December Podcast - Best of 2017!

CMFCP December Podcast

Best of 2017!

The CMFCP December Podcast is an extended 90 minute episode in which we rattle through our favourite tracks of 2017! 

Tracks: 

The Black Madonna - His is The Voice I Hear (We Still Believe) 

Piero Umiliani - Discomania (Liuto) 

Zru Vogue - Do The Zru (Eskimo) 

Bonobo - Kerala (Ninja Tune) 

Lindstrom - Drift (Feedelity) 

Apostles - Banko Woman (Cultures of Soul) 

Elbertina 'Twinkie' Clark - Awake O Zion (Mr Bongo) 

Sampha - What Shouldn't I Be? (Young Turks) 

Jackson - Keep Swimming (Self-Release) 

Thundercat - Show Me The Way feat Michael McDonald & Kenny Loggins (Brainfeeder) 

Addison Groove - Changa (Self-Release) 

Alessandro Alessandroni - Afro Discoteca (Four Flies) 

Edith Peters - This Is The Moment (Rework by Gerard Frisina) (Schema) 

Com Truise - Idle Withdrawal (Ghostly International) 

Bicep - Glue (Ninja Tune) 

Todd Terje - Jungelknugen (Four Tet Remix) (Olsen Norway) 

Jamie 326 feat Masalo - Testify (Local Talk) 

*End of 'Best of 2017'* 

 New Releases spotlight: 

Ewan Hoozazmi feat Audible One - Freedom (Mr Bird Remix) (Particle Zoo) 

Tundra - The River (Particle Zoo) 

Geinoh Yamashirogumi - Akira OST

Geinoh Yamashirogumi - Akira OST (30th Anniversary Edition)

Milan Entertainment

Having been promised towards the end of last year, we finally see the reissue of one of the most sought after soundtracks of all time - that of 1987's Manga classic Akira. Not simply precious for it's rarity (only a handful of original vinyl and CD copies remain, fetching astronomical sums) it is a bona fide masterpiece. Yamashirogumi's forward-thinking blend of electronic and traditional instruments, new-age ambience, vocal ad-libs and experimental jazz, coupled with his extraordinary skill as a narrative composer, evoke a soundscape as dramatic, detailed and compelling as the film itself.

This repress also includes the composer's 'Symphonic Suite', composed in advance of the film. Indeed, some of the film was even altered to fit the composition, an unusual step that attests to the brilliance of the score.

Get it from Juno (UK), Discogs or any good stockist.

If you're interested in learning more about Anime soundtracks, check out the wonderful AnimeonVinyl Youtube page

Ata Kak - Time Bomb (Documentary)

Ata Kak - Time Bomb
RBMA

The truly remarkable, heartwarming tale of Ata Kak, brought to life in this RBMA documentary. The story of Ata Kak has some parallels with Sugarman, the South African folk musician whose music became a massive hit among young Americans 30 years after its recording and completey unbeknownst to the artist.

Ata Kak is a Ghanian villager who happened to make one album, at home in the early 90s. Some years later it was discovered by pure chance by African music collector Brian Shimkovitz, who was struck by how infectious, giddy and idiosyncratic the sounds were. He had never heard anything like it, and thus began a decade long search to find the artist responsible.

This is the story of how that all unfolded, and it will make you feel very, very happy.

Do not mug yourself by watching the doc and not then listening to the album in all its glory!

You can buy the album in a range of formats here (USA) or here (UK)

Los Camaroes - Resurrection (Analog Africa Records)

Los Camaroes - Resurrection
Analog Africa 

Brand new on Analog Africa... Los Camaroes were huge stars in their native Cameroon in the 70s. This album was lovingly remastered and licensed for reissue and is an infectiously happy, delightful slice of music history. Analog Africa have applied a customarily thorough description which I can't really add to, so have a listen and enjoy the liner notes below:

* The electrifying final album from Cameroon's legendary Los Camaroes, available on LP for the first time since 1979. 

* Recorded live to two track at the Mango Bar in Yaoundé, Resurrection Los was the last collaboration between bandleader Jean Gabari and groundbreaking guitarist Messi Martin. 

* Deluxe LP reissue features notes on the history of the band by original keyboardist Mbambo "Johnny Cosmos" Simon, plus all new interviews with producer Nicolas Mongué and engineer Emmanuel Guyssot. 

Cameroon, 1978: it's like any good western movie. A man drifts through the plains at the furthest edge of the country in search of two former gunslingers, hoping to coax them out of retirement for one last showdown. Except this time, the weapons are guitars and the gunslingers are Jean Gabari and Messi Martin – the calm sheriff and his hot-headed deputy – who had led the band Los Camaroes to superstardom at the beginning of the decade. 

Los Camaroes emerged at the end of the 1960s from the town of Maroua in the northern, predominantly Islamic area of Cameroon. After changes in name, in lineup and in management, they worked their way south to the capital to make a name for themselves; in the span of only a few years they changed Cameroon's music scene forever, leaving a trail of sold-out nightclubs and monster radio hits in their wake. Then, at the height of their popularity, they broke up. 

The band had been led from the beginning by Jean Gabari, whose level-headedness and even-handedness inspired the respect and devotion of his musicians. But it was Gabari's alchemical collaborations with guitarist Messi Martin that drove the band to its greatest heights. Martin had developed an innovation that would earn him fame throughout Cameroon as the "king of Bikutsi", as Johnny Cosmos explains: 

"The primary instrument in Bikutsi is the balafon, and Messi came up with a trick that consisted of chewing small pieces of paper until they reached the right consistency and then stuck them between the strings of the guitar. This trick, which made a guitar sound like a balafon, catapulted him to stardom and turned him into the founder of Modern Bikutsi." (Check the song "Bezimbi" to hear Messi Martin´s wizardry on a Bikutsi tune) 

Martin's extraordinary talents were matched by a character of great unpredictability. He had been lured away from the band before by the promise of success and, in 1975, when Los Camaroes were at the peak of their power, he left them once again. Gabari tried to keep the band going, but his own longstanding battles with ill health eventually forced him to return to his hometown. With Gabari and Martin gone, the rest of the musicians drifted away in search of other gigs. By 1978, Los Camaroes were no more than a rapidly fading memory. 

But then came the resurrection. 

From out of nowhere, a businessman named Atangana Joseph appeared in northern Cameroon. His goal: to track down the original members of Los Camaroes and get them back together for their one final shot at immortality. The musicians reconvened at the legendary Mango Bar in the capital city of Yaoundé, the very place where, years earlier, they had established their reputation as one of Cameroon's most fearsome live bands. 

Producer Nicolas Mongué and engineer Emmanuel Guyssot were called in from Douala to record what was being billed as a comeback album. There was talk of going into a studio, but Los Camaroes had always thrived on the energy of the nightclub scene; they decided instead to record it live to two-track in the Mango Bar. 

The six tracks on the album were performed by a mixture of new recruits and veterans from the original Camaroes lineup – including Mpouli "Dodo" Emmanuel on Guitars, Boloko Michel on Bass, Eyango Claude on Organ, the percussion duo of Ndi Bellui and Enama Leon, and vocal contributions from Sala Bekono Joseph and Ngoebang Jean Marie – but the urgent rhythms and shimmering guitars sound like a band who simply picked up where they had left off. It seemed that everyone on the record was inspired by the exhuberant reunion between Martin and Gabari, the two magicians from which Los Camaroes had been born and born again 

The album, Resurrection Los Vol. 1, was completed in only a few days. There would be no Volume 2. The music that emerged during the Mango Bar sessions was the culmination of a fifteen year musical bond between Gabari and Martin, and what was supposed to be a comeback album ended up being a last testament — Gabari would die only a few years later and Martin, without his foil, would never find the same level of musical success. Even at the time, these two titans of Cameroon's music scene seemed to realise it would be the last time they would ever work together. The resurrection of Los Camaroes was short-lived … but it produced a masterpiece. 

The Analog Africa Dance Edition reissue of "Resurrection Los" was designed by Kathrin Remest and remastered by Frank Merritt at the Carvery and comes with a wonderful poster housed in a deluxe gatefold sleeve featuring the story of the band as told by original keyboardist Mbambo "Johnny Cosmos" Simon, as well as new interviews with the production team who supervised the now legendary Mango Bar sessions. This essential slab of Cameroon's musical history, previously unreleased outside of Africa, is available on LP for the first time since 1979. 

Ozo - Anambra (Isle of Jura)

Ozo - Anambra

Isle of Jura

I'm in two minds here. This is very definitely Curious Music. I'm not convinced, however, that it's particularly good. That said, I feel there's a time and a place, possibly a state of inebriation, which would render listening to Ozo Anambra an exceptionally enjoyable experience.

Perhaps it's a victim of the stigma attached to chanting yogis and so on that means I can't help feeling like I'm in a holistic massage salon, rather than a transcendental state of bliss, which is probably not what cult 70s Dub-Folkers Ozo were trying to elicit. There's a point where I genuinely thought they were chanting 'Puff The Magic Dragon'.

At what point does an original concept become degraded by the existence of flattering, and sometimes mocking, imitators? Can we really view the origins of a trope through a lens unclouded by our knowledge of future mimickry? Where do clichés begin? 
As much as the Anambra sounds like the orgy scene soundtrack in Anchorman, it was the 70s when this was recorded, and I bet seeing Ozo perform it would have totally kicked ass. 
Plus you get a free tote bag with every order. So, swings, roundabouts, you know... 'Ommmmmmmmmmm'

Get it from Isle of Jura's Bandcamp here

Antonio Adolfo - Viralata (Reissue)

Antonio Adolfo                                                       

Viralata [1979] (Mr Bongo)                         

A seriously tasty Brazilian classic lovingly repressed by Mr Bongo. Fans of Deodato, Roy Ayers and decent Bossa Nova will love it.

Far Out reissue of this all-time classic from Antonio Adolfo. An essential Brazilian LP touching on jazz, soul, fusion and Samba. The opening track 'Cascavel', is a song that we have hammered over the years – a 'London Jazz Classic' and a favourite from Saturday night sessions at Plastic People.

SIDE A – 1.Cascavel / 2. Paraiba Do Sul / 3. Brincadeira Em Ré / 4. Brincadeira Em Mi Bemol / 5. Caminhada / 6. Vermelhinho // SIDE B – 1. Nordeste / 2. Alegria De Carnaval / 3. Diana E Paulo / 4. Vira-lata / 5. Assanhada / 6. A Marcha 

Out September 9th from Mr Bongo https://www.mrbongo.com/products/antonio-adolfo-viralata-1979-vinyl-lp

V/A The Microcosm: Visionary Music of Continental Europe, 1970-1986

V/A

The Microcosm: Visionary Music of Continental Europe, 1970-1986

Light In The Attic

LITA 143

The follow up to Light In The Attic’s game-changing I Am The Center box set is finally here. The Microcosm: Visionary Music Of Continental Europe, 1970-1986 is the first major overview of key works from cosmically-taped in artists needing little introduction — Vangelis, Ash Ra Tempel, and Popol Vuh — and unknown masterpieces by criminally overlooked heroes like Bernard Xolotl, Robert Julian Horky and Enno Velthuys.

Whereas I Am The Center called for a reconsideration of an entire maligned genre, The Microcosm requests nothing more than an open mind to consider this ambient, new age, neuzeit, prog, krautrock, cosmic, holistic stuff, whatever one calls it — as a pulsating movement unto itself, a mirror refracting the American new age scene in unexpected, electrifying ways, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt the universality of the timeless quest to express “the Ineffable” through music.

Drawing from major label budgets and homemade cassette distributed circumstances alike, The Microcosm demonstrates a depth of peace profound to behold, and clearly expands the boundaries. Lovingly conceived and lavishly presented by producer Douglas Mcgowan (Yoga Records) and liner notes contributor Jason Patrick Woodbury (Pitchfork, Aquarium Drunkard), The Microcosm features stunning cover paintings by Étienne Trouvelot, and labels by Finnish savant Aleksanda Ionowa.

Vangelis - Creation Du Monde




Ralph Lundsten - Bön 5 - Förlåt Oss Våra Skulder (Prayer 5 - Forgive Us Our Debts)




Ash Ra Tempel - Le Sourire Volé




Popol Vuh - Brüder Des Schattens - Söhne Des Lichts (abridged)




Ariel Kalma - Orguitar Soir




Bernard Xolotl - Cometary Wailing (Valley Plateau)




Peter Michael Hamel - Einklang




Francesco Messina - Untitled




Roedelius - Wenn Der Südwind Weht




Deutsche Wertarbeit - Der Grosse Atem




Robert Julian Horky - Dance For A Warrior




Karl Schaffner & Lothar Grimm - Caravan




Suzanne Doucet & Christian Buehner - Shivas Dance




Enno Velthuys - Morning Glory




Deuter - Spirales




Gigi Masin - Ship Beetel

Listen to some choices excerpts from the record below

And buy here https://lightintheattic.net/releases/2637-the-microcosm-visionary-music-of-continental-europe-1970-1986

Manu Dibango - Electric Africa

Manu Dibango

Electric Africa

Tidal Waves Music

TWM10

Manu Dibango needs little introduction, born in Cameroon in 1933, Manu developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music. He’s definitely among the best known African artists outside of Africa. Collaborations were numerous and include top acts like Fela Kuti, Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Sly & Robbie, Don Cherry and Bernie Worrell. In addition to selling hundreds of thousands of copies of the albums he recorded, he played such huge venues as Yankee Stadium and Madison Square Garden.

In 1972, at 40 years of age, Manu Dibango did something almost unheard of for an African artist – he had a pop hit. His song “Soul Makossa” became an enormous hit which influenced popular music for decades to follow. First picked up by David Mancuso (The Loft), “Soul Makossa” took New York dance floors by storm & in July 1973 it became the first disco record to enter the Billboard Top 40—an early instance of Western pop experiencing a paradigm shift thanks to Africa. The song’s chant of “ma-mako ma-ma-sa mako-mako sa” echoes through the greatest-selling pop album of all-time, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and it’s in the DNA of the music of Kanye West, Rihanna, A Tribe Called Quest, Akon and The Fugees.

By 1985, Dibango was back in Paris, one of the most successful African artists in the world, to start on the recordings for the Electric Africa album. This album hooked Manu and the Soul Makossa Gang up with New York avant garde producer Bill Laswell, jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, Parliament-Funkadelic keyboard player Bernie Worrell, Pan African synthesist Wally Badarou, New York guitarist Nicky Scopelitis, African drummer Aiyb Dieng and Malian kora virtuoso Mory Kante. This means of working gave Manu and Laswell license to fuse synthesizers and kora, talking drums and samples, ngoni and electric guitar. What it all boils down to is world beat in its truest sense.

Electric Africa remains one of Manu’s strongest albums. His deep growl of a honey and sandpaper voice and the energetic honk of his saxophone merge with the seamless samples and the myriad hand percussion and overt funkiness of his band. Herbie Hancock plays on three tracks, contributing an amazing electric piano solo on the title track and interacting with Manu’s sax while weaving to the warp of Mory Kante’s kora during “L’arbre a Palabres.” Similarly but more subtly, Laswell, Badarou and Worrell play dueling synthesizers in and around the band throughout ”Pata Piya.” All of this makes the album an hypnotic & upbeat Afro-Funk classic that will rock every part your body (and mind). Now finally back available as a limited vinyl edition for the first time since 1985.

Buy here: https://lightintheattic.net/releases/3536-electric-africa

Junior Byron - Trying To Hold On (CoS Reissue)

Very excited to present another fine Cultures of Soul release, this time the killer Junior Byron track "Trying To Hold On," written and produced by Wild Fire's Oliver Chapman and originally released on the Wild Fire label back in 1985. The A-side includes the original mix as well as the Version.

On the  B-side we've got the  epic "Megamix." The track was reworked by Gerd Janson, who created the mix old-school style with two copies of the record, a mixer, and an EFX box. Adding the final touches to this track is  mixing and mastering engineer LOPAZZ, who mastered many of the best techno tracks in the Get Physical catalog and released the seminal dance-classic "I Need Ya" on Output.  Pre-order for release on October 6th!

Here's a taste of the original cut

 

Pre-order here: https://culturesofsoul.com/collections/all/products/junior-byron-trying-to-hold-on-12

Freak of The Week - 6 - Jungle Exotica 2

I'm almost certain that all the bands on this record are white-American, which probably makes it all a bit racist. At the very least, it's almost offensive in its caricaturing of 'tribal' music, like blacking up and shouting 'Um Bongo, Um Bongo, they drink it in the Congo' while your band plays polyrhythyms and make gorilla noises.

But, having said all that, there is something interestingly playful about this collection of madcap 50's/60's 'exotic' rock n' rollers. Occasionally catchy riffs, and a genuine sense of fun pervade. It's probably akin to the Black and White Minstrel Show in its cultural sensitivity. Only the music is actually pretty wild and you kind of can't help but be charmed by the whole thing. Songs called things like 'Arabian Jerk' maybe a touch on the offensive side, but there are a few stand out moments such as The Tides' Midnight Limbo. Annoyingly, a few of the tracks from the CD didn't make the vinyl release, but overall it's a pretty interesting compilation from Crypt Records, and a worthy winner of our Freak of The Week!

Incidentally, I've featured Volume 2 purely because that's the copy I picked up - no idea what Volume 1 is like but I'm interested to find out!

Have a listen here

And buy it direct from Crypt here (US) or Discogs here 

Tullio De Piscopo - Suonando La Batteria Moderna

I wasn't sure whether to put this in 'Reissue of the Week' but Dan says he's got a jaffer so I'll leave that one to him and stick it here... 

This one is just essential for any producers or percussion enthusiasts... a high quality reissue of a 'holy grail' drum break compilation. I've got a fair few of these Drum Library type records and I've got to be honest, this one is the best by far. The recordings are quality yet rugged and rough, while the rhythms are explosive and super, super funky throughout. It's a touch expensive at £29.99, but I can't wait to get these breaks into the sampler and start enhancing my beats. 

Want it? Buy it from Juno Records here

Philly Re-Grooved: The Tom Moulton Remixes: Special Vinyl Edition - Great Deal!

Well, what do we have here? The inaugural, debut, first ever CMFCP post, that's what. POW, better make it a goodie.

Hopefully this is just that - I've picked up a rather beautiful looking box set collection of legendary Philly Remixer Tom Moulton's finest mixes. Now, for those who don't know, Tom Moulton is the inventor of the remix. Yes, I know, it seems implausible that one guy could invent something that is so embedded in our musical landscape, but that's exactly what he did.

Using reel to reel tapes he manually chopped and spliced disco hits of the time to get them just right for the dancefloor... and in doing so, inspired millions of future DJs and producers to do the same.

This collection has some absolute belters including the above. And what's also made my day is that this set is currently reduced over at Demon Music Group. You'll find it on Amazon for £70+, but Demon have it for £34.99, which is quite a saving.