Hyperdub EP 5.4 12" & 5 Years Of Hyperdub CD
Hyperdub EP 5.4 12" (Hyperdub)
The forth edition of the Hyperdub '5 Series' is now in at Conch, get it here| 01 | Martyn | Mega Drive Generation | clip | |||
| 02 | LD | Shake It | clip |
Conch Records
Upcoming: Shafiq Husayn (Sa-Ra) - Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka 2LP (Plug Research)
Shafiq Husayn (Sa-Ra) - Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka 2LP/CD (Plug Research)
Shafiq Husayn is a Master Teacher, someone who combines innate talent with the spiritual focus needed to reach their potential. As one third of the groundbreaking production trio Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Shafiq has been using his prowess to assist some of the greatest musicians of our generation, from Herbie Hancock to J Dilla, Dr. Dre to Erykah Badu. This fall Shafiq takes a step away from collective efforts to direct his own opus—his long-awaited debut album on Plug Research entitled Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka.
Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka is 17 tracks of innovative music that defies any singular classification. “The U.N. Plan†sounds like a call to arms with Shafiq roll calling nations over uncomprimising drums. “Major Heavy†takes the listener to the clouds with a hypnotizing chorus by the perennially underrated Count Bass D and superb lead vocals from LA’s Sonny Coates. “Lil Girl†finds Shafiq crafting a lo-fi, head-nod inducing beat that is perfectly matched with UK newcomer Fatima’s vocals. Shafiq enlists the help of more than 30 musicians and vocalists on the album, from bass phenomenon Steve “Thundercat†Bruner, the amazing Bilal, Om’Mas Keith of Sa-Ra Creative Partners, the classically trained multi-instrumentalist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson and many others. Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka is an experience in a way very few modern albums are. The title itself is clever but meaningful. In ancient Kemet, now known as Egypt, Ka signifies the soul or the mind, so this album represents Shafiq Husayn in a state of complete mental and spiritual freedom. Genres are melded, barriers are broken and trails are blazed through Shafiq’s masterful direction of music equipment, live instrumentation and vocalists. Tracklisting: 1. Intro / Electra 2. Nirvana 3. The U.N. Plan 4. Cheeba 5. Lil Girl 6. Lost & Found 7. Dust & Kisses 8. No Moor 9. All Dead 10. Major Heavy 11. Evil Man 12. Changes 13. Love Still Hurts 14. Le'Star 15. Egypt 16. The Odd Is C 17. Rebel SoldierMayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement CD / 2LP (Stonesthrow)
Mayer Hawthorne - A Strange Arrangement CD / 2LP (Stonesthrow)
Available on CD / 2LP with 4inch Single
Mayer Hawthorne grew up just outside of Detroit, and vividly remembers, as a child, driving with his father and tuning the car radio in to the rich soul and jazz history the region provided. “Most of the best music ever made came out of Detroit,†claims the singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, who counts Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, legendary songwriting and production trio of Dozier, Holland, and Holland Jr. The “retro†tag is added to almost any contemporary work that sounds like it was originally recorded between 1966 and 1974, and Hawthorne, among the newest contributors to the genre, is aware of how trends come and go. After being introduced to Stones Throw label head Peanut Butter Wolf, even the label boss was skeptical. “He showed me two songs and I didn’t understand what I was listening to,†Wolf recalls. “I asked him if they were old songs that he did re-edits of – I couldn’t believe they were new songs and that he played all the instruments.â€
And after meeting in person, it was even harder for Wolf to believe that Hawthorne was also the lead vocalist. Few expect such heartfelt sentiment to come from a 29-year-old white kid from Ann Arbor, but he has caught the ear of his family at Stones Throw, as well as BBC Radio 1 host Gilles Peterson and producer/DJ Mark Ronson. Expectations are high for the admitted vinyl junkie who never planned on taking his crooning public. Hawthorne’s hanging-by-a-string falsetto and breakbeat production on his first recorded effort, the tender “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out,†are simultaneously Smokey and J Dilla – equal parts “The Tracks of My Tears†and “Fall in Love.†“It’s soul,†he explains, “But it’s new.â€
Hawthorne has produced and played instruments for much of his life, but never intended to become a singer. He isn’t formally trained, and never sang in the church choir or in any of the bands he was in before founding the County (formerly the County Commissioners). But here he is, new school soul sensation, who has taken the Motown assembly-line production model and eliminated nearly every element but himself and a few hired hands. “I think Mayer is the only artist in the history of the label that I’ve signed after hearing only two songs,†says Peanut Butter Wolf. “Sometimes, you just know it’s the right thing to do.†And for those willing to believe anything is possible, be grateful to have Mayer Hawthorne on the scene. It’s not just throwback music anymore – this revival is all about progression.Available on CD / 2LP with 4inch Single
Video: Electric Wire Hustle - Perception
'Perception' Electric Wire Hustle from Electric Wire Hustle on Vimeo.
Electric Wire Hustle's new video for 'Perception' from their self titled debut album.Pax Nicholas and The Nettey Family - Na Teef Know the Road of Teef (Daptone)
Pax Nicholas and The Nettey Family - Na Teef Know the Road of Teef CD/LP (Daptone)
Available on CD / LP
Sample Tracks: 1. Na Teef Know De Road of Teef 2. Ataa Onukpa 3. Na Six Feet 4. YouNicholas Addo-Nettey was born in Accra, Ghana on August 7th, 1954. From his early childhood on he was dedicated to music: he started singing in a gospel choir when he was only 6, and later on joined different traditional and cultural groups as a dancer and percussionist. In the 60s, Ghanaian youth were crazy about American soul music, and Nicholas was no exception to the rule. James Brown and Otis Redding were his idols, and by the age of 18 he started to perform himself. Shortly after, fellow musician Joe King Kologbo invited him to the Mecca of African funk music: Lagos, Nigeria. Nicholas was not only talented but also lucky. Kologbo introduced him to Fela Anikulapo Kuti, the undisputed Godfather of Afrobeat. He was able to convince the master of his skills as a drummer and singer and in 1971 became a full member of Fela´s legendary band Africa 70 as a conga player and background singer. The first record he appeared on was “Shakara†– an international smash hit and one of Fela´s greatest. Nicholas was at the right place at the right time. In the 70s, stars like James Brown, B.B. King, Ginger Baker, Stevie Wonder and Manu Dibango came to Lagos to visit Fela’s Shrine Club to hear this new and incredibly heavy thing called Afrobeat.
While playing and recording for Fela’s Africa 70 (he appeared on all of Fela’s releases between 1971 and 1978), Mr. Addo-Nettey also always had his own thing going on the side. He released two solo LPs for the Tabansi Label with the Martin Brothers Band from Portharcort, Nigeria: Mind Your Own Business in 1971 and Na Teef Know The Road of Teef in 1973. The latter, made with Africa 70 musicians and singers, is heavy Afro-funk, recorded in Ginger Baker’s highly equipped Lagos studio, where many of Fela’s albums were recorded, as well. Obviously, Fela was not amused at all about these kinds of things, even less when he heard how strong the Na Teef… album was. Reportedly, he said, “Don’t you ever, EVER play it again!†And so it was. Despite being a killer record, Na Teef… remained undercover for more than 30 years.
The story of Na Teef… would have ended there had it not been for Frank Gossner (aka DJ Soulpusher of voodoofunk.com, a dedicated cratedigger who, in the 90s, found a copy hidden at a record store in Philly, tracked down Nicholas in Berlin, and brought the album to the attention of Daptone Records.
As for Nicholas, in the 70s he experienced life in Fela’s Kalakuta Republic, a place where about 100 musicians, dancers, friends and family members of Fela lived, played, loved, and celebrated together. It was a property in Lagos that had been declared an independent state by Fela, in open defiance of the brutal dictatorship that was ruling in Nigeria at that time. The regime, which hated Fela for his radical messages and his popularity, attacked Kalakuta several times. In one of these raids, Nicholas was arrested with several other band members and remained in prison for nine months, where he was strongly mistreated. During another army attack in 1977, Fela’s mother was thrown out of an upstairs window and killed, and the whole compound was burned to the ground. The dangerous conditions became to much for Nicholas to bear. When playing at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1978, he and other band members, including drummer Tony Allen, left Africa 70 because they didn’t want to go back to Nigeria. While Allen moved to Paris, Nicholas stayed in Berlin where he raised two sons and continues to play music to this day. Pax Nicholas now leads his own band, Ridimtaksi, which features West African musicians, continuing to play his own fresh take on Afrobeat.
– Matti Steinitz
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