TranscendNoise

30. Kali Malone – Living Torch More than just an addendum to 2019’s The Sacrificial Code , Living Torch sees Kali Malone completely eschew her trademark instrument for bass clarinet, trombone, and a huge array of electroacoustic instruments. The two tracks express a mindset of composition that channels music concrete with a refreshing neoclassical approach, something Kali Malone and her contemporaries of labels such as Ideologic Organ, XKatedral and here Portraits GRM herald throughout their work. Without the organ at the center, much like Malone’s first album, the soundscapes created exist in interrupted timespace. These drawn out and ever-evolving pieces feel decidedly different from what similar artist like Tim Hecker or Ben Frost would achieve. Other than externalities dictating the course and meaning of sound, Malone is a master of a singularly aural perspective, stacking drones and buzzes of synths for the sheer experience of the body in sound. Having had the opportunity to se...

50. OG Keemo – Geist | Whole Discography OG Keemo´s debut album Geist was released towards the end of 2019 and passed over by my usual reluctance to give German rappers a real chance. Trickling word of mouth made me listen in. Keemo´s music, carried by his partner producer Funkvater Frank makes Geist and all of his previous mixtapes and EPs a must listen, a lesson in the energy and vigor a German rap story can carry without catering to current tendencies of trap-crooning or misshapen attempts of making dancehall. If anything, OG Keemo is the only German rapper you need to know in 2020! Simply for his banging delivery of tales surrounding poverty and racism which revel in depression without diving into sadness. The agency of Keemo in capturing his past, his bravado in taking a stand in today´s gangster rap, are flawless over the Funkvater Frank´s varied production. While other German contemporaries might appeal to easier sentiments or remain functional as hit-makers, everyone with the G...