Various
Ear Clip Series

This is a very interesting album – not least because it’s asking you to expand the concept of what you consider “Americana”; and we’re not just talking about a bit of pop sensibility or some string washes. Combs is a Nashville based singer/songwriter, originally from Dallas Texas, and “Ideal Man” is his fourth studio album. Early comparisons, especially following his 2010 debut E.P. (“Tennessee Time”), likened him to Gene Clark and Mickey Newbury – and it’s easy to hear why when you listen to some of the cuts on this album. Songs like ‘Firestarter’ and album closer ‘You’re Like the Country’ are strong, narrative songs with great lyrical content and simple, tuneful melodies. Elsewhere on this album things get a little less identifiable and you might start to feel like Alice dropping down the rabbit hole!

Nick CAVE & THE BAD SEEDSSkeleton TreeBad Seed LtdSkeleton Tree began its journey in late 2014 at Retreat Studios, Brighton, with further sessions at La Frette Studios, France in autumn 2015. The album was mixed at AIR Studios, London in early 2016.The songs from the album are featured in the film One More Time With Feeling, directed by Andrew Dominik (Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Killing Them Softly). The film was comissioned by Nick Cave and is to be the only public statement to accompany the albums’ release.Given event's in his personal life prior to the release of the album, it's understandable that this album is sombre affair. Although accompanied by a film, it is an album in its own right, rather than a soundtrack. Having said that, the orchestration which forms the backdrop to Nick's rich, half spoken - half sung narratives, has a similar cinematic feel to the haunting, atmospheric film scores that Nick and Bad Seed Warren Ellis excel at.It’s probably not going to be your choice of listening prior to a night out on the town, but if it’s darkness you’re after, no one does that better than Nick.A beautiful, moving album.

Mick Strauss - Southern WaveL’album Southern Wave de Mick Strauss s’écoute comme un carnet de bord dont les pages se sont envolées et mélangées. On peut l’écouter en entier du début à la fin, ou y entrer par n’importe quelle chanson au hasard, se laisser séduire par ses étranges alliages musicaux, hypnotiser par ses histoires. Au début de l’album, il chante comme une rock-star du début des années 70, un contemporain de Lou Reed et Neil Young avec aussi des inflexions de Bowie. Puis la basse se durcit, les guitares crissent, Mick stresse, il entre dans les années 80 par la zone industrielle, l’ère du post-punk, des rythmiques martiales et des synthés mélancoliques. Et à travers le bitume déchiré réapparaissent les racines du blues. Mick Strauss et sa guitare bivouaquaient au pied du Musée de l’Histoire du Rock, quand l’appel du Sud s’est fait entendre. Il reprend la route, en zigzags. Ça se passe comme ça, mais pas forcément dans cet ordre. Ses alliages musicaux bipolaires, entre songwriting et field recordings, hypnotisent tendrement. Les chansons de Mick Strauss semblent venues d’ailleurs, arrivées sur Terre par le Sud des Etats-Unis, sorties du swamp à la lueur de la pleine lune. La nuit est chaude et les sueurs froides. Mais qui est Mick Strauss ? Arthur B. Gillette, guitariste de Moriarty, le décrit comme un dandy aux semelles de vent, inadapté social charismatique, malin et drôle, faux-monnayeur et myope. Ses chansons sont le récit de ses aventures ou des lettres envoyées à ses amis.

For the last decade, Argentina has become the epicenter of a musical explosion that characteristically blends folk music from the surrounding Andes and electronic beats. The artist arguably responsible for its emergence on a global platform is one named Chancha Via Circuito- a Buenos Aires native named Pedro Canale whose first album Rodante (2008) opened the floodgates by pushing the borders of Cumbia listeners weren't even aware existed. He's gone on to release other highly acclaimed albums such as Rio Arriba (2010), which Resident Advisor described as 'aural magical realism', and Amansara (2014), which catapulted him onto acclaimed international stages and received praises from Pitchfork to the New York Times.Four years later, in the midst of some very notable global turbulence, Chancha Via Circuito brings us his highly anticipated new album Bienaventuranza- a word that essentially means bliss. Replete with his signature touches of Andean instruments (think lots of flute and charango), the folkloric elements on this album blend fluidly with danceable and digestible electronic beats. He's been cooking this record slowly, with unprecedented amounts of care and in a much more collaborative manner than his past albums.Appearing on the album are heavy hitters in the digital cumbia scene, including Mateo Kingman, Kaleema, and Lido Pimienta, all of whom contribute their highly distinguishable sounds to the natural flow of the album. Most of these collaborations came about almost effortlessly. La Victoria is a track that blends cumbia, dancehall, and a bit of mysticism- carried by Lido Pimienta's luminous voice, Colombian Dancehall wizard Manu Ranks happened to be in town and slipped into the song naturally. Kawa Kawa came from an improv jam during rehearsal one day with Kaleema (Heidi Lewandowski) and Federico Estevez (percussionist in Chancha Via Circuito). Niño Hermoso, which is lyrically a fable, sounds the way it does because Pedro saw a video of Gianluz (Gianluca Zonzini), who he knows from dance classes, singing a Pocahontas song on Youtube.As dancefloor-friendly as it is mystical, Bienaventuranza is as Chancha as it gets- with elements from Cumbia to Dancehall to Andean Folk to Global house, crystal clear production, and collaborations that are evidently natural and genuine, the record holds true to the sound that Canale has played such a huge part in creating. Since the release of his last album, the digital folk scene has also grown exponentially. From a new generation of producers to more listeners in unassuming parts of the globe, Pedro has been humbled to see the sound develop- and proves with this album that he's grown swiftly alongside it.