Release Roundup: Ebony Lamb, Christoph El' Truento, SoundCanvas Ultra, Auto Angel, Sundae Painters + More

A super sized omnibus edition of our Release Roundup today. I was on a bumpy plane ride to Pōneke this time last Friday, so we'll be looking back at two whole weeks worth of local tunes and videos before moving into the long weekend. Revisit our coverage of Mermaidens, Thee Golden Geese, Erny Belle, The Spectre Collective, Pluto, Pickle Darling & The Beths, Albi & The Wolves and Beastwars (plus interview), then scroll downwards for new / recent release highlights from Ebony Lamb, Christoph El' Truento featuring Troy Kingi, SoundCanvas Ultra, Theia, The Spectre Collective (again), Ha The Unclear, Jupita, Kora, Hasji, Simon O’ Rorke (Audio Foundation Records), morris st network, Sundae Painters, Wurld Series, Auto Angel, Unsanitary Napkin, and the soundtrack for Mr Organ composed by Lachlan Anderson (Die! Die! Die!).

Recorded with Bic Runga, Kody Nielson (Opossom, Silicon, UMO) and her long-time musical collaborator Gram Antler, Ebony Lamb today unveiled her self-titled debut solo album via Nadia Reid's boutique record label, Slow Time Records. You can catch Lamb touring her fervently-awaited creation across Aotearoa from 27th October — head over to the Banished Music site HERE for details.

Producer of Avantdale Bowling Club's second album Trees, Christoph El' Truento has wrangled together an absolutely killer roster of Aotearoa artists on his forthcoming new album Circle Of Friends — including Tom Scott, Ladi6, Mā, Julien Dyne, Guy Harrison, Cory Champion, Jeremy Toy, Mara TK, JY Lee and more. Hit play on lead single 'Numb' featuring Troy Kingi.

An Aotearoa vaporwave-adjacent / MIDI-pop artist equal in stature (to those the know) with Eyeliner and Satin Sheets, SoundCanvas Ultra returns with Sound Forge — his first official new album since 2015's classic self-titled Crystal Magic Records long player. Created using the box of FM synthesis tricks that is the artist's namesake, this is the one I'll be cranking all Labour Weekend. "Drawing inspiration from medieval armour craftsmanship, abandonware and renaissance painters, Sound Forge explores the parallels between esoteric sorcery and computer graphic shading languages".

Brining her Girl In A Savage World tour to Tauranga Arts Festival and Hawkes Bay Arts Festival this weekend, Theia (aka TE KAAHU) teams up with full band for a fuzz-powered new live version of 'Dollhouse'.

Pōneke's The Spectre Collective launched their excellently future-shocked new "cyber-horror" long player Neuro Death late last week, now experience Will Agnew's synapse searing visuals for album highlight 'Cosmic Trigger'. Go see them playing with Half Hexagon and DJ Boss Dude at Moon on 4th November — tickets HERE.

It's been a minute between releases from Ha The Unclear — they've graced our Friday jukebox with reflective jangle-pop ripper 'Fish'.

The project of Tāmaki Makaurau songwriter / producer Julia Morris, Jupita bares her heart in her huge new anthem 'Want You Back'. Sing along with the accompanying clip made by Alex Rod and head to Jupita's EP release show at Whammy Backroom on 11th November, with special guest Oni Kidman — get tickets HERE. "It might be a cliche but songwriting can be very therapeutic, and writing 'Want You Back' was one of those times."

Aotearoa genre-mashing icons Kora help us get in the right mindset for a big summer ahead, dropping today their hopefully not prescient groove-heavy new anthem 'Dancing in the Rain' — "all about choosing a positive outcome in any situation."

Aotearoa Gorge Bootist and recent tune-spinner at the 95bFM bRAVE, Hasji released meditative new work ' :¨ ·​.​· ¨: `· . ꔫ' — "a seven minute space to recollect before continuing... made on Sunday morning as a means of slowing and checking in with myself".

Venturing to the edge of musical convention then jumping off the whole dang cliff, Audio Foundation Records shared the second volume in their Audio Foundation Improvisors Series — documenting "Simon O’ Rorke & a range of collaborators for his 3 night performance residency at Audio Foundation in May 2023".

Finalists in the Te Tohu Hopunga Puoro Mariu (Favourite EP / Mixtape) category for the 2023 SRN Awards, Te Ika-a-Māui collective morris st network released puketiro superhero — "a d.i.y project & album currently featuring 7 multi-instrumentalists, led by Fi. The album is set in a space where a child discovers & rediscovers themselves from their actions, projected gender, unmolded thoughts, and the people they lose".

 

True stars of Aotearoa's alternative underground, Sundae Painters are / were the collaborative four-piece of Kaye Woodward, Paul Kean (both of The Bats and Minisnap), Alec Bathgate (Tall Dwarfs) and Mr. Choo Choo aka Hamish Kilgour (The Clean), who passed away in December of last year. Listen to 'Sweet Dreams', the first single from a self-titled collection out on 17th November — featuring "our dear friend Hamish Kilgour singing and playing guitar, and Delaney Davidson on drums".

Canterbury's Wurld Series keep the superb singles coming with their very mystical 'Rearing Wesley' — from the group's forthcoming album The Giant's Lawn out on 17th November.

Formerly known as bbgurl, Che Ebrahim's new project Auto Angel performed alongside Australian pop experimentalist Katie Dey in Naarm / Melbourne last Sunday. Smash play on the artist's appropriately super aggressive new single 'Akl' via Bankrupt Records — with co-production from nightmare honey and mastering by Amamelia.

Aotearoa punk activists Unsanitary Napkin released their outraged 'Catastrophe' as an urgent fundraiser (now closed) to support aid and relief efforts in Palestine. "Without justice, there will never be peace. Return the land, free Palestine" — read the trio's full statement HERE.

David Farrier's 2022 documentary Mister Organ is the stuff of real life nightmares. Listen to the original soundtrack composed by Lachlan Anderson (bassist of Die! Die! Die!), now available in the streaming sphere.