Remembering Mighty Sparrow
Party Classics by the King of Calypso
Slinger Francisco (1935 – Septemberr 2026), widely known as The Mighty Sparrow and the “Calypso King of the World,” passed away on September 27. He was a Grenadian-born Trinidadian calypso vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist who defined Caribbean music for over seven decades. His breakthrough came in 1956. Seventy years laer, he leaves us one of he most remarkable collections of Caribbean music. ” Birdie, as Francisco was also affectionately known, recorded hundreds of songs in a career that spanned six decades. He performed in several countries around the world, including at famous venues such as New York City’s Madison Square Garden.” (The Guardian obituary)
Django Django & Max Pope
Feel Alright
Here’s something really psychedelic again—that groovy, feel-good sound we’ve been missing for so long in these aggressively gloomy times. At least from bands we don’t already know and love. The British art-rock and indie band Django-Django was founded in London in 2009. Its members met while studying art in Edinburgh. Their sound is often described as psychedelic synth-pop. Max Pope is also a Londoner and has released two albums to date: Counting Sheep (2022) and PRAISE ANIMAL (2025).
Cloud’s Hill
Trentemóller with Sune Rose Wagner
Your love Walks Alone.
Danish musician, producer, multi-instumentalist and DJ Andres Trentemøller has had a remarkable career. He first made a name for himself in the club scene, where he stood out with minimalist techno and house. Later, he made melancholy his musical signature: dark, wistful, and Nordic. He now plays shoegaze music—still sad, with an eye toward the past—but also, post-punk. He has laso starting singing, along with his long-time freind and guitarist. “‘Your Love Walks Alone’, the third single taken from Trentemøller’s new, untitled album, is a gothy torch song built from layers of industrial-sized fuzz.”
In My Room
Marina Herlop
Vas volant, from the Album DjaDja
Marina Hernández López (born 1992), known professionally as Marina Herlop, is a classically trained Catalan pianist, singer, and experimental musician and lives in Barcelona. She sings many of her lyrics in languages she invented, creating otherworldly sounds, blending electronic, avant-garde, folk, and classical elements. Her draws inspiration from the musical traditions of Karnataka, in Southern India and a technique known as konnakol (vocal percussion), layering and chopping her vocals on a computer. Nobody sounds quite like her.
Lapsus Records
Fontaines D.C.
Marianne, from the album Dopamine Chamber
From Ireland to London, this post-punk band also met in art school and ended up in London. The D.C. in their name stands for Dublin City, to avoid confusion with a similarly named band from L.A. The band produced its first record, Dogrel, in 2019; Dopamnie Chamber is its 5th. “Even with just one spin, it becomes evident that the album seems to be more like three distinct EPs and one single that have been collected. This might seem a weird way of assessing music, but the album clearly shifts gears after every three songs.” (Beat per Minute) Check it out!
XL Recordings