Yearly Archives: 2008

Filmed at the Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh this has Mike Katz, Alasdair White, Sean O’Donnell and Alan Reid showcasing 14 tracks which include The Merry Macs Set, I’m Going To Set You Free, The Emigrant and the Sisters Reel Set. Terrific stuff from some real legends of Scottish traditional music.

Graham Radley

Compiled by Jean Michel Gibert we get 20 glorious Trinidadian tracks that bring us from the orchestras of the 1920’s to the calypso boom time of the 1950’s. Featured artists include King Radio, Lord Kitchener, Calypso Rose, The Mighty Bomber and Houdini. Yes this is Calypso Gold.

Graham Radley

Another superb Cumbancha release , this time focussed on singer/guitarist/composer Rupa,  a fascinating character (she’s also a physician in San Francisco) her earlier life involved living in a variety of countries which has meant she writes songs in a variety of languages languages, including French, Spanish, Hindi and English. The music also has many influences including gypsy, Indian and contemporary Latin, think Manu Chao meets Dengue Fever meets French Chanson and you’ll be in the right direction, better still seek it out and make up your own mind whilst you enjoy.

Graham Radley

No shortage of options here in terms of artists and to prove that we get Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba, Amadou & Mariam, Oumou Sangare, Rokia Traore, Vieux Farka Toure , Tinariwen and Afel Bocoum. Excellent selection of artists and of course superb music.

Graham Radley

Double CD compiled by Charlie Gillett, 34 tracks altogether with a nice wide global mix. Probably best for me to list a few and that way you’ll get a better feel of where the compilation is coming from. Yasmin Levy, Almasala, DJ Delores, Dengue Fever, Nancy Arjam, Madilu System, Ceu, Lucky Dube and Servara, gives you an idea of the range of countries and styles. A good summer soundtrack.

Graham Radley

Brazilian reggae from Northern Rio and the bands second CD. Great production by Chico Neves with singer Helio Bentes adding a rawness to the tightness of the band. I like.

Graham Radley

I love this, yes it’s often dated and often raw but those are its strengths too with the infectious enthusiasm of what, at the time,  (these recordings cover 1972-1979) was a youthful explosion of new influences as the rock of Hendrix mashed up with heavy African rhythms. Among the featured artists are  Mono Mono, The Hygrades, Tabukah ‘X’, The Elcados and Ofege. Really good.

Graham Radley

Flamenco with a superb, gritty  voice described as a blend of Tina Turner, Lola Flores and Sarah Vaughan. That voice teases its way through the roots and passion of flamenco bringing to it the jazz of Vaughan and on a couple of tracks the funk of Turner to create a subtle new take on the style, great piano too from Ivan Gonzalez Lewis. Excellent.

Graham Radley

Elvin Estela, aka Nobody returns with his follow up to Western Water Vol I “Pacific Drift”. Nobody is building on his love of psychedelic soft rock layered with heavy bass lines and lively drum beats. The major difference is the addition of Niki Randa on vocals and she definitely adds another dimension not heard on the previous release. “All The Shallow Deep” is a unique fusion of electric guitar and experimental beats complemented by Niki’s lush vocals. “Ignite” is another highlight where the beats are a little more progressive but the tone is dreamy and harmonic. Nobody has created a soft rock gem with a west coast vibe that evokes images of lazy summer days soaking up rays. Fans of “Pacific Drift” will surely enjoy this.

Reg Dancy

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There are DJ’s/producers dropping albums everywhere but few can boast to have an album as strong as this one. Simbad’s “Supersonic Revelation has been a couple years in the making but the wait has been well worth it. Simbad has assembled a little bit of funk, house, rnb and dancehall and the result is a soulful uplifting disc that will move your body. The immensely successful “Soul Fever” needs no introduction. This electronic funk track with the wicked synth lines was one of the biggest records of 2006.The legendary Robert Owens adds his signature vocals to the atmospheric “Someone for Me”. There’s also the title track, which has also become a huge hit, and why not? The killer organ riff and Abdul Shyllon’s lush vocals gives this the feel of a simmering downtempo house track that never builds momentum but it’s bangin’ nonetheless. There are many other great selections worth mentioning so you owe it to yourself to invest in what is definitely one of the hottest releases of 2008.

Reg Dancy

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‘Jim’, Jamie Lidell’s follow up to his hugely successful 2005 set ‘Multiply’ sees him journey further into soul territory. He’s ditched much of the electronics in favour of a full backing band, resulting in a real 60s inspired sound. This is particularly evident on the uplifting cuts ‘Another Day’ and ‘A Little Bit Of Feel Good’, both of which could well see some pop chart action, the Sam Cooke influenced ‘All I Wanna Do’ and ‘Green Light’ which is reminiscent of Al Green. The highlight though is ‘Figured Me Out’, a wonderful 80s electro-boogie styled outing which is destined to be huge on the underground dance floors.

Andy Allen

Joey Negro and the crew return with their 3rd Sunburst Band album and as with ‘Here Comes The Sunburst Band’ and ‘Until The End Of Time’ it’s packed with outstanding disco delights and boogie bombs. It features vocal performances from the likes of Leroy Burgess and Yolanda Wynns but even better are the Pete Simpson fronted cuts such as the outstanding ‘Our Lives Are Shaped’ and a killer version of David Bowie’s ‘Fashion’. Diane Charlemange graces the classy groove ‘Put A Lyric In It’ and the immaculate stepper ‘Movin’ With The Shakers’ which comes off like a Jones Girls track. Other standouts include ‘Turn It Out’ featuring Taka Boom which is reminiscent of early Level 42 material and ‘Dusk’, a clever if somewhat cheeky cut obviously inspired by Maze’s ‘Twilight’.

Andy Allen

Although Inverse Cinematics have been providing us with top quality productions and remixes since 2002 surprisingly ‘Passin’ Through’ is their first long player. It’s been well worth the wait though as this is a fantastic collection of new material (other than the inclusion of the anthemic ‘Detroit Jazzin’’) which effortlessly fuses elements of deep house, jazz and hip-hop. ‘Sundrops’, ‘Sambatime’ and ‘Don’t Give Up’ are all heavy hitters in the vein of the aforementioned ‘Detroit Jazzin’’ but not to be overlooked are ‘Interplanetary Motivations’ and the title track, two slow motion chuggers, plus the jazzy hip-hop jam ‘Take It Back To 86’ featuring Jebidiah.

Andy Allen

It may have been ten years between the release of Incognito’s debut album ‘Jazz Funk’ (1981) and their second ‘Inside Life’ (1991) but since then Bluey and his collective have certainly made up for it as ‘Tales From The Beach’ marks their 13th release. As always the production is faultless and although there’s nothing unexpected here it will no doubt please their legion of fans. For me though the real winner on this set is ‘Feel The Pressure’, an infectious jazz-funk meets broken-beat monster co-produced by Ski Oakenfull and featuring Tony Momrelle, Imaani and Joy Rose on vocals.

Andy Allen

Somehow Busy People’s debut single ‘The City/‘Someday’ passed me by but thankfully both of these superior broken-soul nuggets are included here. With a whole host of top performances from guest vocalists such as B-Zar, Aminata, Yann, Justin Chapman, Lisa C, Lai Cheun and Jen (all of which are new names to me) ‘Never Too Busy’ continues the broken-soul vibe with other strong moments such as ‘Make It Happen’, ‘Bling Bling’, ‘Get Out’, ‘Not Me’ and ‘Final Words’. This has got to be one of the most consistent albums I’ve heard for sometime so don’t delay, pick up a copy today!

Andy Allen