Dit’moi Monsieur

NB: scroll down for exclusive mix...

Ever since the bravura display of May's eight Tam Variations, there could be little doubt that LJ Kruzer's Manhood & Electronics (Uncharted Audio) would be one of this year's landmark albums, notwithstanding its indifferent title - a lift from a memoir by Bryan Strange, apparently. But it's only on full immersion that the gentle, timeless brilliance of this ravishing post-modern hymnal unfolds completely (sorry if the physics of that don't quite hold up...).

The more you hear it (full stream available), the more obvious it is that Manhood is a masterpiece of a kind of urban pastoral - spare & reflective, but still warmly engaging. Its restraint & modesty, its delicacy, its poise are all pretty rare, & welcome, commodities.

The definitive, untampered (or at least differently tampered) Tam is a clear highlight - a beautiful orchestration of block-chording piano with counterpointing keys, dreamy washes & more abrasive buzz. Others include the yearning opener Barnab & the frozen Glassisms of Poil, as well as the brisker lushness of Tram & drowsy prettiness of Frum.

A couple of '814' (Bach or a cool keyboard - who knows?) versions feature among the Tam Variations. Two more, both extended, here:

LJ Kruzer > Barnab814 > Poil814

EXCLUSIVE: LMYE is thrilled to present LJK in the mix - if Manhood weren't enough, his excellent This is What I Like electronica mix whets the appetite still further ahead of his unmissable, free (!) Union Chapel gig on September 26. Its 30 minutes range catholically from Moondog to Villalobos' Minimoonstar, & feature unlikely to be repeated debuts here for both Maurice Chevalier & Tomita...

00:00 Maurice Chevalier avec Yvonne Vallée – Dit’moi Monsieur Chevalier
01:27 Regolith – Sap Rising
03:57 Signal – Ermafa
07:05 LJ Kruzer – Kruzerlude
09:46 Moondog – Tugboat Toccata
11:48 Benge – Polymoog
12:29 Moondog – Gloving It
12:48 Autechre – Altibzz
14:16 Ricardo Villalobos – Minimoonstar
17:05 Justus Kohncke – Yacht
22:14 Benge – Oberheim Xpander
23:47 Jordi Savall performing Tobias Hume: Beccus An Hungarian Lord
25:45 Tomita performing Debussy: The Girl With The Flaxen Hair

Tam - LJ Kruzer Video from JimJam Graphics on Vimeo.

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