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The Wire Tapper 61 Your track by track guide to this issue’s free CD 1 dragonchild “Above All” From dragonchild (FPE) dragonchild is the new solo project of Danny Mekonnen, the founder of Boston ensemble Debo Band. Growing up in Texas as a first generation EthiopianAmerican, Mekonnen often heard traditional Ethiopian instruments and vocals, and later sought out master Ethiopian musicians to learn from. While Debo Band combined those influences with American soul and funk and Eastern European brass, dragonchild finds him integrating musical experimentation with spiritual and ancestral practice, blending samples and field recordings with layers of ecstatic saxophone. dragonchild.black , fperecs.com 3 Yalla Miku “Hyper Tigre” From Yalla Miku (Bongo Joe) Formed in Geneva, Yalla Miku bring together Cyril Bondi and Cyril Yeterian of Cyril Cyril, and Hyperculte’s Simone Aubert and Vincent Bertholet with three migrant musicians: Anouar Baouna, Samuel Ades and Ali Bouchaki, from Morocco, Eritrea and Algeria respectively. With rhythmic foundations drawing upon gnawa, krautrock and electronic trance, their songs are embellished by instruments including darbouka drum, guembri lute and the Eritrean lyre krar, with lyrics sung in Arabic, Tigrigna and French. yallamiku.bandcamp. com, bongojoe.ch 5 Mungo’s Hi Fi featuring Lady Ann “Good Lovin” From Mungo’s Hi Fi – Past And Present (Dumbarton Rock) For more than 20 years, Glasgow sound system collective Mungo’s Hi Fi have shared their love of sound system culture, from its Jamaican roots to raves, clubs and festivals. In addition to DJing and running their heavyweight sound system, the collective of Dougie No Pain, Craigy Wonder, Breezak Bass and Tommy Danger produce music, collaborate with vocalists and release artists on their own Scotch Bonnet label. On “Good Lovin’” they are joined by veteran dancehall vocalist Lady Ann. mungoshifi.net 7 Hollie Kenniff “Salient” From We All Have Places That We Miss (Western Vinyl) Drawing together ambient, new age and dream pop into introspective productions, Hollie Kenniff is a Canadian-American vocalist and composer who has released three albums under her own name, and five albums with her husband Keith Kenniff as Mint Julep. Since 2010 the pair have also run the licensing and composing business Unseen, writing film and advertising music for clients including Samsung, Etsy and Netflix. westernvinyl.com 2 Pleasure “SELFSUCK 210321” From Chop Wood, Carry Water (Disasters By Choice/GRUPO) Comprising Adam Connelly (synthesizers), Party Dozen’s Jonathan Boulet (bass and effects pedals) and Hugh Deacon (drums), Sydney trio Pleasure create their music through unrehearsed improvisation, balancing distortion and fluidity, the irregular and the hypnotic. “SELFSUCK 210321” is one of seven such jams edited into the 10" release Chop Wood, Carry Water, which follows the group’s 2021 album Saint Albans. disastersbychoice.com 4 Ettab “Khalas Min Hobek (Our Love Is Over)” From Ettab (Elmir) Singer, actress and activist Ettab (Tarouf Abdulkhair Adam Muhammad al-Talal Hawsawi) was born in Riyadh in 1947 of Hausa descent. As the first female Saudi musician to enjoy an international profile, she continues to be celebrated across the Arab world and beyond. Moving to Cairo in 1980, with later years spent in the UAE, Ettab released 15 albums and appeared in several films before retiring from music in 1997, devoting the last decade of her life to defending the rights of women musicians. elmir-records.bandcamp.com 6 Mehmet Aslan & Valentina Magaletti “Garden” From The Sun Is Parallel (Planisphere Editorial) Swiss-Turkish producer Mehmet Aslan’s sonic sensibilities bridged Middle Eastern and European cultures during his childhood in Basel, and broadened as the house and techno of his teenage years led to a DJ career known for blending globally expansive sounds. Co-founder of the Fleeting Wax label, his production skills came to the fore on the 2014 Mechanical Turk E P. He continues to explore themes of community and migration on his debut album The Sun Is Parallel, teaming up with versatile percussionist Valentina Magaletti (Tomaga, Vanishing Twin) for the synthesizer-heavy “Garden”. mehmetaslan.eu, planisphere.eu 8 Max Nagl Trio “Radax” From Fauteuil (Jazzwerkstatt) Vienna based saxophonist and composer Max Nagl has released numerous solo works and collaborations with other artists. He composes music for his various ensembles as well as for theatre and dance productions. Formed with Clemens Wenger and Herbert Pirker, Max Nagl Trio have released three albums to date, including the 2006 Robert Wyatt homage Market Rasen. The trio’s next album Fauteuil follows soon. maxnagl.at, jazzwerkstatt-records.com The Wire / The Wire Tapper 61 4 ) ( 8 N o v o h r a d s k y ) ; J o h a n n e s l l ( 6 C a m p b e i e ) ; R o b b ( 5 ) ; C h r i s t y M e a r n s ( 3 l e r i B e n k ( 1 ) ; M e h d F e r n a n d e z D r u m
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) ( 1 5 Ta r a b a y Ml e n e ( 1 1 ) ; H e C o n v e r y ) ; J o h n ( 1 0 S h e v c h u k l o P a v 9 Teufelskeller “Persecution And Clemency” (edit) From Teufelskeller (WV Sorcerer Productions) Teufelskeller (which, their label’s Bandcamp site says, means Devil’s Dungeon) came to life in late 2020 when Anton Ponomarev (saxophone/ electronics), Konstantin Korolev (bass/electronics) and drummer Andrey Kim joined forces in Moscow’s free jazz and improv underground. With Ponomarev also a member of several punk-avant-jazz-noise outfits, Korolev an extreme metal and free improv enthusiast, and Kim (since replaced by Maxime Hänsenberger) a percussionist and electronics artist, the trio’s self-titled debut attacks improvisation from all angles. wvsorcerer.bandcamp.com 11 Left Hand Cuts Off The Right “Right Kind Of Personality” From Free Time/Dead Time (Brachliegen Tapes) Left Hand Cuts Off The Right is the project of London based musician and sound artist Robbie Judkins, who plays, composes and improvises with bent electronics, acoustic instruments, field recordings, loops and effects. Free Time/Dead Time combines elements of focused minimalism, experimental electronics and musique concrète to create a series of meditative compositions that reflect the precarious boundaries between labour, leisure and the quality of lived experience under late capitalism. brachliegentapes.bandcamp. com, cargocollective.com/ robbiejudkins 13 Inferion “Weakness (Dim Past Remix)” From Maternity Ward To Crematorium (Schematic) Formed in Miami in 1995, Inferion have been purveyors of extreme, death, black and many different genres of metal. They have toured Europe as well as North and South America and have released eight studio albums ranging across the metal spectrum. Maternity Ward To Crematorium sees acts ranging from industrial techno producer Blush Response to electroacoustic artist Drowning The Virgin Silence pay tribute by remixing their catalogue. The group’s new album Inequity is forthcoming on the HPGD label. inferion. net, schematicmusiccompany. bandcamp.com 15 Baskot Lel Baltageyya “Baskot (Biscuits)” From Baskot Lel Baltageyya (Akuphone) Featuring Cairo musician and producer Adham Zidan (The Invisible Hands), audiovisual project Baskot Lel Baltageyya playfully bridges the gap between experimental and pop music. Inspiration comes from shaabi music, old Egyptian TV scores, early electronic music and Western psychedelia, while their lyrics tap into the dark absurdist humour prominent in 1990s Egyptian popular culture. akuphone.com 10 Mads Emil Nielsen featuring Victor Dybbroe “Installation – 2” (edit) From Black Box 3 (arbitrary) Copenhagen musician and composer Mads Emil Nielsen works with basic sound sources, often combined with short percussive and orchestral samples, and the amplification of machine produced errors. In 2014 he founded the label and artistic platform arbitrary, on which he has released the Framework series of graphic scores and recordings, as well as solo works and collaborations including the Percussion Loops EP, the album Refound with Andrea Neumann, and his Black Box series of works originally made for theatre, dance performances and radio soundtracks. madsemilnielsen.dk, arbitraryproject.com 12 Sourdurent “Fuelha de Peira, Peira de Bòst” From L’herbe de détourne (Bongo Joe) Following in the footsteps of 2018’s L’Espròva and the previous year’s instrumental Mantras, both mostly solo efforts released under the Sourdure moniker, Ernest Bergez joins Jacques Puech, Elisa Trebouville and Loup Uberto to explore the possibilities of a collective energy. The traditional repertoire from France’s Massif Central mutates and hybridises with invented forms inspired by traditional Greek, Persian and North African music, while the region’s Occitan language provides both musical material and a poetic and emotional springboard. sourdure.bandcamp. com, bongojoe.ch 14 Twin Color “Going Home” (edit) From Twin Color (InFiné) Twin Color is the new alias of Fernando Corona, the Mexican producer who as Murcof released ambient albums such as Martes, Utopia, Remembranza and Cosmos on The Leaf Label. Working with graphics designer Geilfus to create a video game counterpart to his sonic worldbuilding, Twin Color offers a futurist nostalgia where sweeping Blade Runner-esque analogue synthesis combines with the voice of Corona’s four year old daughter Alina. instagram.com/ twincolormusic, infine-music. com/twin-color 16 Pas Musique “Inevitable” From Shaman (Alrealon Musique) Pas Musique emerged from Brooklyn, New York in 1995 as musician/painter Robert L Pepper’s solo project. Through its many experimental and electronic iterations, he has collaborated with Faust, Martin Bisi, z’ev, Philippe Petit, HATI, Chester Hawkins and Jim Tuite; and Rapoon aka Robin Storey on the two Confluences releases of 2021 and 2022. pasmusique.net, The Wire Tapper 61 The Wire Tapper 61 is given away with all copies of The Wire 470, April 2023. If your copy of the CD is missing or damaged, either return the magazine to where you bought it to get a replacement, or contact The Wire: +44 (0)20 7422 5010, subs@ thewire.co.uk. NB all subscribers to the magazine, both print and digital, can get a download of the compilation at thewire.co.uk/ audio/the-wire-tapper. 5 The Wire / The Wire Tapper 61

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The Wire Tapper 61 Your track by track guide to this issue’s free CD

1 dragonchild “Above All” From dragonchild (FPE) dragonchild is the new solo project of Danny Mekonnen, the founder of Boston ensemble Debo Band. Growing up in Texas as a first generation EthiopianAmerican, Mekonnen often heard traditional Ethiopian instruments and vocals, and later sought out master Ethiopian musicians to learn from. While Debo Band combined those influences with American soul and funk and Eastern European brass, dragonchild finds him integrating musical experimentation with spiritual and ancestral practice, blending samples and field recordings with layers of ecstatic saxophone. dragonchild.black , fperecs.com

3 Yalla Miku “Hyper Tigre” From Yalla Miku (Bongo Joe) Formed in Geneva, Yalla Miku bring together Cyril Bondi and Cyril Yeterian of Cyril Cyril, and Hyperculte’s Simone Aubert and Vincent Bertholet with three migrant musicians: Anouar Baouna, Samuel Ades and Ali Bouchaki, from Morocco, Eritrea and Algeria respectively. With rhythmic foundations drawing upon gnawa, krautrock and electronic trance, their songs are embellished by instruments including darbouka drum, guembri lute and the Eritrean lyre krar, with lyrics sung in Arabic, Tigrigna and French. yallamiku.bandcamp. com, bongojoe.ch

5 Mungo’s Hi Fi featuring Lady Ann “Good Lovin” From Mungo’s Hi Fi – Past And Present (Dumbarton Rock) For more than 20 years, Glasgow sound system collective Mungo’s Hi Fi have shared their love of sound system culture, from its Jamaican roots to raves, clubs and festivals. In addition to DJing and running their heavyweight sound system, the collective of Dougie No Pain, Craigy Wonder, Breezak Bass and Tommy Danger produce music, collaborate with vocalists and release artists on their own Scotch Bonnet label. On “Good Lovin’” they are joined by veteran dancehall vocalist Lady Ann. mungoshifi.net

7 Hollie Kenniff “Salient” From We All Have Places That We Miss (Western Vinyl) Drawing together ambient, new age and dream pop into introspective productions, Hollie Kenniff is a Canadian-American vocalist and composer who has released three albums under her own name, and five albums with her husband Keith Kenniff as Mint Julep. Since 2010 the pair have also run the licensing and composing business Unseen, writing film and advertising music for clients including Samsung, Etsy and Netflix. westernvinyl.com

2 Pleasure “SELFSUCK 210321” From Chop Wood, Carry Water (Disasters By Choice/GRUPO) Comprising Adam Connelly (synthesizers), Party Dozen’s Jonathan Boulet (bass and effects pedals) and Hugh Deacon (drums), Sydney trio Pleasure create their music through unrehearsed improvisation, balancing distortion and fluidity, the irregular and the hypnotic. “SELFSUCK 210321” is one of seven such jams edited into the 10" release Chop Wood, Carry Water, which follows the group’s 2021 album Saint Albans. disastersbychoice.com

4 Ettab “Khalas Min Hobek (Our Love Is Over)” From Ettab (Elmir) Singer, actress and activist Ettab (Tarouf Abdulkhair Adam Muhammad al-Talal Hawsawi) was born in Riyadh in 1947 of Hausa descent. As the first female Saudi musician to enjoy an international profile, she continues to be celebrated across the Arab world and beyond. Moving to Cairo in 1980, with later years spent in the UAE, Ettab released 15 albums and appeared in several films before retiring from music in 1997, devoting the last decade of her life to defending the rights of women musicians. elmir-records.bandcamp.com

6 Mehmet Aslan & Valentina Magaletti “Garden” From The Sun Is Parallel (Planisphere Editorial) Swiss-Turkish producer Mehmet Aslan’s sonic sensibilities bridged Middle Eastern and European cultures during his childhood in Basel, and broadened as the house and techno of his teenage years led to a DJ career known for blending globally expansive sounds. Co-founder of the Fleeting Wax label, his production skills came to the fore on the 2014 Mechanical Turk E P. He continues to explore themes of community and migration on his debut album The Sun Is Parallel, teaming up with versatile percussionist Valentina Magaletti (Tomaga, Vanishing Twin) for the synthesizer-heavy “Garden”. mehmetaslan.eu, planisphere.eu

8 Max Nagl Trio “Radax” From Fauteuil (Jazzwerkstatt) Vienna based saxophonist and composer Max Nagl has released numerous solo works and collaborations with other artists. He composes music for his various ensembles as well as for theatre and dance productions. Formed with Clemens Wenger and Herbert Pirker, Max Nagl Trio have released three albums to date, including the 2006 Robert Wyatt homage Market Rasen. The trio’s next album Fauteuil follows soon. maxnagl.at, jazzwerkstatt-records.com

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