Ikebe Shakedown Serve Up a Salsa Picante of Boogaloo-Afro-Funk With a Dash of Disco

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.

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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.

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Brownswood Electr*c Plots the Blips & Beeps of the Underground

 

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.

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Creole Choir of Cuba Coming to North America

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.

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Italy’s Record Kicks Sweats It Up With Releases from Nick Pride & the Pimptones, the Liberators, Dojo Cuts & Mo’ Record Kicks

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

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.

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Reggae From the Roots Up: St. Lucia’s Taj Weekes and Adowa

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).

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Fort Knox Recordings Reggae Duo “See-I” Get Heavy

Fort Knox Collaborators & Thievery Corporation Vocalists Arthur “Rootz” Steele And Archie “Zeebo” Steele Bring Their Unique Brand Of Reggae On Their Debut Album – Injected With Heavy Doses Of Funk, Soul, Dub And Rock – To The Fort Knox Vault

Fort Knox Recordings presents the debut album from See-I entitled “See-I.” Long time Fort Knox collaborators Arthur “Rootz” Steele and Archie “Zeebo” Steele bring their band’s unique brand of Reggae – injected with heavy doses of Funk, Soul, Dub and Rock – to the Fort Knox vault.

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Africa HiTech: Mark Pritchard & Steve Spacek Go to the Source

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Nearly nine years ago Mark Pritchard and Steve Spacek began bonding over their shared passion for the seemingly disparate spheres of bubbling Detroit techno, soul and fierce Jamaican digital dancehall. First came an appearance by Spacek on Pritchard’s Troubleman album, then the collaborative track “Turn It On” released on Sonar Kollektive.

It was when they both, by pure coincidence, found themselves living in Australia that the connection was cemented. Africa HiTech is the moniker which represents both Steve and Mark’s love for all things progressive within music, whilst acknowledging that the roots of much of today’s popular music can be traced directly back to Africa.

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Novalima to Release “Karimba” on ESL Music, On Tour This Summer

Novalima to release its third album, “Karimba”, on ESL

ESL Music announced it would release the 3rd full-length album of Novalima, titled “Karimba”, on September 13, 2011. This collective based out of Lima Peru brings together Afro-Peruvian roots music with modern electronic, dub, and afro-beat. The founders of Novalima, Ramon Perez-Prieto, Grimaldo Del Solar, Rafael Morales, and Carlos Li Carrillo, became friends while in high school in Lima. Since that time they have created a recipe to take Peruvian roots music into the future. Karimba takes the listener on a trip through history and travels the Afro-Diaspora of sound and struggle. From ancient to future, Novalima digs deep into Afro roots while extending those branches on that musical tree.

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UK Soul Legend Omar and UK Bass don Zed Bias (aka Maddslinky) Collaborate

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An infectious summer anthem, “Dancing” is a collaboration between UK soul legend Omar and UK bass music don Zed Bias (aka Maddslinky), due out on Tru Thoughts as a digital single on 27th June, plus an upfront limited 12” on 9th May for tastemakers and vinyl junkies.

Morphing the talents of two heavyweights in their respective musical spheres “Dancing” manages to be both a catchy, radio-friendly modern soul song and a completely killer club cut. The staccato steel drum hook kicks in like nothing else, grabs you by the lapels and shakes you to your feet.

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Maya Azucena Releases “Cry Love”

Album Release Performance at Highline Ballroom as Part of the Blue Note Jazz Festival


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Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Maya Azucena releases her newest album, Cry Love, on iTunes on June 24th with a special headline performance at New York City’s Highline Ballroom that evening and official, physical release slated for September 13th. Attendees will be able to purchase the physical copy before it hits stores exclusively at her New York release event.
Her impressive versatility unfolds over ten original compositions plus a dramatic interpretation of “Little Ghetto Boy.”  Released on her new imprint label, Azucena Songs, and distributed by Half Note Records, Cry Love represents a powerful journey that distills the universal themes of love, survival, and hope into 50 unforgettable minutes.

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Jazz-Funk Legends the Headhunters Release “Platinum”

3 free songs at end of article
The Headhunters, founded in 1973, were a legendary jazz-funk fusion band immortalized from their recordings and tours with Herbie Hancock. Widely revered throughout the hip-hop community, they collaborated with a number of esteemed rappers for “Platinum.”

Owl Studios is proud to release the bawdy, soulful new CD ‘Platinum’, by The Headhunters. The upcoming album features special appearances by Snoop Dogg, George Clinton, Killah Priest,  and others, as the pioneering band lays down the grooves that let their guest vocalists/rappers shine. The amalgam of rhythm, melody and spoken word represents, in the words of Headhunters percussionist Bill Summers, a “true fusion of Hip Hop, Jazz, Rap, Salsa, Rock, New Orleans, African rhythm and its classical forms.”

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