional punch.

Rival Consoles – World Turns

Rival Consoles, the recording project of London-based musician and producer Ryan Lee West, is set to release new album Now Is via Erased Tapes next month, and latest single ‘World Turns’ welcomes listeners into the blended, digital and acoustic soundscapes West creates. There’s a certain minimalism to the Rival Consoles sound, even if the tag doesn’t quite do justice to the detail of the songs. A sense of clarity developed via a central repetition. This single, for example, is “built around this pendulum-like bass, that constantly drives the piece forward,” as West explains. Minimalism in the way of fine machinery. An elegant coherence to design. “I like having parts in music which are repetitive but everything else is changing around it,” West continues, “almost like a kind of hidden structure, because the repetition becomes more subliminal.”

Secret Shame – Luxury Bitch

“A ferocious, no holds barred descent into the depths of a psyche, emerging if not triumphant then somehow born again.” That’s how we described ‘Hide’, the last single from Asheville post-punks Secret Shame. Next month sees the release of the band’s long-awaited new album Autonomy, and new single ‘Luxury Bitch’ is every bit as intense, barrelling headlong into anxieties surrounding mental health and the knock-on effects such struggles can bring. “Will you still be there / to hold me when I am trying,” asks lead Lena Machina, “when I am losing and when I lose?” If Autonomy represents Machina pivoting towards a new direct approach to songwriting, then ‘Luxury Bitch’ shows exactly what you can expect.

Sheenah Ko – Eyes of the Ego

Montreal electronic artist Sheenah Ko makes introspective and sophisticated pop music in the vein of Kate Bush or Björk. Earlier this summer, Sheenah Ko released her sophomore album The Future is Now, what she described as “a cautious reminder to take advantage of the little time you’ve been given in our wonderous world.” Since the record’s release, Ko has unveiled music videos for several of the tracks, the latest being for ‘Eyes of the Ego’. Directed by Anne Marie Munoz, the video was made with a 100% female, majority LGBTQ+ cast and crew, starring filmmaker/artist/actor Katharine King So and Le Couleur vocalist Laurence Giroux-Do alongside Ko. “Passion and anger are manifestations of the ego; that can drag us deeper and deeper into our minds, into a dream where we can’t escape,” Ko explains “This video is a representation of the exploration of the self, to identify and accept the ego as a part of us, but it does not have to be us or define us. To realize we are the eyes behind our ego and that we can be the observer of the ego.”

Future Is Now is out via Lazy At Work and you can get it from the Sheenah Ko Bandcamp page.

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