“The influence of both traditional and contemporary African music on funk and disco, from the late 60’s to the early 80’s, has rightly become ever more widely recognised over the last 30 plus years.
Africa Seven has been lucky enough to source some of the better music that West Africa produced during that halcyon period via a spread of seminal label catalogues. But Afro-Exotique looks beyond funk and disco and their Afrobeat / Highlife progenitors, exploring spaces in between and outside these established genres.
The all too slow escape from the colonial yoke and it’s ruinous legacy meant that there was no Western style economic boom time across Africa in the 1950/60’s. But flashes of the sort of playful experimentation and the occasional…

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…drift into cocktail lounge eclecticism, fuelled by the relative comforts of post war stability in the West, still pop up in late 70’s/80’s African music if you know where to look, often involving lesser known names and less familiar formats, and with the spirit of Africa ever present.

We wish had more info regarding the LP opener ‘Black Reggae’s “My Girl”, but other than us discovering it on French – African label Fiesta’s 1975 “Bols Brandy Presents Black Reggae” compilation, we don’t…. so just sit back and enjoy the warm, lolloping, instrumental rocksteady cover of the Temptations’ classic.

South African emigre, Apartheid dissident, and eventual partner of the Black Panthers’ Stokely Carmichael, Miriam Makeba, needs little introduction, but the elegant 1974 swing of “L’Enfant Et La Gazelle” has to figure pretty high in any “top anti war lounge songs of the 70’s involving heartrending animal metaphors” list.

Cameroonian musician, sculptor, and writer Frances Bebey’s “The Coffee Cola Song”(1982) is based around a traditional pygmy flute and local guitars, but with added fizzing drum machine percussion alongside prominent synths, all nodding to emergent Western pop of the day. Benin studio owner Nel Oliver’s “Let My Music Take You” (1976) boasts exuberant horns, shuffly shaker and a late arriving squelchy Moog.

Switching gears a bit, Cameroonian Uta Bella’s “Eben Reggae” is more quietly instrumental 70’s cocktail reggae: lighter on the bottom end, heavier on the Hammond organs, easy on the ear.

Keeping it breezy, the infectious Bossa Nova groove of Togolese favourite Yta Jourais’ 1977 “Pesse Mi Buntare” wanders off on a pleasing jazz sax excursion mid song, while Amara Toure’ and Orchestre Masako’s “Lamento Cubano” combines solid grooves and free form guitar solos with the plaintive lament.

Veering off on another late tangent, we get the heavy, leftfield, psyche funk of “On My Way” from Nigeria’s shortlived but explosive Aura (Aspiritual Emanation) outfit (1976), before Chakachas “Soledad” rounds things off in mellifluous style with it’s gentle cosmic lounge vibes.”

It was the idea of Peter Bursch (founding member and leader of the German Krautrock legend Bröselmaschine), to put together an illustrious crowd of popular musicians and to organize a Jimi Hendrix Rockpalast Tribute concert in 1991, twenty years after the death of one of the most influential guitarists in rock history. Rockpalast mastermind Peter Rüchel and director Christian Wagner got enthusiastic about this idea. Due to his good personal contacts, Rüchel was able to find immediately a colorful crowd of musicians, who were thrilled to become part of this project. So an All Star Band was formed from very different exceptional musicians like Uli Jon Roth (ex-Scorpions), who also took over…

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…the musical direction of the show, Jack Bruce (Cream, West, Bruce and Laing), John Wetton (King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, UK, Asia), Simon Phillips (The Who, Toto, Asia) and many others.

Particularly interesting was the idea to present the Hendrix songs with very different singers, e.g. by German Rocklady Jule Neigel, Michael Flexig (Zeno, Uli Jon Roth), Jack Bruce or John Wetton, supported by the amazing background singers Nadja Ollig and Jane Palmer. Finally Peter Rüchel was able to convince the most popular Jimi Hendrix Tribute Band featuring Randy Hansen to participate either.

This concert is the Rockpalast recording that has been most repeated on German television in recent years. — mig-music.de

CD 1:

Randy Hansen Band

1. Hey Joe 05:54
2. Stone Free 03:45
3. I Don’t Live Today 02:25
4. Steppin’ Stone 04:21

All Star Band

5. Gypsy Eyes 04:44
6. If Six Was Nine 02:50
7. Spanish Castles Magic 04:24
8. One Rainy Wish 05:08
9. The Wind Cries Mary 04:10
10. Burning of the Midnight Lamp 04:33
11. All Along the Watchtower 05:26
12. House Burning Down 05:09
13. Electric Ladyland 01:35
14. Castles Made of Sand 03:13
15. Little Wing 03:25
16. Axis: Bold As Love 05:12

CD 2:

1. Voodoo Child 05:48
2. Third Stone from the Sun 06:17
3. Crosstown Traffic 03:09
4. In from the Storm 03:40
5. Who Knows 08:18
6. Message of Love 05:54
7. Hey Baby 05:49
8. Angel 06:59
9. Purple Haze 04:21
10. Atlantis 03:25

The term “country music” hadn’t even been conceived when these American folk pioneers recorded in the 1920s and early ’30s. It wasn’t until the 1940s that it came into common parlance as an alternative for what was widely known as hillbilly music, something of an outdated and degrading description.
Loosely speaking, country music derives from a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the southern United States and Appalachian Mountains. Its true origins however are deep rooted in the cultures of the early European settlers in America who brought their old-world folk traditions with them, which over time incorporated other musical elements such as the African American traditions of gospel and blues.

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Before the widespread fame of Jimmie Rodgers popularized the guitar as an essential instrument for solo performers, the fiddle was the predominant instrument, with the likes of Fiddlin’ John Carson and Eck Robertson being among the first to commercially record. Robertson is widely regarded as the finest fiddler of this era and an inspiration to a generation of fiddlers, as his wonderful bow work on the featured ‘Texas Wagoner’ bears testament to.

The banjo was another potent weapon of choice for some of old-time music’s seminal figures including Dock Boggs, whose music was a unique combination of Appalachian folk music and African-American blues, and Uncle Dave Macon. Born in 1870, Macon achieved regional fame as a vaudeville performer in the early 1920s before becoming the first star of the Grand Ole Opry in the latter half of the decade. His importance is rightly acknowledged by music historian Charles Wolfe who writes, “If people call yodelling Jimmie Rodgers ‘the father of country music,’ then Uncle Dave must certainly be ‘the grandfather of country music’.”

Long before the development of the trademark lap steel guitar had become a sound synonymous with country music, the slide entered the frame as early as 1922, when Jimmie Tarlton met famed Hawaiian guitarist Frank Ferera. He is joined by playing partner Tom Darby on ‘Sweet Sarah Blues’, a song which epitomises an era of musical cross fertilisation as Hawaiian guitar and blues styles meet native South Carolina folk. It was this willingness for musical exchange amongst these pioneering musicians which would lay the groundwork for popular country music as it is known today. — worldmusic.net

It’s almost certainly a coincidence rather than a product of careful planning, but it’s interesting that Strut My Stuff: Obscure Country & Hillbilly Boppers, a collection of rare, small-label C&W sides of the ’50s and ’60s, was released in September 2019, roughly the same time that Ken Burns’ PBS documentary series Country Music ended its initial television run. Burns offered a thoughtful and reverent portrait of the celebrated artists who made country a medium that spoke with honesty and heart about the lives of working people. Strut My Stuff, on the other hand, is a loving tribute to some of the many C&W musicians who never got anywhere close to stardom, but had a ball playing the kind of music that filled up dance halls and honky tonks back in the day.

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With a few notable exceptions, nearly everything on Strut My Stuff counts as a dance tune, upbeat numbers that put a strong two-beat behind the fiddles and slide guitars while the lyrics share tales of love and heartache, funny stories of ordinary lives, boasting from singers and DJs dreaming out loud of fame and fortune, and the occasional warnings about getting too big for your britches. This music was made with the express purpose of having a good time, and each of the 32 selections here lives up to that promise, whether Tani Allen is griping about Army life, Chuck Ray is assuring us he’s not too old to have fun, Luke Gordon is revealing his good reasons not to trust his wife, Freddie Frank is telling us about one unusual oil prospector, or Weldon Rogers is displaying backwards thinking about women and their ability to handle an automobile.

The performances are rough and ready throughout, with an impressive amount of quality picking and an abundance of energy, and it’s hard to imagine anyone listening to this set and not cracking a smile at least four or five times. Burns offered a fine history of country music, but one told by the winners; Strut My Stuff allows us to spend some time with the also-rans, and it turns out their stories are every bit as enlightening and their music just as exciting as the folks who made it to the top. Whether you already love vintage country or are just starting to explore the roots of the music, this is a must and a whole lot of fun.

…On the 2-disc CD version, you have the full experience, which amounts to 41 tracks, totalling over two hours of music – almost all of it fantastic. The curators of the soundtrack, David Holmes and Keith Ciancia, were also joined by music director Catherine Grieves, in the meticulous construction of the music for the show – a role for which each of them have won a BAFTA.
Across the set you have a very fixed, tonally rich palette, which is ideally suited to the noir aesthetic of the show. There’s delicate, gauzy shoegaze next to smoky, punchy girl-group sounds, then you might find some slinky, Serge Gainsbourg-style funk next to a hazy torch ballad. The music of Killing Eve, much like many of the most successful TV shows, is an essential component…

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…of the overall experience for the audience, and this is no different.

On many of the original songs, Holmes and Ciancia were joined by Ciancia’s partner Jade Vincent, with their contributions to the soundtrack coming under the name ‘Unloved’. Unloved’s music was so successful on the show, that it has jumped straight out of obscurity and landed a record deal with Heavenly. The best thing about that turn of events is that it comes as an acknowledgment that the contributions from Unloved are the best things about the soundtrack, and are amongst the most recognisable tracks from the show (check out “When a Woman Is Around”, “We Are Unloved”, “Crash Boom Bang”…)

Of all the songs that weren’t written by Unloved, there are great tunes by The Troggs, Brigitte Bardot, Cigarettes After Sex, Le Volume Courbe and many, many others. The Season 2 disc features less material from Unloved, and as a result, it has a few more obscure gems (particularly “Screw You” by Ramases, which sounds like a demented Velvet Underground pastiche, and “Dangerous Charms” by the Delmonas, which has a fiery, Diddley-beat assisted rhythm beamed straight from a fifties diner in hell). — thelineofbestfit.com

Season 1
01. Unloved / (Sigh) [03:12]
02. Anna Karina / Roller Girl [02:20]
03. Unloved / After Dinner [04:51]
04. Pshycotic Beats feat. Pati Amor / Killer Shangri-Lah [03:42]
05. Unloved / This Is the Time [03:37]
06. Unloved / Devils Angels [02:58]
07. The Troggs / Evil Woman [02:33]
08. Unloved / Cry Baby Cry [04:46]
09. Cigarettes After Sex / K [05:14]
10. Unloved / Bill [02:57]
11. Cat’s Eyes / Girl in the Room [03:25]
12. Unloved / Fail We May Sail We Must [03:45]
13. Unloved feat. Barry Woolnough / Danger [04:06]
14. Unloved / Xpectations [04:13]
15. Unloved / Sombre [02:29]
16. Étienne Daho / Voodoo Voodoo [03:09]
17. Unloved / When a Woman Is Around [03:42]
18. Brigitte Bardot / Contact [02:16]
19. Unloved / Crash Boom Bang [03:06]
20. Unloved / Unloved 7 [05:03]
21. Unloved / We Are Unloved [02:30]
22. Unloved / If [03:31]

Season 2
01. Unloved / It’s Not You, It’s Me [03:59]
02. Fabienne Delsol / I’m Gonna Haunt You [02:34]
03. Unloved / Dammed [04:06]
04. The Poppy Family / Where Evil Grows [02:45]
05. Unloved feat. Étienne Daho / Remember [03:07]
06. Fireflies / She’s My Witch (Edit) [03:26]
07. Unloved / Tell Mama [04:28]
08. Le Volume Courbe / Born To Lie [02:49]
09. Unloved / I Could Tell You But I’d Have to Kill You [04:56]
10. Unloved / Her [03:49]
11. Unloved / Lee [03:38]
12. Jane Weaver / Modern Kosmology [04:38]
13. Dalida / Via Tu Sei Libero [02:40]
14. Delmonas / Dangerous Charms [02:02]
15. Ramases / Screw You [04:35]
16. Jacqueline Taïeb / La Plus Belle Chanson [02:27]
17. Willeke Alberti / Vlinder Van Een Zomer (Angel of the Morning) [03:06]
18. Bertrand Belin / Comment Ça Se Danse [04:51]
19. Cigarettes After Sex / Opera House [06:00]

This is the debut album of music featuring composer Zosha Di Castri, performed by various chamber musicians from the New York area. The pieces are diverse in several respects — they are electric or acoustic, programmatic or abstract — but they suggest a composer with a distinctive style. All were composed between 2010 and 2016. “The Quartet No. 1” for string quartet was commissioned for the Banff International String Quartet Competition, and it poses considerable challenges for the players, both individually as a group. All of the music has a virtuoso aspect, splendidly realized by the performers here, and the virtuosity is often deployed to create a rather aggressive atmosphere. This may be contrasted with quieter elements, as in Dux for…

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…solo piano, where an “often bombastic, unpredictable, powerful, scattered” leader (or “dux”) line is sharply opposed to its follower line. Especially evocative is the title track, whose name refers to an 1823 Italian typewriter model. The work is not so much about suggesting a typewriter as “a reflection on writing and the machines we use to execute our ideas.” Di Castri notes that many of the early “typewriters” (the term referred to both the machine and the user) were women, and there are other feminist aspects in the music and its production. A sometimes difficult but always direct and appealing debut.  — AMG

Three or so years ago the Unexplained Sounds Group issued a digital collection of experimental and electronic music from Iran. It was the first of USG’s fascinating set of surveys of experimental music from places whose musical communities are often overlooked or obscured, sometimes for extra-musical reasons. As was the case here: in order to avoid having the Iran collection banned from certain platforms, USG had to label the release as Persian rather than “Iranian.” In a way, though, the name is rather fitting, since it serves to imply the continuity of musical culture in what is now called — censors be damned — Iran.
USG has reissued the original digital album as a limited edition CD supplemented with digital bonus tracks. What the collection…

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…demonstrates is that Iran’s musical underground doesn’t appear to be working in complete isolation; the sounds here compare well to electronic work being made elsewhere in the world. The predominant tendency is toward heavy electronics in a dark ambient mode, but there are some tracks that summon the rhythms of dance music, others that feature cosmic choirs of voices sounding through layers of electronic fuzz and grit, and yet others centered on undulating drones and synthesized arpeggios. And as with USG’s other surveys of experimental music outside of the Western world, this one is worth hearing. — avantmusicnews.com

Resistance is an interesting choice of title for this latest collection by California-based composer Garth Baxter (b. 1946 in Philadelphia), simply because the recording presents no barrier to impede listeners from warming to its euphonious sounds. Yet though his follow-up to 2018’s well-received Ask the Moon is undeniably accessible, it’s also music of integrity and power. The label “modern traditionalism” has been applied to his material to capture its coupling of long-standing formal structures, melodicism, and contemporary approaches to harmony. Stated otherwise, his music presents one prototype of how a melding of 19th-century Romanticism and 20th (and even 21st) century musical practice might sound.
Eleven works are featured on the release,…

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…with a number of different musical configurations involved: duo, trio, and quartet, plus three solo turns by pianist Andrew Stewart that establish a through-line for the recording. With one exception, the works are single-movement settings, each a compact, fully resolved statement, the longest nine minutes and the shortest five. The seduction begins promptly with the two-part The Silver Run, a mesmerizing evocation of the Silver Run area in Carroll County, Maryland that’s given a majestic reading by Stewart and flutist Melissa Wertheimer. In the album’s penultimate track, the twin guitars of Arabesque Duo Kathrin Murray and Troy King modulate through multiple keys and tempo changes as they chart an explorative path through Edgefield, the instrument’s timbres doing much to help make the piece stand out from the others.

The emotionally expressive side of Baxter’s music is amplified by violinist Nicholas Currie’s sweetly singing lines in Could You Dream What I Dream and the wistful quality Kenny Baik’s crystal clear saxophone brings to Des larmes encadrées (“Framed Tears”). As open-hearted as they are, an even more expressive performance is delivered by The Azimuth String Quartet, which imbues MacPherson’s Lament with melancholy in one of the album’s most impassioned readings (Baxter apparently drew for inspiration from the real-life saga of Scottish fiddler James MacPherson, whose last composition was written just before his hanging). Without lapsing into banality, the music flirts with sentimentality in a couple of places, perhaps most noticeably in Il y a longtemps (“Long Ago”), though it would be a cold heart indeed that wouldn’t be moved by the deep feeling with which violinist Currie and pianist Diana Greene invest the performance.

You’d be forgiven for thinking a little bit of Schubert when Romance Without Words arrives, especially when Stewart embroiders its romantic lines with such conviction. For Ballade for a Princess, on the other hand, Baxter drew for inspiration from Chopin’s Fantasie-Impromptu for another wondrous solo performance by the pianist. One final example of Baxter’s expressive writing arises in From the Headwaters, which the violin-cello-and-piano outfit West Shore Piano Trio illuminates with an intensely lyrical, nine-minute treatment.

Though the album never makes a full-on plunge into atonality, the title track, a solo piano setting by Stewart, comes close at certain moments. Regardless, words such as romantic, pastoral, folk-tinged, compact, and lyrical come to mind as Resistance works its magic for almost eighty minutes. One pictures Baxter being delighted by this presentation of his artistry, as a more flattering portrait of the composer would be hard to imagine.

…American Tunes is weighted towards Simon and Garfunkel material, with 16 of its 23 tracks introduced by the duo. Simon’s distinctive, precocious compositions inspired performers from both sides of the Atlantic in a variety of styles including folk-pop (The Hollies’ “I Am a Rock,” Cher’s “Homeward Bound”), sunshine pop (Harpers Bizarre’s whimsical “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy)”), spare folk (Dorris Henderson and John Renbourn’s haunting, stark “Leaves That Are Green”), and even storming R&B (the northern soul floor-filler “You Don’t Know Where Your Interest Lies” from South Africa’s Dana Valery, Peaches and Herb’s funky Tony Camillo-arranged “The Sound of Silence”). Indeed, both S&G hits and deep cuts were covered with frequency.

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American vocalist Marsha Hunt, a veteran of the U.K. company of Hair, was among the artists to cover the ironically rollicking “Keep the Customer Satisfied.” Hunt retained the original’s brass and beat, while adding a prominent organ for that extra zing. Not even Motown was exempt from Simon-mania. American Tunes features Smokey Robinson and The Miracles’ fine romp through “Cecilia” from their 1971 still-not-on-CD album One Dozen Roses. Robinson fit the song into the Motown mold, adding strings, an almost martial beat, and liquid bass, trading off the urgency of the original for his laid-back, cool, and sensual lead.

Reggae artists were also quick to latch onto the Simon songbook. The genre is represented via The Tennors’ “The Only Living Boy in New York” (subtitled “Weather Report” to reflect its substantial lyrical changes) and The Heptones’ “Richard Cory.” Simon and Garfunkel’s Sound of Silence LP was a major success in Jamaica, and Paul, of course, would later draw on reggae and world-music influences in his own solo work such as “Mother and Child Reunion,” the original track of which was recorded in Kingston, Jamaica. Producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, recording with the Philadelphia International house band MFSB, gave the infectious melody a straight-ahead soul groove in The Intruders’ version here.

Emmylou Harris earned a top 20 Country hit in 1980 with her stunning interpretation of “The Boxer.” While the instrumentation was changed from the S&G original, the music and lyrics unsurprisingly proved a perfect fit for the country tradition in which storytelling is valued so highly. Harris stripped “The Boxer” to its essence while retaining all of its power. A similar feat was accomplished by Aretha Franklin, who confirmed via her passionate interpretation that “Bridge Over Troubled Water” belonged in the pantheon of hymns and gospel. Ace presents it here in its mono single version. Covered almost 60 times within its first year, “Bridge” now has around 450 covers (and counting!) per Tony Rounce’s excellent track-by-track notes. The Bangles’ shimmering 1987 cover of “Hazy Shade of Winter” proved that great pop is great pop in any era; ditto Rosemary Clooney’s hip, knowing cover of “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.”

The interpretations of Simon’s solo material on this set are equally compelling. Gospel was on the singer-songwriter’s mind when he composed the fervor-filled “Loves Me Like a Rock.” Harkening back to one of Paul’s earliest influences, the tune is heard here in The Persuasions’ street-corner a cappella treatment. Soul men Johnnie and Floyd Taylor’s “Take Me to the Mardi Gras,” recorded with members of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, shimmers with gentle buoyancy as it offers to “let the music wash your soul.”

Paul lent harmonies to Annie Lennox’s 1995 cover of “Something So Right.” Lennox hewed fairly closely to the contours of the original song, bringing her powerful, piercing voice, a more dramatic orchestration in place of the original’s jazz-style backing, and a special guest; the song’s composer-lyricist added tight harmonies on the chorus. Singer-songwriter Patti Smith, too, showed respect and restraint with her 2007 recording of Graceland‘s “The Boy in the Bubble.” The same can be said of Willie Nelson’s sprightly, faithful “Graceland” from his 1993 LP Across the Borderline.

Willie’s “American Tune” from the same album would have been an equally strong choice for inclusion, but instead, the honors have gone to Shawn Colvin’s excellent reading. Rounce points out that the song was recorded in England and based on a German melody, yet it is one of Simon’s quintessentially American songs, filled with ambivalence and hope and fear and power as it explores the promise and ideals of America itself. The most recent track here is Rumer’s beautiful “Long Long Day” from 2012; as ever, Rumer filters the sound and style of a past generation with her own soulful sensibility and richly expressive, crystalline voice.

Vanity Box: Music Is Up and Down is a 11-CD box set that compiles all full length albums and 7″ singles that were originally released by Vanity Records from 1978 to 1981. All material included in this box set was sourced from the original master tapes and has been digitally remastered.
When discussing the history of the early days of the late ‘70s Japanese indie music scene, there is one label from Osaka that cannot be omitted. This influential label was called Vanity and was launched in 1978 by the late Yuzuru Agi (he passed away in 2018) who was then the editor in chief of an equally influential Japanese music magazine called Rock Magazine. In the late ‘70s, the enigmatic and forward-looking Agi was a maverick in Japan. Savvy enough to foresee the emerging UK/US punk movement and the sudden rise of a vast array of indie labels emerging from this scene around the world, he decided to start a label with a similar ethos. He established Vanity in parallel to his work at Rock Magazine and followed a creative direction reminiscent of his editorial policy,…

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…releasing alternative and cutting edge projects that included electronic and post punk styled experimental music.

Until its hiatus in 1982, Vanity issued a total of eleven LPs, three 7 inch singles, twelve sonosheets (flexi discs) and six cassette tapes in the course of four years. Apart from the sonosheets that were supplements in Rock Magazine, all Vanity releases were extremely limited. Vinyls were pressed in quantities of 300 to 500 units, and cassette tapes editions were even smaller (always under 100), so arguably only a handful of people heard Vanity titles in their entirety. Compared with other labels active during the same era, the Vanity catalog showcases an astonishing array of radical and cutting-edge works, which has resulted in critical acclaim and full-on cult status. With the advent of the internet, a new audience has discovered the existence of Vanity Records, making it one of the most sought-after labels with a sky high demand for reissues.

CD-1 Tolerance – Anonym
(Vanity 0004, originally released in 1979)
Tolerance is a solo alias of Junko Tange from Tokyo. Its sound is made of Tange’s electric piano, synthesizer, and simple electronics playing alongside the whispering of her poetry and the noisy slide guitar sounds of Masami Yoshikawa. The combination of of Yoshikawa’s slow guitar playing and Tange’s parts swirls into a haunting, monotone abstract sounding animus.
The album cover was created by Toshimi Kamiya who published a photo book called Tokyo Kitan. Worth noting that the distinguished English experimental/collage music artist Steve Stapleton (Nurse With Wound) took the title of his 1980 album To The Quiet Men From A Tiny Girl from the credits of Anonym. Stapleton also had Tolerance’s name in a list of artists he was influenced by called the NWW List.

CD-2 Tolerance – Divin
(Vanity 0012, originally released in 1981)
Divin is Junko Tange and Masami Yoshikawa’s second album as Tolerance. The title means God in French. For this album, the heavily featured guitar sound of their debut was toned down, while the vibrancy of the drum machine and the cadence of the electronics were emphasized, and a subtle color saturation was added to create a captivating sound atmosphere. In the track “T-5” they use a poem by Michio Kadotani (Kussata Telepathy’s) from his book Bokuwa Zurui Roboto (I am cunning robot). This album was mixed by Tomoaki Omari (Bushman-19). Between releasing their first and second album, they also produced a one-sided sonosheet, that was released as a supplement for Rock Magazine, and contained the unreleased track “Today’s Thrill”, not included in either of their albums. Listening to the track now, it definitely stood the test of time. Unfortunately, Tolerance’s activities ceased after the release of this album.

CD-3 Normal Brain – Lady Maid
(Vanity 0009, originally released in 1980)
Normal Brain is a group formed by Yukio Fujimoto who, from a young age, started playing around with tape recorders, cameras and film projectors, and then went on to study electronic music at the Industrial Music Department of Osaka University of Arts. By connecting analog synthesizers, rhythm machines, Speak & Spell study toys, and English language learning tapes, and using each instruments’ intuitive simplicity and quality, he conceived witty and intellectual music. The album title is a typical Marcel Duchamp inspired pun by Fujimoto. In the mid 80s, Fujimoto gave up making traditional electronic music and, as an contemporary artist, started producing various sound objects and installations that evoke auditory, visual, olfactory and tactile perception hidden in daily life. In 2001 and 2007, he exhibited his works at the Venice Biennale. He has also held simultaneous solo exhibitions at The National Museum of Art in Osaka, Omani Memorial Art Museum in Nishinomiya City, and The Museum of Modern Art in Wakayama, received high acclaim both domestically and abroad.

CD-4 Sympathy Nervous – Sympathy Nervous
(Vanity 0007, originally released in 1980)
Boasting a high quality programming technology and acoustic design capabilities, Sympathy Nervous is a proto-techno unit led by Yoshihumi Niinuma who made full use of a self-built computer system that he named U.C.G. On top of that, Tatsuya Chiba’s noise guitar worked as an effective accent to their overall countercurrent and industrial-influenced signature sound. Their album artwork was designed by German painter / photographer Achim Dechow, famed for his design of the La Düsseldorf logo. He was a regular contributor of Rock Magazine, designing their front cover images. After releasing his debut album, Niinuma left Tokyo and went back to his hometown. There, while working as a programmer, he steadily continued to record his own music. During the 1990s, he made forays into the techno scene, signing a deal with Belgian label K.K. and from then on, fully returned to his musical activities. In 2000, he established a domestic theremin atelier in Miyako-shi (Iwate Prefecture) but lost it, along with all his fortune, in the earthquake of March 2011. The U.S. label Minimal Wave produced 2 charity albums that compiled his past recordings to assist Niinuma financially. Niinuma passed away in 2014.

CD-5 A compilation of 7″ singles
Sympathy Nervous – Polaroid
VA-S1, originally released in 1980)
The vocoder-sung track on Side A is so catchy you can picture it being in a TV commercial jingle for Polaroid cameras. The three tracks from this 7 inch were not included in the self-titled Sympathy Nervous album.
Mad Tea Party- Hide and Seek
(VA-S2, originally released in 1980)
Mad Tea Party is a female trio lead by Kiyomi Shiraishi who was a regular at legendary clubs like Kichijoji Minor and Ylem. They created edgy and cute post-punk pop with a lot of dub effects and reverse tape playing.
Perfect Mother  ‒ You’ ll No So Wit
(VA-S3, originally released in 1980)
A leftfield electronic pop group led by Masahiro Ueda, the organizer of the Tokyo based music / art group, Ylem. One member of this group was Fumihiro Nonomura who joined Harumi Yamazaki-led group Taco afterwards and once became a popular figure as one of the “new breed of Japanese” artists.

CD-6 R.N.A. Organism – R.N.A. Organism Meets P.O.P.O.
(Vanity 0006, originally released in 1980)
This is the only album by the anonymous unit, R.N.A. Organism. This album is based on a cassette tape which was airmailed from London. It also happens to be the first group produced by Kaoru Sato of EP-4. R.N.A. Organism is a 3 piece unit formed in 1978 and featuring 0123, Chance and Tetsu who played around with home recordings as well as studio live recordings. Tetsu left in 1979 and was replaced by Zero. This album was produced at this time, showcasing super-cheap, alt-dub created with a range of instruments and gadgets such as a rhythm box, guitar, synths and voice. The minimal design of the album cover featuring standard lettering sheet also made an impact. Although uncredited, Kaoru Sato produced the music. Their live performances were unique, in the sense that they would perform “live” in the studio and then send a cassette recording of the resulting sound to the venue. R.N.A. Organism is also included in the compilation “Awa” (1981) and TACO’s first album, “Taco” (1983).

CD-7 BGM – Back Ground Music
(Vanity 0008, originally released in 1980)
Back Ground Music is an album that Takayuki Shiraishi created when he was a 17 year old high school student. Wanting to realize his musical vision at the time, he invited his old friend, Harunobu Kawashima plus others, and travelled from Tokyo to Osaka to record this piece in just one day. BGM is a precocious, teenage experimental studio unit that mixed the essence of post punk, funk, disco beats, dub, and industrial music. The band never performed live. Kawashima, whose bass lines were void of any futility, later became a member of the group Der Zibet. After releasing this album, Shiraishi went on to learn the art of self-production and recording techniques, forming a duo with Jun Sonohara called MLD and Tristan Disco, and producing and releasing a few singles. Having discovered Detroit techno in the late 80s, he then shifted toward techno / club music scene and released solo works on many labels, domestically and abroad. He is still currently active producing music with a flexible musical palettes ranging from techno to house, breakbeats and ambient music.

CD-8 Agata Morio – Norimonozukan
(Vanity 0005, originally released in 1980)
After he had debuted as a folk singer with a smash hit single called “Akairo Elergy” in 1972, Norimonozukan (Encyclopedia of Automobiles) came as a landmark album for Agata, with a techno-pop that bridged into his following music endeavors as the lead singer of the group, Virgin VS. Sab, Yukio Fujimoto (Normal Brain), Phew, Masahiro Kitada (INU), Jun Shinoda (SS, Continental Kids), Daiki Tomiie (Ultra Bide, Ainsof), Chie Mukai (East Bionic Symphony, Che-Shitzu), Takashi Yasuda (Kigadoumei) are among the artists who contributed to this album. Consisting of a rough recording made in just two days, it captures the encounter between Agata’s singing and the post punk / techno pop sound – the retro-futuristic tin-toy-dream-world envisioned by a 20th century boy. “Koi No Radio City” and “Submarine” are respectively Telex and Joy Division inspired tracks with different arrangements. “Airplane” is a collage track for which Agata looped the voice of Taruho Inagaki, a writer that he respects dearly.

CD-9 Aunt Sally – Aunt Sally
(Vanity 0003, originally released in 1979)
Along with INU, Ultra Bide, SS, Aunt Sally is a legendary group that represented the Kansai punk scene in this era. They were formed in June, 1978 and disbanded in October 1979. Featuring Phew’s literary lyrics and enchanting vocals intertwining with roughly cut but accurate playing, they projected an utterly inventive existence. This is a masterpiece that miraculously captures the splendor of a teenage band that were only active for a year. The front cover photo was taken by famed Japanese photographer, Masatoshi Sukita famous for taking iconic photos of Marc Bolan, David Bowie, YMO, etc. At the time, he was in charge of taking photos of front covers images of Rock Magazine as well.

CD-10 Sab – Crystallization
(Vanity 0002, originally released in 1978)
Crystallization was produced by multi-instrumentalist Sab who was just 19 year old at the time. Sab created this album by overdubbing many synthesizers, electronics and guitar parts separately, for the most part by himself. There were a few guest musicians who added sitar and flute parts. Like its title suggest, the album projects how a mineral crystallizes, defined by a hard and transparent, crystal-oscillating sound. While an after scent of psychedelic and progressive rock vibes looms, this is an album that also has a hint of an ambiguous age that pre-dates the emergence of meditational, new age music afterwards. It also brilliantly links with the recent new age revival and the rediscovery of Japanese ambient music by overseas music fans that is happening now. The album artwork is designed by painter Lounie Marino (Kousakusha and wife of Seigo Matsuoka) who draws dreamy pastel art pieces for covers of Taruho Inagaki’s books and more. Sab also shined as the chief arranger for Agata Morio’s album Norimonozukan, but after an encounter with Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, he became his follower and moved to the US to become a disciple. His activities afterward remain unknown.

CD-11 Dada – Jyo
(Vanitu 0001, originally released in 1978)
Dada is an electronics and guitar duo formed in 1977 by Kenji Konishi of Kigadoumei (when Terutsugu Hirayama was a member) and guitarist Mutsuhiko Izumi of Karisma (when Kozo Suganuma was a member). Previously, they were both active in the Kansai hard rock / progressive rock scene from the mid 70s. While their original pieces are constructed in a more colourful and meticulous manner, for this project, Vanity label head Agi requested them to record an album that placed an emphasis on a more lyrical and peaceful demeanor, backed with a touch of improvisation. The artwork is an extraction of a scene from a scroll painting called Gakisoshi, a Heian era narrative story depicting the salvation of a Preta. This album is dedicated to Brian Eno who, at the time, was starting to advocate his concept of ambient music. Later on, Dada made their major debut release with King Records / Nexus in 1981. After the duo split, Konishi went on to form 4-D and also became a member of P-Model from 1994 to 2000. After being a member of the jazz rock band Kennedy, Izumi started working for the video game company Konami. He remains active as a game music producer, notably doing the tracks for video game, Guitadora.

Chock-full of exclusive gems, this new volume in the Masterpieces series erupts from the speakers with the Mighty Whites’ unreleased master ‘Given My Life’, a song that would eventually see life as an inferior disco-driven recording by them under the Brotherhood moniker in 1978. It has already been played from acetate across Europe and is widely admired.
Another newly discovered soul sound is Detroit group C.J. & Co’s updated version of ‘Rainmaker’, a song popularised by the Moods’ Wand recording which featured on Kent LPs in the ’80s. Detroit also provides a fabulous groove on the Moderations’ ‘Ride the Disco Train’ (a never-heard-before secular reading of the Tolbert Family’s in-demand gospel 45) and Dave Hamilton’s…

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…’80s productions of ‘Franchise On Love’ by the little-known Felecia Johnson and New Experience’s unissued ‘I Believe’.

Jazzman Leon Thomas reminds us that the early northern soul clubs weren’t all baggies and spins with his ever-popular shuffler ‘L-O-V-E’, whereas Major Lance’s ‘That’s the Story of My Life’ is a 70s release that features the classic 60s soul-dance sound. Millie Jackson’s late 60s-style LP-only ‘I’ll Continue to Love You’ also belies its 1976 release date.

Social commentary features on Lee Porter’s in-demand Memphis waxing ‘Nobody’s Doin’ A Doggone Thing’, while our CD marks the digital debut for Street People’s ‘Your Momma Had a Baby’, taken from their excellent first Spring session which yielded two terrific 45 sides. Eddie Floyd’s originally unissued Stax outing ‘Can We Talk It Over’ was featured on a long-since deleted CD and deserves a re-listen now, as is the case with Eon’s LP track ‘We’ll Go On’.

Will Hatcher’s Wand outing ‘What Is Best For Me Is Better for You’ is a surprise sleeper, and there’s Ray Godfrey’s brand new version of ‘I Ain’t Givin’ Up’, the song he wrote for Joe Simon and Millie Jackson. Throw in a stunning Independents LP-only track, Ollie McLaughlin’s re-recording of ‘Hello Stranger’ on Detroit soulster Reggie Milner, an unissued dancer from the wild-haired Headliners and a laidback ender from the great Freddie Scott and you have a terrific mix of sounds from the early 70s right through to the 80s: as a collection these songs are irresistible. — acerecords.co.uk

…the set contains four 7-inch singles, four 12-inch singles, and four CDs.
Celebrating 40 years of growth in a fickle, fast-moving industry, VP Records’ Down in Jamaica draws from the label’s practically unrivaled catalog to honor the story of Chinese-Jamaican entrepreneurs Vincent and Patricia Chin, whose trajectory was remarkably synonymous with that of dancehall reggae itself. Launched from an ice-cream parlor in downtown Kingston, the Chins’ business (originally called Randy’s Records) grew from a one-stop shop for local wax into a bustling recording studio, the world’s largest independent reggae label, and a major arm of the global reggae industry, after the Chins relocated to Jamaica, Queens, in the late 1970s and turned…

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…their focus to foreign markets.

Over the years, VP became the premier international distributor of Jamaican music, issuing hit singles, Grammy-winning albums, and such popular compilation series as Strictly the Best, Reggae Gold, and Riddim Driven. Few labels have played so central a role in reggae’s modern era, documenting the rise of rapping deejays and digital riddims, and in the 21st century VP has continued to grow, acquiring onetime international rival Greensleeves in 2008 and building a catalog that includes the lion’s share of dancehall hits among its 25,000 sound recordings.

As such, a 40th anniversary compilation from VP offers a vital a representation of Jamaican popular music since the late ’70s. This particular selection is held together by its depiction of dancehall’s development, the genre’s relationship to the “roots and culture” scene, and the perseverance of reggae as a national feeling, style, and brand. More than a greatest-hits collection based on data or settled narrative, the compilation aims for a well-rounded portrait of VP’s role in reggae history.

Still, hits abound. Nearly every song was a big tune in Jamaica during its day and remains a perennial standard wherever reggae is played. Those unfamiliar with dancehall reggae will find a fine introduction in the 82 tracks spread across four CDs, while longtime listeners will revel in the number of cherished songs. For devotees, the compilation also includes four 12″ and four 7″ records featuring re-pressed versions of obscure 12″ “disco mixes” from the late ’70s along with unique mixes of dub classics like the Congos’ “Fisher Man,” produced by Lee “Scratch” Perry, whose Upsetter label was distributed by VP. Such deluxe sets are often over-the-top grabs at the collectors’ market, but for a label that has spanned the vinyl to digital age (and back), the multi-format throwback vibes seem apt.

While some amount of in-house production by the Chins and their sons added to the label’s stockpile, because VP was a reliable one-stop for Jamaican producers, they licensed, manufactured, and distributed many of the biggest songs coming out of Kingston’s many studios, including tracks by all of the most successful and influential producers of the last few decades: Steely & Clevie, Gussie Clarke, Philip “Fatis” Burrell, Bobby “Digital” Dixon, Dean Fraser. Among others, VP cultivated an ongoing partnership with notorious producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes in the early 1980s, distributing the massive dancehall hits on his Volcano imprint to the wider world, with audible consequences for reggae, hip-hop, and pop.

The collaboration with Junjo gave rise to tunes and riddims that echo across popular music to this day. Of the many collected here, two of them feature what has come to be called the “Diseases” riddim, after Michigan & Smiley’s catchy brimstone chant of the same name about women wearing trousers (not good, in their view) and elephantiasis (also not good). On that song, the duo inveighs over bare, bouncy dub-funk by Junjo’s house band the Roots Radics—tight, spare drums, driving bass, and a jangly guitar riff that, just a few years later, would add rudeboy edge to Boogie Down Productions’ “Remix for P Is Free” and, even later, lend poignancy to Black Star’s elegiac “Definition.” Doing his own inimitable thing on a customized flip of the riddim, Yellowman offers up one of the stickiest earworms of all time on “Zungguzungguguzungguzeng.” First crossing into hip-hop as one of BDP’s weaponized reggae references, the chorus melody has since turned up in over 60 other recordings, spanning reggae, hip-hop, rock, and electronic music, most recently rearing its head in Lizzo’s “Truth Hurts” and Megan Thee Stallion’s “Ride or Die.” (The compilation includes other worthy riddim pairings, like Wayne Wonder and Bounty Killer on Lenky’s iconic “Diwali,” and Jah Cure and T.O.K. taking turns on Don Corleon’s “Drop Leaf.”)

While the collection represents the dancehall era’s dazzling search for new sounds, from dubbed-out live bands to digital riddims to post-millennial pop crossover, the musical through line that unites it all is the persistence of the roots reggae sound and its righteous messaging. This thread ties together the Wailing Souls bearing witness on “Fire House Rock” in the early ’80s; protests of hypocrisy in VC’s turn-of-the-millennium “By His Deeds”; and the past decade’s “new roots” of Jah9, Chronixx, and Raging Fyah. Banner-bearing revivalists such as Garnet Silk, Buju Banton, and Luciano all bring their booming voices to the project of reinfusing dancehall with Rastafarian ideals, while roots reggae’s trademark upbeat bounce gives lift to a set of sweet songs about love and heartbreak, including Junior Kelly’s “Love So Nice,” Beres Hammond’s “Rockaway,” Sizzla’s “Just One of Those Days” and Tarrus Riley’s “She’s Royal.” (On the other hand, the likes of Ninjaman, Cutty Ranks, Spragga Benz, and Mavado assure some “badman” representation, while Sanchez, Sean Paul, and Gyptian sing of love in more secular terms.)

Although the resilience of roots against a restless dancehall backdrop emerges as the central theme, the collection also touches upon the wider variety of music VP has issued, including soca and R&B fusions. (VP’s Gold Disc imprint even released early records by proto-reggaetonero El General in the early 1990s, though none appear here.) These and other recent productions round things out, in a sense, but they can seem slight next to dozens of time-honored dancehall anthems. The relative scarcity of women artists also calls attention to the challenge of doing justice to a wide swath of Jamaican music while reflecting the established canon. Although the ratio improves over the last two decades of releases—nearly one-third of the artists on the fourth disc are women, while only four appear on the first three discs—this feels like a missed opportunity. While the disparity reflects a long-standing industry prejudice that is hardly confined to reggae, VP’s vast catalog could have accommodated a more balanced mix. Despite these issues, the compilation stands as a grand monument to the dancehall era and the triumphant efforts of an enterprising family to share Jamaican music with the world.

CD1
1. The Heptones – Party Time
2. Gregory Isaacs – Slave Master
3. Dennis Brown – Children of Israel
4. Johnny Clarke – Roots Natty Congo
5. Ranking Joe & Barrington Levy – River Jordan
6. Johnny Osbourne – Ice Cream Love
7. Wailing Souls – Fire House Rock
8. Don Carlos – Mr. Sun
9. Michael Prophet – Gun Man
10. Frankie Paul – Kushumpeng
11. Barrington Levy – Prison Oval Rock
12. Tony Tuff – Come Fe Mash It
13. Michigan & Smiley – Diseases
14. Yellowman – Zungguzungguguzungguzeng
15. Echo Minott – Lazy Body
16. Leroy Gibbons – This Magic Moment
17. JC Lodge – Telephone Love
18. Eccleton Jarrett – Turn On the Heat
19. Krystal & Shabba Ranks – Twice My Age
20. Foxy Brown – Baby Can I Hold You Tonight
21. Freddie McGregor – Stop Loving You

CD2
1. Ini Kamoze – Hot Stepper
2. Chaka Demus – Original Kuff
3. Conroy Smith – Dangerous
4. Red Fox & Naturalee – Down in Jamaica
5. Reggie Stepper – Drum Pan Sound
6. Ninjaman – Murder Dem
7. Admiral Tibet, Shabba Ranks & Ninjaman – Serious Time
8. Singing Sweet – When I See You Smile
9. Cutty Ranks – A Who Seh Me Dun
10. Colin Roach & Galaxy P – Miss Goodie Goodie
11. Jigsy King – Gi Mi Di Weed
12. Half Pint – I Am Not a Substitute Lover
13. Cocoa Tea – Good Life
14. Garnett Silk – Lord Watch Over Our Shoulders
15. Richie Stephens – Trying to Get to You
16. Mikey Spice – Born Again
17. Glen Washington – Kindness for Weakness
18. Buju Banton – Destiny
19. Tanto Metro & Devonte – Everyone Falls In Love
20. Spragga Benz – She Nuh Ready Yet
21. Beenie Man – Who Am I

CD3
1. Sanchez – Never Dis The Man
2. Singing Melody – Want You Back
3. Terry Linen – Your Love Is My Love
4. Capleton – Jah Jah City
5. VC – By His Deeds
6. Morgan Heritage – Down By The River
7. George Nooks – God Is Standing By
8. Beres Hammond – Rock Away
9. Junior Kelly – Love So Nice
10. Wayne Wonder – No Letting Go
11. Bounty Killer – Sufferah (feat. Wayne Marshall)
12. Elephant Man – Pon De River Pon De Bank
13. Lady Saw – I’ve Got Your Man
14. Sean Paul – I’m Still In Love With You (feat. Sasha)
15. Sizzla – Just One of Those Days
16. I Wayne – Living in Love
17. Luciano – Give Praise
18. Warrior King – Can’t Get Me Down
19. Jah Cure – Longing For
20. T.O.K. – Footprints

CD4
1. Tarrus Riley – She’s Royal
2. Tanya Stephens – It’s A Pity
3. Richie Spice – Marijuana
4. Turbulence – Notorious
5. Shaggy – Church Heathen
6. Duane Stephenson – August Town
7. Romain Virgo – Mi Caan Sleep
8. Busy Signal – One More Night
9. Etana & Alborosie – Blessing
10. Queen Ifrica – Lioness On The Rise
11. Mavado – On The Rock
12. Gyptian – Hold You
13. Maxi Priest – Easy To Love
14. Raging Fyah – Dash Wata
15. Christopher Martin – I’m a Big Deal
16. Spice – So Mi Like It
17. Bunji Garlin – Big Bad Soca
18. Shenseea – Loodi (feat. Vybz Kartel)
19. Estelle – Love Like Ours (feat. Tarrus Riley)
20. Jah9 – Hardcore (feat. Chronixx)

7-inch Singles
The Congos “Fisher Man”

Freddie McKay “La La By Woman”

Linval Thompson “Don’t Trouble Trouble”

Romain Virgo feat. Agent Sacso “Fade Away”

12-inch Singles
I Roy feat. Errol Dunkley “Created By the Father” b/w Flabba Holt, “My Eye Adore You”

Freddie McKay “Fire Is Burning” b/w “Lonely Man”

Echo Minott, “Girls Mad Over Me” b/w “Saddest Day”

Junior Reid, “What Do You Know” b/w Tenor Saw “Lots of Sign”

Like the 2017 inaugural chapter in Andy Smith’s Reach Up-Disco Wonderland series, the second volume reanimates forgotten boogie, funk, and soul tracks from the ‘70s and ‘80s and supplements them with a few contemporary productions, their vibe so similar to the earlier material differences in time frames collapse. Issued in digital, double-CD, and triple-vinyl formats, the compilation couples material emblematic of the golden age of disco with unreleased cuts and remixes by Smith, Crissy Kybosh, and Bad Bikini. Fans of Donna Summer, Kool & The Gang, Prince, The Trammps, Chic, and others should find much to like about the release.
The fifteen-track set begins on a high with a Smith re-edit of Will Sessions & Amp Fiddler’s “Lost Without You” (featuring Dames Brown),…

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…its lithe bass thump, funky rhythm guitar, female background vocals, and rousing lead helping to elevate the soulful cut above much else on the release. As funky is The New Jersey Connection’s “Love Don’t Come Easy,” which alternates between wiry bass-thrusting verses filled with call-and-response and breezy choruses buoyed by soaring vocals.

Some tracks evoke an earlier time, with the chunky synth chords and bass pulses powering Full Intention & Nick Reach Up’s “Night of My Life” (featuring Jazz Morley) giving it a classic ‘80s feel; slap bass and disco strings in Cela’s “I’m In Love” call to mind the late-‘70s era, and the Emotions’ soulful “You’re The Best” likewise reflects the period of its 1984 creation in its drum programming. In a few cases, tracks created decades ago sound so fresh they could pass for ones of recent vintage, Greg Henderson’s “Dreamin’” from 1982 a good illustration.

Kybosh’s makeover of Serious Intention’s “You Don’t Know” turns it into a chugging slice of Kraftwerk-styled electropop, and one imagines Prince must have had Chain Reaction’s 1980 anthem “Dance Freak” on regular rotation, given how much the celebratory vibe and vocal shouts recall his own dance workouts; perpetuating the party spirit, Bad Bikini’s re-edit of Disco Circus’s “Get Up and Dance” stomps and struts with single-minded intent. Also present are Gregg Diamond’s disco dynamo “Star Cruiser” (1979), The Armada Orchestra’s electrified treatment of Gamble & Huff’s “For The Love of Money” (1976), and a choice sampling of early ‘80s falsetto boogie in Ronnie Jones’ “You and I.”

Par for the compilation course, every listener will favour certain tracks over others (I’ll take “Lost Without You,” for example, over Ted Taylor’s “Ghetto Disco” and The Gibson Brothers’ “Heaven” any time). Regardless of personal preferences, two of the major pleasures the set inarguably provides are arrangements that augment the guitar-bass-and-drums core with percussion, horns, strings, and vocals and the exuberant feel of live musicianship. Such collections are veritable time portals that enable one to seamlessly revisit a more carefree time. — Textura

At the end of 2015, Bristol’s Kieran Williams launched Shall Not Fade with Alone, a four-track EP by the Australian producer Mall Grab comprising definitive takes on the lo-fi house aesthetic. Labels like Lobster Theremin, Cactus Traxx, 1080p, and Opal Tapes were also exploring and refining the sound, which typically uses the thump of deep house as a vehicle for wooziness, and depends upon melodic dexterity, swing, and the almost occult ability to conjure vibe in order to push through the murk. Over the years, Shall Not Fade has transcended over and over, with superlative 12″s from heads like DJ Boring, Adryiano, Steve Murphy, Lake Haze, and LK which gently fold disco, French house, Detroit techno, and electro ingredients into the mix.

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The new Four Years of Service compilation is more of a look ahead, and the label’s fresh voices prove themselves more than welcome. Harry Griffiths, in what seems to be only the second track ever released by him, offers the wistful “Since We’re Here,” which tosses a crisp break over warm pads like a windbreaker over a soft hoodie; by the time a space-funk synth line joins a bubbly arpeggiator, all seems right with the world. New signee Soela conjures a similar mood with “Sensual,” and it works just as well, particularly if you listen to it just a little too loud, a little too late, on the way home after a little too much, and sink into its gurgling echoes.

Before that, though, shake a tail feather to Black Loops & Ruff Stuff’s “La Progressive,” which recreates the metallic structures of Basic Channel-style dub techno in tubular steel. Harrison BDP’s “Interference” glistens like the rainbow in an oil slick; a pitched-down vocal intones “it’s all the same, just noise,” and somehow that sounds reassuring. And 1-800 GIRLS goes downright beatific, if not Balearic, with a slow-and-low house cut called, well, “My Speedos.” This ensemble of faux congas and electric piano might come off either sexy or cheesy depending on your taste, but it’s in keeping with the beachy spirit of Big Miz’s electro gem “Sun” and Kettama’s “Sundaze,” like smuggling a beach ball into Berghain.

The label’s big stars are mostly absent, as are—“Sundaze” apart—bangers. But two exceptions to this are exceptional indeed: Adryiano’s “U Used 2 Know Me” is a hi-hat-forward delight, with a bit of disco constantly filtering and shape-shifting as if the past, present, and future of the dancefloor all at once. And LK’s “Unified Love Machine” is exactly that, a device for dancing that’s well-oiled with Italo charisma and Teutonic efficiency. It’s a highlight of this compilation that doesn’t stretch the boundaries of genre as much as convincingly argue these forms are still fun. It might sometimes narcotize with comfort, or shy from explicit political engagement. But it has charm, and charm is an underrated way to connect. — Pitchfork

1. Jehnny Beth – I’m the Man
2. IDLES – Divide & Conquer
3. Wire – Primed and Ready
4. Working Men’s Club – Teeth
5. Warmduscher – Blood Load
6. Dry Cleaning – Goodnight
7. A Certain Ratio – Make It Happen
8. Shame – Dust On Trial
9. Mark Lanegan Band – Name and Number
10. Preoccupations – Disarray
11. The Murder Capital – Green & Blue
12. Squid – Match bet
13. Automatic – Signal
14. Black Country, New Road – Sunglasses
15. Protomartyr – My Children

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MOJO March 2020 [#316]

New York label Spring, and its Event and Posse subsidiaries, were very active from 1967 up to the late ’80s. They specialised in the city’s black music and tried most variations, including soul, gospel, disco, show tunes, funk, harmony and later electro and rap.
We have chosen the most soulful tracks that have not appeared on Kent CDs before, including six completed recordings that were previously unreleased. Two of these are ballads: a stunning version of Ray Godfrey’s song ‘I’m the Other Half of You’ by Maxine Weldon and an unknown sweet soul number from one-time Tavares member Victor Tavares. Ray Godfrey himself features with ‘I Love You More Than Anything’, as covered by Joe Simon, and the unheard song ‘Hold On’,…

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…both previously unissued dance tracks. The Determinations’ opener ‘Save the Best for Me’ is another of Ray’s great songs, previously only on a rare LP. Other ’70s dancers come from Ronnie Walker, Act I and the Joneses. More ballads are provided by Joe Simon, Leroy Randolph and, surprisingly, the Fatback Band, while uptempo 60s soul comes from Prince Harold, Little Eva Harris and Richard Barbary.

The offerings of the Internationals, US and Vernon Brown are harder to categorise – quirky and worthy but in their own individual styles. The great songwriter Phillip Mitchell went funky on his “Jody” song ‘If We Get Caught (I Don’t Know You)’, as did Phil Flowers with his heavy guitar-infused ‘Kill the Monster’. Philly girls the Equations sing the poppy and catchy ‘Boiling Like Water’, Jackie Verdell gives us gospel in a modern soul setting and C-Brand take us into the 80s with their two-stepper ‘Plenty of Love’. Altogether a catholic selection for lovers of soul music through its most interesting eras.  — acerecords.co.uk

Strut present the second volume in a series of compilations taken from the archives of Disques Debs International, the longest-running and most prolific label of the French Caribbean.
Set up by the late Henri Debs in the late ‘50s, the label has continued for over 50 years, releasing hundreds of records and playing a pivotal role in bringing the creole music of Guadeloupe and Martinique to a wider international audience.
Volume 2 of the series focuses on the label’s ‘70s output and the development of the unique Cadence sound, pulling disparate influences into a Pan-Caribbean blend of rhythms, styles and languages that dominated the dancehalls, clubs and concerts of the decade.
Based in a small but state-of-the-art studio…

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…on the first floor of Henri Debs’ Club 97-1, just outside Pointe-à-Pitre in the town of Gosier, the label hosted sessions from the cream of local and regional talent, hothousing ideas into over 100 LP and 45 releases over the decade that reflected an increasingly confident creole identity.

Groups like Les Vikings, Super Combo and Typical Combo along with a host of lesser-known bands were in fierce but friendly competition in the bals, dances and concerts in Guadeloupe, across the region and into Metropolitan France. Haitian Compas, Congolese influences from le Ry-Co Jazz, cadence-lypso and reggae from Dominica and a heavy dose of jazz and Puerto Rican salsa were thrown into the mix alongside local biguine, quadrille and gwo ka to power an unrivalled recorded output.

Compiled by Hugo Mendez (Sofrito) and Emile Omar (Roseaux), ‘Cadence Revolution’ is released in conjunction with Henri Debs et Fils and Air Caraibes.

The two Portuguese-speaking African islands of Sao Tomé & Principe, located in the Gulf of Guinea, created an unique music called Puxa: a refined mixture of various musical components from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. A blend of Semba, Merengue, Kompas, Soukouss, Coladeira patterns, often pushing forward with a voodoo-like energy, solid bass lines, delicate melodies and backing harmonies of the rich Sao Tomean melodic traditions.
…Léve-Léve is the first ever compilation devoted to music from São Tome and Principe, two small islands situated off the coast of Gabon in central Africa. The album unravels a story of liberation where the music of Africa, Europe and the Americas unify with a carefree spirit personified…

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…by a phrase the islanders use all the time: “léve, léve” (“take it easy”). With echoes of Angolan semba and merengue, of Brazilian afoxê, of coladeira from Cape Verde and dance music from the Caribbean, it is a sound fiercely proud of its island heritage, sung in local dialects and using distinctive local rhythms.

On this record you can hear the cultural and social history of São Tome and Principe, and how live music represented its beating heart. Once known as the “Chocolate Islands” (remarkably, these two tiny islands were the largest cocoa producers in the world, though now this title acts as a reminder of its colonial past), through the years leading up to independence from Portugal, music would be a fundamental voice of liberation and conviviality. Os Úntués were one of the first groups to make an impression, releasing a couple of 7 inches in Angola – the litmus test of success for any of the islands’ groups. They united unique rhythms and dances like socopé, puita and dança-congo – borne from the islands’ largely slave-descendant population – with the sound of pop music beamed in on the radio from Europe, even adding in a little bit of soukous and Brazilian instrumentation. Their main rivals were Conjunto Mindelo, who fused São Toméan rhythms with rebita, an Angolan style, to create high energy puxa, a truly original island rhythm.

From the mid-1970s, coinciding with independence from Portugal in 1975, the islands’ groups featured an even stronger African influence and nowhere was that more apparent than with Africa Negra. They would listen to the latest records from Gabon, Zaire and Cameroon, taking inspiration and trying out phrasing from the greats of Central African guitar playing, developing a devoted fan base off the islands, as well as on. A score of other bands would follow a similar musical path, with a few getting their dues overseas in Angola, Cape Verde, Portugal and across Africa.

Os Leonenses (led by the iconic Pedro Lima), Conjunto Sangazuza, Sum Alvarinho and Conjunto Ecuador were just some of the other bands that formed a lively home-grown music scene that lit up the islands’ bars and open-air shows from the 1950s through to the mid-90s. Regardless of class or age, they were responsible for keeping the population entertained come the weekend, with Sunday matinee shows the highlight of the week, the music not stopping from midday until midnight.

Record producer, hit-picker extraordinaire, entrepreneur, TV talent show pundit, pop mogul Mickie Most was a man ahead of his time, anticipating the workings of modern media before the internet made it all happen.
…Most (1938-2003) made no bones about his tastes; biographer Rob Finnis shares a 1967 quote in which he asserted, “I don’t like any other music other than good, commercial pop.  That’s what makes me successful.  All other kinds of music must become rubbish.  I don’t want to know about other kinds of music.  I don’t want to taste what people call better music because I feel there isn’t any better.”
That confidence paid off, as confirmed by the illustrious hits featured on this package:…

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…The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun” (No. 1 U.K. & U.S.), The Nashville Teens’ “Tobacco Road” (No. 6 U.K./No. 14 U.S.), Donovan’s “Sunshine Superman” (No. 2 U.K./No. 1 U.S.) and “Mellow Yellow” (No. 8 U.K./No. 2 U.S.), Lulu’s “The Boat That I Row” (No. 6 U.K.) and “To Sir with Love” (No. 1 U.S.), and Herman’s Hermits’ “No Milk Today” (No. 7 U.K./No. 35 U.S.), just to name a few.  Jeff Beck’s “Hi Ho Silver Lining” might be the most incongruous of all of Most’s hits.  The “stupid song” (as Beck described it) was recorded – at Most’s insistence – with the guitarist on lead vocals, and his band’s lead singer Rod Stewart relegated to the background!  Despite Beck’s misgivings, the Scott English/Larry Weiss pop confection made it all the way to No. 14 on the U.K. Singles Chart.  Rod can be heard on Ace’s set, though, leading a high-octane 1969 rendition of “Jailhouse Rock.”

The Hampshire-born Most began his career as a performer, but found his true calling behind the scenes as an unfussy producer with a golden ear.  He didn’t have one style as a producer, but rather would adapt to the needs of the artist – or more often, the song.  The recordings on Pop Genius encompass pop, rock, folk, blues, and beyond.  His imprimatur is felt across these 25 selections which don’t even comprise all of his hits; one would need nearly an entire disc’s worth just to address Herman’s Hermits’ pop classics made under his aegis.  As per Ace custom, however, a number of hidden gems are equally happy additions.  Most’s collaboration with American country-pop starlet Brenda Lee is represented with the beat-esque “Is It True,” a top 20 hit in 1964 on both sides of the Atlantic.  A few non-charting entries are included, too, for a fuller portrait of Most’s deceptively simple artistry, among them Paul Williams and The Big Roll Band’s bluesy “Gin House,” Canadian duo Angelo and Eighteen’s offbeat, percussive “Flight 2,” and Arrows’ original version of “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll,” later famously covered by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts.

Despite the singles market becoming secondary to albums, Most’s knack for a hit continued through the 1970s and into the early years of the following decade.  He championed writers like Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman who continued in the Denmark Street/Brill Building tradition, and formed a label and management company, RAK, with Peter Grant (notoriously to manage Led Zeppelin).  RAK yielded such varied successes as CCS’ brassy novelty “Walking” (No. 7 U.K., 1971, featuring Alexis Korner and written by Donovan), Duncan Browne’s McCartney-esque “Journey” (No. 23 U.K., 1972), Hot Chocolate’s moody and socially conscious “Brother Louie” (No. 7 U.K., 1973; the U.S. hit went to Stories’ cover), veteran studio drummer Cozy Powell’s rhythmic instrumental “Dance with the Devil” (No. 3 U.K./No. 49 U.S., 1973), Suzi Quatro’s glam, Chinn and Chapman-penned “48 Crash” (No. 3 U.K., 1973), and another C-C tune, Racey’s retro sing-along “Some Girls” (No. 2, 1978).  Kim Wilde’s “Kids in America” concludes this anthology on a high note; it reached No. 2 in the U.K. in 1981, and went top 30 in America, too.

Despite the success of Kim Wilde (and other acts not featured here, including Johnny Hates Jazz), Mickie Most realized that he had no affinity for the direction in which pop music was headed.  He sold RAK in 1983, content to enjoy his retirement and let the younger generation steer the sound of music. But Mickie Most’s nearly two-decade run as a pop kingmaker wouldn’t be forgotten, as the songs on this collection amply prove. Ace’s deluxe set has been remastered by Nick Robbins. It’s one of the most enjoyable entries in the label’s Producer series yet.  — SecondDisc

1. Motor Bikin’ – Chris Spedding (RAK 210, 1975)
2. Tobacco Road – The Nashville Teens (Decca F 11930, 1964) (*)
3. House of the Rising Sun – The Animals (Columbia DB 7301, 1964) (*)
4. Hi-Ho Silver Lining -Jeff Beck (Columbia DB 8151, 1967) (*)
5. Journey – Duncan Browne (RAK 135, 1972)
6. Brother Louie – Hot Chocolate (RAK 149, 1973)
7. Is It True – Brenda Lee (Brunswick 05915, 1964)
8. Sunshine Superman – Donovan (Pye 7N 17241, 1966)
9. Dance with the Devil – Cozy Powell (RAK 164, 1973)
10. No Milk Today – Herman’s Hermits (Columbia DB 8012, 1966) (*)
11. Walking – CCS (RAK 109, 1971)
12. Little Games – The Yardbirds (Columbia DB 8165, 1967)
13. Gin House – Paul Williams & The Big Roll Band (Columbia DB 7421, 1964) (*)
14. The Boat That I Row – Lulu (Columbia DB 8169, 1967)
15. Jailhouse Rock – The Jeff Beck Group feat. Rod Stewart (Columbia LP SCX 6351, 1969)
16. 48 Crash – Suzi Quatro (RAK 158, 1973)
17. Living Next Door to Alice – New World (RAK 142, 1972)
18. I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll – Arrows (RAK 205, 1975)
19. Mellow Yellow – Donovan (Pye 7N 17267, 1967) (*)
20. Days of My Life – The Seekers feat. Judith Durham (Columbia DB 8407, 1968) (*)
21. Bread and Butter – Barry St. John (Decca F 11975, 1964) (*)
22. Flight 2 – Angelo and Eighteen (RAK 137, 1972)
23. To Sir with Love – Lulu (Columbia DB 8221, 1967)
24. Some Girls – Racey (RAK 291, 1978)
25. Kids in America – Kim Wilde (RAK 327, 1981)

Soul Jazz Records new Apala: Apala Groups in Nigeria 1967-70 is the first ever collection of Apala music to be released outside of Nigeria.
The album focusses on a wide selection of recordings made in Nigeria in the 1960s, a time when Apala music was at the height of its popularity. Apala is a deeply rhythmical, hypnotic and powerful musical style that combines the striking nasal-style vocals and traditions of Islamic music, the Agidigbo (thumb piano), and the equally powerful drumming and percussion rhythms and techniques of the Yoruba of Nigeria.
The most significant figure in Apala music is undoubtedly Haruna Ishola who features throughout this album. Ishola holds an almost mythological status in his role as populariser…

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…of Apala music in Nigeria. Ishola’s singing was believed to be so powerful that, without proper restraint, it could kill the recipient of his music.

Apala is a popular music that also functioned as a form of cultural resistance – Apala music involved no western instrumentation and is sung in the Yoruba language, its aesthetic an implicit cultural rejection of the British Empire’s colonial rule over Nigeria which lasted from 1901 until independence in 1960.

Apala music was popular and widely accepted in Nigeria due to its philosophical and profound lyrical content alongside the complex rhythmic patterns of this heavily percussive style, which highlighted many of the percussion instruments of south-west Nigeria.

Apala is one of a number of popular urban styles of music that came out of Nigeria in the 20th century and sits alongside the more well-known (in the West) styles of Fuji, Highlife, Juju and Afrobeat. Of these modern forms Apala remains perhaps the most ‘roots’ style (sometimes described as ‘neo-traditional’) due to the authenticity of its sound. It has similar Islamic roots to other neo-traditional styles of Nigeria – including Waka and Sakara – examples of which are also included on this collection contextualising the music of Apala.

These recordings were originally made and released locally by Decca and EMI Records as well as a variety of independent labels in Nigeria and have never been released outside of the country before.