Etienne de la Sayette’s new solo album Kobugi is an atmospheric and sometimes playful look into his deeply musical life when he’s not touring the world with his bands Akalé Wubé or Baesh Bang - a fresh sound for a dirty world…read / listen more…
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Albert Ayler 'New Grass' (Third Man Records) - a review
Jazz avant-gardist Albert Ayler never chose the easy path…a fearless musical adventurer who went his own way but didn’t live long enough to realise his enduring influence outside of jazz. Here on his 1969 LP ‘New Grass’ he smashed down the doors between jazz and soul music creating something brilliantly unique but at the time, hugely polarising. Nashville label Third Man Records have decided it’s worth our reappraisal and are reissuing it on vinyl. Read / Listen here…
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New Music Reviews by Mauro Ferreiro - June 2020
We asked our friend and collaborator Mauro Ferreiro (Error Subcutáneo) to review some recent releases we’ve been listening to and as a talented musician and producer in his own right, he’s got some great insight…read / listen here…
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Daisy Godfrey 'Take a Sec' (Running Circle) - a review
Check out the sumptuous new single from Nottingham soul-jazz singer Daisy Godfrey …classic sounds, classic voice…read/listen here…
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RIP Tony Allen - A True Giant Of Music (1940 - 2020)
A personal experience of Tony Allen from Ex-Friendly…read / listen here…
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Maria Chiara Argirò 'Hidden Seas (Remixed)'
Maria Chiara Argirò has asked her longtime electronic collaborators In a Sleeping Mood and Pour Atom Oil to reimagine her own unique take on jazz and they’ve come up with something as unique as her original material…read more…
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Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad featuring Roy Ayers 'Synchronize Vibration' (Jazz Is Dead) - a review
A brand new Roy Ayers album? Check out the first single from the LP and get excited (in a chilled way of course)…read / listen more…
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Music That Speaks To...Three Body (Running Circle)
Three Body are a trio of musicians, producers and cosmic explorers who also guide the Running Circle collective. On the back of their eponymously titled release on the label, we asked them to contribute to our ‘Music That Speaks to..’ series and they’ve given us some suitably healing selections for these inner times….read / listen more…
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Recondite Caribbean Gems: Rhythms of the Dominican Republic
An illuminating look and listen at the wondrous yet often overlooked rhythms of the Dominican Republic from Santo Domingo native and creative wunderkind Mauro Ferreiro. Read / listen here….
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Alex Attias presents Lillygood Party Vol 2 - a review
The second instalment of Alex Attias faves from his Lillygood parties that he runs and DJs at in Lausanne…Sophisticated dance music for ‘grown ups’….read / listen more….
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BBE In-store: Tabansi Studio Band - Album Launch
Our own Ex-Friendly joins legendary compiler John Armstrong at The BBE Store in East London for the launch of two albums by the brilliant Tabansi Studio Band…Afrobeat but not as we know it!
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Gentlemen's Dub Club at the Rescue Rooms 19/02/20 - a review
Gentlemen’s Dub Club bring the skank and sweat to the Rescue Rooms…read more….
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Xoliso 'Shingwanyana' (SHARP-FLAT / BBE) - a review
A killer 1974 album of pump-action grooves and outsider psyche sounds out of Pretoria, South Africa given the top shelf reissue treatment from SHARP-FLAT and BBE….listen / read more….
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Siduku Buari 'Disco Soccer' (BBE) - a review
If you love your disco, this 11 track album from 1979 is a must…the real sound of NYC nightlife seen through the eyes of an unconventional artist…read/listen here…
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Mario Swagga and DJ Silila ‘Mapenzi Digital’ (Digital Love) - a review
Pure madness! 300bpm Tanzanian Singeli mayhem out now on emerging UK label Sign….read/listen more..
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Simbad Presents Collections Vol One (BBE) - a review
A favourite DJ and producer of Gilles Peterson amongst many, Simbad has been a prolific remixer for BBE over the years but here is his first album for them and it’s a backdated journey through his unique prism of electronic soul….read/listen more…
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'Rhythm Rhyme Revolution #3' - a review
In the third of his ‘Rhythm Rhyme Revolution’ series, Barrie Sharpe has created a record that looks back at the smoke-filled basements of early 90s London but carries his soulful rare groove vibes into 2019 as cool as it ever was…read/listen more here…
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Ebo Taylor 'Palaver' (BBE) - a review
A ‘lost’ album from the undisputed heavyweight champion of Ghanaian funky-highlife, Ebo Taylor you say? Finally released by BBE after nearly 40 years on the shelf, this is a wonder…read/listen here…
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Bro David: Modern Music From Belize (Cultures Of Soul) - a review
Bredda David Obi wanted to create a modern tropical sound for his homeland Belize and he did just that. It was called Kungo (or Cungo) and the excellent Cultures Of Soul label have put together a superb compilation of Bro David’s works….read/listen here…
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Maria Chiara Argirò 'Hidden Seas' album - a review
‘Hidden Seas’ is the second album from Italian pianist and composer Maria Chiara Argirò and it is a lovely collection of songs exploring the theme of water with a finely balanced blending of jazz, electronica, classical and folk forms….read/listen more…
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