‘Morning Sunrise’ Weldon Irvine ‧ 1979 ‘In The Real Early Morning’ Jacob Collier ‧ 2016 ‘Holding on’ The […]
Category: Uncategorized
Mosaico Music Mix World music radio show: notorious artists, new talents, interviews and expert commentaries. http://www.groovalizacion.com
Just before Xmas we were blessed to welcome the legendary singer-songwriter Bobby Womack to the Brownswood Basement for […]
Basic Soul Radio with Simon Harrison January 21, 2013 Playlist Mycroft – Bog Let [Nonine] Mamy Wata – […]
Following up from the quality debut offering from Culture of Soul records we have a new Super Boss […]
Velanche’s Playtime 026 Played on January 16, 2012 Song – Artist – Title – Label Dance Song – […]
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/34444268″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] Your Soul On Mine By P’Taah Mamaye By Novalima Other […]
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/553735″ height=”200″]
The mysterious afro-soul of The Shaolin Afronauts first echoed across the dance floors of Australia in late 2008. Heavily inspired by the sounds of 1970’s West Africa, Ethiopia and the pioneering avant-garde jazz artists of the same period, The Shaolin Afronauts draw on the this highly innovative and sometimes volatile era in music, using it as inspiration to create music with the same fire and intensity. Though there is something refreshing and original about the Afronauts, their music could be described as somewhere in between the heavy Afrobeat of Fela Kuti and the Ethio-Jazz of Mulatu Astatke. The key to the Shaolin Afronauts unique sound is the line-up, which comprises of a three piece horn section, 5 piece rhythm section and three percussionists, and this polyrhythmic approach layers the groups sound with a mesmerizing and hypnotic texture.
William Magalhães forms a modern-day Banda Black Rio epitomising the spirit of his father Oberdan’s original ’70s Brazilian samba soul and funk group. BBR defined the Black Rio movement now enjoying a revival headed by Magalhães’ incarnation with the passion of soul and funk again linking Rio and New York for a feel-good blast that also takes in hip-hop, samba, pop and bossa. Brazilian icons Seu Jorge, Marcio Local and Elza Soares feature alongside bossa pioneers Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil as well as Flame Killer and GOD PT3 from the famed NYC Mobb Deep crew. Super Nova Samba Funk brings Rio’s black music cultures together to embody the ecstatic revival of Brazil and the Black Rio movement.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/728602″ height=”200″]
Ikebe Shakedown, the self-titled album from the Brooklyn-based band, plays with elements of Cinematic Soul, Afro-funk, Deep Disco, and Boogaloo in all the right ways. After spending a few years together the group, named after a favorite Nigerian boogie record (and pronounced “ee-KAY-bay,”) delivers a driving set of tunes featuring a mighty horn section anchored by tight, deep-pocketed grooves.
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/13113709″ params=”show_comments=true&auto_play=false&color=ff7700″ width=”100%” height=”81″ ]
The Ikebe debut for Ubiquity Records sees the band push their globally-informed sound and eclectic approach to tune-writing into new territory, “Self-titling the album is a way to introduce the audience to the many facets of the band — to provide a more complete understanding of what we do,” bassist Vince Chiarito says. “Our sound has grown to incorporate our influences without overtly representing any one in particular. It just sounds like us,” he adds.
Listen to the full compilation at AOL Music
In June of 2010, Gilles Peterson’s mighty Brownswood collective (specifically Peterson’s assistant Alex Stevenson) hand-picked artists to form a compilation that represented the multi-dimensional, kaledescopic landscape of the label’s musical interests. A tight, bright roundup of bass music at that sliver of time, ‘Brownswood Electr*c’ bred a new wave of producers and paved the way for a new sound, capturing the beats and personalities of then-up-and-comers (now game-changers) George Fitzgerald, Mount Kimbie, Mosca, Rockwell and Pearson Sound, among many others. The collection found fans in DJ Mag (nominating it for their ‘Best of British’ Awards that year), Martyn and Hemlock’s Untold, who aptly summed it up: “It’s a really spot-on snapshot of the grey area of “dance” music that keeps getting messier.”
Messy or delightful chaos (your choice), the grey area hidden between the frayed splinterings of microgenres is perhaps where the most unexpected colours form. It’s where imaginations are freed, and artistic expression lies abound: no confines, no uncomfortable boxes to tick nor adjectives to hold on to. Taking in the relentlessly malleable state of electronic music of late, what’s considered ‘future’ today may very well be tagged ‘post’ within a handful of months. The naysayers and genre-enthusiasts may argue otherwise, but to Mr. Peterson and his Brownswood family, the music world couldn’t be in a more fruitful and exciting place as a result.
When one thinks “Cuba” the idea of creole culture doesn’t often come to mind, but the island shares a long and intertwined history with Haiti and the Dominican Republic. A million Cubans speak creole, a fusion of African, French and other tongues. The islands have a shared history: many Haitians fled to Cuba after the revolution of 1790, others during the oppressive regime of Duvalier.
In the 1800s more than 30,000 Haitians emigrated to eastern Cuba with another wave occurring from 1920 – 1940 and yet another in the 1980s. Today, estimates of the Haitian population in Cuba range from 300, 000 on up to 1 million. Each wave of immigrants had its own distinct characteristics and brought with them the strong musical and dance traditions, their religion, customs, rituals and cultural habits on their journey from Haiti to Cuba.
For Milan’s dancefloor-heavy label Record Kicks the summer is shaping up to be hot and sweaty, with essential funk, afro-funk artist full-lengths and compilations hitting the streets. Representing some of the freshest new live sounds from Australia’s massive scene as well as Europe and the U.S.A., Record Kicks has its pulse on the resurgent afro-funk & soul sounds that are burning up the dancefloor.
The Dojo Cuts
Formed late in 2008, it didn’t take long for six piece band THE DOJO CUTS to become Australia’s hottest heavy funk unit. With drummer Ed, bassist Locky, guitarist Nathan, trumpet player Matt, saxophonist Andrew and the delectable Roxie Ray on vocals, Dojo combine crisp, tight, funky instrumentals with some killer vocals that are in equal parts power and grit. Inspired by the sounds of the 60’s and 70’s, combined with elements of modern funk, Dojo Cuts create timeless, classic feel-good music. Their debut self-titled album dropped in 2009 following the release of first single “The 1-2-3’s”, which had already secured them massive airplay on radios and dancefloors worldwide.
St. Lucian singer-songwriter Taj Weekes makes music that grooves like waves on a beach: seemingly gentle yet insistently powerful. On stage and on albums like the recent A Waterlogged Soul Kitchen (Jatta Records), Weekes and his band Adowa unite a vibrant diversity of sounds with thoughtful, lush arrangements and a long-honed penchant for telling tales of hardship and hope.
This spring and summer (2011) will take Taj Weekes & Adowa on tour across the U.S., including performances at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival (June 17), the Blissfest Folk & Roots Festival (July 8-9), and the River City Music Festival (August 28).