New Tara Clerkin Trio, spiritual free jazz, Chinese dreamscapes, and more of that “Now Sound” selected by the team behind In Sheep’s Clothing.

Each week the global listening community gets bombarded with new releases, reissues and restocks. As music freaks who read these missives and are attuned to the bounty regularly arriving, we love sharing great sounds. Below are some particularly crucial new arrivals, a number of which will soon be available in the In Sheep’s Clothing shop. 

Paddy McKewon – The Good Step

Irish guitarist Paddy McKeown infuses his instrumental compositions with layers of arranged strums, plucks, bowed moans and melody lines, and the resulting pieces are gorgeously dynamic and kaleidoscopic. McKeown titled the album “The Good Step,” he says, in an attempt “to frame the integration of self, humanity and the material world, achieving a state of consciousness worthy of the ground we walk on.” The result is an album in which each contemplative measure is sacred. – E. Little

Purchase in the shop: https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/product/paddy-mckeown-the-good-step-lp/

Ramona Cordova – naïve

A full listen of Mojave desert-born musician Ramona Cordova’s naïve is like opening yourself to a new world of perspectives and sounds. The unique blend of modern classical, folk, indie, and electronica creates a bed for Cordova’s deeply personal wordplay that twists and tangles between beauty and dissonance, resulting in a singular album incomparable to anything else we’ve heard recently. Written in various cities across the world, Cordova was inspired by topics such as systemic oppression, racism, misogyny, policing and patriarchy. – Jonny

Purchase in the shop: https://insheepsclothinghifi.com/product/ramona-cordova-naive-lp/

Tara Clerkin Trio – In Spring

Following up one of our favorite records of 2020, the Bristol-based Tara Clerkin Trio is back with a new four song collection. In Spring is their latest 20-minute set of wholly unique blissful, woozy jazz meets experimental sophisti-pop. Taking cues from the storied Bristol electronic scene around them and expanding on their superb first outing, In Spring and its amazing title track will most likely replace In the Room as our new favorite and a possible candidate for 2021 track/ release of the year. If you’re late to the show, it’s never too late to dive in… The Tara Clerkin Trio is producing some of the best tunes today. – DM

Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few – Cosmic Transitions

This one sold out quick on Bandcamp… Luckily, the second pressing is coming soon so avoid the sharks! Isaiah Collier & The Chosen Few present five movements of spiritual, cosmic, and free jazz that flow into and out of one another like “transformation… that folds unfolds infinitely.” There’s serious magic going on here and it’s no surprise the album was recorded in a special way – on John Coltrane’s birthday in Rudy Van Gelder’s studio where the likes of Coltrane, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and other greats have recorded. – Pheel

Li Yilei – 之 / OF

Chinese sound artist Li Yilei envisions an organic electronic dreamscape on her second full-length project for UK label Métron Records. Born out of a 16-day quarantine alone in a Shanghai hotel, the record explores the abstraction between the passage of time and the wild oscillations of how the mind perceives it. Each track is a journey and there’s a pervading feeling of hope that reaches to the natural and digital with equal force. Bird songs float above exquisite undulating arpeggios creating a supernatural sonic world that quietly invites listeners to get lost in it. – Tana