After first retiring its sublabel Twisted Tree Line in early 2013 (after almost sixty releases in just over two years), Somehow recently folded up an umbrella under which over one hundred titles were sheltered, a handful of which are still available for purchase. No small selection does justice to the breadth of this vital, inquisitive, non-profit project, with a roster that included names familiar to the ambient community (Hakobune, Listening Mirror, Celer), names that deserve to be much better known, and artists who only came and went but left an indelible impression. You probably never will, but absolutely want to here everything. Vent has already posted an impressive list of new and upcoming releases.
Nigel Samways :: Satin Doll Jazz Club (Somehow)
England’s Nigel Samways produced one of the last releases in the Somehow line, a nightlife crime scene as it begins taking shape in the mind of Nicolas Ray. The seductive Satin Doll Jazz Club has a shadowy corner that becomes increasingly alluring through the disorienting effect of three glasses of “Single Malt” downed in succession (the most excellent Enrico Coniglio contributes guitar on the “Second Glass”). The comedown is “If You Don’t Say Goodbye, It Will Never End,” a hangover waking up in a back alley, in the rain, some unaccounted blood crusted on the front of a white dress shirt.
Nigel Samways / Vecchi-Teller :: Nuclear Beach (Ephre Imprint)
On his own Ephre Imprint, Samways moves outdoors. Nuclear Beach is an EP split between himself and Vecchi-Teller, a disguise he shares with Daniel Dickel (who drew the cover portrait for Satin Doll Jazz Club). Utilizing everything but the kitchen sink, the Samways’ “assembled” version is sunny with intermittent cloud, soaring from California way out over the Pacific and into Japanese airspace. On their half, Vecchi-Teller seem to improvise on what has preceded them, a sun-stroked deconstructive fallout that does justice to the name of the beach. An attractive juxtaposition of ambient and collage.
