As an accomplished 12-string guitarist/composer, Alexander Turnquist was naturally alarmed when the ulnar nerve in his left hand seized up in 2013, but after a surgical procedure he gratefully started the process of learning to play guitar again. His recovery was cut short when not long after the surgery he was hospitalized with meningitis. Though his recovery is ongoing, and he continues to struggle with a weakened immune system and memory loss, he was inspired to soldier on, rather than being deterred by his physical struggles. 

Turnquist's latest full-length Flying Fantasy confirms the idea that out of great hardship can come great art. As he wrote the material for the new album it became clear that his sensitivity had sharpened, his empathy magnified, and his sense of purpose blossomed. The unfortunate circumstances he endured ostensibly forced his metamorphosis from a remarkable guitar player to a truly great composer. Much like the butterflies that adorn the album cover, he seems to have changed form and taken flight. 

The album opens with the sparse harmonics of "House of Insomniacs", which are soon joined by lush swells of vibes, cello, and even wordless vocals. On the tracks that follow, Turnquist continues to make use of this dynamic sonic pallet, even adding organ, piano, marimba, steel drums, violin, and french horn to the mix. From "Red Carousel", which was inspired by Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes, to the somber lilt of the love song "Wildflower", to the truly arresting title track "Flying Fantasy" which uses only 4 open strummed guitars and loops of damaged tape and wire recorders, every note of Flying Fantasy vibrates with life as Turnquist ushers us though his intoxicatingly colorful worlds of sound.

Alexander Turnquist - "Wildflower"

Futuropaco "Fortezza di Vetro vol. 1" out now!

Vinyl and CD available from www.elparaisorecords.com, Norman Records, Rough Trade and many others.

Futuropaco: "Muro Vuoto"

Holiday Ghosts - Sublime Disconnect

Brand new single from The Pheromoans, taken from their forthcoming album 'Wyrd Psearch', out March 1st on Upset The Rhythm.

https://upsettherhythm.co.uk/

The Pheromoans - 'Downtown'

From the album Mi Casa available February 23, 2024 on Western Vinyl
pre-order / listen https://lnk.to/mi_casa

Returning home has been a recurring theme in works of art for millennia. But what if home was more than just a destination? What if the comfort and reward of home could be uncovered in realms of transition? In the journey itself? On his debut album Mi Casa, Tomás Mendizabal — aka Quién Es Geronimo — explores these concepts through a remarkably fresh take on confessional songwriting, ambient pop, and stunningly vibrant alt folk. But to understand the concepts behind Mi Casa, you must first understand Quién Es Geronimo.

In the past decade, the singer-songwriter left behind his roots in Chile, completed his music studies in the Netherlands, and had his heart broken in Berlin, all before settling in Mexico City in the early months of 2022. These experiences left Mendizabal transformed, emotionally devastated, and ultimately, inspired enough to create Mi Casa.

“Although I’ve always justified moving to other countries for practical reasons,” the artist explains, “I think the main reason is more spiritual than anything else. I’m in search of experiences. Experiences that linger only in your memory: beautiful and fun nights with friends, people you fell in love with, goodbyes, and the final realization that you are merely the continuity of it all.”

According to Mendizabal, this is the dimension where the concept of home begins to manifest, the idea that “no matter under which circumstances and how far from your loved ones you are, it is within yourself that home needs to be built, upon the loving and cherished memories that have transformed you.”
On Mi Casa, this philosophy is distilled into an album that is by turns oneiric yet lucid, meditative yet dynamic, and above all, unforgettable. The collection was initially conceived as a sort of soundtrack for the liminal space between dreams and waking life, a map for weary travelers who slip from the tumult of reality into gentle realms of sleep.

“Punto Final” greets you with simple strummed guitar and lulling bass before Mendizabal’s voice enters the landscape, laden with overdubs and subtle experimental textures. Emerging like a sprout reaching for light, the song — like most of Mi Casa — the song maintains a darkness at its roots, as the artist questions where the “final point” in life and love may lie. Mendizabal’s gentle voice and lush instrumentation further belies themes like jealousy and anguish on tracks like “Dime si es Verdad” and the stunning two-part composition “Serotonina,” which begins as a sorrowful acoustic ballad before guiding the listener to sublime peaks richly adorned with seraphic strings and slide guitar.

Through a series of dreamlike instrumental interludes, Medizabal suspends the listener in the gauzy world of Mi Casa. In less skilled hands, transitional tracks like these could feel like filler, but on Mi Casa, they weave the album into a cohesive whole, as they complete the chiaroscuro, adding depth and relief.

“Outro,” the final track on the album, finds Mendizabal at the piano, saying farewell to the friends and lovers he’s met along the way. “It is a bit sad,” the songwriter explains, “but I see it as a gratitude song. All of these people have become my family over the years. Ultimately, they’re my home.” Listening to Mi Casa, it's easy to dissolve into the tableau: the journey, the dream, and everything that’s happened along the way.

On the cover of Mi Casa, the artist behind Quién Es Geronimo poses next to a friend wearing a monster mask. Although the photo was taken as a joke, it serves as a fitting representation for the artist’s debut. The sojourn has been beautiful, the landscape gentle and dreamlike, and yet the monster remains. On Mi Casa, Quién Es Geronimo doesn’t work to fight the creeping darkness, he embraces it as one of the integral workings and viscera of home.

Quién es Geronimo - "Mi Casa"

Soft Tissue

Falling, the Light

This may be the first time that Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea are officially appearing on Headphone Commute, but I assure you, I have been listening all along, starting from their self-titled debut release on Past Inside The Present to the more established Liberamente out on Jonas Munk's (aka Manual) Azure Vista imprint in 2019. Of course, besides the solo works by these monumental ambient composers, Zach Frizzell (aka zakè) and Damien Duque (aka City of Dawn) have previously collaborated together, and their 2023 album on PITP, Ash, was picked as one of my favourites of the year. Here, they are joined by Marc Ertel to round up the project, which appears to spearhead the "dronegaze" genre, this time forward driven by orchestral textures, guitar swells, and bass ("Cadere" is my particular favourite piece). Today, I am sharing the last track from their upcoming new album, Reveries, rounding off three-quarters of an hour spent in tranquil waves, sunny rays, and drifting bliss. It's an overall positive and soothing experience, approaching cathartic and restorative treatment as if pointing something towards your entire being, which releases vital healing energy and something you can drown in, becoming one with everything at once. Maybe "curegaze" or "ambientonic" is a better term for that...

Reveries

Aufero

TRACK PREMIERE : Dawn Chorus and the Infallible Sea - Aufero

OVERGROUND

Sandro Brugnolini - OVERGROUND

Marcel Wave return with effervescent bop ‘Stop/Continue’ today, a punctual new single owing much to decaying industrial backdrops to childhood. 

‘Stop/Continue’ dwells on derelict mills, spooling rivers and the unfaltering sweep of the second hand. We very much like songs with a heavy dose of rumination at UTR and if they come with a trippy video of waterways, tunnels and some dancing too, then all the better!

‘Stop/Continue’ is out now digitally, it features on Marcel Wave’s debut album ‘Something Looming’ out June 14th on Upset The Rhythm and Feel It Records (USA). Dive in!

https://youtu.be/CQ0lvEnQLGw

Marcel Wave - 'Stop/Continue'

An independent record label based in Austin, TX.

Alexander Turnquist - "Wildflower"

Western Vinyl

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