Flotsam and Jetsam: August 15, 2026
I write to you all from my couch in Crown Heights after spending a blissful week in Minneapolis sleeping on not-quite-mattresses and playing in the pit for a show at the Minnesota Fringe Festival written and performed by my many extraordinarily talented friends. It's been humbling to reckon with how much I craved a return to musical theater after half a lifetime away; turns out life is long and full of mystery. If you have any need for a trumpet player whose competence level is "better than you may think," please drop me a line. I'm trying to get back into that in a major way.
There are a handful of things in the Tributary pipeline that I am so excited about but can't discuss yet. I can, however, discuss a few curios that have piqued my interest in recent weeks. Picture me cracking my knuckles as you scroll below.
Ippei Matsui & Aki Tsuyuko - Natsu no Zenbu
On my aforementioned Midwest sojourn, I was talking to some new friends at a party (about this very newsletter!) who mentioned their other friend runs an archival YouTube channel. Natsu no Zenbu was the specific release one of them called out as a personal favorite.
Natsu no Zenbu was originally recorded by an engaged couple in their old, spacious house and distributed at their wedding as a gift for the guests. The songs all err on the shorter side, vacillating between vaporous keys and more plodding drones. There's a physicality present here that underscores the romantic and collaborative nature of the recordings. A few highlights: "Yukuta-so" and "Fruit and Bottle."
Qemist - 1.1.1 [Sketches]
Qemist is an extremely sick Memphian producer who dabbles in a few different genres ranging from acid house to jungle to juke. As the title suggests, these aren't quite songs, but there is plenty of neck-snapping groove to be found in these hardware demos. Most interestingly though is that checking streaming for this EP led me to realize...
Qemist - The Jungle Tape
The first Qemist release I ever heard is ALSO not streaming anywhere! I was obsessed with The Jungle Tape back in 2023 or so, dovetailing with the emergence of breakbeat forward pop music by the likes of PinkPantheress and Nia Archives. Would slot in nicely for anybody who's really digging that kind of stuff.
namyu - aphex twin x ariana grande mix (vol. 1-3)
I found the first volume of this on YouTube a few years ago and realized earlier this year that the producer had a Bandcamp with two more volumes. I'm on record as a certified mashup lover and this is some of the best stuff there is. I've shed tears to the "One Last Time" x "Film" mashup on at least two occasions. All three volumes are chock full of greatness. There's also a tape of Brandy x Caroline Polachek mashups on this Bandcamp but they admittedly don't hit as hard.
Recommendation Corner:
READ:
Brian Phillips "Career Arc: Russell Westbrook" - in honor of the news of Russ's retirement, I'm plugging an old Grantland article that contains one of my single favorite passages in the English language:
"Say your lifelong dream had moved within reach so late, after you’d gotten used to seeing friends picked over you, after you’d started to think maybe your chance wasn’t coming — don’t you think you, too, might have a tough time letting go of the ball? Might plant yourself on the axial line between not taking this for granted and going fucking crazy?"
In the great Russ vs. Harden debate that emerged in 2017 or so, I cast my lot in with the latter, preferring Harden's cocksure attitude, machine-like precision, and otherworldy facial hair (a character flaw which I suspect my best friend still somewhat holds against me). But I have enjoyed watching Russ immensely and wish him all the best with life after basketball.
WATCH:
Jack's Back (dir. Rowdy Herrington 1988) - peak-sexy James Spader plays twins: one the deceased suspect in a string of Jack the Ripper copycat killings, and the other investigating the death of the former. Perfect 3.5 star, nothing-to-do-on-a-summer-night flick; streaming on Tubi, as these things often are
