Review: 'Yebo! Rare Mzansi Party Beats from Apartheid's Dying Years' compiled by John Armstrong (BBE Music)

If you think of South African music was limited to native's like Johnny Clegg and well known activists Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela plus a couple of US imports, Paul Simon (with Ladysmith Black Mambazo) and Sixto 'Sugarman' Rodriguez; the 'Yebo!' compilation shows that we've got lots of catching up to do.

Focusing on "Rare Mzansi Party Beats from Apartheid's Dying Years", John Armstong's compilation of 80s "pops" are much more than you'd expect as the chart US soul, disco, boogie, jazz and funk are all going on plus thier own "Now That's What I Call Mansi" style where you can can get synth pop, jazz and Michael Jackson licks all going on at the same time; similar to REWARM's reissue of Small's 'Don't Leave Me In The Rain (see review HERE).

The reason we're told is that there was a need to appeal to the wide multi-ethnic, multilingual audience that covers such a massive area so that the generic term ended up at "Bubblegum" [not the US sixities version or the Belgium rare soul version] with the downtempo Mzani.

Whilst the cover might not look as cool as some 80s dancehall, there's some great tracks here that we've never heard before like the sing-a-long, 'I Was Born In Africa' by Richie S, the mod-soul of 'Crocodile's Rock' by Black Moses & The Soul Brothers and the too-slow-to-Manzi, 'Nwananga Washanesera' by Joe Masunga (apparently Joe's clothing was designed by Sue Ellen Wylie!)

The equivalent of Pete Waterman on many of these tracks is Peter 'Hitman" Moticoe and he's clearly a name to look out for along with Tools & Figs, 'Blackout' is a great Afro-synth-mix 

At the other extreme, Joy White's contribution sounds like some strange 80s TV soap theme music and then there's Paul Ndlovu who became a household name after his 1985 hit, 'Khombora Mina' that's more than a touch reggae.  The opening track is also one of his, 'Takane' that's more in the 80s disco groove as is the 'Phil Fearon & Galaxy' period, 'Jonny Boy' (12" Dancemix 1986) by The Angels.

Armstrong has been compiling Afro, Brasil, South African funk and Cuban music for many years and I can see Mzansi Party Beats has is more than likely to have at least a Volume 2 as not only is the music a find, the vinyl is on a triple LP gatefold set along with CD and digital formats.

In the meantime, lets search eBay for some 80s Sue Ellen Wylie design wear.

Artist: Various Artists

Title: 'Yebo! Rare Mzansi Party Beats from Apartheid's Dying Years' compiled by John Armstrong

Release date: 30th June, 2023

Label : BBE Music

Catalog Number : BBE421 LP / CD / Digital / Bandcamp 

Review: Stefano De Santis - Sick With Rhyme ‘North Street West’ Remix EP (Ramrock Red Records)

It's been a touch over 6 months since we had the release of Stefano De Santis' 'Unreachable Galaxy EP' (see review HERE), but there's no sign of the Ramrock production line slowing down as The North Street West trio get back in the space ship to reach out to those galaxies.

You'll recall that Stefano De Santis is an Italian musician/composer/producer and produced his "modern jazz-funk" on an array of keyboards from Fender  Rhodes, piano, clavinet, Prophet 5, Moog, Solina String Ensemble, Juno 6! Form the remix, Ashley Beedle jumps on the drum programming stool, Darren Morris adds some new keyboard jazzness and with Jo Wallace arrangements with get two new versions.

The remixes of 'Sick With Rhyme', with vocal and dub versions, do bring the BRUK sound up-to-date as its Bugz In Attic phazers are locked on to CDr/Co-Op, the Herbie style keys are in-tune with the broken dancefloor and there's 'Lyric L' telling you that, "ya gotta move to ya booty la la to this".

Going to be hearing this from DJs Gilles Peterson, Colin Curtis, Kev Beadle etc along with Ramrock's very own Ashley Beedle of course.

Artist: Stefano De Santis

Title: Sick with Rhyme ‘North Street West’ Remix EP

Release date: 3rd July, 2023

Label: Ramrock Red Records 

Cat. No: RRR044

Format: Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Maxine Scott - New To This EP (Ramrock Blue)

More new releases from the Ramrock stable finds a more mature Maxine Scott being 'New To This'.

As the last release, with Alf.E, 'Guard Down (see review HERE) was a step up from the previous single, also with Alf.E, 'SXC' (see review HERE), even with some child like giggles, this is shows further evidence that Ms. Scott is one to follow. 
With the instrumental, the beats are matched with some strings and dreamy harp to the slightly saucey lyrics.

If you're new to the work of Maxine, you may have heard her 'Erykah U Bad' track last year that was popular on BBC 6 Music and then there was 'Ya Energy' which was more hip-hop than the tracks already mentioned.  And we're still promised a No'West remix of the new track, working with the Black Science Orchestra (so looking forward to the return of BSO) and a house EP with Andrew Sant!

Artist: Maxine Scott 

Title: New To This EP 

Release date: 30th June, 2023

Label: Ramrock Blue Records

Cat. No: RRB021

Format: Bandcamp / Digital

Review: Simon Mavin - Good Hair Day / Only You & Me (Bastard Jazz Recordings)

Can you have a good hair day in a musical spaceship?  You can if you're Simon Mavin as he launches his latest EP on Bastard Jazz.

If you're a fan of the first wave of current Aussie/Melbourne jazz-funk-hip-hop-soul-bruksters, Hiatus Kaiyote, you'll note Simon is the keyboard whiz, co-produer & co-writer in the band.

He definitely had a 'Good Hair Day' when he produced this track and fellow Meburnian(?), Harvey Sutherland, upped the pace and added more synths on the remix (and a reminder to dig out Sutherland's last album 'Boy' that featured that funkster, "Commander" DāM-FunK).

And talking of out there funk mission, 'Only You & Me' is very jazz-funk-Roger(and out there) with another great remix, this time by Aussie duo, Close Counters that ups the broken beat.

The label is increasingly our 'Leftfield of the Year' at this rate as this EP closely follows BusCrates album, 'Control Centre' (see review HERE) and this EP is ideal get ready to party tunes.

Artist: Simon Mavin 

Title: Good Hair Day / Only You & Me EP

Release date: 30th June, 2023

Label : Bastard Jazz Recordings

Catalog Number :  Digital / Bandcamp  

Review: LILAMORS - When I Am Dead, My Dearest (Latenite Lounging)

You'll recall that the group known as LILAMORS is the trio of German pianist Thilo Seevers, sound artist Jaka Arh and Slovenian vocalist Ana Čop.

We got a bit excited about the first single 'Slow Traveller' as "an experimental, Norma Winstone, ECM vs. Jazzland Bugge Wesseltoft, Silje Nergaard as minimal Balearic electronica: which is definitely, "Out there!" 

And the follow up 'Home' is a "counterbalance, [of] neo-classical piano minimalist" (see review HERE with a link to the Colour & Pitch Session that starts with 'Home').

The forthcoming album, 'When I Am Dead, My Dearest' (out 30th June), hints at a mix of the extremes with OST leanings

Indeed, any album that starts with an 'Alice Through The Looking Glass' style poem called 'Outro' tells us that these guys like to push boundaries,  We are told it's, "Music as a glitch in the time-space continuum". 

I'm couldn't say what that means.  I suspect 'Slow Traveller' might be the best example as tracks like 'And Now You're Gone' (a track in 3 parts) is as close to Winstone/Tippett wordless improvisation/jazz vocal whilst 'Dream Land' could be anything from Broadway to Judy 'Send In The Clowns' Collins.

And the title track reminds me of Annabel (Lee) in their Ninja Tune period before they started doing cover versions (see HERE) mixed with Robert Wyatt's 'Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard' period (for 'She Dried Her Tears' and 'But Still She Cries').

You get the idea that you're not going to be able to put these guys in a convenient box and I hope they stay this enigmatic and avoid slipping into a Ludovico Einaudi "comfort zone" as good as he is.

Artist: LILAMORS

Title: When I Am Dead, My Dearest 

Release date: 30th June, 2023 

Label: Latenite Lounging

Cat. No: LNL012ADG

Format: Bandcamp / Digital

Review: Various Artists - Deep House Lovers (Be Adult Music)

Fans of Be Adult Music will be happy that there's a new compilation coming out on the label; but let's hope they're grown up enough for a slightly deeper house than they are used to!

And 'getting  deeper' for these goes can stretch from a 'tribute' to 'Boogie Nights' (as reimagined as Latin disco-dub funk by Carlos Sanchez) to a Balearic beach zephyr. 'Feel The Breeze' (Moo Vee) to a bouncey remix of Sumsuch's 'Find Home' by Alex Kentucky & Ivan Garci as the day draws to a close (Sunset Mix) - fans of the Colour & Pitch head honcho will recall this is the one featuring Matty Eeles who's vocal is remincent of the jazzy end of Antony Hegarty; also check out 'Don't Go' and the latest on Colour & Pitch (Sen-Sei & Jason Merle's 'Traduire' - see review HERE).

You also get an organ express train awakening, 'Rude' (Matt Gilespie & Amir Groove) that will stay in everyones DJ bag forever, Mark Mac (different spelling) with a classic opener, 'Across The Globe'.

As a somewhat different tangent is Juan Domecq's 'Haunted Me' with it's synth ghost whispers and Aurel den Bossa & Ias Ferndale's, 'Calla Gracionetta' which has a Balearic 80s vocal vibe about it.

So, as you can tell, something for everyone and it's not just for lovers of deep house as it's always good to be a grown up.

STOP PRESS: Oh! What's that I hear, something from the other side of the office?  Sumsuch says, " 'Find Home' has really become a gift that keeps on giving. When I released the track in 2015 on my own Colour and Pitch label, it became something of a low-key hit around the beach bars and terraces on Ibiza and across the Balearics. Alex Kentucky in particular (one of the nicest DJs and humans you'll ever find) championed the tune, and asked if it would be OK to re-release it on his Be Adult imprint with a remix by Vincenzo, a favourite producer of mine. That rework became the stuff of legend, and I'm so happy to see Alex and Ivan provide yet another version of the song, perfectly timed for another lazy summer." Well, there won't be any fights in the playground with those thoughts.

Artist: Various Artists 

Title: Deep House Lovers

Release date: 29th June 2023

Label; Be Adult Music

Catalog Number: BAM316

Review: Nimbus Sextet - Impulsive (Stereo Single Version) (Nuovi Fratelli Produzioni)

Any fans of the influencial jazz label Impulse, will immediately spot the inspiration for the Nimbus Sextet's latest single, 'Impulsive'.

Impulse, the label, was at one of it's pinnacles when there was a choice in album purchases that went beyond the colour of vinyl, being 'mono' or 'stereo'.

The multi-national jazz group based in Scotland have not quite gone as far as the  'mono' or 'stereo' 7", but it'll get you excited about forthcoming 2023 gigs that starts at the home of UK Jazz, Ronnie Scott's (see below listing) 

The band have released a couple of album's on Acid Jazz, 'Dreams Fulfilled' (2020) and 'Forward Thinker' (2022), both were produced by Nuovi Fratelli (the duo of Wayne A. Dickson and Luigi Pasquini) and it's about time we had another record as the UK jazz scene continues to deliver exceptional band.

In the meantime,  don't think about it, do it on impulse!

1. Jun

   28

   London, UK

   Ronnie Scott's

2. Jul

   7

   Belfast, UK

   Scott's Jazz Club

3. Jul

   8

   OUTDOORNorwich, UK

   Chapelfield Gardens

4. Jul

   19

   Hove, UK

   The Brunswick

5. Jul

   20

   Manchester, UK

   Matt & Phreds

6. Jul

   21

   Nottingham, UK

   Peggy's Skylight

7. Jul

   22

   Leeds, UK

   Domino Club

8. Jul

   23

   Bristol, UK

   Dareshack

Review: Sen-Sei & Jason Merle - Traduire (Colour & Pitch)

House dub-jazz funk with French vocal vibes; yes, Colour & Pitch's new release is a crowd pleaser of the highest order.

Sen-Sei (originally outta Brooklyn) has joined forces with Jason 'Let Me Do It' Merle (San Francisco) to translate 'Traduire' in two versions, 'Original' (that's pretty dubby with French vocals) and a 'French Filter Mix' (that's even hyperdubby with French airport lounge vocals).

As you look out over the horizons (as per the cover photo), this will take you onto another level.

Expected to be on the Colour & Pitch Sessions monthly mix with Sumsuch - always an essential listen.

Colour and Pitch · Colour and Pitch Sessions with Sumsuch - June 2023

Artist: Sen-Sei & Jason Merle 

Title: Traduire EP

Release date: 23rd June, 2023

Label: Colour and Pitch

Catalog Number: CAP085

Review: BusCrates - Control Center (Bastard Jazz)

So we know Bastard Jazz are deep diggers but BusCrates is doing his retro take on deep soul funk hip-hop now, and it's all from the 'Control Center'.

Billed as "a balancing act between vintage 80s synths" and "90s boom bap" in a melodic soul envelope, these tracks are the instrumental funk; like that Dâm Funk can produce but more jazzy.

'Get It Going' is a perfect example and if you want to funk up your imaginary summer city park Ryuichi Sakamoto theme, try 'Internal Dialogue'. 

The title track and  'Clarity' are proper uptempo bouncers, if you wanna to go all Radio Saturn/old skool Daedelus, there's sweet hybrid in 'Prisms' and another one that caused some NY noise is 'Buckin'' that features DJ Epik.

And talking of DJs, DJ Spinna is a mutual friend of Peter Franks (Futuristica Music - new album review HERE) and BusCrates (which may or not  been the reason for the BusCrates Remix of 'Sirens') but it shows another knob twist to his musical synth/keys expertise.

The one for the radio playlist is 'On My Way' that features the vocals of Soraya Watti that so Capital Gold (but in a more than good way).

Bastard Jazz have gone the full steel mill mile with this release with vinyl LP and 7" ('Internal Dialogue') and t-shirt options.  This is so different to their other recent release on the label, the equally brilliant and diverse, Captain Plant's 'Sounds Like Home LP' they are going to have a busy summer.

Artist: BusCrates

Title: Control Center 

Release date: 27th January, 2023

Label : Bastard Jazz Recordings

Catalog Number : LP / Digital / Bandcamp  

Review: Takeo Moriyama - Live at Lovely (BBE Music - J-Jazz Series)

There's been many great performances unearthed by the J-Jazz team of Tony 'Jazz Dad' Higgins and Mike Peden, but how they'd loved to have been at Lovely to have heard the Takeo Moriyama Quartet live in December of 1990.

And we know that because BBE have (re)issued what was once a Japan only CD release (1991) as the latest in the J-Jazz series as a special remastered double vinyl edition with translated sleeve notes and new sleeve notes by Tony.

The five tracks log in at just over an hour but what an explosive gig it was with Moriyama (d), Toshihiko Inoue (ts), Hideaki Mochizuki (b) and Fumio Itabashi (p); Itabashi composed all the tracks apart from the standard, 'Hush-A-Bye'.

Needless to say that all these guys can play.  Moriyama has had albums released where he's played with jazz names as varied as Mal Waldron, Takehiro Honda and Peter Brötzmann so there's nothing he can't do style wise.

Appropriately in the week of the longest day, the album opens with 'Sunrise' which put some extra power post-bop into your solar panels; it's heavier that a Stonehedge stone circle: Itabashi drops some Keith Jarrett as Inoue goes off planet with some modal spiritualism.  It's fantastic and it's somewhat of a relief after 14 minutes there is some gentle tones of 'Watarase' which was originally recorded on Moriyama's 1981 album 'Smile' (when he had two sax players) and turned up on a Jazzman Spiritual Jazz compilation a few years ago.   This live version is twice as long and like a Wayne Shorter in Japan lotus blossom.

But what can you say about the 20 minutes masterpiece that is 'Exchange'?  Moriyama's got an mixture of Art Blakey swing/Bill Ward villain/Kyoto Drum Ensemble with a touch of Chick Corea's 'Spain' thrown in, all on speed at a free-style jazzdance; it'd play it in the dance tent.

Even 'Hush-A-Bye' which I'd normally not bother with is given a deeper depth as there's an urgent swing going on for 10 minutes as they all take a bow.

This release which is somewhat encapsulated with the cover photograph; Takeo and drums that are half in light and half dark with a bit of a facial grimace on just before he's about to explode which is a bit like the track they finish off with, 'Good bye'.  And whilst we're never going to see December 1990 again, we can all party like it's 1991 with this massive re-issue.

NOTE: NO DIGITAL FORMAT BANDCAMP

Artist: Takeo Moriyama

Title: Contrast

Release date: 23rd June, 2023

Label : BBE Music

Catalog Number : BBE671 LP  Order from Bandcamp