Amoeba berkeley Staff
Michael H
Amoeba Berkeley
DJ Megasoup on KALX & Mixcloud, and maker of music as Selaroda and as one half of the duo Skyminds.
Horror Vacui (LP)
9T Antiope
Really interesting modern dark ambient folk with female vocals and an experimental edge.
Musique Originale De Films: Deuxième Tome (LP)
Ahmed Malek
Incredible newly unearthed collection of classic 1970s era film music, with middle eastern melodies and lush arrangements. On the always great Habibi Funk label!
The Liminality of Her (LP)
Amanda Whiting
Beautiful contemporary jazz from this talented harpist. Great grooves and gorgeous harping!
Delight (LP)
Arushi Jain
Lovely ambient modular synth based soundscapes, including some sweet vocals with hints of Indian classical music which can be traced back to her heritage as an Indian-American.
No Reino Dos Afetos (LP)
Bruno Berle
New Brazilian artist throws down another great new release of eclectic song stylings, on the reliable Mr. Bongo label.
Imerro (LP)
C. Diab
Cool new folky masterpiece which uses lots of organic instrumentation to make a lush, earthy, flowing music that stretches from ambient and classical to folk and jazz. Nice!
The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow (CD)
Charles Lloyd
Another great new album by this jazz legend. Sweet, soulful sax serenades, and a talented backup trio doing the perfect combo or restrained and unleashed, on the legendary Blue Note imprint.
Paint a Room (LP)
Chris Cohen
This killer songsmith is back in the Bay Area, and his new album is filled with more excellent songs. His voice is silky, like butter, and the group deftly sets the table for this feast of quality tunes.
What Eludes Us (LP)
De Beren Gieren
Fantastic grooves and impressive improvised interplay on this Belgian trio's 7th album, which was produced by Jaga Jazzist's Jørgen Træen. Somewhere between jazz and rock, with bits of avant-classical, experimental, and electronica mixed in to really make the whole thing next level. Nice!
Momentaufnahme III & IV (LP)
Faust
Two more volumes of newly released archival material from this important Krautrock band. Their usual mix of avant-rock, prog, jazz, folk, noise, and musique concrete is on full display again here, and the results are, as usual, a real trip.
The Infinity of Nothingness (LP)
Forced Meditation & JJ
Cool new spiritual jazz / soul grooves by this German funk & soul legend (Poets of Rhythm, Karl Hector, etc.). Really terrific title on the Jazzman label.
like the sky I've been too quiet (LP)
Ganavya
Beautiful new release by this incredible vocalist, who takes her many years of training in the Indian Classical field, and shapes her lovely vocalizations around a musical setting that fuses ambient, classical, folk and jazz into one seamless whole.
Mahal (LP)
Glass Beams
Groovy new EP from this mysterious masked group out of Melbourne, Australia. Global funk meets psychedelic rock in this new Ninja Tune title.
MESTIZX (LP)
Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti &
A great debut from this M/F duo with latin-american roots, mixing traditional folkloric rhythms from the Americas with rock, latin grooves, jazz, soul, funk, and more. Yet another winner on Chicago's fantastic International Anthem Recording Company label.
YHWH is LOVE (LP)
Jahari Massamba Unit
Cool new collaboration between Madlib and drummer extraordinaire Karriem Riggins. Loose, hazy, soulful jazz grooves with a psychedelic edge. Nice!
Rising (LP)
Jasmine Myra
Mellow, organic, spiritual jazz grooves from this London saxophonist, on Matthew Halsaal's stellar Gonwana Records.
nublues (LP)
Joel Ross
Another fine new album by this jazz vibraphonist, on Blue Note. Excellent compositions and playing all the way through, yet again.
Yong-Gwanglo Part One (LP)
Ki!
Awesome funky retro grooves by this Asian-Danish musician & producer. From Ethio-funk and Afrobeat to Asian psych and classic soul, this has a bit of everything, and it's all supremely groovy and funky.
Born of the Sea (CD)
Lara Sarkissian
Fantastic new EP from this former Bay Area resident, now based in LA. Local label Lower Grand Tapes put this one out, and it's a gorgeous mix of densely layered trip hop, ambient electronica, cinematic industrial rhythms, and dark, midtempo club jams. Nice!
Contezza (LP)
Laryssa Kim
Cool debut LP by this Italo-Cogolese composer and vocalist, using layers of her earthy voice to craft a trippy, amorphous kind of ambient soul / electronica. Lots of synths and vocal layers, really unique work.