Spoken Word Artistry ~ üvey

27 May üvey

Spoken Word Artistry ~ üvey ~ Turkey

More moody orchestral hip hop out of Turkey – the ‘küller küllere’ (‘ashes to ashes’) EP from Üvey. Produced by Type Wheel, mixed by Zet, the track ‘karavana kahini’ is a favourite – features some great scratching from DJ Sivo. The thing I like most about these guys from Eskişehir, collaborators under the names of I’lmpty, Zet, Type Wheel, ağaçkakan on what they call ‘abstract hip hop’, is their subtlety (read: class) in production. Tracks with many layers but always with a smooth sensibility, always clear vocals, always a sense of urgency and tension and at the same time always on my ‘chillout’ playlists. Because the production is so smooth and the beat is so regular as to be almost meditative. Also, Turkish. One of the most musical of languages, a voice speaking Türkçe is an instrument. üvey know how to play it.

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Spoken Word Artistry ~ Scream Blue Murmur ‘Belfast Sun’

20 May Scream Blue Murmur

Spoken Word Artistry ~ Scream Blue Murmur ~ Ireland

The artists formerly known as the Belfast Poets who kicked down some great poetic collaborations in Melbourne way back when … Scream Blue Murmur are now kicking poetry around inside musical grooves and it’s really cool to hear these artists pushing their form so decisively. Aisling Doherty, Chelley McLear and Gordon Hewitt have smooth voices and rough stories to tell. ‘Breaking the back of a long winter’ plays like a perfectly formed folk tune, catchy and multi-layered, at the same time inviting you to lie down and listen, and stand up and fight; ‘Cassius Marcellus’ makes me think of something I heard back in the … on the scratchy old … driving somewhere … feeling full. You can approach this EP from a musical perspective or a poetry perspective and both ways it works – like the best folk. You’ve got to get under the skin of the songs for the important and hefty stories. The songs get under your skin, making it easy. From a difficult and complex political place, poets telling difficult and complex stories in forms they know you want to hear. That’s the tastiest recipe. Get it here:

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Spoken Word Artistry ~ Alia Gabres ‘She Cotton Summer Dresses’

14 May Alia Gabres

Spoken Word Artistry ~ Alia Gabres ~ Australia

Alia Gabres is a superb storyteller. A young performance poet already master of her form – she embodies her story, is entirely present in her story. She connects our deeper senses of listening so that we entirely feel her story – and we learn. And we know.

Watch this new video shot by Shuttermain, “She Cotton Summer Dresses”. From Melbourne.

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