Listen Back: The Letter V
Time to bathe in the sonic vibrations of the letter V, in the latest of our alphabet-themed series of album recommendations
Breakneck-speed contemporary jazz is Alfa Mist’s forte on Variables (2023), as well as lengthy compositions that feel like winding (though never languorous) journeys. The London-based favourite of the jazz world is no purist with R&B, hip hop, lounge, grime and even hard rock creeping into view, but they’re all serving knotted compositions which, though delivered with kinetic sparkiness, have a delicate touch.
If Brian Eno is the godfather of ambient, then Fennesz is its curious and experimental uncle. On Venice (2004), the Austrian producer made perhaps some of his most loved compositions, transforming the television-snow flicker of electronics into a gentle shifting of waves. Though an undeniably meditative and relaxing collection, scrungy elements (as on the sudden rising of terror on ‘Chateau Rouge’ or David Sylvian’s doomy vocals on ‘Transit’) add a sense of grit and tension to Venice that’s sorely lacking from his sound bath-courting, whale song-loving peers.
Other V albums: Viscera by Jenny Hval (2011), The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967), Viagr Aboys by Viagra Boys (2025).