Here is an album I have been expecting these last few months as I particularly enjoyed Uk singer Andreya Triana first featurings with artists such as Flying Lotus or Bonobo (on his brilliant latest LP called "Black Sands, review here).
This positive impression was also confirmed with the release earlier this year of her first solo single "Lost Where I Belong", a beautiful "folkish" song where her deep voice blends perfectly with a Bonobo-made acoustic melody.
So here it is!
This first Lp, also titled "Lost Where I Belong", produced by Bonobo on Ninjatune is a rather short album with only 9 tracks. Suffice it to say this is more than enough to demonstrate the lady's songwriting and interpretation talent!
On a musical frame oscillating between folk, soul and downtempo, Andreya delivers her river of words in an intimate way. Sweet as she may be, her voice offers a subtle dose of harshness and gravity that give her work a feeling of maturity and genuineness.
True, I had hoped that she would have explored more musical universes than downtempo ballads in this Lp as she brilliantly did in her multiple prior collaborations as a guest (electro, funkier sounds...). Let's say she has ample time to widen her solo scope in future productions!
Having seen her for a great short live shocase with Fink and Bonobo earlier this year during Gilles Peterson's worldwide awards (review here) I hope she'll be soon presenting live this album in small and intimate venues.
Below a streaming of one of my favorite track, "Draw The Stars", where the complicity with Bonobo's magical musical atmosphere is at his best :
And a beautiful acoustic version of the single, "Lost Where I Belong" :
"Quality self-produced underground Hip-Hop" is how I would defined Georgia-based collective Forbidden Dialect's album called "More Than Your Money's Worth".
The 6-member crew living in the city of Colombus, starts with a great beatmaker, "Redd", who has a true feeling for sampling a wide range of grooves, from underrated funk/soul tracks to afrobeat or west-african sounds.
This soulful musical background enables the 5 talented MC's (Amorphouz, Cycle Logic, Flux, Jason & Joey) to deliver right on time their sometimes poetic, sometimes humoristic, sometimes politically-conscious thorough lyrical flows.
The result is a refreshing hip-hop album that will bring you back to the fundamentals.
Good for you, the crew shares it freely on this site where you can stream it or download a high-quality mp3 version.
So spread the word, this forbidden dialect definitely deserves to be legalized!
Below a streaming of two of my favorite tracks :
"A Decade Later", with a cool sample of the timeless Fela classic "Lady" :
"Azawas", a great groovy track reminding me of a song from the band "Usual Species" a few years back and whom I can't remember the title :
To celebrate this great Nu-Soul year here is a mix presenting nu-soul & jazzy hip-hop tracks I particularly enjoy.
You'll find some classic cuts from D'Angelo, Common, Arrested Development but also recent gems from Erykah Badu, Jose James, Julien Dyne or Electric Wire Hustle.
Heavy beats, nice keyboards/piano melodies, sensual lyric flows, music for love!
Divshare streaming below, click on the player to dwld.
Tracklisting : Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Show Us A Feeling Erykah Badu - Gone Baby, Don't Be Long D'Angelo - I Found My Smile Again Arrested Development - In The Sunshine José James - Save Your Love For Me Julien Dyne - Fallin' Down (Feat. Parks) Electric Wire Hustle - Perception Common - Geto Heaven Ft. D'angelo Dj Vadim - Talk To Me Feat. Sena Common Sense - Resurrection (Instrumental) Ayak & First Man - Can We Go Back Bonobo - The Keeper (Feat. Andreya Triana) Inohs Sivad Feat Diamondancer - Somewhere Else Owusu And Hannibal - Delirium
My musical week in south of France had already been amazing but I did not forecast it would end with a phenomenal experience....named Prince!
Having learned (too late) from a friend (who was there) about the phenomenal 4h-long surprise concert that the star gave in the middle of the night on July 23d in Paris in my favourite concert venue, the New Morning, I realized there were some tickets left for his last european show in Nice on sunday the 25th.
Despite my strong reluctance to go to big venues or stadiums-like concerts I made an exception hoping that this immense artist would still be on the same fantastic mood and secretly hoping of an intimate after-show.
The official show in the Nikaia stadium was a great surprise as Prince and his band were absolutely stunning on stage for a 2-h long set where each musician and chorist offered us a piece of his outstanding talent. They constantly had the audience participate which was all the more successful as they focused mainly on classic songs. More importantly they seemed to have much much fun playing together for this last european tour date and this added to the overall excitement and the feeling I had to attend a really special show.
"Purple Rain", "1999", "Little Red Corvette", "Kiss", "Musicology" etc..(full listing here) were all part of it but my favorite live track was "shhhh", a pure moment of smooth&groovy R&B.
Prince in Cannes
As much as I enjoyed this big show I started to get really really excited when I learned about the after show planned in the Palais-Club in the neighbouring city of Cannes.
I arrived around 1am in this really posh place where young jet-setters seemed to have a good time listening to low-quality house music. When people coming from the Nice show to see Prince started to fill the club we could feel the difference between the usual audience of the place and the Prince fans.
Strange dual-atmosphere indeed, even stranger when one of the jet-setter from the vip place bought several dozens of Champagne bottles to distribute them to the "have-nots" only here for the show and sweating neck-to-neck in front of the scene. I was at the other side of the room and could not get some but who cares as it was only groove&funk I was hoping for!
Technical issues delayed the start of the show, and it's only around 4am that Prince and his band came on the tiny stage set-up in front of the tiny dancefloor.
Standing 4 or 5 meters from the man I had my first shot of "groovyness" before the show even started : while the musicians were tuning their instruments in a scene turned dark, the dj finally decided to play some real music to welcome them, and when Marvin's "Let Get It On" was on, all of a sudden I realized that there was an additional guitar line on top of this eternal song that I know too well.
I tried to distinguish in the dark what Prince was doing and I realized that while turning his back on the audience to seemingly tune his guitar, he was in fact having fun improvising a splendid riff on top of the song. Two or three minutes of pure joy.
(I guarantee the jet-setters part of the audience did not notice anything, they may have asked a "Marvin who?" if asked about the song ;)
The crew played a bit more than one hour (and had planned at least two without the damned technical issues) once again in a really joyful mood, you'll find the listing below but my highlights definitely are the explosive version of "The Jam", where each musician got introduced in the funkiest possible way, a slow motion version of his usual cover from Sly Stone's "Thank You" and the fantastic speeded-up cover from James Brown "Sex Machine" (this easy one was even identified by the young jetsetters part of the audience I believe;). Amazing drum tempo and wicked guitar and organ gimmick on this final gem.
What an unforgettable night! Thank You Prince!
Don't forget...I just need your extra-time and your....kiss!
Below the tracklisting from this after-show (thanks to the Schkopi community for the help) : Instrumental The Jam Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) We Want To Be Free Baby Love When Will We Be Paid Girls & Boys Cream Ol' Skool Company Sex Machine
And here is the closing medley starting with "Girls and Boy" and ending with "Sex Machine" which starts around 8mn :
After these great two days in the Nice Jazz Festival, I wanted to visit the other legendary jazz festival located on the french riviera, in the city of Antibes Juan-Les-Pins.
A really funky evening was scheduled on Friday the 23d with Brooklyn Funk Essentials and Maceo Parker in town to participate in the 50th edition of "Jazz A Juan".
The concert being sold out I was really lucky to get an unexpoected invitation from a fan owning a spare ticket (thanks Milan for this!).
"Jazz à Juan" is located in a pine garden with the scene turning its back on the medierranean sea.
In this splendid location all visitors are seated but I assure you that these rules, respected for jazz gigs, did not resist for long to the funky vibes delivered by both bands!
Brooklyn Funk Essentials :
Hanifah Walidah
Here is a band I had not heard about for a long time. With the release of "Watcha Playin" in 2009 the funky new-yorker collective ended a long period of silence and resumed its good habits of merging funky vibes with ragga/dub and oriental influences.
Still if I've always enjoyed their recordings, I've also always felt that the quality of their productions could be a bit better (for instance if they used less beatboxes and sound effects). In a word this is typically the type of band you would underestimate a tad by only knowing their albums and to me their talent and huge potential expresses itself fully on stage. This night in Juan confirmed this view with an enthusiastic performance.
It was not a surprise to see them share an evening with Maceo as the sax legend made several guest appearances on some of their older prods (like the well-known fantastic track "Blow Your Brains Out").
Focusing on tracks from this latest release they had the not-so-easy task to start the evening quite early when the sun was still up and to face a seated audience not really familiar with their sound.
Desmond Foster
After half an hour of energetic vibes they truly turned the place upside down and the most motivated listeners could finally get up and move next to the stage to dance (do I need to say I was part of them?).
The highlight of their show was clearly their trio of singers, who is full of energy and really complimentary : the stunning Hanifah Walidah taking care of the groove/funk tunes, Papa Dee throwing his cool rap/ragga flow anytime and Everton Sylvester bringing his poetic & humoristic reggae touch to the exsemble. The three of them are supported by the band's great musicians but they are the one really taking the live thing to a higher ground.
My favorite tracks of the show? without a doubt was "Dance-free night", with a much groovier version than on the album, my definition of groove in fact, with an infectious mid-tempo rythm supported by Hanifah's voice and remarkable stage presence. Also the hilarious accapella "spoken-word" version of "Need" from Everton Sylvester who took the mike to fill a timeout due to the bassist amp having techncal problems. Loved it!
Maceo Parker :
Maceo Parker
How many times have I seen Maceo live?
maybe a dozen or more, he clearly is one of the artists I've seen the most in fact but not for the last 4 or five years as I had been a bit disappointed with the last times where he had started to move a bit away from his amazing pure-funk favorite recipe.
Well, this "Jazz à Juan"'s concert reassured me, the 67-year-old saxophonist was only here to funk us and it was one of the best Maceo's show I had ever attended.
As with Brooklyn Funk Essentials it took 20 to 30 minutes to get rid of the seated atmosphere and after amazing versions of "This Funk Is Off The Hook" and "Make It Funky" the audience was on fire with the empty space in front of the stage suddenly crowded with dancers from all ages (5 to 70-years-old, truly).
Martha High
In such a happy mood Maceo and his amazing musicians (like the brilliant Dennis Rollins on trombon or the funky diva Martha High on chorus) went on to deliver a 2-h long uplifting funk recital.
Most classics were interpreted, with a special moment when Martha took to the frontstage to make a funky cover of Lyn Collins's "Think About It". What a thrill!
Anyway after such an evening I was even not feeling the strong chilly mistral wind blowing and all I wanted to say was "Give Me Some More"!
Below a video extract from Martha High and Maceo's crew version of "Think About It" :
Imagine an antique roman site surrounded by a beautiful garden full of olive trees on top of a hill overlooking one of the most beautiful city on the French Riviera. You picture it? Not yet? add the groovy sound of cicadas and you should make it :
So here you are, on the posh district of Cimiez in Nice where the Nice Jazz Festival has been settling each month of july for more than 50 years. The place offers 3 different scenes with a programmation usually focusing on jazz but with a backdoor opened to many more musical styles like groove, funk or electro.
This 2010 edition is a bit special as it is the last time the festival takes place in this exceptional location before moving next year closer to the city center. I could not miss this last Cimiez version all the more as some of my favorite jazz artists were present on the fantastic line-up. So here a few impressions of the two great days I spent there this week!
The Stanley Clarke Band & Hiromi :
Stanley Clarke & Ronald Bruner Jr.
Legendary fusion jazz bassist Stanley Clarke was my first "choice" of the evening. It was the first time I was seeing him live. I was absolutely stunned first by his outstanding bass/double bass play but even more by the amazing performance of Japanese pianist Hiromi who participated in Stanley latest album.
Hiromi
During this 1-hour long fusion set she alternated between smooth and more agressive ways of playing, and also impressed the crowd with a great stage presence (often playing standing in front of her piano when the groove was too unresistible). I really have to dig her own albums and I'm looking forward seeing her when she'll be visiting Paris. A name to watch for sure!
A special mention also to Californian drummer Ronald Bruner Jr. for his brilliant act full of enthusiasm and energy!
Below a short video showing some Hiromi's action!
Bojan Z Tetraband :
Bojan Z
Second stop of this night was franco-serbian pianist Bojan Z who is one of my favorite contemporary jazz artist.
Josh Roseman
Together with Sebastian Rochford on drums, Ruth Goller on bass and Josh Roseman on trombon, he offered a jazz set mainly composed of tracks from their 2009 album titled "Humus".
Contrary to the Stanley Clarke set where the interaction between each musician was strong and the "band" spirit evident, the atmosphere of this concert was totally different as each musician was more introverted and focused on his ow play. Coupled wih a more demanding free-jazz-like sound, it required a bit more attention to get into it.
Ruth Goller
But I did!
Sebastian Rochford
Very much in fact as the outstanding rythmic frame set up by Ruth Goller and Sebastian Rochford (I loved his funny Christ-like way of looking deeply up in the sky while playing), the amazing spiritual trombon sound of Josh Roseman and Bojan Z warm rhodes or piano lines are the kind of treats I cannot resist for long!
Eric Legnini Trio :
Eric Legnini, Thomas Bramerie & Frank Agulhon
Last but not least I ended this jazz evening with Eric Legnini Trio.
Eric's recent album called "Trippin" is a little gem where the groovy style of this outstanding pianist is at its best. Whether he is playing Piano or Rhodes, (like he did during this set) he delivers the kind of jazz that I find it hard to listen to seated!
For this Nice show he was joined by Frank Agulhon on drums and Thomas Bramerie on double bass.
The trio mainly focused on tracks from the "Trippin" album. The perfect rythmic support from Frank Agulhon and Thomas Bramerie opened the way for Eric's talent and ispiration. I particularly enjoyed their live versions of "Casa Bamako" and "Trippin". Being a Rhodes keyboard addict I took an immense pleasure to listen to his laid-back grooves!
Below you can get your heatlhy dose of Rhodes vibes with this small video of "Trippin" :
José James & Jef Neve - Coltrane Project
José James
Us singer José James is probably the most frequently mentionned artist on this blog as I firmly believe he is one of the most outstanding talent of the current jazz/soul scene.
Besides two amazing nu-jazz/beats albums (The Dreamer in 2008 and Blackmagic (our review here) in 2010) he teamed up in late 2009 with Belgian Jazz pianist Jef Neve to revisit Alice & John Coltrane legendary music.
José wrote or covered some lyrics on several Coltrane's tracks like Lush Life, Central Park West, A Love Supreme and the duo, joined by Michael Campagna (sax/clarinette), Neville Malcom (double bass) & Richard Spaven (drums), gave three exceptional live shows in late 2009 (Brussels, Paris & London) that were more than 2-hour long.
Jef Neve
The Parisian concert at the New Morning was one of the best live act I ever attended (all musical styles included). I loved it so much that I included this project in the blog's "2009 favorites records" list even though no recordings came out of it. They currently offer shorter versions of it in several jazz festivals and I was particularly happy to catch them for a second time.
Richard Spaven
The 1-hour long set in Nice on July 22nd was equally brilliant albeit really too short!
Next to these 4 talented musicians sensitive interpretation of Coltrane's music, José deep and powerful voice adds a spiritual touch respectful of Alice & John Coltrane's legacy. Once again it was a moment of reflexion and grace.
Jef Neve, José James, Michael Campagna, Neville Malcom & Richard Spaven
For those interested in this project the full 2-h long Brussels show from october 2009 is available in video streaming here (courtesy of a belgian network).
Also the duo recorded recently a splendid record on the Verve label, called "For All We Know" (our review here) which is a selection of classic jazz songs they brilliantly adapt to their tastes.
Will Holland's (aka Quantic) latest project called "Quantic And His Combo Barbaro" resulted in a phenomenal album last year tittled "Tradition In Translation", blending Colombian latin vibes with Soul&Funk (for more info about it, you can check our "2009 favorite records" selection).
After a first remarkable concert in October 2009 at the Bataclan in Paris, the combo was back in town to visit the "Cabaret Sauvage", current host of the great "Sin Fronteras" world-music festival.
A regular guest singer on several former Quantic productions, nu-funk singer Alice Russel was also part of the show to add to the excitement.
Nidia Gongora & Quantic
Yesterday the combo was composed of 8 members (drums, congas, piano, contrebass, electric guitarist, percussions, alto sax, trumpet) among which Quantic on guitar, the legendary latin pianist Alfredo Linares or Heliocentrics's drummer and leading member Malcom Catto.
Alice Russel
On vocals the mesmerizing colombian singer Nidia Gongora shared the stage with Alice Russel who appeared as a guest on three songs.
The band offered an explosive performance that lasted almost 2 hours. They alternated between funky latin tracks from the album, classic colombian cumbia songs, a killer boogaloo track from Alfredo Linares old-school days and a few soul/funk tunes when Alice Russel was in charge (among which her classic groovy song with Quantic Soul Orchestra called "Pushing On").
On top of their musical excellence I particularly appreciated the enthusiasm of each band member. These guys enjoy themselves, you can feel it, and I guarantee the joy easily spreads to the audience! Nidia Gongora fantastic stage presence best illustrates this.
A must-see band if they happen to play anywhere near you!
Below videos from yesterday's live version of "Mas Pan" :
Un grand merci à Vincent pour ses superbes photos!
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 fromSBTRKT 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" :
The Nu-Soul scene is in full revival mode. Following Maxwell & Erykah Badu and before Bilal, Andreya Triana and possibly D'Angelo, here is Dwele's turn to release a new Lp. W.ants W.orld W.omen is the Detroit-born singer's 5th album.
Don't trust the rather poor cover artwork, this record almost matches Dwele best work so far, "Rize" and "Subject", released in 2000/3.
It is split in three parts : the "W.ants" part is rather Hip-hop oriented, the "W.orld" part enters the "socially-conscious" space with lyrics dealing with various political issues on a soulful musical background, finally the "W.omen" part comes back to the classic nu-soul relationships theme on a smoother R&B sound, that many rightfully nickname "baby-making" soul music.
If the album adresses a wide range of subjects and musical atmospheres with various collaborations such as Kanye West, Slum Village or Raheem Devaughn, the amazing deepness and maturity of Dwele's voice is the common factor to all tracks.
I have to acknowledge my preference for the second and third parts as their pure nu-soul sound clearly represent Dwele's ultimate signature. Tracks such as "How I Deal", "My People", "Love You Right" or "Give Me A Chance"... are little gems, blending groove and sensuality.
To me this record is not as powerful as Erykah Badu's recent's "New Amerykah Part Two" but it is nevertheless a remarkable production which makes it a highly recommended Lp for any nu-soul fan.
Below you'll find streaming of "How I Deal" featuring Slum Village and "Give Me A Chance" :
No much info on this one, but this nudisco midtempo groove speaks for itself! Another killer track from the man from Bologna, Italy (more from him in this post).
Uk dubstep gems keep on coming!
After the recent jewels (among others) from Scuba or Ramadanman, here comes the latest Ep from the young Uk producer James Blake called "CMYK", released on belgian label R&S Records.
The 4 tracks on this Ep bring you to a parallel world full of claps, fine-tuned micro voice samples, discontructed beats, and deep synth waves.
I loved the man recent Ep on Hessle Audio, called "The Bells Sketch", but "CMYK" is another step ahead. Pure deepness!
Below a streaming of my two favorite tracks from the Ep : "I'll Stay" and "CMYK" :
Today is supposed to be the first day of the summer, I'm actually not so sure considering the winter-like temperature in Paris at the moment or this soccer world cup that is just a long bad dream for me.
Anyway I thought the 21st June date was a good enough excuse to set up a special selection of covers from one of my favorite classic soul track : "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" by Roy Ayers Ubiquity.
In this special selection you'll find nu-soul cuts from Ramp, D'Angelo or Erikah Badu but also a recent brazilian version from Seu Jorge. The lists ends up with an explosive drum&bass dub version from Buzz.
Streaming and track-by-track dwnld links below :
We mentionned Brooklyn-based rapper Theophilus London earlier this year following his great "This Charming Mixtape" and his showcase at Gilles Peterson's Worldwide Awards (review here).
The man recently released another mixtape, called "I Want You" that you can stream or download for free here.
In the same spirit as the first one, this mixtape also goes in a wide range of directions, mixing pop, electro or soul musical backgrounds with his really distinctive lyrics flows.
The result is uneven but there are a few gems inside like his impro on Marvin Gaye's "I Want You" or the really groovy "LightYears" sampling Roy Ayers.
Below the hot video from "I Want You" where Theophilus plays with some r&b clichés!
Dub, reggae, deep house and dubstep share the stage in the 7th part of our mixes series.
"Deep Riddims" starts with mid-tempo groovy reggae/dub sounds to slowly but surely go deeper into heavier electronic beats like recent great tech/dubstep tracks from Applebim & Ramadanman, Pangaea or Scuba.
Hope you like it!
Tracklisting, streaming and dwlnd links below.
Tracklisting : Smith & Mudd - 24-7 (Recloose Remix) Beatconductor - Hottest (Dub) - 3mn30s Johny Osborne - We Need Love (V4YS Small Edit) - 7mn45s Dj Vadim Feat. Katherin DeBoer - Black Is The Night - 11mn35s Fleetwood Mac - Never Going Back Again (Tom Croose Edit) - 15mn28s Monolake - Bicom - 18mn25s Nomumbah - Like A Rainbow - 21mn28s Eva Be - Unite Tonite (Feat Sugar B) - 24mn30s Appleblim & Ramadanman - Sous Le Sable - 27mn14s Liapin - Redskin (Agnes Remix) - 32mn45s Karol XVII & MB Valence - Jazzified - 38mn38s Pangaea - Router - 44mn30s Scuba - Three Sided Shape - 47mn50s
Femi Kuti is used to have a wide range of electro artists rework his nu-afrobeat productions.
His second album, "Shoki Shoki", was followed in 1999 by an outstanding "Shoki Remixed" Lp with remixes from several legendary deep-house producers such as Joe Claussel, Kerri Chandler, François K or Maw's Nuyorican Soul. Some of these electro versions have become deep-house classics (think of the reworks of the song "Beng Beng Beng" for instance).
This time around he asked several up-and-coming producers to remix songs from his 5th album, "Day By Day", that was released last year.
"Day By Day" blends afrobeat and more relaxed west-africans rythms, it is therefore not surprising that this "remixed" version focuses more on reggae/dub & downtempo/beats sounds rather than house (like it was the case for "Shoki Remixed").
Symbolic of this Lp style, the two reworks of "You Better Ask Yourself", in a reggae/dub style by Bost & Bim and in a broken-beats fashion by General Elektrik, or the gentle downtempo version of the beautiful "Day By Day" song from The Folkdub Posse. If house is not the dominant theme of this record it is nevertheless not totally absent either, as proven by the explosive "Let's Make History" dancefloor rework from Cassius.
All in all, if this LP does not match the quality of the original album, it is nevertheless a refreshing extension of Femi's work. These sunny afro-electro beats may not be unforgettable, but they are quite simply great for the season!
Below a deezer streaming of my three favorite reworks : "You Better Ask Yourself" remixed by Bost & Bim, "Day By Day" remixed by The Folkdub Posse and "Let's Make History" remixed by Cassius.
More about Femi on the blog : you can check here our review of Femi's recent live show in Paris at The Casino De Paris which contains a great full video of the concert!
