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Thursday, December 31, 2020
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Victor Olaiya - (2009) All Stars Soul International LP
Vampi Soul – VAMPI 107
"They thought I moved Highlife music out of the ordinary. Then, it was
believed that my Highlife was a little bit out of this world, beyond
explanation. This was why Alhaji Alade Odunewu of the Daily Times styled
me The Evil Genius of Highlife." (Victor Olaiya)
Victor Olaiya is certainly one of the legendary foundation stones of
modern Nigerian music, yet he has never received much acknowlegement or
really had his albums released or promoted in any quantity outside of
Nigeria. So this Vampisoul release is a step in the right direction and
not before time, for a 77 years old who was probably Nigeria's leading
star of 50's and early 60's, his golden years. Dr. Victor Abimbola
Olaiya, the evil genius of Highlife, is still sockin' it to them after
60 years on stage. If you're lucky you can catch him blowing that
trumpet and singing his heart out at his own celebrated 'Stadium Hotel'
in Lagos, Nigeria.
This album from 1970 is from Olaiya's Highlife / Funk phase, but its
worth taking a trawl through his back pages to see how he became the
Evil Genius, before you roll back the rug and get down with the
Highlife-Funk.
William Onyeabor - (1978) Tomorrow LP
Wilfilms Records – WLP 1003
Popularity through underground DJs ensures someone somewhere will be spinning this as summer turns to winter and back. Nigerian funk may lag behind more traditional styles in its homeland, but in Europe and the U.S.A., William Onyeabor's mix of aggressive metaphor-free chants, fuzzy keyboards staying on the right side of disco, with mildly under-mixed female harmonies gives him leeway on both dancefloors and call to arms rallies. 'Why Go To War' does what is asked of it, much in the same vein as Curtis Mayfield of that era (but aeons ahead of Mayfield's huge letdown 'Heartbeat'), 'Love Me Now' ploughs similar territory, themes changing emphasis from destruction to sexual catharsis. In each case, one powers the other under a sultry sullen production sky.William Onyeabor - (1978) Atomic Bomb LP
Wilfilms Records – WLP 1002
A first look at that sleeve can be dismaying: oh no, a Nigerian Rick
Wakeman. Then: wait, maybe a Nigerian Rick Wakeman would be good. Then
you look again and notice there are only two keyboards. Most of that
photo is mikes, all pointing at William Onyeabor as he conducts a press
conference, asking for love from nations, women and listeners while
journos from every corner of the studio thrust their microphones at him
from a safe distance - if he goes off, you don't want to be caught in
the blast.
But he never does go off. There are no explosions, just impossibly
sustained rumbles of joyful thunder. Onyeabor is no show-off, but I
can't call this record stripped down either, because that would suggest
it was ever built up. To construct his sweet love-loving funk he begins
with nothing and adds as much as is needed, no more: a simple bass line,
a minimal beat, some synths to flesh out the harmonies, the occasional
whizzy burble to liven things up, female backing singers and his own
voice, modest, quiet and strong.
I've immersed myself in this record innumerable times over the last few
weeks, but it's not something I get lost in, exactly - it fills the
world but doesn't obscure it. Things are made brighter by this. And with
what means? Punk says that all you need to make music is three chords
and a guitar; techno says you can do without both. Onyeabor says you
need two keyboards, six microphones, three women, a pair of ears and a
heart. It seems to work. "
"Despite the title, this stuff is chill as fuck. The bomb metaphor is
more like "man if I'll ever sober up and get off this bed my head just
might explode like an atomic bomb" rather than any aggressive Terminator
X thing. For some reason "I Need You All My Life" is duplicated at the
end of "Shame" and I don't know if it's the mp3 ripper's tricks or if
that was the case on the LP too. Yeah, it's an awesome love confessional
from one of the female backing singers (albeit with a weird oppressive
vibe by William) but 13 minutes just is a little too much. Anyway, the
ridiculous blend of (intentionally, I guess) naïve politics in "Better
Change Your Mind" and the other three stoned-as-fuck love-making tracks
is hilarious, but works. One of Nigeria's best, fo' sho.
William Onyeabor - (1977) Crashes in Love LP
Wilfilms Records – WLP 1001
Released in 1977 on the
artist's own imprint, Wilfilms, like every of his records (all
masterpieces). The album is said to have been composed as a soundtrack
to a movie Onyeabor made - "a tragedy of how an African Princess rejects
the love that money buys", as mentioned on the sleeve. Crashes in Love
is actually William Onyeabor's first record and of course features a few
mindbending tracks. Genius man.
William Onyeabor - (1982) Hypertension LP
Wilfilms Records – WLP 018
I wonder what the hell William Onyeabor thought he was doing. He owned
flour mills in Nigeria, did quite well at that, apparently (perhaps he
still owns them, who knows). And he studied cinematography in Russia, I
recall somebody saying, which is probably why his record label is called
Wilfilms. What possible connection is there between those two things?
And then he made records as well? No, William, you've got it all wrong,
you're meant to have a career.
I'm not sure what sort of reputation he has in Nigeria, if he has a
reputation at all. Perhaps he's completely unknown there, too. I suspect
he made his money, then spent it on things he liked. Making music
happened to be one of them. Probably he gave no thought to pleasing
anyone but himself in this. He didn't Strive to Achieve, or compare
himself to those around him while muttering in self-reassurance that it
was okay, the younger ones were all useless and the successful ones were
all older, plenty of time left yet (this soon ceases to be an effective
strategy: I have now outlived Jesus).
Yet he made his small impact, and its influence is bound to widen. Like
all of us, I suspect, he delights others in ways he wouldn't imagine,
wouldn't even think of trying to guess at imagining. Occasionally I meet
somebody from my past who I've forgotten, but they remember me. Why?
Perhaps because I'm a particular sort of idiot, but then it sometimes
happens that I meet people who I remember but are completely ignorant of
me, and I know those people aren't idiots. I went out tonight at half
past nine to buy a bottle of wine and, as I left my gate, the house over
the road let off fireworks in celebration. Who knows how these things
work?
This is not Onyeabor's greatest record. The synths are tinpot, there is a
general atmosphere of cheese, and the only version floating around the
web is coated in a thick layer of vinyl crackle. But I can listen to it
on repeat for an hour and a half (experiments prove it) and I love the
title track, in which William gives a list of reasons we'd be bound to
suffer from the complaint - having a bad wife, having a bad husband,
having too much money, being a bad man, being a bad woman - and the
girls in the chorus sing "Hyper-ten-sion / Is killing many / Many many
people / Hyper-ten-sion / Is killing many many many people" while
overlapping synths bubble like cheerfully boiling blood, blood that,
contrary to all good sense, says "live, live."
William Onyeabor - (2013) Who Is William Onyeabor? CD
Luaka Bop – CD 0079
The fifth volume in LuakaBop's World Psychedelic Classics series chronicles African synth-funk musician William Onyeabor.If Fela Kuti was a child of James Brown, fellow Nigerian William Onyeabor is something like the next-generation musical offspring of Parliament-Funkadelic. His songs are extended call-and-response disco-funk jams driven by the space-age sound of synthesizers and drum machines -- very new tools when Onyeabor was recording in the late '70s and '80s, especially in Africa. After years of existing mainly as secret grail passed between electronic music DJs and other crate diggers, Onyeabor's handful of studio LPs have been licensed and boiled down to a killer compilation by Luaka Bop, the tastemaking world music label started by David Byrne.
So who IS William Onyeabor? Part of the album's conceit is that even the compilers don't fully know. The liner notes, by veteran British journalist Vivien Goldman, note that Onyeabor is a crowned chief in his hometown village of Enugu, Eastern Nigeria, where he lives in "a hidden palace in the woods" and is a booster of the local Christian music scene. But he essentially left his own music career in the '80s, in the wake of the recordings collected here, presumably when he became a born-again Christian
William Onyeabor - (1980) Body & Soul LP
Wilfilms Records – WLPS 1007
His songs are often heavily rhythmic and synthesized, occasionally epic in scope, with lyrics decrying war sung by both Onyeabor himself and female backing vocalists. In recent years a number of his songs have appeared on various compilations, most often his biggest hit "Better Change Your Mind" which appeared on Africa 100, World Psychedelic Classics 3: Love's a Real Thing - The Funky Fuzzy Sounds of West Africa,[1][2] and Nigeria 70: The Definitive Story of 1970's Funky Lagos,[3] through labels such as Luaka Bop.
Some biographies claim that he studied cinematography in Russia, returning to Nigeria in the 1970s to start his own Wilfilms music label and to set up a recording and production studio. He was later crowned a High Chief in Enugu, where he still lives as a businessman working on government contracts and running his own flour mill.[4] According to the Luaka Bop record label, Onyeabor "self-released 8 albums between 1978 and 1985 and then became a born-again Christian, refusing ever to speak about himself or his music again....By attempting to speak with Onyeabor himself, and by talking to people who seem to have firsthand knowledge, Luaka Bop has been trying to construct an accurate biography of him for the past 18 months...without success.
William Onyeabor - (1985) Anything You Sow LP
Wilfilms Records – WLP 033
Hailing from Nigeria, William Onyeabor made a number of incredible
Nigerian soul & funk albums towards the tail end of the 1970’s (the
album ‘Atomic Bomb’ is worth checking out… particularly the track
‘Change Your Mind’). However, as the 80’s kicked in William began to
experiment with the new sounds and bleeps that could now be tweeked on
modern synthesizers. ‘Anything You Sow’, William Onyeabor’s final LP
was released in 1985 and is a true masterpiece of Afro-electronica
that’s been re discovered by modern acts such as Keiran Hebden AKA Four
Tet & Caribou (who recently sampled this LP). The album is worth a
pretty penny these days as is very hard to find the LP in any decent
playable condition.
Kicking off with the 12 minute epic ‘When The Going Is Smooth &
Good’, which was recently used in Keiran Hebden’s Essential Mix, this is
a truly pioneering piece of disco/funk with a clear message in the
music. Dipping in and out of intricate percussion workouts and driven by
bleepy synth grooves, it has an irresistible lo fi charm. Followed by
the uptempo ‘This Kind Of World’, another percussive electronic workout
that begs the question 'have you ever seen this kind of world?'. The B
side sees the LP’s tempo drop down a notch with the LP title track
‘Anything You Sow’. The LP finishes with a beautiful electronic ballad
‘Every Day’. This album is an exceptional piece of music, that’s all
killer, and you’ll have never heard anything like it… it will appeal to
fans of Nigerian Afro funk & electronic disco… don’t let this
fantastic album pass you by!
หงษ์ทอง ดาวอุดร - (1979) ฮ่วย อะบานิบี LP
ช้างเอราวัณ – none
หงษ์ทอง ดาวอุดร (Hongtong Daoudon) is a luk thung and molam singer from north eastern part of Thailand. This late 70s-early 80s album however is in large parts western influenced Thai funk that wouldn't sound of place on one of the ZudRangMa compilations.
The title track ฮ่วย อะบานิบี is a cover version of Israels winning contribution to the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest, Izhar Cohen & Alpha Beta's "A-Ba-Ni-Bi" (א-ב-ני-בי). This song was apparently a huge hit in Thailand, and monrakplengthai's curator Peter says he would still hear the song playing around Bangkok even today. He's also uploaded อรอุมา สิงห์ศิริ (onuma singsiri)'s version of the song so go listen to that as well!
African Head Charge - (1990) Songs of Praise CD
On-U Sound – 72771
Not very many reggae albums acknowledge Alan Lomax in the credits. But then, African Head Charge (a band with a constantly changing membership led by percussionist Bonjo Iyabinghi Noah) doesn't really make typical reggae albums. Although the one-drop beat (provided on this album by Lincoln "Style" Scott) influences everything and the basslines have a typical tidal undertow, the stuff that Noah layers on top of the mix has more to do with ethnomusicology than the dancehall. The song titles say it all: "Cattle Herders Chant," a field recording of call-and-response chanting overlaid with Nyahbinghi drums and highlife guitar; "My God," eerie, minor-key African-American church singing supported by a chugging reggae bassline, bare-bones drumming, and the sound of running water; "Deer Spirit Song," an unidentifiable indigenous song in 9/8 meter with a gently driving rockers beat and occasional sound effects thrown in. This is an exceptionally beautiful album, but in a deeply strange way.
African Head Charge - (2011) Voodoo Of The Godsent CD
On-U Sound – On-UCD1015
Received mixed reviews for strong opening and closing cuts with
everything in between somewhat of a mixed bag heavily flavored with
psychedelic dubs.
African Head Charge - (2020) Churchical Chant Of The Iyabinghi LP
Like 2016’s Return of the Crocodile’, which saw AHC’s master Jamaican percussionist and band leader Bonjo and mixing desk maverick Adrian Sherwood breath new life into their early ‘80s classics, this new suite offers a psychedelic sidespin on two handfuls of tracks that return like a comet of return orbit from the early ‘90s.
Produced at a time when music was in a major flux between analogue/digital and old/new worlds in the early ‘90s, the source material of ‘Songs of Praise’ and ‘In Pursuit of Shashamane’ naturally reflected this phase shift in an explorative, sensually psychedelic style that was already firmly in place, and seemed to resonate every stronger with the new age spirit of the times as the flipside to rave’s excesses.
The results contain big highlights in their enchanted take on ‘Peace and Happiness’, the trampling psychoactive mash of ‘Learned’, and the electrified Afro-eklectro-blues of ‘Pitched Fever’ from the side of ‘Shashamane Versions’, while the other side’s ‘Dubs of Praise’ really treks into wigged-out terrain with the slow, possessed holler and stomp of ‘Dervish Dub’, the pendulous clockwork drum pattern of ‘Disciplined and Dignified’ with its South East Asian vocal samples, and the hypnotic slow march of ‘Dub For The Spirits’.
Asmara All Stars - (2010) Eritrea's Got Soul LP
Out Here Records – OH016LP
Little music has been heard from Eritrea, a small country on the north east coast of Africa, by Western ears in recent years. Eritreans have had other things to deal with than releasing their music out into the wilder world, like years of war with neighbouring Ethiopia and a struggle for independence.
While Eritrean music may have been hard to come by, many of the musicians themselves have appeared on releases from across the border. Recordings from the Ethio-jazz movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s - which birthed the likes of Mulatu Astatke - featured many Eritrean musicians. That "golden age" big band sound was given a reappraisal thanks to the Ethiopiques compilation reissue series, and in particular, on the series' fifth volume which is devoted to music from Tigray and Eritrea. The tracks on Eritrea's Got Soul may not have the dusty nostalgic feel that the 40-year-old Ethiopian recordings muster, but they do capture a timeless spirit of that time. Smoky big band jazz number 'Ykre Belni' sounds as fresh today it would had it been created in 1971 – it is a style that has not dated in Eritrea.
The Eritrean people have been through tough times, but it's hard to tell listening to this celebratory album. Eritrea's Got Soul fuses much of the country's diverse music, from mournful ballads to uplifting dancehall numbers and includes reinterpretations of both folk and pop classics and attempts to update some of the more traditional styles.
French producer Bruno Blum was responsible for bringing together some of Eritrea's best musicians to form the All Stars band, with different singers from different backgrounds performing on each track. Eight of the country's nine languages are represented on its 13 songs, with musicians coming from the capital Asmara - sitting higher than Mexico City at 2,325m above sea level, to one guest, whose home in the Rift Valley in the "horn" of Africa, is below sea level – and is the hottest place in the world. And a selection of African instruments, including the lyre-like krar, darbooka drums, congos, and oud, meet with a formal big band set-up of guitars, bass, drums, organ and brass.
Blum attempted to give arrangements a modern twist, like introducing bass to gwaila track 'Eritrean Girl' that would traditionally feature just hypnotic krar and thumping drums, but with results that satisfied the initially hesitant musicians. Elsewhere, 'Anisaku', the traditional love song sung in the native language Afar of Danakil warrior Mohammed Ahmed Shaabi, retained its original structure.
'Wushate' is a pop classic in the country. Its original release in 1986 rallied people who had lived "a life of struggle, a life you would not like to live" and was written by Brkti Weldeslassie as a response to her having to leave home to fight in the war. "I reminisce today about the past, The hardship I went through... I will grace my country Eritrea," she sings. Still available on poor quality cassettes, it was decided a well-recorded reworking was necessary for this project. Weldeslassie's delicately urgent voice floats above a slow tempo, and clean backing, with a lick not unlike the wooze of Fleetwood Mac's 'Albatross'.
Album opener 'Amajo' is sung by the country's best known pop diva Faytinga, and is a reworking of a track from her 1999 album Numey - notable as the first CD recorded in the country. Her shrill voice beautifully lolls over a Kunama rhythms and dramatic ska inflected backing, with clean guitar lines coolly following Faytinga's phrasing.
Aside from Jamaican roots reggae, not many outside influences have made it to Eritrea, leaving the musicians musically suspended in the soulful traditions of the 1970s big band sound, which gives the record its timeless appeal. The Eritrean people who endured decades of war before the small country secured its' independence in 1991, were effectively detached. So Eritrea's Got Soul stands as a chance to redress that balance. The record showcases the wealth of Eritrea's talented musicians, singers and songwriters, all of whom bring something different to the mix. A celebration of the nation's rich cultural and musical heritage, Eritrea finally has a voice of its own, and it swings.
Babe Roots - (2017) Be Still 7''
ZamZam Sounds – ZAMZAM59
Babe Roots are a relatively young duo from Turin, Italy, making a unique
brand of atmospheric, techno-infused dubwise. On our radar since their
splendid debut 7” on Rohs! Records in early 2016, we are very pleased to
invite them into the ZamZam fold with two mesmerizing and contrasting
tunes.
“Be Still” is a deeply meditative yet driving dub techno trek in classic
fashion, featuring rastaman Kojo Neatness intoning on righteous living,
working the land, guarding the tongue, and avoiding Babylonian schemes
and traps laid by the wicked. Maternal bass and shimmering reverbs
envelop a heartbeat rhythm of kick, shaker and distant snares for a
timeless vibe that shows mastery of the idiom while updating it for
contemporary sound systems.
Babe Roots - (2020) I Come From Gateshead 7''
FourFourSelect Recordings – FFSE002
Last summer, FourFourSelect launched with a toasty and soulful number by
Earl Gateshead, produced by British dub scene veteran Nick Manasseh.
Now that track has been completely re-made and overhauled by dub and dub
techno producer Babe Roots. Slower, hazier, more spacious and closer in
tone to ambient dub, Babe Roots A-side mix features re-recorded vocals
from Gateshead in a slower, spoken style. It's rather fine all told,
along with the producer's flipside "Version" - a kind of heavy ambient
dub revision with even weightier bass, delay effects aplenty and some
dreamy backing vocals that seemingly drift across the soundspace.
Benjamin Zephaniah - (1989) Rasta CD
Workers Playtime – PLAY CD7
Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah is a British Rastafarian writer and dub
poet, and is well known in contemporary English literature.
He was the first person to record with the Wailers after the death of Bob Marley in a musical tribute to Nelson Mandela.
He is also quite famous for rejecting an OBE in November 2003, stating
that getting one would remind him of 'how my foremothers were raped and
my forefathers brutalised'
Rasta is Zephaniah’s first music album that’s still going strong. This
was world music before World Music. Roots reggae but with sitar,
mandolin, oboe, and west African drumming.
Creation Rebel - (2017) Vibrations: 1978 - 1982
On-U Sound – none
To celebrate the gold vinyl reissue of Creation Rebel’s Starship Africa and the band’s recent return to the live stage after a break of over 30 years, we’ve compiled this selection of highlights from their various On-U Sound releases, including key album tracks, discoplate tunes, and deep cuts.
Ghetto Priest - (2003) Vulture Culture CD
On-U Sound – ON-U CD 1003
Born and raised in the east end of London to Afro-Caribbean parents, he
has been making reggae, dub and experimental music now for over two
decades. He has been a mainstay of the On-U Sound camp where he started
out as backing vocalist and percussionist for the band African Head
Charge, and in recent years has been a core member of Asian Dub
Foundation
The solo debut from Ghetto Priest, originally released in 2003. Vulture
Culture opens with a remake of the Singers & Players' classic
“Dungeon”, on which the original one-drop rhythm is replaced by a large
funk beat and the late Prince Far I's chanted vocal is resurrected to
accompany Ghetto Priest's singing. Ghetto Priest has guested on albums
by Asian Dub Foundation, Groove Armada, Little Axe, and Sinéad O'Connor,
alongside being a regular MC for On-U Sound, and performing as a
permanent member of African Head Charge's live lineup.
Harry Beckett - (2008) The Modern Sound Of Harry Beckett CD
On-U Sound – ONUCD 1002
Barbados-born trumpeter Harry Beckett is one of the great treasures of
British culture. Now in his early 70s and on great form, he has
bequeathed us a magnificent sonic treat. The Modern Sound of Harry
Beckett teams him with a variety of dub-reggae and electro-jazz
collaborators, confidently stirred into a steaming sonic bouillabaisse
by On-U Sound producer (and occasional label boss) Adrian Sherwood.
Beckett's genius is that he is always true to himself, whoever he
performs with. Whether the context is free jazz, Jah Wobble's folk-dub
or one of Graham Collier's classic bands, Beckett's effervescent,
tumbling, improvised melodies never fail to lift the spirits. Here,
pitted against dark, insistent riffs (Fantastic Things), fractured,
urban soundscapes (Facing It), throbbing, Tutu-like skank (The Forgotten
Man) or feelgood beats (Switch Up!), he is magnificent. Blue Note,
which rejected this album, must be feeling very foolish.
His dub-oriented album, The Modern Sound of Harry Beckett, was produced
by famed British producer Adrian Sherwood and released on On-U Sound in
late 2008.
Dub TV - (2003) BassMass
DubTV Multimedia Production – EXO 03
The Moscow group "Dub TV" is one of the most significant Russian bands
performing dub. Having gathered in 1997, the group immediately attracted
attention with its originality. The electronic base is harmoniously
combined with a variety of live instruments both in studio work and on
stage. The use of modern technology and a constant experiment in
combination with traditional raggamuffin made "Dub TV" a significant
phenomenon in modern dub music. But the most important thing, as the
musicians themselves and their fans say, is the positive atmosphere and
incredible drive surrounding the audience at the concerts of the group.
Over the years of its existence, the Dub TV group has given many
concerts throughout the country, regularly represented Russia at various
foreign and domestic festivals, such as: SOCA REGGAE RIVERSPLASH,
ROTOTOM SUNSPLASH, INVASION, EMMAUS, “ EMPTY HILLS ”,“ EIGHT MIRACLE ”,
where the musicians worked on the same stage with such megastars as“
SEEED ”,“ I-SHEN ROCKERS ”, MAD PROFESSOR,“ DREADZONE ”,“ RENEGADE
SOUNDWAVE ”; Thus, the group gained a lot of fans of their work around
the world.
His own record label DubTV Multimedia Production was also created, on
the account of which more than 20 releases were his own albums,
collaborations with other artists, as well as the cult series of
collections Dub Community of Russia. On the account of "Dub TV" joint
projects with the group "Earthlings", Alexander Barykin, Julia
Chicherina, Alexander Laertsky, Mad Professor, Lee Perry, Bashment
Kingsound.
Khruangbin - (2019) Hasta El Cielo LP
Night Time Stories – ALNLP50
This is the dub version of Con Todo El Mundo with two songs remixed by Scientist.
Listening to this album, I was reminded of the reviewer who criticized
Black Uhuru for putting out a dub version of an album that was already
saturated in dub. I do think this dub version serves a purpose but it's
not like listening to Khruangbin at all. The whispery vocals and
lingering notes are all but erased by the remixing.
Joe Higgs - (2013) Unity Is Power LP
Pressure Sounds – PSLP 80
Joe Higgs follow up to the classic Life of Contradiction album, Unity is Power is a mellower set of tracks. The song writing is as clear and as lucid as ever. Possibly reggae musics most accomplished artist and certainly one of its most talented musicians. Joe Higgs glides through a self produced album that has never had a re-release since it original release. The vinyl is 180gram and the cd has 2 bonus tracks. “I like phrasing my voice like an instrument. I love jazz. People will always be ahead of people. Some walk, some run, some creep. I’m not concerned about success. Music is my teacher. But it’s not good to be ahead of time, because life is a progression."
Linton Kwesi Johnson - (1996) A Capella Live CD
KJ Records UK – LKJ CD 016
Recorded at Beurschouwburg, Brussels; Dal Segno, Nijmegen; Ronnie
Scott's Jazz Club, Soho, London; and St. Mark's Church, Piccadilly,
London, in 1993 and 1994 without accompaniment.
Mad Elaine / Mad Professor - (2020) Gift of Creation EP
Ariwa – none
Mad Professor (born Neil Joseph Stephen Fraser, 1955, Georgetown,
Guyana) is a British national dub music producer and engineer known for
his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the
leading producers of dub music's second generation and was instrumental
in transitioning dub into the digital age. He has collaborated with
reggae artists such as Lee "Scratch" Perry, Sly and Robbie, Pato Banton,
Jah Shaka and Horace Andy, as well as artists outside the realm of
traditional reggae and dub, such as Sade, Massive Attack, The Orb,
Gaudi, the Brazilian DJ Marcelinho da lua, Grace Jones, and Perry
Farrel.
Mad Elaine is an artist based in Italy who has been working with Mad
Professor since 2005, as well as with talented Costa Ricans; she
recently collaborated with one of Costa Rica’s favorite reggae bands, Un
Rojo.
Natty Dread - (2004) Bamako Roots Reggae CD
Not On Label – BRR-ND004
BRR may not be the label, if not, the label is unknown even to
Musicbrainz and Discogs. There are Youtube uploads but sound only and no
descriptions.
Natty Dread appears to be a French reggae musician with a possible
connection to Mali. (Bamako is Mali's capitol). He has left a very small
online footprint but his music is worth the listen. In fact at first I
thought Bamako Roots Reggae was a remaster from the Jamaican artist
Natty Dread but this is a different, lesser known artist doing classic
reggae roots music done up with a bit of Euro styling and above average
dub production. Despite the title I could detect no influence from Mali.
Despite knowing its more recent origins, this album has a very '70s feel
to it. Political in good ways, musically interesting and not just
because the vocals are in French.
Samosad / Bend & feat. Dr.I-Bolit - (2008) No Smoke Without Fire CD
Sketis Music – SKMR - 063
Samosad Bend is a St Petersburg based progressive ethno-dub project and part of the diverse Russian reggae community that flourished in the 2000s. Dr. I-Bolit (aka Dr I-Bol aka Ras Simeon) appears on many releases of this decade. Dr. I-Bolit appears to have drawn his name from Russian children's literature (Doctor Aybolit / Доктор Айболит).
Sherwood & Pinch - (2013) Bring Me Weed12''
Tectonic – ONUVS1024
On-U Sound-man meets the Tectonic boss inna proper UK-style weed devotional. The project sprouted from Pinch's involvement on the 'Recovery Time' dubs to Sherwood's 'Survival & Resistance', where the elder gave the relative dubstep strapling his full seal of approval. Their next move was 'Bring Me Weed', the vocal sweetened dread A-side of this single, pairing their respective styles brimming with fire and soul. Better yet, the B-side 'Weed Psychosis Mix' is gutted to proper 2013 specs, leaving only serpentine steppers' drums and hippo burp basslines hanging in the air like some stinky stinky quivering to the vibes of a massive stack.
Bill Orcutt - (2011) How the Thing Sings LP
Editions Mego – eMEGO128
"Amazing new solo album from ex-Harry Pussy guitarist Bill Orcutt and
easily his best release yet. Here Orcutt has forsaken the pick-ups and
amplifier set-up of his previous releases for a four-string acoustic
played straight into a mic. The result is startling, with a clarity and a
resonance to the guitar playing that is revelatory and that works to
underline the obsessive/compulsive nature of his technique. It springs
out of the gate with one of the most dazzling re-thinks of Harry Pussy’s
form-gobbling amphetamine style but there’s a new dynamism to Orcutt’s
attack that allows him to drop into quiet moments of mystery and
obsessively unravel and restate phrases again and again. Indeed, the
epic closer “A Line From Ol’ Man River” might be his most ambitious
statement to date, a reworking of a fragment of a spiritual in the
hallelujah style of Albert Ayler. Fantastic and highly recommended."
Caterina Barbieri - (2019) Ecstatic Computation LP
Editions Mego – eMEGO259
Barbieri opens Ecstatic Computation with its longest and most definitive statement, the 10-minute “Fantas.” Though that might be shorter than her earliest tracks, it condenses an arc worthy of an entire album. She’s grown so skilled at programming hypnotic webs of sound that listeners are already put under by the halfway point, but Barbieri doesn’t stop there. After building the tense melodic progression to its logical peak, the track softens and stretches but never stops gaining momentum. It’s a warp-speed jump where everything seems to move slower and faster all at once. The brilliance of “Fantas” is hearing her use that sensory state not as an end, but a foundation to build even further. After Barbieri weaves the central theme back in near the end, it feels as if she could take us anywhere. Instead she shatters everything, distorting the sequence into a crashing electrical storm that’s all the more bracing for how methodically she’s set it up. It’s a breathtaking moment, one that cements her mastery of entrancing listeners by virtue of how dramatically she takes it away.
Compound Eye - (2013) Journey from Anywhere 2xLP
Editions Mego – eMEGO181
Compound Eye is Drew McDowall (formerly of Coil) and Tres Warren (Psychic Ills and Messages).
'Journey From Anywhere' is their second long-player release following
'Origin of Silence', an art edition LP on The Spring Press label. This
double lp features 4 sides of improvised electronics that lead the
listener into the dark recesses of the duo's subterranean explorations.
Each of these works move at a slow and considered pace, gradually
unfolding into a transportive blur of dark psychedelic minimalism.
Like elements of Coil long form works this is a music which has the
potential to melt time, open space and create a flowing web of liquid
memory.
A sublime record for those who like music that encourages travel.
Dino Spiluttini - (2019) Heaven LP
Editions Mego – eMEGO266
Heaven is a work of contemporary church music. Centrally occupied with
the subject of death, its conceptualisation was catalysed by
Spiluttini’s discovering his mother’s preparations both for her own
death and for his. He arrived at her home in 2015 to be led into the
local church and shown the two adjacent places she had reserved for
their urns. The tracks on Heaven together consist of an analogously
personal and anticipatory negotiation with death.
Partly derived from organ recordings made in the same church, the album
frequently enlists Arvo Pärt’s compositional method of tintinnabuli.
Aside from the thematic logic of its sacred associations, the method
suits Spiluttini’s tendency, in spite of heavy and dynamic passages, to
minimise tonal complexity. His characteristic uses of gnashing bass,
restlessly irregular pacing and serrated distortion return. This time,
they combine with pads, harps, fluttering organs and swooping choirs.
Track titles throughout Heaven conjure intense emotional conflicts,
especially those arising from experiences of embodiment. Touch isolation
is a term for the toxic masculine stigma against platonic touch between
men. If such a reference on an album preoccupied with death and
afterlife raises the question of whether Spiluttini considers any touch –
let alone platonic – to be possible in Heaven, the title ‘Flesh Angel’
perhaps answers it. As with ‘Body at War’ and ‘Weakened Centurion’, such
a title positions the agitation of its music among ongoing struggles
with body acceptance. Meanwhile, ‘Rainbow Bridge’ recalls the 1980s
prose poem promising an eternal reunion in death with one’s beloved lost
pets. In context, these various indices seem to capture the yearning
speculation that, as the nexuses of experience, bodies are not discarded
in death; on the contrary, they achieve a state of perfection.
Heaven revolves within dramatic and ever-changing vignettes. As church
music, it lacks real communal participation or fidelity to hymnal text.
Instead, it must come to terms with negation and eternity as dependable
threats to generational and spatial distance, to personal struggles with
earthly embodiment and to the anxious, hyperactive navigation of
identity in late modernity.
Emeralds - (2012) Just To Feel Anything
Editions Mego – eMEGO150
Just to Feel Anything, the new album by Emeralds, surpasses all
expectations, just as its predecessor, Does It Look Like I’m Here, did
in 2010. This expertly recorded new album sees the band deliver plenty
of their distinctive aesthetic for old fans to enjoy while offering a
new range of fresh, exciting ideas for newcomers.
'Before Your Eyes' begins the record with a steady build-up, which
bleeds into humid layers of synthesizer pads and warm guitar. The track
sets the tone perfectly for 'Adrenochrome', a fast-paced excursion into
new territory for the band. The calm after the storm appears in the form
of 'Through & Through', with its contemplative strokes and
heart-wrenching atmospherics. 'Everything Is Inverted' is an energetic
rush of monolithic guitar leads, pulsing drum machine, and driving
sequences.
Still, it's on the second half of Just to Feel Anything, a triptych of
tracks, where Emeralds adroitly demonstrate why they are a cut above
their contemporaries. 'The Loser Keeps America Clean' kicks off the
b-side by diving into the deepest fathoms of their experimental oeuvre.
As the final bursts of static dissipate we are led into the opening
chords of the eponymous 'Just to Feel Anything' a new zenith in
Emeralds' repertoire. The album closer, 'Search For Me in the Wasteland'
sees mounting layers of brightly strummed guitar chords blossom into a
storm of color and expertly crafted textures-- a truly majestic end to
an immense album.
With Just to Feel Anything, Emeralds shine a laser-sharp light into the
future, while preserving their uniquely intelligent historical
perspective. The long-awaited next chapter in the Emeralds discography
is finally here, emerging as a sophisticated progression in both sound
and structure.
Felix Kubin - (2017) Takt der Arbeit LP
Editions Mego – eMEGO243
Originally developed as a film score »Takt der Arbeit« is inspired by a
handful of industrial and instructional films from the early 1960's
until the early 1990's that portrait different forms of work. Felix
Kubin is translating these historic documents into a musical poem of
conceptual depth. »Takt der Arbeit« - the beat of work - is not only
serving as a title but also as constructive element in this endeavour.
Being hunted down by the ever accelerated pulse of our reality is an
omnipresent issue in capitalist societies of the the Western world.
Living in times of constant exhaustion, it's not only our bodies that
have been disciplined by and synchronized to the rhythms of working
processes, but also our minds that rage in the tempo of our
surroundings. Following an almost analytical effort, Kubin and an
ensemble of 3 percussionists are investigating the different qualities
and intensities of time that are catalyzed in working processes. While
picking up precise temporal and motoric motives of the films, condensing
paces and excavating rhythmic patterns, the ensemble is mapping out an
animist choreography, shifting from a time when labour was still relying
on bodily efforts to a time when machines and ticking clocks seem to
reign and model our perception. While Side A is dedicated to procedures
that are still based on manual and mechanical movement, Side B is
inspired by the digital age, marked by invisible processes and
subcutaneous pulses that we internalize.
The result is a critical and poetic reflection on the rhythms of our
daily life and yet another example of Felix Kubin's skills as a
composer, placing him in the field of orchestral music.
Fenn O'Berg - (2012) In Hell 2xLP
Editions Mego – eMEGO141
Five fiery extended jams from the mighty Fenn O'Berg - the triumvirate
of Christian Fennesz, Jim O'Rourke and Peter Rehberg, as you surely know
by now - recorded on their 2010 Japan tour in Oita, Hiroshima, Kyoto
and Nagoya. The effortlessness and assurance with which this
well-travelled trio conjure different moods and sound-worlds - from
inquisitive concrete and eerie drones to nose-bleeding power electronics
and head-spinning out-rock is just incredible; moreover, every
transition feels natural, there's a great narrative skill at work.
There's also an abundance of hooks, whether the haunting - almost
hauntological- synth overtures at the heart of 'Omuta Fuji' and
'Concrete Onions', Fennesz's plaintive riffage cutting through the hard
ice of 'It Came From Nagoya', or the various "cheeky samples" we're told
are lurking in the mix (happy spotting). Edited together by Jim
O'Rourke at his Steamroom studio in Tokyo last year, and cut at D+M in
Berlin, this is one of our favourite Fenn O'Berg releases to date;
improvised electronic music honestly doesn't get much better. A
reminder, if it was needed, that these guys are on another level.
Fennesz - (2019) Agora LP
Touch – TO:115V
Agora is Christian Fennesz’s first solo album since ‘Mahler Remixed’
[Touch, 2014] and ‘Bécs’ [Editions Mego, 2014]. Fennesz writes: “Its a
simple story. i had temporarily lost a proper studio workspace and had
to move all my gear back to a small bedroom in my flat where I recorded
this album. It was all done on headphones, which was rather a
frustrating situation at first but later on it felt like back in the day
when I produced my first records in the 1990s. In the end it was
inspiring. I used very minimal equipment; I didn't even have the courage
to plug in all the gear and instruments which were at my disposal. I
just used what was to hand.”
releases March 29, 2019
Recorded at Kaiserstudios, Vienna, August, September 2018
Rainfall: Vocals Katharina Caecilia Fennesz
Agora: Field recordings Manfred Neuwirth, vocals Mira Waldmann
Mastered by Denis Blackham @ Skye
Photography & design by Jon Wozencroft
Fennesz - (2014) Bécs LP
Editions Mego – Editions Mego 165
The last time Fennesz released an album on Austrian label Mego it was
2001 and the name of that release was 'Endless Summer'. Now, in 2014
Editions Mego is extremely proud to release the conceptual follow up
that landmark of abstract pop. Bécs (pronounced 'baeetch') is Hungarian
for Vienna and is the first full length Fennesz solo release since
2008's 'Black Sea'.
Eschewing the more drone orientated works of 'Black Sea', 'Bécs' returns
to the more florid pop mechanisms as deployed on Endless Summer.
'Static Kings' features the extra leverage of Werner Dafeldecker and
Martin Brandlmayer who deploy a range of atmospheric abstract effects to
shape a bewitching sound world. The 10 minute centrepiece 'Liminality'
(featuring Tony Buck on drums) is classic Fennesz: epic, evocative,
beautiful, impossible. 'Pallas Athene' creates a sanctuary of hovering
beauty which leads into the title track. Emotional and assured, the
track 'Bécs' is an astonishing contribution to contemporary pop. 'Sav'
co-written by Cédric Stevens (aka Acid Kirk) inhabits a less structural
terrain as one enters a forest of small sounds and oblique atmospheres,
where the closing 'Paroles', a gentle melody unravels amongst swirls of
electronics and fried disruption. Bécs is not just an album or a series
of songs, it's a world to inhabit, a landscape ripe with sounds, songs
and that esteemed Fennesz signature.
François Bonnet & Stephen O’Malley - (2019) Cylene 2xLP
Editions Mego – Editions Mego 262
First time outing from two ardent explorers of peripheral sound tactics.
Cylene is the first collaboration by François J. Bonnet ( Kassel
Jaeger) and Stephen O’Malley (Sunn O))) ). Laid bare we have a subtle
and nuanced study of their individual practices forming a titanic whole.
O’Malley’s guitar inscribes a void that patiently opens up a spacious
universe for Bonnet to discreetly alter with perception re-orientating
studio maneuvers.
Cylene is infinitely rewarding for those that succumb to its delicate
detours. A vast glacial plain unfurls slowly upon the listener invoking a
mood similar to the stillness found following despair. As Joseph Ghosn
succinctly outlines in his liner notes, “Stephen and François deal in
those moments and instants that happen after the violence, and the
ugliness and the mess. Their music is about chaos being summoned and
ordered. It is about the noise that nurtures your ears after a long
heartbreaking pain. I have heard the sounds of wars being fought and the
noises of hearts being broken, and I have never found a shelter as
soothing as this music which makes me think of sunken ships and beauty
found in the depths of oceans long forgotten”.