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From Amsterdam
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Devon Rexi make tripped-out, percussion-heavy rhythms that are as sexy as they are strange. Though the Amsterdam-based group have only released two EPs and maintain an elusive online presence, they have developed a steady cult following in guitar and dance music circles alike.
Formed around 2022 by Nushin Naini and Nic Mauskovic (who also releases music under the alias Nicolini), the mutating band draw on a range of influences dating from the 70s: the percussion, sax and funky bass recall New York no wave and post-punk, and the skulking tempo and echo have their roots in dub. These elements combine with punk’s DIY approach. Much of the instrumentation on their debut EP Tambal comes from undisclosed “miscellaneous objects” and their short, scrappy tracks have the production quality of some hazy late-night jam between friends: vocalist and bassist Naini likens their bedroom recording set-up to a “fun playground to experiment with sounds”.
They add exciting surprise elements into the mix: the spliced samples and turntablism add a chaotic edge to the otherwise groove-heavy tracks, and Naini’s self-described “fried Farsi” – a semi-improvised version of the language – is delivered through pitch-shifted yips and nursery-rhyme chants. It suits the wackiness of the Devon Rexi lore: these self-appointed “diasporic human snacks are vibrating their sonic manipulations in tribute to the lonely and oblivious Mr Naster” – which might give an insight to their headspace, if not their approach. Safi Bugel
This week’s best new tracks
Debit – La Ronda y el Sonidero
Mexican producer Delia Beatriz stretches and smears 90s selector Gabriel Dueñez’s slackened cumbia rebajada (slowed cumbia) sound so the beat becomes a twitch, the horns and yells lurching like TV static in search of a signal.
Jessy Lanza – Slapped by My Life
Written to make her husband smile when he was undergoing chemotherapy, this Lanza loosie is characteristically bright, bubbling club pointillism that flickers like a hummingbird wing – then shifts surprisingly bassy.
Kali Malone and Drew McDowall – The Sound in My Mind
Intricate yet fathoms deep, the drone doyen and former Coil member McDowall’s monophonic modular synth experiment evokes observing the intricate grain and monumental scale of a Richard Serra sculpture at the same time.
George Riley – Rain
From a new mixtape, Riley mixes chattering UK garage with the sweetness of Janet Jackson’s All for You and a real earworm chorus about being deluged by romance.
Stella Donnelly – Feel It Change
Wishing on a satellite “that you still love me”, the Australian songwriter reckons with a relationship’s looming demise, her hymnal composure faltering over an appropriately rainy trudge of drums and guitar.
Casey Dienel – Seventeen
Jettisoning the shivery synths of their old moniker White Hinterland after eight years away, Dienel’s comeback bridges the lush 70s studio upholstery and jittery rhythms of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours and Tusk.
Tortoise – Layered Presence
Tense bass, intricate pulse, a little proggy dissonance: who else could it be? Now dispersed across the US from their Chicago nucleus, the five-piece reunite for their first album since 2016.
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