Journal
Started when the first pandemic confinement hit, this is content that celebrates my past and informs a fresh vision forward. I have a fascination for subcultures, specially those with a close-knit relationship with leftfield and challenging music, so music does take center stage here. Glad if it resonates with you in some way and you discover something new here, in which case you should explore more and support the artists. Moving between London and Porto. Curated by Jorge Sampaio.
> EXHIBITION: SNEAKERS UNBOXED: STUDIO TO STREET
On May 18th, that new sneaker smell permeated the Georgian architecture of Kensington High Street, as London’s Design Museum removed the lid and unfurled the tissue paper of their box-fresh Sneakers Unboxed: Studio to Street exhibition. Running until 24 october 2021.
Band: THE ARMED
Album: Ultrapop (2021)
Track: Ultrapop (02:43)
Band: HAMMOCK
Album: Mysterium (2017)
Track: Mysterium (07:11)
Band: VAMPILLIA & THE BODY
Album: XoroAHBin (2015)
Track: Cold Bark Bite (05:06)
Band: ROY MONTGOMERY
Album: Island of Lost Souls (2021)
Track: Soundcheck (For Adrian Borland) (07:20)
With compositions steeped in rich guitar effects, the four extended instrumentals in this mini-album suggest communion and isolation, channeled through four island residents’ musical memorials: Sam Shepard, Adrian Borland, Peter Principle, and Florian Fricke. The ambiance across songs wavers between being majestically sad yet with a power mimicking hope, encouraging remembrance and honor without pain.
“Soundcheck (For Adrian Borland)” is a tribute to the late Adrian Borland, founder of the very underrated English post-punk band The Sound. This is nowhere near as emotionally raw as the underappreciated English singer it honors, but it surely hints at his music for the uninitiated. Adrian commited suicide in London on this day 22 years ago.
Band: IOSONOUNCANE
Album: IRA (2021)
Track: Ashes (07:13)
Band: PUCE MARY
Album: The Spiral (2016)
Track: No Memory (05:23)
Band: 9T ANTIOPE & SIAVASH AMINI
Album: Harmistice (2019)
Track: Black as in Burst (07:12)
Band: BEYOND DAWN
Album: Revelry (1998)
Track: Phase to Phase (08:14)
A band which started sounding like a mix of My Dying Bride and Swans and by this album, 3 years after their debut, had managed to dump all the needless gothy references and now sounded unlike any other, flirting with slowcore and post-punk.
Revelry is such a gratifying album, and yet criminally forgotten. Sure you have to be in the mood, but really, all it takes is a moment of inner peace, a lazy Sunday, a walk by the shore, cigarette in hand. Equally of note is their follow-up, '99's "Electric Sulking Machine", both albums well deserving of wider recognition.
Band: RAMESES III
Album: Across Wounded Galaxies (2016)
Track: When the phone goes dead II (06:12)
Band: MSC
Album: I close my Mind and Lock it (2018)
Track: Almost, almost, almost (04:40)
Band: JAMES WELBURN
Album: Sleeper in the Void (2021)
Track: In and Out of Blue (05:00)
Band: CADU TENORIO
Album: Isekai (2019)
Track: Buscai o Tronco (05:20)
Band: CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
Album: Circulatory System (2001)
Track: Outside Blasts (06:07)