Midweek Music: Majetic
By Justin Majetich
Photo Courtesy of Chris Cox
For this playlist, I drew on the music I’m listening to right now. There’s a consistent dread, and many of these tracks flow in and out of structure, little islands of song adrift in a formless ocean of sound. One thing I look for in any extended musical experience is transportation. I want it to alter my sense of time and transform the world around me. I think this set of tracks is capable of that. For optimal listening, I’d recommend taking a walk, or lying on a roof, alone with the dark.
Drumloop - “Pensando en tu Cara - Redux”
I stumbled upon Drumloop’s Revenge Body on Bandcamp about a month ago and was totally devastated by it. This is an edit of a track she produced for Isabella Lovestory- both versions are amazing.
JPEGMAFIA - “Rock N Roll Is Dead”
I ran JPEGMAFIA’s Veteran into the ground this past summer. It’s bold, it’s dark, and it’s addictive- full of detail to uncover over the course of repeated listens.
Eartheater - “Slyly Child”
When I landed in New York City three years ago, Eartheater was one of the first local acts I fell in love with. This year’s Irisiri conjures a deep, strange, breathing world. I’d like to think her obsessive exploration of liminality and her readiness to emote through experimentation (and vice versa) resonates with my own work.
Ela Minus - “Ok”
“My love for you / I'll bring down the moon / I brought it down on everyone's head for you to see / How much I care.” I have a soft spot (errrr… a Scorpio moon) for apocalyptic expressions of love. Each production element here has so much character - pounding on the ground, tugging at the ether.
Kate NV - “pаз ONE”
Kate NV’s для FOR has been a steady friend for the past few months. Playful, adventurous, and therapeutic - it’s great for careful listening and backgrounding alike.
Destroyer - “Saw You at the Hospital”
I’ve cherished Destroyer for years - Kaputt and Poison Season seem to give endlessly - but Ken passed completely under my radar when it was released last year. Luckily, a friend recently recommended it, and I’m back, supine, in the bittersweet arms of Dan Bejar. Every time this song comes on, I’m taken back to the opening episode of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain.
Yves Tumor - “Limerence”
So, you’ve got to listen to Yves Tumor’s brand new Safe in the Hands of Love, but for this playlist, I wanted to visit an older piece. His one-off instrumental, “Limerence,” was the gut-wrenching stand-out from PAN’s Mono No Aware compilation.
Scott Walker - “Copenhagen”
Someone once advised me that I sound like I listen to Scott Walker, and now I do listen to Scott Walker. I love how the formality and smile in his voice facetiously mask the irresolution in his words. The turn in song at 0:58 just kills me: “Gone and made me child again….”
Tim Hecker - “This life”
Tim Hecker opened his set with some iteration of this track when I saw him perform at Pioneer Works last Winter. There was no lighting - just a slight gray, ambience carried in the fog which doused the room. The sound was invasive in volume and frequency. Outside, the year’s most intense blizzards had descended. I remember all of our bodies like columns rising in stillness from the floor; a terracotta army buried so far under the earth; cattle packed on the cold factory floor. The “Bloodbrunch” lyric, “dressing the kids in a slaughterhouse fog…,” remembers this experience.
Harold Budd - “Let Us Go Into The House Of The Lord/Butterfly Sunday”
Harold Budd’s The Pavilion of Dreams is one of the most sacred records to me. Mystical and mournful, it must be heard in full. This track is situated about halfway through the record, following an 18 minute instrumental improvisation. The first time I heard that voice unexpectedly rise from the established instrumental texture, I stopped what I was doing and took a seat. Gets me every time.
Eartheater - “Curtains”
Sorry, it’s Eartheater again with another twisted track. At times, the sweep of the harp dwarfs the pummeling electronics; at others, the harp plays like acid on the surface of the beat. Have a nice day.