Traams

Renowned for uncompromising, radical work, Jay Glass Dub’s transformation of TRAAMS might be his most accessible outing to date. The E.P. is as a whole is a warm, euphoric, sonic wash. Breathe’s tribal tom-tom-ed space rock raga is dropped down to ambient drones and disembodied voices, before tripped-out drums add a distant, muffled, funk. Sleeper, originally a lushly layered, uptempo thump, a Sonic Youth-like duet between TRAAM’s Stuart Hopkins and Soffie Viemose, of Danish band, Lowly, is serrated into synthetic shimmer. Now set to a sedated ceremonial march, Dimitris draws out its delicate 6-strings, which were previously lost in the mix. Hallie, on the album, was a churning, cathartic rush. Full of noisy arcs, and electric shredding, it was gravity-destroying, orbit-obliterating stuff. Here, it’s a chunky, chugging, skank, dancing to muted foot stomps and hand claps.

Elijah Minnelli is perhaps the more elusive / mysterious of the pair. His press one- sheets basing him in the fictional town of Breadminster, and branding his imprint the County Council's Music Initiative. Since 2019, with a handful of self-released 7s, Elijah has slowly built a complete mythology around this made up locale, which spills out into his monthly Soho Radio show, The Mustard Hour. Minnelli’s own music is a unique, distinct, fusion of reggae, Eastern European, and Latin American influences. The latest example can be found on fantastic 45 produced for Portland institution, ZamZam Sounds.