Peter Margasak, Reader staff writer
E.T. Mensah & the Tempos, King of Highlife Anthology This four-CD set of the work of Ghanaian highlife pioneer E.T. Mensah compiles 69 tracks from the 50s and 60s with liner notes by producer and scholar John Collins. The seductively slinking grooves bear traces of swing, calypso, and Latin rhythms as well as local dance styles—a hybrid that not only had a profound impact on Fela Kuti but also provided a model for the integration of sounds from the African diaspora (American funk, Cuban son) into the music of their homeland.
Sam Prekop, solo artist, the Sea and Cake front man
Sine waves In preparation for my upcoming shows, I’ve been spending a lot of time designing patches with my modular synthesizer, and I often find myself taken aback by the sheer beauty of pure sine waves. Sometimes messing about with filters, modulation, and so on just feels like unnecessary ornamentation, when the notes and placement are just right.
David Hartt, artist
Starcircleanatomy, Always Forgetting, Receiving and Cold/Path These releases by Philadelphia producer Starcircleanatomy are both recent random finds on Bandcamp; they’ve been in heavy rotation at my studio while I’m working. The sound is submerged electronics, not dissimilar in treatment to UK grime. The cut-up neoprimitive loops and static also occasionally remind me of one of my favorite lost acts of the late 90s, Vote Robot.
