Dinner Music: The weekly lineup
lebanese disco, synth-ladden experimental afro-beat, singular UK jazz
This week is all about co-existing and intermingling. We begin with afro-disco group Pigeon, whose sound layers sequencers, synths, rollicking drums, heavy guitar riffs and Highlife-esque vocals to build something that is at once funk, cosmic, afro and electro. While the sum of its parts follows in the afro-disco tradition, the songs in Backslider cross genre and tempo and build something that is particular and unmatched. We get that same particularity with Ron Everett, who released a very DIY jazz album at the height of disco in 1977. The cover was xeroxed and he sold the album on the streets on Philly himself. The album is absorbing — clearly a celebration of the rich, vibrant musical scene and history of his hometown. Tipsy Lady still feels so fresh, it could be a Mac DeMarco track. We move into a sort of anti-history with Jimi Tenor, a Finnish multi-instrumentalist that lives in relative isolation outside of Helsinki where he “picks mushrooms and has exotic musical fantasies.” Order of Nothingness is like a fever dream of afro-beat, jazz and experimental sounds with deep vocals set over bright, airy flutes and rounded organ sounds. Each song pulls from so much, that it re-imagines what a musical influence even is and re-invents it. On reinvention, Ihsan Al-Munzer released Belly Dance Disco with the intention of fusing western modern music and belly dance. Al-Munzer was one of the earliest artists to introduce the synthesizer into Middle Eastern music and the result is a sexy, sensational album that stuns. Lastly, we turn to Coco Maria, Amsterdam-based Mexican selector, whose compilation “showcases how artists use music to reconcile both their pride in Latin American and Afro culture as well as their interest in being part of the cosmopolitanism of big European cities.” Check out her Worldwide FM show, while you’re here.
Enjoy.
The playlist is here.*
*The playlist is changing a little bit. From now on, the link will stay the same and the songs will rotate out every Monday. For access to the archive of songs, consider upgrading to a paid subscription. I’ll send out the link to the archive playlist to paid subscribers at the end of this week.
Monday
Backslider - Pigeon (2023)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Bandcamp / Other streaming services
Tuesday
The Glitter of the City - Ron Everett (1977)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Bandcamp / Other streaming services
Wednesday
Order of Nothingness - Jimi Tenor (2018)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Bandcamp / Other streaming services
Thursday
Belly Dance Disco - Ihsan Al-Munzer (1979)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Other streaming services
Friday
Club Coco - Coco Maria (Compilation) (2021)
Spotify / Apple Music / YouTube / Bandcamp / Other streaming services
Pair with:
Fattoush With Za'atar, Sumac and Pomegranate Molasses. This traditional Lebanese salad recipe is wild with flavor. Serve with these chicken skewers.
Lebanese orange wine. I haven’t had this orange wine yet, but I’ve had this winemakers sparkling rosé and it was a very good wine. Orange wine and spiced chicken are basically twin flames.
These 70s-inspired linen shirts. A friend in Austin just launched these shirts — I bought two — they are beautiful and have such a unique cut. Plus, a pearl snap? Of course.
This essay on personal boundaries. “For her, if you peel back all the layers of someone’s self-narrative, you find a deeper level of the psyche where everything boils down to boundaries. You can assimilate each and every trouble to a single schema of healing.”
Thinking about: deconstruction on the runway and street style
Thank you, thank you. Have a great week.
Loved it!