Discover different music || Break out of the algorithm || And learn a thing or two

Today’s song—“Lift You” by Moin—features a poignant spoken-word piece titled “To Read to Be in a Time of War out Loud”, written by Sophia Al-Maria. It was inspired by her live reading of Etel Adnan’s “To Be in a Time of War” during a performance by Tosh Basco in New York in May 2023.

Two sentences into today’s newsletter, and we’ve already mentioned quite a few names—many, if not all of which may be unfamiliar. Yet each is highly relevant in our eyes. So, in this edition of our newsletter, we thought we’d simply introduce them one by one, moving from the end of the list to the beginning. If anyone catches your attention, we encourage you to dig deeper into their work. We’re adding links (and providing further connections in the section below), so you can dive in straight away.

Tosh Basco (b. 1988) is an American artist whose practice spans performance, photography and drawing. Basco is best known for her former persona, boychild. A nonbinary and transgender artist, Basco explores fluid identities through her work. A longtime collaborator of award-winning filmmaker and artist Wu Tsang, she co-founded the collective Moved by the Motion and was part of Schauspielhaus Zurich’s ensemble.

Etel Adnan (1925–2021) was a Lebanese-American poet, essayist and painter. Born in Beirut, she studied philosophy in Paris and the U.S. before teaching in California. Though acclaimed as a writer—in 1977 she received the Amitié Franco-Arabe Prize for her novel Sitt Marie Rose—Adnan only gained global recognition in her eighties for her vivid abstract paintings. With a Syrian Muslim father and a Greek Christian mother, she grew up between cultures and languages, speaking Arabic, Greek and French, and later writing primarily in French and English.

Sophia Al-Maria (b. 1983) is a Qatari-American artist, writer and filmmaker. Raised between Qatar and the U.S., she coined the term “Gulf Futurism” to describe the region’s rapid development and cultural shifts. Her 2012 memoir The Girl Who Fell to Earth explores her bicultural identity. Her visual work—shown at Tate Britain, the Whitney and the Venice Biennale—fuses sci-fi, myth and critique. She also created the 2020 Sky series Little Birds.

Moin is a London-based experimental trio formed by Joe Andrews and Tom Halstead (also known as the duo Raime), joined by percussionist Valentina Magaletti in 2021. Their sound merges intense post‑punk and noise textures with layered electronic vocal samples and guitars as well as Magaletti’s dynamic, asymmetrical drumming. Moin’s 2024 album, You Never End, introduced guest vocalists—including james k, Coby Sey and Al-Maria—marking a shift toward a warmer, more intimate sound that nonetheless remains heavy and, at times, cathartic.

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Adding to Your Listening Pleasure This Week:

In our questionnaire, he humbly describes himself as the "Creative Director at a brand called Patta." You know, the Patta that started as a small streetwear boutique in Amsterdam and now has branches in London, Milan, and Lagos; the Patta whose pieces are worn by superstars like NBA great Kyrie Irving; the Patta that collaborated with FC Barcelona and Nike for a capsule collection; the list goes on…

But despite all the fame and glory, what ultimately defines Patta is its roots in (Amsterdam) culture, especially in music. The love of music is the gravitational force that binds all Patta family members together, including Vincent. Not only is he a connoisseur with diverse tastes, but he also makes music himself, for example as the lyricist and singer of the Dark Wave group OWN.

When asked about a piece of music that, in his personal opinion, is totally underrated, he comes up with “I’ve Been Drowned” by Dutch 60’s Beat band Zen. “I think it's a great example of a truly talented band from a small place struggling to compete with bands from places where these bands 'have' to come from. The song was proper pop music back then. I love the beat and drums, the melancholic sound.”

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Christian rock emerged during the Jesus Movement, a Christian revival that began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s. Artists in the genre blended rock music with Christian themes, messages and values, often garnering as much rejection from the church as ridicule from non-believers.

One of the genre’s key figures was Mylon LeFevre. Born into the Southern gospel family The LeFevres, Mylon began performing at a young age. Among one of his many later projects he fronted a band simply named Mylon. 

The band’s self-titled debut LP, released in 1970, marked a significant shift in LeFevre's career, moving away from his Southern gospel roots toward a more rock-oriented sound that fused blues, gospel and Southern rock. (His foray into secular music—including collaborations with George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Elton John—came to an abrupt end after a near-fatal heroin overdose in 1973, leading him to recommit to his faith and return to Christian music.)

"Peace Begins Within", a track from Mylon’s debut LP (see here for a brilliant live recording from 1971), was recently reimagined by Nadia McAnuff & The SOA as a top-notch reggae ditty. With its vintage vibe and a horn section reminiscent of Mulatu Astatke’s music, it’s hard to believe it was recorded only five years ago. McAnuff’s cover is our song of the day:

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