The Irish producer Mick Donohue’s new album Scenes, Journeys & Colors was released on Rudimentary Records last Friday.
The globally-inspired musician and sound enthusiast has releases that draw from disparate sources – tropical and dub sounds, crate-digging and comics in Brazil, and he has previously made music from a live collaboration on a dance show with Emma Martin.
Listen to Scenes, Journeys & Colors and buy it on Bandcamp.
Below, T-woc’s shares ten recommended releases that never leave his system’s rotation.
Eddie Chacon – Pleasure, Joy and Happiness
I did a stint down in Ennistymon post lockdown working on some tracks for this album and I was lucky to have my buddy and DJ/producer John Lillis as my next door neighbour. He turned me on to this one and it has soundtracked a fair bit of window staring since. Eddie of one hit wonder ‘Charlies and Eddie’’ fame (remember – Would I lie to you baby?) spills his guts out about troubles, fame, regrets and all that good stuff.
The production and composition by John Carrol Kirby is woozy, lo-fi and sucks you right in. If you are ever in West Clare try track down a Sunday Spinners session where John, Ali & co play records in various pub back yards of a Sunday.
Birth of the Y – Various artists
1982 compilation of reggae, post punk and jazz from the Y label that wanders between my record bag and my turntable. Worth the reasonable entry price for the dub disco bomb that is Disconnections – Bali Ha’i which is how I found this comp, but there’s loads of good stuff on here showcasing Y’s varied catalogue from Sun Ra to Maximum Joy. You could stick this record on in Anseo and nip next door for a prawn toast in Hang Dai and the crowd would think the DJ had done a pretty good job.
Oneirotic – Sexo y Fantasia
Full disclosure… I did the mix on this one but it says a lot about a record if you’ve listened to it a thousand times and you still are sticking it on the turntable on the regular. Trippy and sleazy electronics from the mysterious duo and the best use of that Art of Noise opera synth patch in a long minute.
Soft selection 84 – Various artists
Reissue of the 1983 DIY Nipon tape compilation from the good people at Glossy Mistakes in Madrid. Not a single name I know on this record but it’s a great mix of home electronics, noisy synths with a kinda pop approach to vocals. I also think I hear a pre Autechre riff in there on pearl which makes me wonder if those heads had a copy of this tape back in the day.
Dominique Andre – Evasion
Brussels digger extraordinaire DJ Sofa introduced me to this great and quite unique library not library record from 1981 during lockdown. A mix of field recordings from the enigmatic artist’s extensive travels combined with unusual synths, tape & sound fx. It all glues so well together despite the differing sources, something I strive for in my own productions so it was quite an inspiration on Scenes. It’s been reissued since then so it’s quite easy to find.
Henri Guedon – Karma
This record from Martinique just has a kinda confident swagger that really sets it apart. There’re so many elements at play here… Latin and jazz vibes but also some great cosmic synths and wild island percussion. Another of Guedon’s is Cosmozouk, reissued by the Parisian goldmine that is Superfly records, was my introduction to this artist. It’s also really good, but unfortunately a bit harder to track down, Karma is easier to find.
Afet Serenay – Bir Of Çeksem..
This golden era female Turkish singer’s release has the enviable title of greatest jumper worn on a record cover. It’s mostly trad songs rearranged for a 70’s psych folk audience with a great mix of Moog and more traditional instrumentation over some killer grooves (how come no one ever did this with Irish trad during the great Moog everything era?). I got this in the go-to place for Turkish music in Berlin – Lefter records of Köpenicker Str. If you are ever passing through, Erbatur is the owner and he knows his scheisse!
Tassos Chalkias – Divine reeds
Souma (and formerly Radio Martiko) label boss Fred and I share a love for digging Greek 45s – endless bouzouki and farfisa jams abound in the market of Monastiraki in Athens on a Sunday but remain largely unplayed outside of Greece. Fred has been doing his best to spread this great music to a wider audience and his reissues are done with real love. This one comes from clarinet maestro Tassos Chalkias and family, and it’s an especially beautiful release.
Yasuaki shimizu – Kakashi
Super creative work here from the band leader of Mariah. Wavey 80’s experimental vibes with lots of wind, horns and mad drum programming throughout. Another big inspiration for Scenes, Journey’s & Colors and a smashing cover with the cat as well. I finally got a scarce original copy from Eiji in Revelation Time in Osaka who, apart from having one of my favourite second hand record stores, does great work on reissuing Japanese ambient music. Check out the Virtual Dreams series and Dream Dolphin Gaia on Music from Memory. He also delves into leftfield pop stuff from the CD era with Heisei No Oto.
Eddie Gale – Black Rhythm Happening
No idea where I discovered this record but it’s one I keep coming back to over the years. The very best mix of soul, gospel and spiritual jazz. For the craic, I recently asked ChatGPT if there was a better album in this vein than this and it just said NO.
T-woc’s new album Scenes, Journeys & Colors is out now.
