This week the sounds is about texture. The albums all have a different quality of it — some are grainy, some layered, some minimal. Each adds a bit of something to the atmosphere when played. A gentleness, a playfulness, a moment of introspection or the opposite. The albums are about space, because they cannot be listened to without being in it. They are linked, always.
First, we start with Asha Puthli, a “fusion pioneer” from India who emigrated to the States when she was in her twenties. Her music is encompassing — jazz, blues, glam, funk, disco. She is untamed and you can hear it. The Devil is Loose was described as “a masterpiece of snakey, spaced-out soul and pre-mainstream disco.” I wish I could hear this album again for the first time.
Ana Frango Elétrico is a Brazilian artist whose music is also centered around this idea of fusion, though they recontextualize it as more of a re-invention than a borrowing. “Feeling was its driving force, [but] the album is really about musical production,” the artist said of the album. This is where those two combine to produce a cleanness, something pure and inescapable and unexpected, like a cool day in the middle of summer.
The best way to describe Scott 4 is perhaps the quote that originally appeared on the back of the album sleeve: A man's work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened. The work is strange and difficult, the way that detours often are. The album received no commercial success upon release, but is now considered Scott Walker’s best work and is often on lists of the top 1000 albums of all time. These things take time, a slow trek, if you will.
Journeying is at the heart of Women, the third album by instrumental Norwegian group Orion’s Belte. There’s gentleness in the sounds, like the way it feels to go through old photos, dusty and nostalgic in the movement. If you’re taking a drive soon or are in need of some tender introspection, start here.
Last, we move into a new sonic realm. Twenty Systems is like an archeological study of the history of synths — “the purpose of the record is to demonstrate the development of the synthesiser from the first commercially available systems in the late 1960s to the introduction of fully digital systems in the late 1980s.” Put this on at night, volume up.
Enjoy.
The playlist is here.
Paid subscribers have access to the full Dinner Music archive — 75 hours of groove, soul, samba, disco, electro, post-punk, funk and more. It’s the perfect companion for holiday travel and long holiday gatherings and prep.
Monday
The Devil is Loose - Asha Puthli (1976)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Tuesday
Me Chama De Gato Que Eu Sou Sua - Ana Frango Elétrico (2023)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Wednesday
Scott 4 - Scott Walker (1969)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Thursday
Women - Orions Belte (2023)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Friday
Twenty Systems - Benge (2008)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Pair with:
Sicilian pistacho pasta. Speaking of textures, we have this nut pasta that originated from Sicily that is equal parts creamy and crunchy. Maybe add some pistachio ice cream to your cart for later?
This Sicilian skin-contact wine. I love Sicilian wines for their texture — the volcanic soil gives it a mineral taste that manages to be crisp and rich at the same time. And this will pair perfectly with pistachio.
This short story called The Ugly Sister. Sometimes being sisters is gorgeous, sometimes you don’t get lucky. It turned out to be uncomfortably intimate, listening to men catch fish. They coached themselves in third person. They baby-talked their catches. Some even gave their dry flies voices, like children making toys speak.
A trip to see some art. Any art, anywhere.
Spiced dulce de leche banana icebox cake. I’ve been a little obsessed with icebox cake ever since having the banana pudding one at Kemuri Tatsuya in here in Austin. What’s not to like??
Thank you, thank you. Enjoy.