Proprietor of the Short Cuts record label - https://shortcutsvinyl.bandcamp.com
Day 27
Mücha, “Skin”/“You Make Me Go Under” (2025)
Just in under the wire today, but it’s a short one: a 12” EP from Amanda Butterworth’s Mücha alias, released on Frequency Domain. Two new tracks, plus remixes by Surgeon and Datasette. Came out in March but I bought my copy last month.
Day 27
Mücha, “Skin”/“You Make Me Go Under” (2025)
Just in under the wire today, but it’s a short one: a 12” EP from Amanda Butterworth’s Mücha alias, released on Frequency Domain. Two new tracks, plus remixes by Surgeon and Datasette. Came out in March but I bought my copy last month.
Flaming Tunes, s/t (1985)
Another one? Had to stream this today though, after hearing the wonderful interpretation of songs from the album by Mary Currie & The PGs at Café OTO last night. A record, indeed 2 bands, I was completely ignorant of before. DIY in all the best ways.
Flaming Tunes, s/t (1985)
Another one? Had to stream this today though, after hearing the wonderful interpretation of songs from the album by Mary Currie & The PGs at Café OTO last night. A record, indeed 2 bands, I was completely ignorant of before. DIY in all the best ways.
808 State, ‘90’ (1989)
Bands couldn’t wait to leave the 80s behind and who could blame ‘em? I guess you’re also staking out a claim to be ‘the future’. Some terrible rapping/singing on the first 2 tracks. C’mon, we just want club bangers. Thankfully, that’s mostly what we get.
808 State, ‘90’ (1989)
Bands couldn’t wait to leave the 80s behind and who could blame ‘em? I guess you’re also staking out a claim to be ‘the future’. Some terrible rapping/singing on the first 2 tracks. C’mon, we just want club bangers. Thankfully, that’s mostly what we get.
Day 26
Minimal Drone GRL and Belial Pilgrim, ‘Movements of a Cloud’ (2022)
Collab between Canadian sound sculptor & US electronic producer. The first two parts remind me of the ambient side of 808 State. But then huge strings take the piece more in the vein of US composers like John Adams
Day 26
Minimal Drone GRL and Belial Pilgrim, ‘Movements of a Cloud’ (2022)
Collab between Canadian sound sculptor & US electronic producer. The first two parts remind me of the ambient side of 808 State. But then huge strings take the piece more in the vein of US composers like John Adams
Day 25
Ecstasy, Passion & Pain, s/t (1974)
Soul/disco sextet led by Barbara Roy who also wrote most of this, their only LP. Got this cheap but crackly copy at Flashback almost exactly a year ago while hunting for VinylSanta goodies. Which reminds me, better get on with this year’s hunt 😬
Day 25
Ecstasy, Passion & Pain, s/t (1974)
Soul/disco sextet led by Barbara Roy who also wrote most of this, their only LP. Got this cheap but crackly copy at Flashback almost exactly a year ago while hunting for VinylSanta goodies. Which reminds me, better get on with this year’s hunt 😬
Day 24
Jilk, ‘Fix Your Hearts’ (2025)
“It started with a focus on 60s/70s french pop. Three, four chords. Verses, choruses. The collective's blend of post-rock, glitchy electronica and ambient house pulled and mutated those ideas, forming them into one of their most striking releases yet”
Day 24
Jilk, ‘Fix Your Hearts’ (2025)
“It started with a focus on 60s/70s french pop. Three, four chords. Verses, choruses. The collective's blend of post-rock, glitchy electronica and ambient house pulled and mutated those ideas, forming them into one of their most striking releases yet”
Day 23
Korb, ‘Korb III’ (2022)
Dreamlord Recordings’ acts - and there seems to be membership overlap across a few of them- mine the catalogue of 1970s Kosmische and synth-tinged psychedelia for inspiration. The results can be mixed, but Korb is probably the best variant of the core idea.
Day 23
Korb, ‘Korb III’ (2022)
Dreamlord Recordings’ acts - and there seems to be membership overlap across a few of them- mine the catalogue of 1970s Kosmische and synth-tinged psychedelia for inspiration. The results can be mixed, but Korb is probably the best variant of the core idea.
Day 22
Jean-Claude Vannier, ‘La Bête Noire’ OST (1983) c/w music from ‘Paris n’existe pas’ (1968)
Vinyl buy from Jelly Records of Clapton in August. Two film scores from the Vannier archive made available for the first time in 2021 by Finders Keepers Records. Came with 16 page booklet.
Day 22
Jean-Claude Vannier, ‘La Bête Noire’ OST (1983) c/w music from ‘Paris n’existe pas’ (1968)
Vinyl buy from Jelly Records of Clapton in August. Two film scores from the Vannier archive made available for the first time in 2021 by Finders Keepers Records. Came with 16 page booklet.
Day 21
Terminal 11, ‘Suffocating Repetition’ (2024)
Five tracks, initially percussive and busy but which gradually open up and allow in melody. The artist describes the album as an opportunity to question his aversion to repetition, just when Covid-driven WFH had created unwanted routine.
Day 21
Terminal 11, ‘Suffocating Repetition’ (2024)
Five tracks, initially percussive and busy but which gradually open up and allow in melody. The artist describes the album as an opportunity to question his aversion to repetition, just when Covid-driven WFH had created unwanted routine.
Day 20
Steve Reich and Musicians, ‘Drumming’
Disc 3 of Nonesuch ‘Collected Works’ CD 💿 box set, a 🎁 for my last b’day from @robertbaldock.bsky.social which I’m slowly getting through. This version recorded 1987. I’m about to compare it with the Ictus + Synergy Vocals recording from 2002.
Day 20
Steve Reich and Musicians, ‘Drumming’
Disc 3 of Nonesuch ‘Collected Works’ CD 💿 box set, a 🎁 for my last b’day from @robertbaldock.bsky.social which I’m slowly getting through. This version recorded 1987. I’m about to compare it with the Ictus + Synergy Vocals recording from 2002.
Quarteto Em Cy, s/t (1972)
Bossa nova, post-Beatle/Beach Boy pop, a bit of jazz… and all with those scrunchy 4-part vocal harmonies. Includes their version of Nascimento’s “Tudo O Que Você Podia Ser”. Yet another LP from the magic year I only just found out is from that year.
Quarteto Em Cy, s/t (1972)
Bossa nova, post-Beatle/Beach Boy pop, a bit of jazz… and all with those scrunchy 4-part vocal harmonies. Includes their version of Nascimento’s “Tudo O Que Você Podia Ser”. Yet another LP from the magic year I only just found out is from that year.
Day 19
Enofa, ‘Rarities’ (2024)
A two-hour+ compilation of Imogen Hayley Baker’s music released (under various names) in the previous 20 years and then lost to the ether. Ranges widely across ‘dance’/‘electronic’ genres, but there’s a grittiness that unifies. The continuous mix also helps
Day 19
Enofa, ‘Rarities’ (2024)
A two-hour+ compilation of Imogen Hayley Baker’s music released (under various names) in the previous 20 years and then lost to the ether. Ranges widely across ‘dance’/‘electronic’ genres, but there’s a grittiness that unifies. The continuous mix also helps
Day 18
Joe Harvey-Whyte and Paul Cousins, ‘In A Fugue State’ (2025)
LP released a few weeks ago on @nonemorerecords.bsky.social - pedal steel and some electric guitar fed into Cousins’ reel-to-reel tape loop set up, then morphed into dreamy soundscapes. Exceptionally beautiful.
Day 18
Joe Harvey-Whyte and Paul Cousins, ‘In A Fugue State’ (2025)
LP released a few weeks ago on @nonemorerecords.bsky.social - pedal steel and some electric guitar fed into Cousins’ reel-to-reel tape loop set up, then morphed into dreamy soundscapes. Exceptionally beautiful.
Day 17
Lookout Mountain Laboratory, ‘Initial Report’ / ‘State 48+’ (2024)
New-ish alias of Jonathan Sharp. 5 EPs so far. From the sounds & visuals you might think the project is about aliens, but closer inspection reveals it relates more to inner space, consciousness and metaprogramming.
Day 17
Lookout Mountain Laboratory, ‘Initial Report’ / ‘State 48+’ (2024)
New-ish alias of Jonathan Sharp. 5 EPs so far. From the sounds & visuals you might think the project is about aliens, but closer inspection reveals it relates more to inner space, consciousness and metaprogramming.
Day 16
Ramirez, ‘Folklore’ (2025)
A 2nd tape on Astra Solaria Recordings in this series. 6 lengthy (ca. 10mins each) synth jams based around short, repeating sequences. I really liked “Borders”: starts jazzy and ends almost like a raga.
Thanks DJ Bongo Boy for supplying the digital files
Day 16
Ramirez, ‘Folklore’ (2025)
A 2nd tape on Astra Solaria Recordings in this series. 6 lengthy (ca. 10mins each) synth jams based around short, repeating sequences. I really liked “Borders”: starts jazzy and ends almost like a raga.
Thanks DJ Bongo Boy for supplying the digital files
Day 15
Denis Wize, ‘Consciousness Program’ (1980; remastered by the artist & reissued 2002)
Lo-fi sound collage, ambient synth, sitar & dub. Occasionally he sings. Splashes of rhythm. Think Shuggie Otis but weirder. True outsider music. Love it. Can’t remember how I came to acquire this…
Day 15
Denis Wize, ‘Consciousness Program’ (1980; remastered by the artist & reissued 2002)
Lo-fi sound collage, ambient synth, sitar & dub. Occasionally he sings. Splashes of rhythm. Think Shuggie Otis but weirder. True outsider music. Love it. Can’t remember how I came to acquire this…
Day 14
MEMORIALS, ‘Memorial Waterslides’ (2024)
CD found in a Fopp sale rack last month. The duo’s debut proper tho’ there was a double LP & tape of film-related music before this. The motorik beat of the opener is a feint; it soon veers into jazz skronk, psychedelia and even torch song.
Day 14
MEMORIALS, ‘Memorial Waterslides’ (2024)
CD found in a Fopp sale rack last month. The duo’s debut proper tho’ there was a double LP & tape of film-related music before this. The motorik beat of the opener is a feint; it soon veers into jazz skronk, psychedelia and even torch song.
Haruomi Hosono, ‘Tropical Dandy’ (1975)
Adventures in Exotica. Side 1 in particular anticipates August Darnell’s Kid Creole project. The bluesier Side 2 sounds a bit like Leon Russell or Randy Newman in places. Odd, but thoroughly entertaining. Recently reissued on vinyl.
Haruomi Hosono, ‘Tropical Dandy’ (1975)
Adventures in Exotica. Side 1 in particular anticipates August Darnell’s Kid Creole project. The bluesier Side 2 sounds a bit like Leon Russell or Randy Newman in places. Odd, but thoroughly entertaining. Recently reissued on vinyl.
Day 13
m e m o r y メモリー, “スピリチュアルアセンション (Spiritual Ascension)” (2021-22)
From the latest arrival to one of the oldest unplayed things in my digital library: a trilogy of albums by a mysterious US-based producer, known mainly for slushwave tho’ this is more ambient/naturewave in style …
Day 13
m e m o r y メモリー, “スピリチュアルアセンション (Spiritual Ascension)” (2021-22)
From the latest arrival to one of the oldest unplayed things in my digital library: a trilogy of albums by a mysterious US-based producer, known mainly for slushwave tho’ this is more ambient/naturewave in style …
Day 12
onepointwo, ‘Melodies’ (2025)
Received today! Advance copy of a new LP by this Greek electronic musician (not even available for preorder yet so I’m just showing off innit). At the more ambient end of what he does. And yes, melodic.
Released at the end of the month on Subexotic.
Day 12
onepointwo, ‘Melodies’ (2025)
Received today! Advance copy of a new LP by this Greek electronic musician (not even available for preorder yet so I’m just showing off innit). At the more ambient end of what he does. And yes, melodic.
Released at the end of the month on Subexotic.
Day 11
Bendu, ‘Lautner’ (2025)
More electronics from the USA. Melodic, but I like the use of distortion, reverb and sampled voices (used as additional texture) that give the impression each track is being beamed down from an orbiting satellite. A digital purchase but there is 1 CD left 🔗⬇️
Day 11
Bendu, ‘Lautner’ (2025)
More electronics from the USA. Melodic, but I like the use of distortion, reverb and sampled voices (used as additional texture) that give the impression each track is being beamed down from an orbiting satellite. A digital purchase but there is 1 CD left 🔗⬇️
Day 10
Future Children, ‘A Disorganized Body’ (2025)
Soundtrack by US duo to a short film about the strange case of a 19th century Frenchwoman who claimed to be only skin & bones. The music varies wildly in style, from lyrical pop to ghostly synth jams overlaid with operatic female voice.
Day 10
Future Children, ‘A Disorganized Body’ (2025)
Soundtrack by US duo to a short film about the strange case of a 19th century Frenchwoman who claimed to be only skin & bones. The music varies wildly in style, from lyrical pop to ghostly synth jams overlaid with operatic female voice.