V4YS EP Review - Short Stories (aka Sampha & Koreless) - On The Way EP (Young Turks Records)

Here is my favorite bass music EP of the new year so far !

Teaming up on Young Turks label to form Short Stories, uk producers Koreless (whose incredible last solo EP, Lost In Tokyo was part of our 2012 Favorites Selection) & Sampha (whose mesmerizing voice lighted up Sbtrkt now classic 2011 self-titled LP) offer us two magnificent deep dubstep tracks.

No more comments, just enjoy the deepness with the streaming links below :

Voici ma production bass music préférée de ce début d'année ! 
Elle est l'oeuvre de Short Stories, alias qui cache les producteurs Koreless (dont le dernier maxi solo, Lost In Tokyo, fait partie de notre sélection 2012) et Sampha (dont on se rappelle avec émotion la performance aux vocals dans le désormais classique album éponyme de Sbtrkt en 2011). 
Sorti cette semaine sur le label Young Turks, ce maxi contient deux perles de deep dubstep, je n'en dis pas plus et vous laisse décoller via les liens streamings ci-dessus !

V4YS Concert Review - Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards - Koko, London - 210112

Now almost an institution, Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards party gathers every late January an astonishing host of independent artists and labels who make the bread and butter of his legendary radio show on BBC1.
Taking place for a second time in a row in Camden's baroque theater Koko, the evening exceeded once again all my expectations.
 If it would be too long to come back on each and every amazing live performance that took place during the we (including friday's great warm-up party at XOYO), let's at least focus on some of my favorite moments !

Les lecteurs francophones peuvent retrouver cette review en français sur le site WeGoFunk.

Michael Kiwanuka :
His debut LP to be relased very soon will surely be one of 2012's musical highlights. In the meantime british soul/folk artist Michael Kiwanuka keeps affirming himself not only as a brillant songwriter but also as a remarkable live performer.
Offering a shortened version of the live set he currently performs  all around Europe (see here a full broadcast of his recent Rennes Transmusicales festival concert) he mesmerized the audience with his sensitive singing.
His band provides a perfect frame for his acoustic guitar with a special mention to the impact of live percussions (congas, bongos) that give an exotic "world-soul" flava to the ensemble.

Please find below a video extract from his songs Out There Alone :




Thundercat feat. Austin Peralta :

A phenomenal 6-strings bass player as well as an outstanding singer and producer, Thundercat perfectly symbolizes a futuristic groove scene that has been blooming for the last few years in California.
His first LP The Golden Age Of Apocalypse was definitely one of 2011 most groundbreaking productions, fitting perfectly on Flying Lotus's ambitious Brainfeeder label. Playing live for the first time in the Uk, he delivered a spiffy show helped by several world-class artists like 21-year old pianist Austin Peralta (whose first three jazz albums are all must-have), singer Andreya Triana (famous for her multiple collaborations with Bonobo) or singer Heidi Vogel from Cinematic Orchestra.

Catch a glimpse of it with the videos extracts below, For Love I Come and Seasons :

The Pyramids :
As he likes to describe it, Gilles Peterson's worldwide radio show consistently joins the dots between many musical worlds. But it also bridges the generational gaps by constantly mixing brand new productions with old-school sounds that are a part of our musical heritage.
Illustrating this approach his idea to invite legendary spiritual/afro jazz band The Pyramids to perform during the evening in anticipation of the release of a new album in te coming months.
Led by their charismatic founder Idris Ackamoor the band offered a priceless spiritual moment and demonstrated how timeless their early 70's work are.

Below an extract of their classic track Memory Ritual with a phenomenal sax solo from Mr Ackamoor :




BadBadNotGood :

A few weeks ago I highlighted here the first self-produced Ep from this very young canadian trio. Blending a groovy nu-jazz sound with live hip-hop-inspired drums their sound recalls many treats we enjoy (from Jay Dilla to the Robert Glasper Experiment..).
Seemingly very happy to be offered the opportunity to play for the first time in Europe, the trio confirmed through their enthusiastic and energetic sets at XOYO on friday and Koko on saturday that they are a name to watch in coming months.
Below an extract from their XOYO gig :




Next to these jazz/soul/beats live acts, the uk electro scene was very much in focus.
Among the highlights a very convincing live act from Sbtrkt and Sampha whose 2011 self-titled LP definitely is one of my favorite 2011 records. Adding live drums and percussions to their deep dubstep songs is a tasty soulful recipe. Such was the beautiful song performed with the support of Little Dragon's singer Yukimi Nagano.
Finally I can't end this post without mentionning the stunning slo-mo house DJ set by Julio Bashmore who definitely is becoming a cornerstone of the current underground house scene.

I was about to forget, some awards were given by Gilles during the evening...but who cares won what right? The real winner of the night was Music with a capital M !
That's it for this year. If you now (hopefully) wish you had come to this amazing night I strongly suggest you contemplate visiting the Worldwide Festival that will take place the first week of July in Sète (south of France). The line-up should be as good !

Thanks again to Gilles, Peggy, LeFtO and all the crew at Brownswood/Bbc for setting up this amazing night of music !

V4YS Album Review - SBTRKT - SBTRKT (Young Turks Records)

SBTRKT started to make an (unprononceable) acronym for himself in 2010 with several interesting EP's ("2020", "Break Off/Evening Glow"...) oscillating between deep dubstep and innovative bass music. He is now back on the great independant label Young Turks with his first LP self-titled "SBTRKT" which so far is my  favorite new release this summer.

If his previous productions were mostly pieces of instrumental electronic music, the big evolution with this record is the omnipresence of vocals provided by several guest singers like Sampha (who contributes on several tracks) or Yukimi Nagano from Little Dragon, .
Adding a touch of pop to dubstep-influenced beats immediately rings several bells, the louder of them belonging to James Blake who probably is the leading artist in that space. These two definitely share a common playground, but this first SBTRKT album puts more emphasis on melodies than Blake's more demanding "deconstructed" works. Simply said, SBTRKT goes slightly more mainstream but this is in no way pejorative as delicate songs like "Hold On", "Trials Of The Past", "Never Never" or "Pharoahs" all are sweet entry points to a delighfully chaotic musical space. So if you're not necessarily into electro-pop or deep dubstep this record may be a good chance to get on board!

Below streaming of "Pharoahs" and "Hold On" :





L'imprononçable acronyme SBTRKT est  devenu familier pour de nombreux fans d'electro courant 2010 avec la sortie de plusieurs maxis (notamment ("2020" et "Break Off/Evening Glow") qui faisaient la part belle à un deep dubstep raffiné, symbole d'une "bass music" Uk en plein essor et dont je ne cesse de vanter les mérites sur le blog. 
Le jeune producteur anglais revient avec un premier album, simplement titré "SBTRKT", qui sort sur l'excellent label indépendant Young Turks. C'est sans aucun doute mon coup de coeur de l'été.
Si ses premières productions étaient principalement des instrumentaux electros, ce disque marque une nette évolution puisque les vocaux distillés par plusieurs guests comme le chanteur anglais Sampha, (qui pose sa voix soulful sur plusieurs titres), ou la chanteuse japonaise  Yukimi Nagano du groupe Little Dragon, y sont omniprésents.
Mélanger des influences pops à des rythmiques two-step/dubstep n'est pas une révolution. Le nom de James Blake vient par exemple immédiatement à l'esprit lorsqu'on évoque ce type de sonorités. Néanmoins si l'album
de SBTRKT appartient au même univers il met beaucoup plus l'accent sur l'aspect mélodique des morceaux. Il est donc sans doute plus accessible (attention pas de méprise, je ne veux en aucun cas dire "commercial") que les productions destructurées assez éxigeantes de Blake. Ainsi des titres harmonieux comme  "Hold On", "Trials Of The Past", "Never Never" ou "Pharoahs" me semblent de bons points d'entrée pour quiconque est peu familier de ce courant musical.
Ci-dessus des extraits streaming de "Pharoahs" et "Hold On".

V4YS Ep Review - SBTRKT - 2020 Ep (Brainmath Records)

There is so much good stuff coming out of the Uk dubstep/breakbeat/deep house scene at the moment that I find it hard not to miss jewels on the road. For instance, I had not noticed this fantastic "2020" Ep from SBTRKT released 3 months ago on Brainmath Records.

Alongside Joy Orbison, Martyn, Scuba, Pangaea, Ramadanman and several others, SBTRKT has been spreading quality productions around these last few months, but this particular Ep is clearly my favorite.
"2020" blends soulful vibes, explosive broken beats and a wide range of creative sounds to reach some kind of electronic music perfection embarking you in a deep journey for sure!

Below a streaming of the first phenomenal track, also titled "2020" :