Review: The brilliant Death Is Not The End has always done a great job of digging into niche scenes and serving up great albums that document them. Here the label presents a mixtape-style collection featuring live recordings from London's Notting Hill Carnival, spanning 1984 to 1988. Originally aired on NTS Radio in August 2018, this release marks a milestone in their 10th-anniversary series and it now comes on cassette. Highlights include sounds from renowned systems like Jamdown Rockers, Saxon, Java Nuclear Power, Killerwatt Turbotronic, Stereograph, Sir Coxsone, and Volcano Express. The audio, meticulously curated by the Who Cork The Dance crew, features contributions from Jayman, Ruff House, Keimo, Omar, Gee Wizz and Jah Humble.
Review: Minneapolis' Chris Bartels aka Blurstem, and Philadelphia's Andrew Tasselmyer of the likes of Hotel Neon and Gray Acres have hooked up once more for a second collaborative album Midnight Letters. This album's starting point was original concepts played out on guitar which were then processed and experimented with through an ages-old analog tape machine. Add in an array of iPad audio processing apps, samplers, and Ableton software and you have a perfect mix of tools to serve up a sonic journey that perfectly merges the old with the new. The resulting ambient soundscapes are immersive and sparse but packed with subtle details that convey all manner of emotions.
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