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Music Reviews

Show: New reviews | Artists beginning with: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 0-9 | Compilations

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Tunya / N'Faly Kouyate & Dunyakan N'Faly Kouyate & Dunyakan - Tunya
Galileo Records
Promising release from one of the Afro Celt founders with N’Faly Kouyate taking centre stage on kora and balafon, his Belgian based band has members from France, Belgium, Angola and  Cameroun. It’s a bit rough round the edges in places but N’Faly’s charisma shines through driving the band forwards.

Graham Radley, 08/08
Jazz Opera / N-Side N-Side - Jazz Opera
Shalamar Records
It’s been two years since jazz poet Norman A. Woods, AKA N-Side first came to my attention via ‘Three Voices From The N-Side’. That particular set brought together tracks from three separate but at that time unreleased albums, one of which was ‘Jazz Opera’ so it’s great to see the full set finally see the light of day. ‘Jazz Opera’ is N-Side’s tribute to drummer William Richard “Smiley” Winters who worked with some of jazz music’s all time greats including Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Lester Young and John Coltrane. It features original music conducted by Winters himself and performed and recorded in 1973 by Les Oublies De Jazz Ensemble with Ed Kelly (Theresa Records) on piano. The music is interspersed with commentary by Winters taken from a previously unreleased interview. Together these elements form the basis for N-Side to deliver his unique and thought provoking poetry to great effect. ‘Vanguard Five’, ‘The Art Of Traveling Black’, ‘Voices’ and the title track are all essential listening but each track is a masterpiece in it’s own right. Although this CD is not yet widely available, do yourself a favour and track it down. (Try cdbaby).

Andy Allen, 10/07
Just A Broke Brotha’ Tryin’ To Come Up / N-Side N-Side - Just A Broke Brotha’ Tryin’ To Come Up
Shamamar Records
The second release this month from N-Side and one which sees him take a slightly different path. Of course his distinctive poetry delivery is present and correct but the musical accompaniment, largely provided by Ricardo Love journey’s into soul/hip-hop territory. ‘What Comes From The Mouth Of A Fool, ‘Hero, I Know’, ‘Discovery (A Gift Within A Verse)’ and ‘Hidden Scars And Movie Stars’ work particularly well and deserve to receive serious attention from the organic soul fraternity. 

Andy Allen, 10/07
Three Voices From The N-Side / N-Side N-Side - Three Voices From The N-Side
Shalamar Records
‘Three Voices From The N-Side’ is the 1st album to be released by jazz poet N-Side, a.k.a. Norman A. Woods. It draws together a collection of tracks from 3 un-issued sets, ‘Love Is Playing Live In My Bay Area!’, ‘Jazz Opera’ and ‘A Softer View From The N-Side’. Why these individual albums haven’t been released is beyond me, since the standard of material presented here is brilliant. I’m currently hooked on the melodic ‘Within 5%’, a stunningly beautiful piece, ‘The Tribe (That’s Who We Are)’, a real swinger and the avant-garde ‘Vanguard Five’, but touch down anywhere on this set and you won’t be disappointed. Let’s just hope there’s more material coming from N-Side very soon.

Andy Allen, 10/05
Rishte / Najma Akhtar & Gary Lucas Najma Akhtar & Gary Lucas - Rishte
Harmonia Mundi
Very interesting collaboration this, Najma is obviously well known for her collaborative work with Page and Plant, Peter Gabriel etc while Gary, a brilliant guitarist,  has a hugely impressive CV having been part of Beefheart’s Magic band as well as writing with Jeff Buckley on ‘Grace’. This album is a perfect sum of its parts, for instance the fusion of Najmas gorgeous voice, tabla and Gary’s bluesy guitar on ‘Daaya’ is just delightful. Well worth investigating.

Graham Radley, 08/09
Hip Hop Is Dead / NAS NAS - Hip Hop Is Dead
Def Jam Recordings
When a Nas album is about to drop I get a sense anticipation similar to when Gangstarr and Dre release long players, Just hoping it's gonna be worth the wait. Nas's last 'Street Disciple' was way off his usual high standard and earlier outings. For 'Hip Hop Is Dead' he's switched labels to the force that is Def Jam, and I reckon this has definitely given the album the edge. The rhymes are tight and the beats are signature Nas. During the whole album Nas is blasting the Hip Hop industry, the commercialism of the front runners in the scene and the all out bullsh*t that surrounds a lot of major releases within this multi-million selling industry. He reminds everyone that whereas his peers are nowhere on the scene, he's still releasing tracks true to his sound. Hip Hop is dead? Not with Nas around it's not. Get this!

Jax, 01/07
Akhenaten / Nat Birchall Nat Birchall - Akhenaten
Gondwana Records
The saxophone is arguably the most seductive instrument there is. The level of tonality and harmonies that the elite musicians create can captivate you unlike any other instrument. It certainly helps when you’re creating spirited music like Nat Birchall is doing on his release “Akhenaten”. Nat has been around for many years, thirty to be exact yet this is his first release as a leader since 1999’s “The Sixth Sense”. He has kept busy by working in Matthew Halsall’s groups as well as Arun Ghosh’s jazz ensemble. That’s a shame because “Akhenaten” is a deep spiritual session that will endear itself to all lovers of post bop jazz. It’s clear that Nat has been inspired by the likes of John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders, his compositions feature a high degree of passion and sensuality and his solos can exceed long stretches. The disc starts out with “Mica’s Dance”, a haunting blues tune with a lovely melody and simple chords that the quartet elevates to greater heights. “A Prayer for…” speaks for itself, a moving gospel inspired tune that will send chills down your spine. “Many Blessings” is a beautiful ballad that finds Nat blowing passionately while pianist Adam Fairhall’s solos are majestic. What a wonderful record Nat has created here. With only four tracks listed here, let’s hope there’s another recording coming soon. For any jazz aficionado, this would be a welcome addition for your collection.

Reg Dancy, 11/09
California / Natalie Gardiner Natalie Gardiner - California
Ramjac
Natalie Gardiner returns with the follow up to her 2004 self-titled debut set. Overall 'California' is a more accomplished album and features eleven down-tempo soul tracks which showcase Natalie's smoky vocals to great effect. The acoustic 'Bittersweet', 'Summer Rain' and the jazzy 'Let's Not Worry About Tomorrow' work particularly well and are beautiful in their simplicity.

Andy Allen, 02/08
Secret Garden / Natalie Williams Natalie Williams - Secret Garden
Eastside Records
If I was a betting man I would have put money on Natalie's single with TY "That's the way I like it" being a massive hit and maybe even hitting the charts. In reality I've seen it playlisted on a few radio shows but I think that's it. It may have appeared on MTV but I think this proves that nothing is certain and that real talent more often than not gets missed nowadays. Natalie has featured on a number of projects recently, including the Heritage Orchestra album and many live shows in and around London. "Secret Garden" may not grab you at first but tracks like "Butterfly", "Secret Garden" and "That's the way I like it" will stick in your head for days, due to the catchy chorus and lyrics. I found it rather funny that Tony Blackburn was mentioned in the press sheet for playing Natalie's tracks but if her music gets played on radio, it can only do good.

Simon Harrison, 10/06
Drowning In A Sea Of Love / Nathan Fake Nathan Fake - Drowning In A Sea Of Love
Border Community
Now this guy has been hotly tipped as one to watch for 2006, with his work compared to Mogwai, My Bloody Valentine and Sigur Ros. Well, I'm not sure about the latter but it definitely has hints of 'Loveless' in this album and you can also hear the influence of Mogwai scattered about.

Self confessed non-DJ, Fake is a live performer who has been on the scene now for a few years with many a 12" kickin' about on James Holden's Border Community label. His live sets definitely cater more for the dance floor whilst 'Drowning' is the mellower side of his work.

The album is a brilliant chord driven, chime tingling timeless beauty that will get electronic fans buzzing around their robotic communities.

With this sort of talent this guy is gonna be around for a long time. Those in the know will already be looking forward to this release, but if this is the first time you've heard his name and are a fan of Boards Of Canada, M83 or Vector Lovers then definitely give it a listen.

Jax, 03/06
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