Hey Young World,
This is the new edition of 1520’s Record Report, our series of monthly articles in which we recommend things we’re currently into.
We’ve picked the name Record Report in honor of Hip Hop magazine The Source, which’s album review section went under that name and, when we were growing up, told us what was worth copping and what wasn’t. In our own small way, we hope to do the same.
Melissa Aldana - Filin (Album)
Melissa Aldana’s Filin is a quiet, deeply focused jazz record built around Cuban ballads from the Filin tradition. Warm sax tones, soft piano, and occasional delicate Spanish vocals let each note breathe. A late-night record that rewards slowing down.
Mieko Kawakami - Sisters In Yellow (Novel)
I have been waiting for the English translations for what feels like forever, but it was worth the wait. Sisters in Yellow is a novel about friendship, survival, and the pull of money in the margins of 90s Tokyo. Mixing coming-of-age with noir elements, it follows a group of young women building a fragile sense of family through a small bar, drifting into choices that slowly close in on them. Yet another classic by Mieko Kawakami.
One Love,
Marius | 1520