Soundscape is a weekly look at local and international releases making an impression on our musical radar. The list offers a cross-section of EPs and albums arriving at the station.

We have been busily scouring the Soundscape! Check out some of our favourite finds for this week 21 September 2020.

SaD - Saturn Rules the Material World (Trans Brunswick Express)**Album of the Week

Saturn Rules The Material World is the debut album from Melbourne synth-goth duo SaD, comprising Daphne Camf (of NO ZU) on vocals and synth, and Simona Castricum on guitar and programming. Their debut delivers a resonant collection of anthemic guitar leads, soaring synths and bass-heavy rhythms. Daphne's lyricism translates the complex experiences of life into the language of poetry, shedding light on the present and shadows of the past. In a statement about the album, Camf says: "Saturn Rules The Material World was written relatively quickly and intuitively between Simona and I capturing a reflective period where we both took to the task of doing what artists can always be relied on to do - turning pain into cathartic beauty."

SAULT - Untitled (Rise) (Forever Living Originals)

The UK collective SAULT have released their fourth excellent album in just 18 months with Untitled (Rise). Like it’s 2020 predecessor Untitled (Black is) the new LP is an unflinching statement on race in 2020. Gorgeously produced the record sifts through genres and sound palettes effortlessly, driven by early R&B, funk, disco, boogie and several strains of African music. Stitched together by slick instrumental interludes and spoken word segues, the music is compelling, accessible and danceable, belying unflinching and often uncomfortable lyrical truths.

30/70 - Fluid Motion: Remixed (Rhythm Section International)

The Melbourne future soul collective enlist some of the key players in their musical scene to remix the rich, soulful sounds of last year’s Fluid Motion LP. With contributions from UK producers Saul, Athlete Whippet and Maxwell Owin, and Australian contributors Close Counters and Setwun, The remixes decorate the albums effortless eclecticism with a beat-driven, dancefloor friendly energy.

Deradoorian - Find The Sun (ANTI- Records)

The former Dirty Projectors bassist and vocalist Angel Deradoorian wrote much of her new album in various states of self-imposed isolation, using the songwriting process as a tool of self-discovery and actualisation. She enlists the jazz drummer Samer Ghadry whose ever-present beats both ground and drive the momentum of the album as Deradoorian expresses her journey through krautrock, brooding jazz and the occasional psychedelic spiral. Trading in heady themes of spirituality, internal revelation, and the human pursuit of paradise, Find the Sun rewards the listener willing to approach the subject matter with time and sincerity.

Brutalist - Michael J Fox (Good Manners)

Brutalist are an electronic duo composed of Australian producer Lucian Blomkamp and Marseille based John Hassell, a founding member of Seekae. The ‘Michael J Fox’ EP collates a mix of tracks the two have produced together over the last few years from opposite ends of the globe. It’s a dark and frenetic collection, with sounds moving from neo-baroque string explorations to dark club vibes, broken-beat hip-hop nods, and a starring feature from London’s underground grime leader LYAM.

Various Artists - On The Corner Records Presents Door to the Cosmos (On The Corner Records)

The innovative and prolific London record label’s latest compilation is inspired in part by the afro-futurist jazz artist Sun Ra’s infamous chant "dare to knock at the door to the cosmos.” The collection seeks to represent future sounds representing the source “be it Detroit, UK bass culture, New Orleans or the Niger delta.”

Jockstrap - Beavercore (Warp Records)

The new EP by the London art-pop duo defies easy categorisation, not unlike the band themselves. Beavorcore is in part a remix album of tracks from their previous EP ‘Wicked City’, and part freeform classical piano experiments and nonsensical spoken word takes. Like all of the work in their short career, Beavercore is singular, strange and fantastical, composed by a young and playful duo who have the musical and production chops to keep up with their manic experiments.

Braille Face - Original Cast Recording (Spirit Level)

Original Cast Recording is the second album from the Melbourne artist Braille Face. On the new LP he tackles deeply personal and challenging issues such as mental health, medication, sexuality and masculinity with rawness and authenticity. Written over a turbulent few years between Melbourne, New York, Oslo and Japan, Original Cast Recording documents a turbulent and ultimately hopeful period in the artists ongoing relationship with his own mental health.

The Apartments - In and Out of the Light The Apartments (Talitres Records)

The Apartments seventh studio album follows a cast of characters who, through loss or simple change, have sought out a new way to live - and found it. Recorded in fragments over between Sydney, France and London, In and Out of the Light works on the strength of Peter Milton Walsh’s impressionistic story telling, backed by gently hypnotic harmonies with lush and full instrumentation.

Osees - Protean Threat (Castle Face Records)

Prolific band leader John Dwyer releases his second LP of 2020 following the self-titled debut from his new band Bent Arcana. Protean Threat is an intense and frantic 39 minutes of music, cut of all excess and fat which has occasionally laboured their previous work. Dwyer paints a damning picture of societal collapse on Protean Threat, forcing the listeners awareness to the surviellance state, faceless leaders, idealism as corruption and the cycles of history repeating itself.