Review: Invisible Inc. have been nailing solid Afro-dance fusions since time immemorial, but one of their best and more recent claims to fame come in the form of the 'Invisible Session', an instrumental supergroup championing collaboration. This new 7", 'Africa Calling', consists of two leftover recordings from the 'Echoes Of Africa' album, and meditates on Gambian kora and guitar, showing off just how much emotion the instruments can vibrate out of each other when played in quick succession. Both steadying an electronic Afrobeat chug, the guitarry A-side sounds oddly harplike, while Massimo Napoli's kora version sounds a lot more terrestrial and has East Asian traditional music feel.
People All Around The World, Can Make It (Studio live take) (5:51)
Review: Milanese quartet The Invisible Session has a proven track record of delivering soulful nu-jazz workouts, with each successive release displaying a different range of influences (think jazz-funk, soul-jazz, Afrobeat, spiritual jazz and so on). So what do they have in store for us this time round? In its original form (side A), 'People All Around The World Can Make It' is a deliciously languid, fluid, sun-splashed number that effortlessly joins the dots between Afro-soul, soul jazz-and jazz-funk - all spiritual group vocals, Tony Allen-style drums, punchy horns and spacey synthesizer flourishes. The accompanying 'studio live take' is stripped-back affair that adds attractive delay trails to the horns, removes the vocals and prioritises the Fela-inspired groove. In other words, it's effectively their take on a reggae style 'riddem' version. Proper.
Review: Over the last couple of years, we've been treated to numerous reissues of classic cover versions by Japanese reggae/rocksteady combo Inokasira Rangers, including takes on Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', Pharrell's 'Happy' and New Order's 'Blue Monday'. Here we're treated to another, as the band's 2017 take on Underworld anthem 'Born Slippy' gets a fresh pressing. It's certainly a revolutionary revision, with Keichi Sokabe's surprisingly Karl Hyde-sounding lead vocal rising above a lusciously languid, sub-heavy reggae groove. Over on the flip they take on 'Groove Tube', a 1991 indie-pop-meets-acid house single from Japanese outfit Flipper's Guitar, reframing it as a baggy, glassy-eyed rocksteady number.
Review: Correcciones Calypso returns from a generous hiatus with the fourth edition of its acclaimed edit series, replete with four re-edits that veer from the subtle to the downright brazen. Thomass Jackson and INigo Vontier invite the French duo Youkounkoun to open proceedings with an insane early 80s edit full of big drums and exotic touches that's been blowing dancefloors all around the world for the past years - and definitely resides in the brazen category, despite a lot of work having gone into it. Olta Karawame make their debut on the series with a powerful, compact edit full of ballsy keyboard riffing and a military-sized kick drum that is guaranteed to have heads banging . To complete the release label bosses Thomass and INigo deliver edits of their own with their characteristic sound, giving this EP maximum a value for money factor and entertainment from start to finish.
Review: If Electricity is anything to go by, Eno Williams and his Ibibio Sound Machine band were particularly productive during the various pandemic lockdowns of 2020 and '21. The resultant album, the rightly acclaimed group's fourth studio set to date, is predictably inspired, with hired-in producers Hot Chip wisely choosing to subtly tweak rather than totally overhaul the band's distinctive trademark fusion of kaleidoscopic synth-funk, West African disco and boogie, '80s electro and the more electronic end of the post-punk spectrum. Highlights include the throbbing, polyrhythmic Afro-electro of 'Electricity' and the acid-sporting nu-disco brilliance of 'All That I Want', but it's the set's overall feel - described by Williams as "Moroder meets Afro-futurism" - that really delights.
Review: Popularly known to fans as "Ice" - a rare case of hypocorism in colloquial fan band nicknaming - Strut Recordings document a rare record from the vaults of the luminary Lafayette Afro-Rock Band, one that is arguably the closest in their catalogue to the signature sound defining their earlier work. Marked by an especially complex funk rhythmology, this record was pressed contemporaneously with the infamous Soul Makossa and Malik sessions; but compared to their earlier works, Afro Agban pushes deeper into jazz-rock territory. 'Ozan Koukle' has espceially become a known but coveted missing link for turntable taxonomists, who'll thank their lucky stars for the fact that it is now available in full.
Review: The Invisible Sessions new album Echoes of Africa is the first on the newly launched Space Echo label out of Italy and is richly rooted in black music. It's been 15 years since a breakout release put this group on the map and now trombonist and multi-instrumentalist Gianluca Petrella and poet, rapper and MC Martin Thomas Paavilainen (aka Benjamin "Bentality" Paavilainen) link once more to great effect as they use jazz as a vehicle to convey their messages of cultural synergy, unity and love. Afro-beat and Ethio-jazz, funk, psychedelia, and modal music all colour the most compelling grooves.
Review: Far Out Recordings launches its 30th anniversary celebrations with the highly anticipated release of The Ipanemas's Samba is Our Gift which lands on vinyl for the very first time. Originally dropped in 2006, the album seamlessly blends Afro-Brazilian-bossa rhythms with classic vocal samba, transporting listeners back to the vibrant Rio de Janeiro of the 1960s. Comprising drummer and vocalist Wilson Das Neves and guitarist Neco, The Ipanemas played a pivotal role in popularising bossa nova in the 1950s. Collaborating with Brazilian luminaries like Elis Regina and Antonio Carlos Jobim, they bridged jet-set bossa with the roots-y samba of the black Brazilian working class and this is a great introduction to their work if you aren't familiar.
Review: Uganda: Dawn Of Rock is a great collision of creative talents from Akira Ishikawa and Count Buffaloes who combine to deliver a captivating exploration of rock music's emergence in Uganda. A classic since it was first issued, the album showcases Ishikawa's masterful drumming and Count Buffaloes' dynamic instrumentation. It overflows with infectious rhythms and soulful melodies and each track immerses listeners in the vibrant music scene of Uganda where rock and local African sounds are fused into something new. As such this is a record that offers a perfect glimpse into a pivotal moment in Uganda's musical history.
Review: Craft Latino celebrates Fania Records' 60th anniversary with a reissue of Ismael Rivera's fifth solo album, Traigo de Todo, which was originally released in 1974 on Tico Records. It is an album that showcases Rivera at his best and features iconic tracks like the lively 'El Nazareno' and the rather more sultry 'Que te pasa a ti.' Rivera's smooth, smoky voice is the heart of each track but contrasts perfectly with lively clave rhythms. He often delivers potent messages with his lyrics that touch on empowerment of the social as well as personal kind, always with great immediacy. This special reissue includes 180-gram black vinyl, with lacquers cut from the original tapes by the revered Kevin Gray.
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