_{A friend recently sent me the cool new album by Danish musician Fine and asked how we should define this sound that has been very prominent lately, particularly in Northern Europe. Experimental pop has been big in the region for a long time, but captivating recent releases by ML Buch and Astrid Sonne have drawn extra attention to the shared sensibilities of these artists, many of which live in Copenhagen and London.}

_{This was all written a few months ago when the Fine album actually came out. I got distracted and forgot to hit post, but now there’s a new record by Molina that has given me the extra push to finish it off. Rebecca Molina also lives in Copenhagen and the closing track, conveniently titled Organs, features ML Buch on vocals.}

_{My work in progress genre tag for the sound is acid baroque. The acid prefix has obviously already been used extensively. Here it indicates the blunted psychedelia of the production and the sparse hypnotic vocals. Classic dub techniques play a major role, shrouding the recordings in a seductive haze. As does the yearning timbre of R&B singing, yet in this context it is typically detached from any direct sexual or romantic desire, replaced by distant and deadpan lyricism. The R&B inflected side of the genre is exemplified by the brilliant work of Tirzah and Smerz. The baroque is also present in certain tunes by Erika de Casier, George Riley and Vegyn’s collaborations with John Glacier.}

_{Acid also provides a neat connection to the wonky pastoral precedence of freak folk. I should note that all the current artists appear to live in major cities, although the tunes of Joanne Robertson do sound as if they were recorded in a vacant barn. Then there is the out of time voice of Clarissa Connelly, whose interpretations of Celtic and Nordic song craft could believably pass as being reverse engineered by ancient aliens.}

_{The prospect of a Jai Paul live show was never on the cards. Many believed Paul had totally quit music after the infamous leak in 2013, but in the time since he was quietly working with his brother A.K. and a small team of collaborators as the Paul Institute. Sporadic releases gave few hints of a full scale comeback beyond the studio. Paul released two tunes in 2019, displaying the slick soulful sound that he had been developing, before more silence.}

_{Due to the leak and his then solo production style, Jai Paul had never actually performed live. Out of nowhere, at the start of 2023, his name was emblazoned on the Coachella lineup in the second biggest font size. The festival took place almost exactly ten years after the leak. Blog music fans lost their mind with the re-emergence of a cherished artist who had been denied a proper introduction, symbolically timed.}

_{Months later and Jai Paul had been announced to play over here in Melbourne, baffling considering how few dates were on the tour. And so late last year, I’m at 170 Russell, a peculiar underground mid sized venue, for a show I never bothered dreaming of. It’s the third night of three, palpable anticipation in the audience. Surusinghe, a club DJ from Melbourne now based in London, plays slamming tunes between sets. The other support act is Fabiana Palladino, a little known graduate from the Paul Institute. A handful of her tunes had been released, generating a bit of online buzz. Tonight she performs alone with a keyboard and sampler a set of unreleased tunes that get me hyped (the self titled album came out in April this year). Intricate R&B tunes with the shuffling pop styling of another era.}

_{Over the last few months I have read more personal blogs than anytime in over ten years. Many critics have been quick to point out that this blogging renaissance is largely a result of the decline of established media organisations. For the Frantic Items blog I want to focus on the positive potential of the format and steer clear of the death of journalism pile on, which has been eloquently covered elsewhere.}

_{I present a radio show each Sunday at 6pm on 3RRR 102.7 FM in Melbourne, Australia. Mostly covering new music with frequent artist interviews, the show is a guiding light in my life, providing an outlet for all the excessive weekly listening.}

_{Starting the blog on this server was inspired by Joe Delon, whose excellent accounts of club culture always get me buzzed for the next party. Alongside updates from the radio show there will be my own take on the live music experience from over here in Australia. Here we go!}