As usual, Cyclic Defrost have collected together contributors & friends’ best of 2024 lists into one big post. I’ve extracted my own text to preserve here (with extra linky goodness).
While the climate crisis continues to be the greatest threat humanity faces, and while the rise of Donald Trump and fascism globally is a horror story, for me as a humanist Jew who’s always been against racism and all forms of supremacism, the biggest issue of the last year (and going back long before October 7th 2023) is Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and its extension into Lebanon, now Syria, and covertly further afield too. The Zionist state has had expansionist ambitions far longer than you would imagine (yes, it’s fundamentally colonialist), and as such, the settler movement which has so much political power at the moment is already eyeing land in Syria and southern Lebanon as well as Gaza. This, along with the unabashed suppression of Palestinian and pro-Palestinian voices (Jews like me included) here, in Berlin, in the US & UK and elsewhere, has consumed more of my anxiety-mind than anything else.
So this year my “best of 2024” list covers compilations focused on aid and solidarity with Palestine and Lebanon.
The text is adapted from the playlists in which I featured these albums, so there are references to the music that I played at the time (in case you’re confused!)
Dedicated to Palestine [Stray Signals]
From February: As the situation in Gaza only gets worse, a problematic situation in Germany – particularly Berlin – is also getting worse, whereby any voices in support of Palestine are being branded as antisemitic, and are systematically silenced – even when they are Jewish. There couldn’t be a more irony-laden illustration of the weaponising of “antisemitism” to shield Israel from scrutiny than German authorities feeling empowered to shut down Jewish self-expression. This is the background for the compilation Dedicated To Palestine from Berlin-based Stray Signals, which donates all revenue to two German-based NGOs, Jüdische Stimme für gerechten Frieden in Nahost (Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East) and Palästina Kampagne. Among the artists featured are Emanuele Porcinai’s WSR and his sister Elisabetta’s EPRC, Planet µ artist Herva, Berlin-based Lebanese musician & DJ Jessika Khazrik and many others. It’s a varied collection of electronic and electroacoustic work from across the Berlin scene. A revelation is Andrea Belfi‘s cover of “Dondestan”, a beautiful fable of Palestine from 1991 by the committed leftist and (like Belfi) drummer Robert Wyatt, rich with instrumentation in support of Belfi’s fragile, rarely-heard vocals. To contrast, I played some frosty ambient techno from Italian producer Noumeno.
Solidarity Soundwaves [4000 Records]
On February 15th, Brisbane label 4000 Records released a huge compilation of 37 tracks and over 3 hours of music called Solidarity Soundwaves, an anti-war, non-violence-promoting collection to raise funds for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP). Put $10 or more aside for this compilation, and I guarantee you’ll find some musical revelations in there from up north, like the “inevitable” drone from talented composer & electronic musician Timothy Fairless, or the incredible mix of live drums and electronics from Shugorei, the duo of Japanese percussionist Nozomi Omote and producer Thomas Green.
from the river to the sea and the sea of blood between [200+]
Breakcore was always central to Utility Fog’s mission from the start in 2003. At the time breakcore and ragga jungle were keeping the faith for rapid drumbreak destruction, and I always enjoyed the fuck-you illegal sampling and marrying of ugliness with – well, often – prettiness. Breakcore never died, but I feel that with the all-powerful jungle resurgence, it’s getting a bit more prominence too. Eora/Sydney’s own 200+ are dedicated to all things ultra-fast rave, and also carry on the anarchist political ideals that often came with this kind of hardcore music. So from the river to the sea and the sea of blood between is an impassioned protest against Israel’s increasingly undisguised fascism (while emphasising that anti-Zionism is not antisemitism). It’s also a great compilation of breakcore, gabber and hardcore techno from Sydney and across the country. Naarm’s Sergeant Bestfriend gives us fun, melodic drill’n’bass, while Sydney’s Df0bad brings us a journey through IDM.
Sounds for Solidarity: Palestine Relief Music Compilation [Caring Critters]
Delightful breakcore/idm duo Bagel Fanclub directed me to this new compilation, and their track “applebees iceblock” is a lovely piece of melodic breakcore. Both members also have tracks themselves on this 29-track compilation that sends funds to Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund and Palestinian Red Crescent Society. And it’s full of gems. Broadly, “Side A” is breakcore and junglish stuff, represented here by Chicago DJ/producer woodgraves with some warm & dark breaks at speed. “Side B” then is IDM at a more sedate pace (with exceptions), and Colorado’s The Massive Dragon is one of the Tree Critters who put the comp together, with ping-pong (literally!) beats and calm synth pads.
We Will Stay Here – Music for Palestine [Love Boat/Bandcamp]
On May 3rd, Boutique Turin label Love Boat released a compilation of experimental European and MENA artists to raise money for Medical Aid for Palestinians. It’s all recommended. I played Italian producer STILL, who frequently works with North African artists, with a riddim partially made from samples of Moroccan women demonstrating in Cassablanca last year. Then Egyptian producer 3Phaz, chopping up vocal samples and sub-bass and tumbling percussion clattering at double speed.
ENOUGH! [Dreaming Live]
On the 31st of May, a really big compilation came out from the organisation Dreaming Live, organised by the artist Mayss, in solidarity with Palestine, and calling for a ceasefire, and donating funds to Dr. Ghassan Abu Sittah’s Children’s Fund. ENOUGH! is 63 tracks long, and covers a range from minimal industrial to dark ambient and noise, deconstructed club to singer-songwriter, with plenty of Arabic artists as well as artists from all around the world. Sandy Chamoun is a wonderful singer & experimental electronic producer, whose track “HAWALTOU حاولت” (meaning “I tried”) is a clear highlight. She’s also the singer with the incredible postpunk/psych/free-jazz/etc group SAMAN. Without going into all the artists, there’s people like Martin Rev of Suicide, ZULI, Jerusalem In My Heart, Sarah Davachi, Larkin Grimm and many others. The second track I played was percussive beats and Shepherd flutes from Badawi, aka Raz Mesinai, who’s been involved in multiple music scenes in New York since the ’90s, including illbient, reggae/dub, avant-garde composition and rock, and more. His Israeli & Arabic roots have always played a major part in his music, and he’s against the occupation and the genocide (see his recent album Sonically Dismantling Western Imperialism). It’s great to see him included here.
Counting the strips of light [Heartists for Palestine]
It was really nice to hear a piece of heartfelt folk music from Yann Tambour, FKA Encre and also Stranded Horse on a new compilation, Counting the strips of light, the second put together by the Paris-based Heartists for Palestine. The beneficiary for both of their compilations isPalestinian Medical Relief Society, and the musical focus is mostly indie singer-songwriter but with some interesting/inspiring inclusions – John Parish, who has worked consistently with PJ Harvey and others; Kate Stables of This Is The Kit doing a lovely Ben Folds cover; Adrian Crowley; and Aidan Baker of Nadja with Frédéric D. Oberland of Oiseaux Tempête and Saåad; and more! Lebanese singer Mayssa Jallad, who put out one of the best albums of last year, works again with Fadi Tabbal (co-founder with Ziad Nawfal of Ruptured Records) on an incredible piece of experimental song. It turns out their piece is a Frankensteinian creation in which Jallad added vocals to a piece of Tabbal’s from his recent album I recognize you from my sketches. Jallad’s lyric (the title”Ad-Douar” means “Vertigo” in Arabic) follows a woman suffering from loss and displacement, inspired by the work of Dr Ghassan Abu Sittah and photojournalist Belal Khaled in Gaza recently.
Beats From The Levant – A Tape For Support [Metro Beirut Records/Bandcamp]
This compilation is exactly what the title says – a beat tape made by various unnamed artists from the Levant. Proceeds are split 50/50 between various relief efforts in Lebanon, and Medical Aid for Palestinians. There are plenty of head-nodding beats here sampling from usual hip-hop fare, but the most interesting tracks use samples of Arabic music, chopping them into beats for the heads.
Land 01 (أرض ٠١): A compilation for the displaced in Lebanon [Tunefork Studios/Bandcamp]
Earlier this year, via the wonderful Beirut label Ruptured Records, I discovered the work that Tunefork Studios and their friends at the Beirut Synth Center are doing materially helping displaced families whose homes were destroyed or who had to flee the attacks on southern Lebanon (and parts of Beirut itself) by Israel. Despite a ceasefire being declared, Israel hasn’t really stopped – and ghastly though it might be, Lebanon and Syria have provided convenient distractions from the continued ethnic cleansing of northern Gaza and what Amnesty International has now declared to be a genocide. Tunefork and Beirut Synth Center’s fundraising is now supported by a phenomenal compilation they put together of 41 tracks (almost all exclusive) from Lebanese artists, called Land 01, which I urge you to check out. It features all the Lebanese artists I’ve played recently on this show – Yara Asmar, Julia Sabra, Fadi Tabbal, Mayssa Jallad, Anthony Sahyoun and Jad Atoui who we heard only last week with Sandy Chamoun, and also Julia Holter, who is 1/4 Lebanese. Many other notable Lebanese experimental artists are here too. I had to play the granular fizz of Bana Haffar‘s “Echoes Sketch”, gelling so nicely with Fennesz. And Sandy Chamoun‘s track has all the industrial distortion and vocal passion of her trio work with Ghadr released last week. It’s a beauty.
Of course there’s more than just compilation albums. Many artists dedicated releases to those suffering in Gaza and Lebanon, and raised what funds they could from their releases. Notable is Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s album heartbreakingly titled “NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD”, and I also just discovered French-Israeli activist duo/couple Winter Family: I have to insist that you watch this beautiful video for their track “Gaza”, from back in 2017. The lyrics are in the description.
0 Comments.