This week’s most striking music: Reinbert de Leeuw, Asake and Meshell Ndegeocello

Classic

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Reinbert de Leeuw Der nightliche Wanderer / Abschied

Reinbert de Leeuw (1938-2020) was an icon of Dutch musical life. As a conductor and pianist, he was a tireless ambassador for the composers he admired, and could admire like no other. Although he is primarily remembered as a performer, De Leeuw was also a composer himself. The Radio Philharmonic Orchestra has brought together two of De Leeuw’s greatest works on an impressive album. Read the whole review.

Dance

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Asake Work of Art

Amapiano is an electronic music style that originated in the major cities of South Africa. Characteristic is the so-called ‘log drum’ – a dull bass-like drum, pounding at a relatively slow tempo of about 110 to 113 beats per minute. Rolling snares and high pitched piano tones complete the sound. And amapiano is conquering the world. Not surprising, because the full music feels like a vessel on which almost every style can and wants to hitch a ride. This is also the case on Work of Art, the amazing new album by the Nigerian soon to be superstar and production machine Asake. Read the whole review.

Rock

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Swans The Beggar

Something funny is going on with Swans. The experimental noise pioneers from New York have undergone a remarkable metamorphosis in recent years: their steely and industrial no wave has changed into a calm yet ominous… yes, what exactly? Dark country maybe, or goth folk? After the sonic fever dreams of To Be Kind (2014) and The Glowing Man (2016), the sixteenth album The Beggar is an oasis of peace. At least: for the ears, but certainly not for the mind. In fact, the softer Swans sound, the left-handed they are. Read the whole review.

Jazz

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Meshell Ndegeocello The Omnichord Real Book

The airy sound of the omnichord, heard in three songs, mainly plays a symbolic role on Meshell Ndegeocello’s new album. An album brimming with inspiration and spirituality allows Ndegeocello to tap into all her ties to pop, jazz, soul and hip-hop. The passionate space funk of ‘Virgo’ and the rhythmically complex ‘The 5th Dimension’ bring Ndegeocello close to the way Prince and D’Angelo captured their innovative powers in jazzy soul music. Read the whole review.

Pop

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Amaarae Fountain Baby

Her high helium vocals, reminiscent of Grimes, but musician Amaarae has more appearances. Besides thin and crooning, she also sounds earthy. In her own words, she has been steeped in punk since childhood. For example, ‘Sex, Violence, Suicide’ can suddenly transform from a yearning song into a raging punk song. Many songs are about lesbian love and that is daring in Ghana, where the LGBTQ + laws are becoming stricter. That only makes Amaarae more challenging: “Shawty say she love me like she love the lord.” Read the whole review.

Jazz

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Margreet Markerink and Ad Colen Tales of a Blue Heart

A lyrical tenor saxophone floats above the driving dynamics of the piano. Jazz saxophonist Ad Colen and tango pianist Margreet Markerink play ‘Café 1930’, the second part of Histoire du Tango by the Argentinian tango musician Astor Piazzolla. Immediately that subtle atmosphere of tango and melancholy, of dance and homesickness arises. On Tales of a Blue Heart, Colen and Markerink pay tribute to Piazzolla, including an intense version of ‘Libertango’ and a lively performance of ‘Oblivion’, but there is more. Read the whole review.