Wax In My Ears #2
Art-rap confessions, Afro-diasporic soul-funk, Libyan reggae, and propulsive cinematic synthscapes.
This week’s round-up includes music resurrected from the Gaddafi era, introspective digital-age dread, love-drunk alt-rock, an Ethiopique-inspired sci-fi score, plus a time-capsule mix of raw 1970s Asmara soul and video on a neo-soul collective that shone bright at the turn of the century.
Let’s dive in:
🎧 New Releases
Reginald Omas Mamode IV — Rivière Noire (Melting Pot Music)
Anglo-Mauritian vocalist, producer and musician Reginald Omas Mamode IV delivers a politically-charged neo-soul manifesto steeped in Creole poetry and diasporic resilience. Abandoning samples for live instrumentation, he crafts a low-slung funk affair alongside D’Angelo-sounding grooves and bluesy indictments, with his signature blend of funky Sega rhythms, jazzy lurches, and Prince-esque harmonies.
Open Mike Eagle — Neighborhood Gods Unlimited (Auto Reverse)
L.A.’s alt-rap sage Open Mike Eagle is adept at transforming personal fractures into art. On his tenth album, he turns a shattered cellphone into a metaphor for creative loss over hazy jazz loops. With dark humor and laconic storytelling backed by soulful production from Child Actor, OME continues to prove why he’s one of hip-hop’s sharpest existential cartographers.
Wet Leg — moisturizer (Domino)
The Isle of Wight five-piece follow up on their award-winning 2022 debut, graduating from meme-y hooks to ‘90s alt-rock swagger and lovesick lyrics. Frontwoman Rhian Teasdale’s vocals pirouette between deadpan wit and breathless vulnerability over punchy garage rock riffs. Slick production alongside unexpected tender moments make moisturizer a confident sophomore statement.
Various Artists — Habibi Funk 031: A Selection Of Music From Libyan Tapes (Habibi Funk)
Habibi Funk’s latest compilation is an anthology of Libyan cultural resistance during the 1980s-2000s, when genre-defying tunes were distributed on smuggled tapes to evade the Gaddafi regime’s censors. Salvaged from a demolished Tunisian cassette factory and digitized in Cairo, the selection includes a heavy dose of reggae, along with shaabi, synth-pop, and a Pink Floyd cover to boot.
The Sorcerers — Other Worlds And Habitats (ATA Records)
Leeds group The Sorcerers have crafted a sound that’s equally indebted to Ethiopian jazz and vintage horror soundtracks. Their fourth album builds on their Ethiopique sonic palette, expanding it with cosmic textures, 1970s futurism, and maintaining ATA Records’ signature analogue warmth.
Rival Consoles — Landscape from Memory (Erased Tapes)
British electronic music producer Ryan Lee West returns with his ninth studio album and most tactile odyssey yet, integrating more organic and moodier elements. Brimming with pulsing synths and fractured rhythms, shifting from ambience and cinematic synthscapes to downtempo and ambient techno.
🔥 Mixes
Refuge Worldwide: 100% Eritrean 45s
Eritrean Anthology is a music project dedicated to spotlighting historic Eritrean records exclusively from the 1970s. This mix is drawn from rare 45 singles.
📼 Watch
The Soulquarians were a groundbreaking late-'90s neo-soul collective featuring D’Angelo, Questlove, Erykah Badu, and J Dilla. Known for their organic fusion of sounds, they produced era-defining classics — like D’Angelo’s Voodoo and Badu’s Mama’s Gun — recorded in the famed Electric Lady Studios.
Fun fact: The name is a nod to their core members’ shared Aquarius zodiac sign.
📰 Reads
‘The perfect accompaniment to life’: why is a 12th-century nun the hottest name in experimental music? (The Guardian)
Library music yesterday and today: between Archive Gold and Algorithm (HHV Mag)
5 Songs That Recorded The Singer’s Actual Physical Pain (Cracked)
Until next week,
— Funky Chapati