It's #BandcampFriday ! I went for some real #AvantGarde shit and turned it basically into a Colin Marston appreciation day with 3 albums:

1/3 Behold... the Arctopus - Skullgrid
Probably their most digestible / least #unlistenable album

My favorite song of that album is also my favorite song of theirs generally
https://youtu.be/EOQHZeBvkgc?is=GfoB8PDHMXOfsyDq

#Prog #ProgMetal #AvantGardeMetal #InstrumentalMetal

Desire Marea – Desire (2020, South Africa)

Continuing our journey through the epic Fedi-sourced catalogue of must-hear albums, our next spotlight is on number 216 on The List, submitted by platenworm. This is the solo debut from multidisciplinary artist and sangoma Buyani Duma aka Desire Marea, who is/was half of FAKA, a multimedia performance art duo and African queer liberation movement. Somewhat continuing the sonic work of FAKA in terms of using gqom (South African dance/house) and other dance subgenres as a base and some lyrics in Zulu, Marea's solo work is more personal and experimental, borrowing sounds from art rock, avant-pop, industrial, and jazz. Truly incredible.

Want to read more? See the full spotlight on the Fediverse at @1001otheralbums.com or on the blog: https://1001otheralbums.com/2026/03/05/desire-marea-desire-2020-south-africa/

Want to skip straight to the music? Here's the Bandcamp: https://desiremarea.bandcamp.com/album/desire

Happy listening!

#DesireMarea #experimental #electronic #ArtRock #AvantPop #avantgarde #dance #SouthAfrica #SouthAfricanMusic #music #1001OtherAlbums

Rosalía – Berghain

Desire Marea – Desire (2020, South Africa)

Our next spotlight is on number 216 on The List, submitted by platenworm.

This is hands down one of my favourite finds from The List so far. It’s dramatic and satisfying yet intimate and vulnerable, and brilliantly mixes a variety of sounds and genres. With my untrained ear, I would’ve said it sounds like a queer experimental electronic/art rock/avant-pop hybrid that would be comfortable on the same playlist/stage as Anohni and Moses Sumney, with other unexpected sounds borrowing from industrial and even jazz. But reading more learned people describe this album and artist (and their other work), I realize yet again how much I don’t know, and how there are so many more sonic corners of this world to explore.

The album is the solo debut from multidisciplinary artist and sangoma Buyani Duma aka Desire Marea, who is also (or, was previously?) in FAKA, alongside Thato Ramaisa aka Fela Gucci. Founded in 2015, FAKA is/was a multimedia performance art duo and African queer liberation movement with a focus on sexual fluidity and non-conforming or “othered” masculine identities, and the aim to create a visible and safe space for young Black queer voices. Give them a search and you’ll find literally tons on them, ranging from great interviews, academic articles, fashion week appearances, and even a documentary.[1] In their musical output, the duo mixed gqom (South African dance/house) with other genres such as Afropop, traditional African music, and gospel, and had lyrics primarily in Zulu. (Side [but maybe not so side] note from a Fever Ray-obsessed fan: In 2019, FAKA contributed to the Plunge Remix album with their remix of the title track, adding in vocals to what was originally an instrumental song, and in Zulu at that.)

For his solo project, Desire Marea somewhat continues on the sonic work of FAKA (particularly the gorgeous feel of that Fever Ray remix that centers on Marea’s captivating falsetto [indeed, I wonder if that remix was something of a key jumping-off point for Marea’s solo work…]) with gqom and other dance subgenres as a base and some lyrics in Zulu. But here, the more personal and experimental road Marea takes results in tracks much more suited for close listens via quality headphones or gorgeous concert halls as opposed to blaring in a club or fashion show – and to spectacular effect! As you might’ve gathered from my use of “is/was” above, it seems that FAKA has since ended or is at least on hiatus, but Marea has continued with his solo work, in music and beyond. If you like what you hear here, make sure you check out his 2nd (and, perhaps, even more incredible) LP On the Romance of Being and EP The Baddies of Isandlwana (both released in 2023), and keep an eye out for what he does next.

• Bandcamp: Desire Marea – Desire
• Discogs: Desire Marea – Desire

https://makertube.net/w/6SsEcvJD3RJySCNGRK7gRa

More from (vessels)2 🚢 with Sistro Duo✨

"IV what is this?" Is a short and playful movement 🍄 in which crunchy snare drum samples 🥁 are combined with deconstructed, glitched sounds 👾

(vessels)2 is written for my instrument vssl 🎛️

#opensource #puredata #experimental #electronica #samples #livemusic #avantgarde