Raúl Monsalve y Los Forajidos return to Olindo Records with an explosive blend of indigenous Afro-Venezuelan rhythms, muscular spiritual jazz, future-funk, afrobeat and psychedelia on their new album ‘SOL’, an already singular band stretching themselves into masterpiece territory. With a distinctly different rhythmic heritage to many other Caribbean and Latin American countries, Raúl’s ethnomusicologist ear is as important as his brilliance as a composer and multi-instrumentalist. Inviting a top tier list of guests that includes Nick ‘Emanative’ Woodmansey, the great Congolese guitarist Kiala Nzavotunga, Tony Allen’s last musical director Yann Jankielewicz and Heliocentrics’ Malcolm Catto to collaborate with his multinational outfit, they manage to convey the complex heritage of Venezuela’s coastal regions with a contemporary, well-travelled energy. A mix of original songs are joined by startlingly new interpretations of numbers by Fela Kuti and John Coltrane, their ambition matched by their talents. Read / Listen.
Is it Spring yet? As usual, a diverse selection this month but I suppose the one thing they all have in common is their fusion of ideas and cultures, a fluidity of influences that creates something new and fresh. Music from Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ESINAM & Sibusile Xaba, Nadeem Din-Gabisi, Céline Dessberg, Ibelisse Guardia Ferragutti & Frank Rosaly, João Leão and Joe Armon-Jones. Enjoy!
At a roaring pace, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Dave De Rose has already released two separate musical projects this year and has another on its way. Having finally found a permanent third vertex of their adventurous triangle, the multinational Rave At Your Fictional Borders return with two new groove explorations, recorded and beautifully filmed as they were composed on the fly in a studio in Morocco. We are delighted to video premiere ‘Entanglement’ and being greedy and needy, we also tapped them up for an interview. Read / Listen.
Looking warmly back to Houghton Festival 2024, this mix is a reflection, a mash of memories of the kind of sounds you might hear at Pinters, a zone of musical discovery away from the tougher electronic sonics that pepper the beautiful festival site, Pinters is where the organic, the esoteric and the hilarious (Reggie Watts being all three) converge. Obviously there were loads more DJs and live acts than just our (Truth & Lies) curated bits but the mix I’ve put together is a blend of tracks that I played, some I wished I’d played, some inspired by other DJ’s sets and a sprinkling of artists who performed live over the long weekend including Nik Bärtsch’s Ronin, Sven Figee, Reggie, Harper Trio and Alabaster DePlume.
Aligned with his own path, Constantine Weir has travelled from the hothouse days of co-founding Galliano and their subsequent fame and splintering in the 90s’ to spending a decade studying the mysteries of Sufism in Senegal. Firmly back in London town, his music that he has returned to, carries the tales and wisdom of his experiences, spirituality merging with earthly love on this gorgeous Afro-folk-soul EP that channels the greats of Black music. With a voice and musical aesthetic that suggests heavy listening of Terry Callier, Curtis, Richie Havens and even further afield, ‘Service Rendered’ is a majestic collection of songs that, hopefully, signpost a full album to come. Read / Listen.
‘Reele Bumbou’ is Kaito Winse’s second album of powerfully delivered solo songs that lean heavily on the Burkina Faso griot tradition that he comes from. Whether sung in Mooré, Samo or French or accompanied by the mouth bow, tama talking drum or the Peul flute, Kaito’s multiple talents continue in the ancient oral tradition of passing along wisdom through musical virtuosity and positive proverb-heavy wordplay. In a time of global discordance and division, his music that seems to come from the beginning of time, holds a power that is both universal and mysterious. Read / Listen.
The always great Brighton label Mr Bongo returns with a second instalment of well curated and rare Malian musical treasures. Focussed on the 1970s’ and early 80s’, many of these post-independence tracks straddle the past and future. The recordings might vary dramatically in production quality but every song on ‘The Original Sound of Mali 2’ intrigues, haunts or brings joy to the listener. A young Salif Keita and the exuberant village songs of Allata Broulaye sit alongside state-sponsored orchestras and James Brown-channelling dance tracks, offering cultural history and sonic beauty in one package. Read / Listen.
Welcome to a new year and even though January is usually a quiet period for releases, here are a few tracks that have caught our bleary-eyed attention. From D’Angelo inspired R&B to frenetic Tanzanian mchiriku, there’s hopefully something fresh here for you. This episode includes Jamaica Mnanda. MISS C-LINE, Alabaster DePlume, El León Pardo and Raúl Monsalve y Los Forajidos.
Back in June, our Ex-Friendly dropped a salsa-fied DJ set on the Freetown Stage at the always brilliant Africa Oyé Festival in Liverpool and it went off with a huge dancing crowd led by the dude in the white hat who we subsequently found out is called Damien! A bunch of his backup dancers from Winsford Salsa joined in alongside our friends and tons of Oyé attendees and it was immense! We forgot that it was recorded and it is only now being shared on the latest edition of Africa Oyé Radio. Hoping it brings you some joy!
Check out this brand new video revealing the new project from the UK deep house legend Charles Webster and his collaboration with South African artist Muzi. Intimately recorded, we see the process behind their single 'Bakulindele', as good an example of contemporary SA house music as you will find. The single is released today on Kid Fonque’s awesome Stay True Sounds label and it promises much for the album to come! Watch / Read / Listen.