#albumcollection

HATFM Mixtape time once more - Click on the link and you’re there...

This time around you’ll find a fine fusion of new electric afrobeats, afro-jazz, Congotronics, Latin roots and soul plus a 90′s retro classic.

Set List:

Balimaya Project- Balimaya from Wolo Su (Jazz Refreshed)

Kasai Allstars (Martin Meissonier remix) – Unity is Strength from Black Ants Remixes (Crammed Discs)

Disco Vumbi –Vimeundwa from Disco Vumbi Vol. II (Byrd Out)

Fulu Miziki – Bivada (feat. Sekelembele) from Ngbaka EP (Moshi Moshi)

Abase – Agangatolu from Laroye (Oshu Records)

Sofia Rei – Un Mismo Cielo from Umbrai (Casablanca Records)

Leila- Won’t You Be My Baby Baby from Like Weather (Rephlex)

Kasai Allstars (Ekiti Sound remix) – Kasai Munene from Black Ants Remixes (Crammed Discs)

Disco Vumbi –- Disco Vumbi (feat. Ife) from  Disco Vumbi Vol. II (Byrd Out)

Fulu Miziki – OK Seke Bien (feat. Sekelembele) from Ngbaka EP (Moshi Moshi)

EABS – The Lady With The Golden Stockings from Discipline Of Sun Ra (Astigmatic Records)

Onipa – Gbomo (Mtukudzi Homage) from Tapes of Onipa (Boomerang Records)

Amami – Atlas from Soleil (Bongo Joe)

Jupiter & Okwess(feat. Marcelo D2) – Telejayi from Na Kozonga (Zamora)

Susana Baca – Negra del Alma from Palabres Urgentes (Real World)

Down From the Shelf #28

Blue Orchids- The Greatest Hit (Money Mountain) [Rough Trade 1982]

After the Witch Trials, Fall refugees Bramah, Baines and Goldstraw form band, attract Peel attention, support Nico on tour and in 1982 release this post punk touchstone. Blue Orchids (so christened by John Cooper Clarke) made a grating guitar, whirling Farfisa sound, shot with an ironic twist. Part garage, part surf, part rampant jangle and woozy melody they were a one off...a rare specimen that deserves preservation. 

New Blog feature from the House, pointing to new tracks and albums from the last few weeks for your own exploration.

Keaton Henson ‘Husk’ from ‘Monument’  released October 2020 on Play it Again Sam

Keaton Henson’s music deserves all the devotion and respect it gets. From his cavernously personal home recorded debut ‘Dear’ in 2012 to the more recent tense and tormented orchestral ‘Six Lethargies’ he always makes that emotional connection. His songs, his experiences become yours. 

Keaton sees ‘Husk’ as a song about ‘waking up and realising that you’ve aged’ but there’s a zesty sense of possibility as the tune eases between stripped down pensiveness and a wave of rich pop hope. It’s that delicate balance between love and pain, revival and regret that he so often manages to navigate for us. So although ‘Monument’ is an album grounded in loss, unfolding as it did at the time of his father’s death, its honesty is uplifting.  

Down from the Shelf #27

Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band- Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller, Virgin Records 1980)

From legal tiffs (thanks Frank Z) comes zig-zag riffed sharpness and rag bag genius from the good Captain and Band. Re-recording shelved Bat Chain Puller tracks, digging back over old session rejects and weaving in new songs proves an inspired if skewed approach. Blues howling, twisting guitars, snaking bass intact precision percussion plus synth snippets and luscious marimba- this is a sound under immaculate coercive control .From foot-steppers (Tropical Hot Dog Night) to the achingly forlorn (Love Lies) its all here on Shiny Beast.

A reviver and revival all in one....

Down from the Shelf #16

Misty in Roots ‘Live at the Counter Eurovision 79′ (People Unite Records)

Crate Digger’s Corner…by DJ Musically Rich

(if you’d like to listen to a track from the album as you read, go to the end of the post to start the song)

Today’s Crate Digger’s Corner is going to focus on a bit of an odd duck in this particular artist’s catalog. “Oneness: Silver Dreams-Golden Reality” by Devadip Carlos Santana is a surprising entry that twists and turns through musical styles that  run the gamut from meditational-type music to funk to the Latin rock which he is most associated with. The album falls (musically) somewhere between “Welcome”, “Illuminations” (w/ Alice Coltrane) and his collaboration with John McLaughlin, “Love Devotion Surrender”.  I listened to a vinyl copy of this album that did not include any liner notes for players, recording situations, etc.  I wonder if some of this, if not a majority, was recorded earlier than 1979. I wonder because this is the only post 1974 album I even remotely like by him (until IV came out in 2016 and even that has a bit of a disappointing studio sheen), and his playing is a bit more fiery than I associate with his playing around this time. Also, it seems that you have a few different recording situations (live with orchestra and a little more stripped down studio band) that was used to put the album together.

The album opens with a series of single bell rings, then the orchestra slowly enters, and the result is the feeling of you waking up in the morning to a good stretch. It doesn’t take too long for the core band to kick in and for Carlos to start throwing in some tasty guitar licks. The first side essentially functions as one extended track and uses the orchestra as a comping piece, a connector between tracks/themes and even lets them shine when necessary. As he builds the opening track with lots of tension and release which is what allows the players to explore a little more. Towards the end of the first side on the track ‘Cry Of The Wilderness’ we finally get the first taste of vocals (outside of meditation vocalese), which has a really laid back vibe that makes you feel like you’re cruising down a California highway (no traffic). That leads to a piano/guitar duo in ‘Guru’s Song’ that brings the side to an end. I believe that the whole side (or at least any tracks that had the orchestra in it) was live.

Side 2 opens with waves crashing and a quiet guitar refrain playing over it. That is the beginning of the track ‘Oneness’, which then builds into a multi-faceted piece similar to the music on the first side. Then, we hit a piece that feels like it was potentially included so the album had a sellable single. ‘Life Is Just A Passing Parade’ is a funky, vocal piece that has a Stevie Wonder-vibe to it, which turns into the reflective ‘Golden Dawn’ led by Santana’s acoustic guitar. The orchestra returns in ‘Free As Morning’, which leads to the spoken word piece ‘I Am Free’. The album wraps up with a very nicely played ‘Song For Devadip’ that has some inspired soloing on it as well.

Overall this is a very good album although a lack of melody throughout makes it a little less memorable. However, the inspired playing overall along with the moody textures of the album still makes it an interesting and rewarding listen. Recommended, especially for fans of jazz/rock fusion with a groove.

Stars: 3.5/5

Available on: LP/CD/Cass

RIYL: Turiya Alice Coltrane/Devadip Carlos Santana- Illuminations, Carlos Santana/John McLaughlin- Love Devotion Surrender, Santana- Welcome, Ramsey Lewis- Sun Goddess

To see photos of other albums in my collection follow my IG: djmusicallyrich

To listen to a track (or two in this case) from the album…