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  To compensate for the lack of actual sunshine, Dónal Dineen takes a trip closer to the equator in this episode to visit the Cape Verde islands and Haiti in search of the perfect summer soundtrack.   The journey starts off in land-locked Mexico where we hear an example of the Rebajada sound -  where the sonideros (sound-system operators) were fond of slowing down the Cumbia beat to make it more tangible music to dance to.   The temperature rises and tempo increases as we skip to the Sao Nicolau island on Cape Verde to hear the first of two dynamic masterpieces from Abel Lima. The island's strategic position in the mid-Atlantic meant that all kinds of influences seeped into the musical melting pot. We hear a couple of examples of raw Funaná dance music which comes across like a trans-Atlantic sibling of Columbian Cumbia. The Cape Verdean diaspora in Lisbon added layers of electronic sounds to the already hybrid sound to create a kind of proto-house sound personified by the Conjunto Jovens Africanos tune Nhu Djon which still rips up the dance-floors forty years later.   Before leaving the islands we listen to a piece of contemporary acoustic magic from The Ano Nobo Quartet.   Another island where the Cumbia beat dominated was Haiti and we hear a couple of examples of how that influence added an extra layer of heat to the Haitian dance floor sound exemplified by Coupé Cloué and Nemours Jean Baptiste.   Our journey ends on Sudan’s Red Sea Coast where we hear some extraordinary new sounds from Noori & His Dorpa Band.     Support the music-makers on Bandcamp:   Conjunto Tipico Contreras - https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/track/capricho-egipcio   João Cirilo - https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/track/po-dterra   Abel Lima - https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/track/corre-riba-corre-baxo   Conjunto Jovens Africanos - https://ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com/track/nhu-djon   Peps Love - https://ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com/track/pom-um-grogu   The Ano Nobo Quartet - https://ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com/track/tio-bernar   Nemours Jean Baptiste - https://ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com/track/haiti-cumbia   Noori and his Dorpa Band - https://ostinatorecords.bandcamp.com/album/beja-power-electric-soul-brass-from-sudans-red-sea-coast     ///

  This week’s trawl through the megahertz begins at home with Dónal reviewing two new standout Irish releases.   There’s a radiant new single from Aoife Nessa Frances and the long-awaited sophomore record from Caoímhín O’Raghallaigh and Dan Trueman, The Fate of Bones.   We skip to northern Mali to marvel at the latest offering from desert blues royalty Terakaft and while we’re there we jump back in time to introduce a timeless dance floor anthem played on the Balafon by Neba Solo.   There are other incendiary dance-floor tunes of a more contemporary kind from the master Four Tet under his KH pseudonym and a remix for the ages by Ross From Friends for Jeshi’s 3210.   Our love affair with bedroom production wizardry continues this episode with offerings from Arupu operating out of Bucharest, Romania and Emma Kirby in London who is making extraordinary electronic music under the Elkka monikor.   Correction: Maeve Mc Kenna plays harp on Emptiness Follows by Aoife Nessa Frances   Support the music-makers on Bandcamp:    raHHH https://rahhhh.bandcamp.com/album/tetris-people-ep   Caoímhín O' Raghallaigh & Dan Trueman https://thefateofbones.com/   Aoife Nessa Frances https://aoifenessafrances.bandcamp.com/   Terakaft https://secousse.bandcamp.com/album/jagwar   Neba Solo https://secousse.bandcamp.com/album/can-2002   Arapu https://dbh-music.bandcamp.com/album/rwx016   Tom VR https://tomvr.bandcamp.com/track/soared-straight-through-me-kareem-ali-remix   Elkka https://elkka.bandcamp.com/   KH https://fourtet.bandcamp.com/track/looking-at-your-pager   Jeshi https://jeshi.bandcamp.com/album/3210-ross-from-friends-remix     ///

This week’s trawl through the megahertz throws up some sizzling summer dance floor heat from Ireland, Germany and New Zealand.  First up is the collaboration between Icelandic queen Mr Silla and uncrowned Irish electronica king New Jackson. Five years in the making, Holding On was worth the wait. DJ Koze’s sound-clash with Sophia Kennedy is equally intoxicating as is the latest release from Eden Burns who has been making banging boom tunes from his bedroom on the South Island of New Zealand for the past few years.  There’s further evidence of why London remains a hotspot of musical endeavour and adventure via some captivating new electronic sounds from GAIKA and Ivy Lab as well as a pair of deeply soulful releases from new jazz pioneers Sons of Kemet and Sarathy Korwar. The simplicity and beautiful mysteries at the heart of Kareem Ali’s productions from Phoenix, Arizona are another topic of discussion. We also visit Belfast for a listen to the freshest offerings yet from prolific producer Cbakl and the Glass Craic label.   SUPPORT THE MUSIC-MAKERS ON BANDCAMP:   cbakl https://classcraic.bandcamp.com/album/cbakl-please-thank-u   Chino Amobi https://chinoamobi.bandcamp.com/album/paradiso   Sarathy Korwar https://sarathykorwar.bandcamp.com/track/birthright-feat-zia-ahmed-mirande-swadesi   Sons of Kemet https://sonsofkemetmusic.bandcamp.com/   New Jackson/Mr Silla https://newjackson.bandcamp.com/album/holding-on-reach-for-me   DJ Koze/Sophia Kennedy https://pamparecords.bandcamp.com/album/knock-knock-remixes-1-2   Eden Burns https://edenburns.bandcamp.com/track/invercargill   Kareem Ali https://kareemali19.bandcamp.com/track/lesser-speeds-2   GAIKA https://warprecords.bandcamp.com/album/basic-volume   Ivy Lab https://ivylab.bandcamp.com/album/novv-nasdaq   Lingua Ignota https://linguaignota.bandcamp.com/track/the-solitary-brethren-of-ephrata     ///  

The long-awaited sophomore solo concertina album “B” from Cormac Begley is our album of the week/month/year and in this latest instalment of our series on new musical discoveries, Dónal explains why. We also get to marvel at some more instrumental virtuosity from saxophonists Alabaster dePlume and Patrick Shiroishi. There’s a pair of exciting dispatches from the new frontier of sound by Irish producers Kean Kavanagh and Lullahush as well as a reminder of why the name of London-based Nigerian artist Tony Njoku is one to watch. The return of Kelly Lee Owens is celebrated and due praise given to the production mastery of boundary-pushing electronic pioneers Floating Points and Maya Jane Coles.   Support the music-makers on Bandcamp:   Invisible Temple https://perm-vac.bandcamp.com/album/self-hypnosis   Kelly Lee Owens https://kellyleeowens.bandcamp.com/album/lp-8   Tony Njoku https://tonynjoku.bandcamp.com/track/the-reset   Lullahush https://lullahush.bandcamp.com/album/a-city-made-of-water-and-small-love   Alabaster dePlume https://alabasterdeplume.bandcamp.com/album/gold-go-forward-in-the-courage-of-your-love   Patrick Shiroishi https://patrickshiroishi.bandcamp.com/album/hidemi   Cormac Begley https://cormacbegley.bandcamp.com/   Mason Lindahl https://tompkinssquare.bandcamp.com/track/sky-breaking-clouds-falling   Floating Points https://floatingpoints.bandcamp.com/album/vocoder   Nocturnal Sunshine https://www.beatport.com/track/ume/11863478   Whistling Arrow https://godunknownrecords.bandcamp.com/album/whistling-arrow   Kean Kavanagh https://keankavanagh.bandcamp.com/track/heart-attacks   ///

Some more examples of electronic experimentation from the wild frontier open this 8th instalment of our guide to new music. Firstly ELLES from Lisbon then Lyra Pramuk from Berlin and Okou & Casey MQ from Paris set the twilight reeling.  The intriguing rapping style of South London Vietnamese artist Triad God is just one of the things that set him apart. He also invents sound worlds all of his own as do the South African band John Wizards, London producer Apiento and New York sonic adventurer Ana Roxanne. Following on from our last episode we tune into Nicolas Jaar’s 2021 release from his collaborative project DARKSIDE and marvel at the skilful way Mala blended field recordings from his Peruvian travels into his electronic compositions. To mark the welcome reopening of our dance floors the episode closes with four examples of tunes that have wrecked the gaff in recent weeks from KH, Overmono, Two Shell and Pangaea.   Support the music-makers on Bandcamp:    ELLES https://naivetytrax.bandcamp.com/track/elles-zero-hour-contrac   Triad God https://prestorecords.bandcamp.com/album/triad   lyra Pramuk https://lyrapramuk.bandcamp.com/track/tendril   Okou and Casey MQ https://permalnk.bandcamp.com/album/for-the-beasts   DARKSIDE https://darkside.bandcamp.com/album/spiral   John Wizards https://johnwizards.bandcamp.com/album/john-wizards   Mala https://mala-music.bandcamp.com/album/mirrors   Apiento https://apiento.bandcamp.com/   Ana Roxanne https://anaroxanne.bandcamp.com/album/-   Two Shell https://twoshell.bandcamp.com/album/home-3   Overmono https://overmono.bandcamp.com/   Pangaea https://pangaeauk.bandcamp.com/album/like-this  

The DIY bedroom-producer stars of this episode are Joseph Kamaru from Nairobi recording in Berlin under the name KMRU, Tristan Arp from Mexico City and CARM out of New York. We celebrate the release of the wonderful new record from Inni-K which fashions a new sonic cloak for the ancient sean-nós form and re-visit the music of Nicolas Jaar and his deepest work yet, Cenizas. In between, there’s time to marvel at the powerful sounds of resistance coming from the alto-saxophone of Matana Roberts and at the fruits of a unique collaboration between two uncrowned kings of the wild frontier, Pavel Milyakov and Bendik Giske.   Shabazz Palaces https://shabazzpalaces.bandcamp.com/album/quazarz-born-on-a-gangster-star John Glacier https://plzmakeitruins.bandcamp.com/album/shiloh-lost-for-words Tristan Arp https://tristanarp.bandcamp.com/album/sculpturegardening KMRU https://kmru.bandcamp.com/album/there-was-nothing-in-between Pavel Milyakov and Bendik Giske https://pavelmilyakovbendikgiske.bandcamp.com/ Nicolas Jaar https://nicolasjaar.bandcamp.com/album/cenizas CARM https://carmband.bandcamp.com/album/carm Matana Roberts https://matana-roberts.bandcamp.com/album/coin-coin-chapter-four-memphis Inni-K https://inni-k.bandcamp.com/album/in-on   ///

Episode Six starts off with some DIY magic from Budapest courtesy of Goshaven before relocating to the Parisian suburb of Montreuil to hear the freshest of Moroccan-Egyptian hybrid rap from TripleGo. Homage is paid to the all-powerful street-fired Kinshasa collective Kasai Allstars and to the electronic pioneer and unique musical spirit Beverly Glenn Copeland. Hats are tipped to perennial kings of the wild frontier The Bonk and introductions made to new sounds from Welsh electronic adventurer Kellie Lee Owens and Californian harpist extraordinaire Mary Lattimore.   Support the music-makers on Bandcamp:   Gosheven https://opaltapes.com/album/leaper   The Bonk  https://thebonk.bandcamp.com/track/weird-tears-a-simple-exorcism   USNA https://usna.bandcamp.com/   Mose Sumney https://mosessumney.bandcamp.com/track/cut-me-2   Kasai Allstars https://kasaiallstars.bandcamp.com/album/black-ants-always-fly-together-one-bangle-makes-no-sound   Kelly Lee Owens https://kellyleeowens.bandcamp.com/album/inner-song   Stephen Mallinder https://stephenmallinder.bandcamp.com/track/um-dada   Beverly Glenn Copeland https://beverlyglenn-copeland.bandcamp.com/track/la-vita   Bitchin Bajas and Bonnie "Prince" Billy https://bitchinbajasandbonnieprincebilly.bandcamp.com/album/epic-jammers-and-fortunate-little-ditties   Mary Lattimore https://marylattimoreharpist.bandcamp.com/album/silver-ladders     ///

Dónal presents a fifth instalment to the rough guide to the year in new music 2021.   This leg of the journey starts with some instrumental wonders from Kuwait via Senegal before checking out some more DIY masterpieces from bedrooms in Brooklyn and Moscow. There's underground magic from the evergreen musical hotspots of Berlin and the East End of London as well as another slice of Canadian dance-floor heat from Eris Drew. There's also sublime lockdown music for strings made remotely by Kate Ellis and Laura Cannell across the Irish sea and sparkling new sounds to set the twilight reeling from Ghana and Florence Adooni.     ///    

Dónal presents a fourth instalment of the rough guide to the year in new music 2021.   This leg of the journey takes in more sounds of resistance from the streets of Philadelphia and Cleveland before celebrating some UK DIY masterpieces from Bristol, London and Glasgow. There's also another example of that particularly unique kind of magic coming from the Equiknoxx crew in Jamaica as well as a journey deep into Arabic soul courtesy of MSYLMA from Cairo and a reminder of the enduring power of Fish Go Deep productions out of Cork city.   Support the music makers on Bandcamp:    MSYLMA https://editionsappaerent.bandcamp.com/album/the-tenets-of-forgetting Time Cow/RTKal https://timecow.bandcamp.com/album/elephant-man Fish Go Deep https://fishgodeep.bandcamp.com/album/this-bit-of-earth Moor Mother and Billy Woods https://moormother.bandcamp.com/album/brass Mourning A[BLK}star https://mourningablkstar.bandcamp.com/album/the-cycle Ishmael Ensemble https://ishmaelensemble.bandcamp.com/track/visions-of-light R Aggs https://r4ggs.bandcamp.com/album/tape-1 SAULT https://saultglobal.bandcamp.com/track/i-just-want-to-dance LNS https://lnslaurasparrow.bandcamp.com/album/lns-id Beatrice Dillon https://beatricedillon.bandcamp.com/album/workaround Bendik Giske https://bendikgiske.bandcamp.com/album/cracks

Dónal presents a third instalment of the rough guide to the year in new music, 2021.   This leg of the journey includes some very modern takes on classical music from India and Guatemala via Mexico as well fresh rap sounds from Paris and Jamaica and an African percussion supergroup based in London. There's innovative electronic compositions from Peru, Belgium, Canada and South Africa as well as a whole bunch of more reasons why Chicago was on the edge of the new frontier once again in 2021.   Support the music-makers on Bandcamp:   Bitchin Bajas https://bitchinbajas.bandcamp.com/album/switched-on-ra   Gilb'R https://gilbr.bandcamp.com/   Ben LaMar Gay  https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/open-arms-to-open-us   JAMIRE WILLIAMS  https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/but-only-after-you-have-suffered   Mabe Fratti https://tinangelrecords.bandcamp.com/album/ser-que-ahora-podremos-entendernos   Arushi Jain https://arushijain.bandcamp.com/album/under-the-lilac-sky   Purelink, Millia Rage https://purelink.bandcamp.com/track/maintain-the-bliss   Equiknoxx https://equiknoxx.bandcamp.com/album/basic-tools-mixtape   serpentwithfeet https://serpentwithfeet.bandcamp.com/album/deacon   Native Soul https://nativesoulsa.bandcamp.com/album/teenage-dreams   Sofia Kourtesis https://sofiakourtesis.bandcamp.com/album/fresia-magdalena   ØlstrØm https://olstrom.bandcamp.com/album/udrydde-takeover-ep   LNS https://jaydag.bandcamp.com/track/bitumen   Balimaya project https://balimayaproject.bandcamp.com/album/wolo-so     ///    

Dónal presents a sound map of the year of 2021 in new music.   This second instalment delves into the work of future guest islanders, Karl Jonas Winqvist and Mario Batkovic. It also marks the glorious return of Colleen in 2021 before celebrating the latest wave of fresh magic from the musical hotspot of Chicago in the shape of Noname, Angel Bat Dawid and Kahil El'Zabar. Support the music-makers on Bandcamp:   Helado Negro https://heladonegro.bandcamp.com/album/sound-and-vision Ralph Heidel https://kryptox-music.bandcamp.com/album/relief Colleen https://colleencolleen.bandcamp.com/album/the-tunnel-and-the-clearing Mountain Man https://mountainman.bandcamp.com/ no name https://nonameraps.bandcamp.com/album/room-25 Sons of Kemet https://sonsofkemetmusic.bandcamp.com/album/black-to-the-future Wau Wau Collectif https://wauwaucollectif.bandcamp.com/album/yaral-sa-doom Etran De L'Air https://etrandelair.bandcamp.com/ David Walters https://davidwaltersplay.bandcamp.com/album/nocturne Mario Batkovic https://invada.bandcamp.com/track/quis-est-quis Angel Bat Dawid https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/transition-east Kahil el'Zabar https://kahilelzabar-is.bandcamp.com/album/kahil-el-zabar-s-america-the-beautiful Blood Music https://singasongfighter.bandcamp.com/track/today-and-tomorrow-dancing-dancing-dancing-feat-noi-and-friends-2          

In another singular twelve months for new sounds Dónal charts the year in tunes. The stated criterion is that it's new names only but some diversions are taken to include essential releases from familiar artists like Shirley Collins, Dean Blunt and Oneohtrix Point Never. Otherwise it's a voyage of discovery all the way from the frozen north in Norway to the beating heart of Niger.    Support the music-makers on Bandcamp:   Lighight - https://lighghtmusic.bandcamp.com/album/holy-endings Dylan Henner - https://dylanhenner.bandcamp.com/album/the-invention-of-the-human Shirley Collins - https://www.dominomusic.com/releases/shirley-collins/crowlink/download Onehotrix Point Never - https://oneohtrixpointnever.bandcamp.com/ The Heart Pumps Kool-Aid - https://sethgraham.bandcamp.com/album/the-heart-pumps-kool-aid Sam Gendel - https://samgendel.bandcamp.com/album/fresh-bread Gabriels - https://gabriels.bandcamp.com/album/love-and-hate-in-a-different-time Georgia Anne Muldrow - https://georgiaannemuldrow.bandcamp.com/album/vweto-iii Gotts Street Park - https://gottsstreetpark.ochre.store/ Utheo Goerer - https://www.lyskestrekk.com/product/utheo-choerer-forste-gir-stiv-kuling-7/ Black Country, New Road - https://blackcountrynewroad.bandcamp.com/album/for-the-first-time Falle Nioke & Ghost Culture - https://fallenioke.bandcamp.com/album/badiare-ep Mdou Moctar - https://mdoumoctar.bandcamp.com/album/afrique-victime Space Afrika - https://space-afrika.bandcamp.com/album/honest-labour Aya - https://aya-yco.bandcamp.com/ Loraine James - https://lorainejames.bandcamp.com/album/reflection Joy Orbison - https://tossportal.bandcamp.com/album/still-slipping-vol-1 Marco Shuttle - https://marcoshuttle.bandcamp.com/album/cobalt-desert-oasis Tomaga - https://tomaga.bandcamp.com/album/intimate-immensity Yu Su - https://yusu.bandcamp.com/album/yellow-river-blue Audiobooks - https://audiobookshq.bandcamp.com/album/astro-tough-2 Ross From Friends - https://rossfromfriends.bandcamp.com/album/tread Overmono - https://overmono.bandcamp.com/album/bmw-track-so-u-kno Jehnova - https://jehnova.bandcamp.com/ Dean Blunt - https://roughtraderecords.bandcamp.com/album/black-metal-2 Leo Bhanji - https://www.amazon.com/Birth-Videos-Explicit-Leo-Bhanji/dp/B08NZFFJBT Celestial - https://celestialecstatic.bandcamp.com/album/i-had-too-much-to-dream-last-night     ///