Our Monthly Playlist selection of choice music and Choice Releases list from the last month.
We decided at the start of the year to change things a little with a reminder of not only our favourite tracks from the last month but also a list of choice albums too. This list includes both those releases we managed to feature and review on the site and those we just didn’t get the room for – time restraints and the sheer volume of submissions each month mean there are always those records that miss out on receiving a full review, and so we have added a number of these to both our playlist and releases list.
All entries in the Choice Releases list are displayed alphabetically. Meanwhile, our Monthly Playlist continues as normal with all the choice tracks from October, taken either from reviews and pieces written by me – that’s Dominic Valvona – and Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea. Our resident Hip-Hop expert Matt Oliver has also put forward a smattering of crucial and highlighted tracks from the rap arena.
CHOICE RELEASES FROM THE LAST MONTH OR SO:
Bedd ‘Do Not Be Afraid’
Review
Joel Cusumano ‘Waxworld’
(Dandyboy Records) Review
Peter Evans’ Being & Becoming ‘Ars Ludicra’
(More Is More Records) Review
Will Glaser ‘Music of The Terrazoku, Ethnographic Recordings From An Imagined Future’
(Not Applicable) Review
Amira Kheir ‘Black Diamonds’
(Sterns Music/Contro Culture Music) Review
The Legendary Ten Seconds ‘Ricardian Churchward’
Review
NiCKY ‘with’
(PRAH Recordings) Review
Picniclunch ‘snaxbandwitches’
Review
Cosimo Querci ‘Rimane’
(Quindi Records) Review
Širom ‘In the Wind of Night, Hard-Fallen Incantations Whisper’
(Glitterbeat Records)
Striped Bananas ‘Eternity Forest’
Review
Sum of R ‘Spectral’
Tortoise ‘Touch’
(International Anthem X Nonesuch Records) Review
Vexations ‘A Dream Unhealthy’
(Cruel Nature Records) Review
Violet Nox ‘Silvae’
(Somewherecold Records) Review
THE PLAYLIST::
Howling Bells ‘Heavy Lifting’
Melody’s Echo Chamber ‘Eyes Closed’
Arcigrandone & Sone Institute ‘Ancide Sol La Morte’
Pray-Pax ‘Can’t’
Peter Evans Being & Becoming ‘Pulsar’
Petter Eldh Ft. Savannah Harris ‘MIDSUM BREW’
Myka 9, Blu & Mono En Stereo ‘Battle’
Jesse the Tree & Sage Francis ‘A Bad MFer’
Verb T & Vic Grimes ‘Distraction’
Elsio Mancusco & Berto Pisano ‘Nude per l’assassino’
Joker Starr Ft. AnyWay Tha God & Jazz T ‘Don’t Try to Test’
Summers Sons Ft. Ben B.C ‘Promises’
Sebastian Rojas ‘Pulmon Del Tropico’
Amira Kheir ‘Rabie Aljamal (Spring of Wonder)’
Oswald Slain ‘Cranberry Juice’
NiCKY ‘I Saw You’
The Legendary Ten Seconds ‘Bones in the River’
Edward Rogers ‘Astor Place’
Joel Cusumano ‘Death-Wax Girl’
The Stripped Bananas ‘Vampire of Mine’
Bedd ‘Paulie’s a Bum’
Legless Trials ‘American Russ Never Sleeps’
Vexations ‘Let Me In’
OvO ‘Gemma’
Sum of R ‘Violate’
GRABENFUSSS ‘Broken Kingdoms’
Cosimo Querci ‘Rimanemai’
Valley Voice ‘As Though I Knew’
Samara Cyn ‘vitamins n minerals’
The Strange Neighbour ‘No Mans Land’
Truth by Design ‘Stray Shots’
The Cool Kids, Sir Michael Rocks & Chuck Inglish ‘We Got Clips’
Dillion & Paten Locke ‘Always Never’
Sol Messiah & Connect The Dots Movement ‘Small axe wins the battle’
Tortoise ‘Works and Days’
Sirom ‘For You, This Eve, the Wolves Will Be Enchantingly Forsaken’
Violet Nox ‘Whisper’
Liz Cooper ‘New Day’
Sweeney ‘Silent J’
RULES ‘Run Boy’
Tinariwen ‘Chaghaybou – Adalan’
For the last 15 years both me and the MC team have featured and supported music, musicians and labels we love across genres from around the world: ones that we think you’ll want to know about. No content on the site is paid for or sponsored, and we only feature artists we have genuine respect for /love or interest in. If you enjoy our reviews (and we often write long, thoughtful ones), found a new artist you admire or if we have featured you or artists you represent and would like to say thanks or show support, than you can now buy us a coffee or donate via https://ko-fi.com/monolithcocktail
The Monthly Playlist For August 2024
August 30, 2024
CHOICE MUSIC FROM THE LAST MONTH ON THE MONOLITH COCKTAIL: TEAM EFFORT
The Monthly Revue for August 2024: Thirty-eight choice tracks chosen by Dominic Valvona, Matt ‘Rap Control’ Oliver and Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea from the last month. Features a real shake up and mix of tracks we’ve both covered in our review columns and articles. We’ve also added a smattering of tracks that we either didn’t get the room to feature or missed at the time. Covering many bases, expect to hear and discover new sounds, new artists. Consider this playlist the blog’s very own ideal radio show: no chatter, no gaps, no cosy nepotism. An Oasis free zone.
TrAcKliSt
Zack Clarke ‘Alternativefacts’
Leif Maine/Jackson Mathod/J. Scienide ‘Volte-Face’
OldBoy Rhymes/Mr. Lif/Sage Francis ‘American Pyramids’
boycalledcrow ‘magic medicine’
Dead Players ‘Gasoline Sazerac’
J Littles & Kong The Artisan ‘Do The Job’
Flat Worms ‘Diver’
Fast Execution ‘Total Bitch’
The Mining Co. ‘Time Wasted’
Tucker Zimmerman/Big Thief/Iiji/Twain ‘Burial At Sea’
Alessandra Leao & Sapopemba ‘Exu Ajuo’
Randy Mason ‘Wallet Phone Keys’
L.I.F.E. Long/Noam Chopski/Elohem Star ‘Cross Ponds’
Jacob Wick Ensemble ‘Rough And Ready’
Silas J. Dirge ‘Running From Myself’
Kayla Silverman ‘Maybe’
Hohnen Ford ‘Another Lifetime’
Sans Soucis ‘Brave’
Sweeney ‘School Life’
Chinese American Bear ‘Take Me To Beijing’
Tony Jay ‘Doubtfully Yours’
The Soundcarriers ‘Sonya’s Lament’
Henna Emilia Hietamaki ‘Maan alle’
Drew Mulholland & Garden Gate ‘Tumulus’
Tetsuo ii ‘Heart of the Oak’
Xqui & Agnieszka Iwanek ‘Echoes of Serenity 10b’
Poeji ‘Whoo’
Camille Baziadoly ‘Fading Pressure’
Petrolio ‘La Fine Della Linea Retta’
Fiorella 16 & Asteroide ‘PRIMAvera’
Michele Bokanowski ‘Andante’
Jan Esbra ‘Returning’
Nicole Mitchell & Ballake Sissoko ‘Kanu’
Jasik Ft. Frankie Jax No Mad ‘Atako (Pass The Champagne)’ Apollo Brown & CRIMEAPPLE ‘Coke with Ice’
Verb T/Malek Winter/BVA ‘Rubble’
Ivan the Tolerable ‘Floating Palm’
Pauli Lyytinen ‘Lehto II’
Quarterly Revue Playlist 2019: Part Four
December 16, 2019
PLAYLIST SPECIAL
COMPILED: Dominic Valvona, Matt Oliver, Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea and Gianluigi Marsibilio
ARTWORK: Gianluigi Marsibilio
From an abundance of sources, via a myriad of social media platforms and messaging services, even accosted when buying a coffee from a barristo-musician, the Quarterly Revue is expanding constantly to accommodate a reasonable spread that best represents the Monolith Cocktail’s raison d’etre.
As you will hear for yourselves, new releases and the best of reissues plucked from the team – that’s me, Dominic Valvona, and Matt Oliver, Brian ‘Bordello’ Shea, Andrew C. Kidd and Gianluigi Marsibilio (who also put together the playlist artwork) – rub shoulders in a continuous musical journey.
The final playlist of 2019 is no less eclectic and frantic, with electrifried peregrinations from Mali next to the best new hip-hop cuts and a wealth of post-punk, souk rock, jazz, noise, indie and the avant-garde.
That tracklist in full:
Automatic ‘Too Much Money’
Dead Rituals ‘Closer’
Comet Gain ‘The Girl With The Melted Mind And Her Fear Of The Open Door’
BRONCHO ‘Boys Got To Go’
SUO ‘Honey I’m Down’
Pocket Knife ‘Manger Constructeur’
Prince Rama ‘F.A.T.E (Bought Us Together)’
Cate Le Bon & Bradford Cox ‘Fireman’
Elizabeth Joan Kelly ‘Baleen Executioner’
Bear With Me ‘Cry’
Max Andrzejewski’s HUTTE ‘Little Red Robin Hood Hits The Road’
Tapan Meets Generation Taragalte ‘Yogi Yamahssar’
Junis Paul ‘Baker’s Dozen’
Invisible System ‘Diarabi’
Homeboy Sandman ‘Yes Iyah’
Guilty Simpson & Phat Kat ‘Sharking’
Iftin Band ‘Il Ooy Aniga’
Kalbata ft. TIGRIS ‘Tamera’
The Budos Band ‘Old Engine Oil’
Aziza Brahim ‘Hada Jil’
Atomic Forest ‘Life Is Anew’
Klashnekoff ft. K9 & Ricko Capito ‘The Road Is Long’
Chris Orrick & The Lasso ‘No Place Is Safe’
Blockhead ‘Spicy Peppercorn’
Willie Scott & The Birmingham Spirituals ‘Keep Your Faith To The Sky’
Jehst & Confucius MC ‘Autumn Nights’
Xenia Rubinos ‘DIOSA’
Genesis Elijah ‘Haunted Trap House’
Rico James & Santos ‘New York Cut’
Hiach Ber Na ‘Another Human Brain’
Mike Patton & Jean-Claude Vannier ‘Cold Sun Warm Beer’
TELGATE ‘Cherrytight’
Land Of OOO ‘Waiting For The Whales (Radio Edit)’
Big Thief ‘Not’
Gary Davenport ‘True Freedom’
Northwest ‘The Day’
The Cold Spells ‘I Hate It When You’re Sad’
Mick Harvey & Christopher Richard Barker ‘A Secret Hidden Message’
Boa Morte ‘Sleep/Before The Landslide’
Vola Tila ‘All Alone’
Owen Tromans ‘Burying The Moon King’
The Good Ones ‘My Wife Is As Beautiful As A Sunset’
Dub Chieftain ‘Enter The Chieftain’
Provincials ‘Cat’s Cradle’
Right Hand Left Hand ‘White Sands’
Ringfinger ‘Burning’
Giant Swan ‘YFPHNT’
Rafiki Jazz ‘My Heart My Home Home (Shallow Brown/Light of Guidance/The Settlers Wife/Shedemati)’
PREVIOUS QUARTERLIES
Quarterly Playlist Revue: Part Three: Idris Ackamoor, Stella Sommer, Mac Miller, White Denim, Simon Love…
September 26, 2018
Playlist: Chosen by Dominic Valvona & Matt Oliver/ Curated by Dominic Valvona
Priding ourselves on the diverse, pan-global playlists we collate for your aural pleasure and indulgence, the Monolith Cocktail Quarterly Revue series is the eclectic behemoth of them all. With no demarcation of any kind or rules we mix the harrowing and gothic with beckoning polyrhythmic dancefloor screamers, flights of panoramic fantasy with raging protestations, and the most sublime peregrinations with experimental cries from the wilderness.
Everything you find on this playlist has either featured on the site over the last three months or been in our general orbit (the sheer volume of music we get sent means there is inevitably issues of space and time, and so some great tracks just don’t make it; this is our chance to feature those lost tracks). Below you will find a full track list, including links to reviews.
Tracklist:-
Malawi Mouse Boys ‘Hunger (Hymn)‘
Spike & Debbie ‘Strike – Compilation Version‘
Dur-Dur Band ‘Yabaal‘
Goatman ‘Jaam Ak Salam’
Mac Miller ‘Party On Fifth Ave.‘
Parquet Floors ‘Wide Awake’
LCD Soundsystem ‘Oh Baby – Lovefingers Remix’
Papernut Cambridge ‘The Hobbledehoy‘
Yuzo Iwata ‘Gigolo’
Soft Science ‘Undone‘
Stella Sommer ‘Dark Princess, Dark Prince‘
Mehdi Rostami & Adib Rostami ‘Delight‘
Yiddish Glory (Loyko, Alexander Sevastian, Sophie Milman) ‘Shpatzir in Vald (A Walk In The Forest)‘
Yazz Ahmed ‘The Lost Pearl – Hector Plimmer Remix‘
John Coltrane ‘Impressions – Take 3’
Thelonious Monk ‘Nutty, Pt. 2’
RAM ‘Dambala Elouwe’
Vaudou Game ‘Tata Fatigue’
Derya Yıldırım, Grup Şimşek ‘Uc Kiz Bir Ana’
Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids ‘Land Of Ra’
Bixiga 70 ‘Quebra Cabeça‘
Etuk Ubong ‘Black Debtors’
Ayalew Mesfin ‘Hasabe (My Worries)’
Ippu Mitsui ‘Shift Down‘
Otis Sandsjo ‘Teppich‘
Nyeusi ‘Jupiter’s Giant Red Spot’
Angels Die Hard ‘Acid Beach‘
Mothers ‘PINK’
Rat The Magnificent ‘Up The Street‘
American Nudism ‘Future 5-0’
Dead End, M, Second Son ‘Let The Music Talk‘
Tenesha The Wordsmith, DJ Khalab ‘Madea’
CRIMEAPPLE, Big Ghost Ltd. ‘Your Love’
The Last Skeptik, Mikill Pane, Allana Verde ‘Rules Of Engagement‘
Beans, Sam Fog ‘The Black Chasm’
Bronx Slang ‘Rushing The Stage‘
Wordburglar ‘Rental Patient‘
Gunshot ‘Sulphur‘
Stringmodulator ‘Betwixt & Between‘
Laure Briard ‘Janela’
Brian Bordello ‘Eddie Cochran’
Simon Love ‘God Bless The Dick Who Let You Go‘
Picturebox ‘The Vicar’s Dog‘
Atmosphere ‘Make It All Better Again’
Daniel Rossen ‘Deerslayer’
White Denim ‘Good News’
La Luz ‘Mean Dream’
Kammerflimmer Kollektief ‘Action 3: Thoughtless, Hamburg‘
Previous Quarterly Revues From 2018
Monolith Cocktail Blog 