One of the first of the Windy City locals to be recognised for his eclectic approach to DJing, Marc effortlessly blends a global sound palette, taking in choice cuts from Brazil, Africa, jazz fusion, house, soul and disco, whilst mixing it together Chicago style.
Harnessing that deep wealth of knowledge and experience, Marc has put out a string of sought-after edits of rare records he’s found on dusty digging trips or through his connections. A very fruitful working relationship with Mr Bongo has developed. Together with his good friend Sadar Bahar he released Disco Gospel edits Vol 1 last year, was pivotal in surfacing and editing unreleased Don Blackman tracks for a 7”, and this year he continues his revered Chi Talo series on our label. We sat down with Marc to chat all things Chicago, coming up as DJ in the ‘80s and how he goes about sourcing those hard-to-find cuts.
What was it like growing up in Chicago?
Growing up in Chicago was great! I come from a loving home and loving parents and brother. I grew up in the Calumet Heights / Pill Hill area on the Southeast side of the city, in-between 87th Street and 93rd Street.
The area was predominantly middle class surrounded by homeowners with well-kept lawns, but it also had a street element to it as well. There were gangs so you had to know how to carry yourself. It was also known for playing sports, parties and a lot of DJs. That's how I got into DJing. There were legendary DJs in my area, some you may have heard of and some you may not have.
Steve "Silk" Hurley, Eric "ET" Taylor, Tony "Smooth" Smith, Frank "Fearless" Washington, Chico Frye, David Boone, Michael "LiL Boo" Mills, Steve "Mixing" Mathis, Jahmal Anderson, Lionel "Funky" Floyd to name just a few.
What were your musical influences in your formative years?
My family gave me my first exposure to music. My Dad played a lot of jazz and had an extensive record collection. He also had a lot of African American musical knowledge. He played everything in the house from Charlie Parker to Ahmad Jahmal.
My Dad's brother, my uncle, the late James Davis was a modern soul producer. He owned an independent record label called Im-Hotep Records and had African Bag Productions out in Harlem, New York. He produced albums for legendary percussionists "Big Black" as well as Afro Centric spoken word Jazz fusion albums by Roy Brooks and The Artistic Truth. I saw and heard these records in my house at a young age and always knew the stories behind them.
My mother bought 7”s of soul and disco and played them early in the morning while I got dressed in grammar school. She played Stacey Lattisaw to Teena Marie to Teddy Pendergrass. These are fond memories of me, first hearing and later on touching vinyl.
My parents would take me to Metro Music store on 87th Street off Stony Island and I would buy records. One of my first records was Devo's ‘Whip It’ on 7”. When I got a bit older, I would go to Imports Etc and Loop Records to get a lot of joints.
Chicago has such a rich musical history not least with the explosion of house music and greats like Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy. What do you think sets Chicago apart?
Chicago is caught in the middle between the east coast and west coast, so we always got a bit of both flavours. It also has a rich record label history especially during the ‘60s and ‘70s. You had labels like Chess Records to Curtom and a range of others. Chicago was also a hub for legendary artists performing at their beginnings. They were trying to create a buzz performing at venues on the Southside of the city. Sun Ra, Chaka Khan, Ramsey Lewis, Herbie Hancock, all were either born in Chicago and or came to Chicago to get their feet wet.
So, when Frankie Knuckles moved to Chicago from New York and linked up with Robert Williams to start his residency at the Warehouse it was an easy transition because there was an audience and a scene into disco and pre-house music. The same with Robert Williams linking up with Ron Hardy. The crowd had already been deeply rooted into great sounding Black music. Sometimes it seems as though Chicago is in its own bubble with the music, until you get a chance to travel to other places and see the influence Chicago has had on the culture.
You’ve cited radio as being an important tool for you in the past. What was its influence for you in discovering music back then?
Initially when I was younger I was glued to radio stations like WBMX. That's where you could hear and record early House music being played by Farley "Funkin" Keith and the rest of the HotMix Five. Then later on listening to more underground DJ's spin on WKKC with DJs like Walter "Get Down" Brown, Bobby "Q" Bobby, Pink House, etc. As far as hip hop I learned a lot of B. side records from listening to WHPK. They had DJ Chilly Q, J.P. Chill, Ice Box, and K-ILL. I was also fortunate to get my hands on some NY tapes from Kool DJ Red-Alert and Marley Marl. I always had a thing for getting exclusive music that not everyone had. It's just in me.
The ‘80s must have been an exciting time to be coming up, what was your progression like as a DJ? Was there a certain genre and sound you were digging in the beginning?
Early on I just used to go over friends houses who had mixing equipment. I didn't have my own decks at this time. This is when I was around 11 or 12 years old. Everyone had a mixture of records from ‘Love Sensation’ by Loletta Holloway, to ‘Din Daa Daa’ by George Kranz, to ‘Boogie Down Bronx’ by Man Parrish. As a whole they weren't using the term ‘house’ to describe the music. DJs would just ask you do you ‘spin’ or do you ‘mix’. I was excited at this time, but I couldn't master the craft of blending two records together on beat. It wasn't until I got my own decks in 1985 that I realized you had to match the snares and hold them.
This is around when me and my childhood friend Dion Wilson aka legendary No I.D. started linking up. We would get together and mix and trade music. I would bring my decks over his crib, and he had a tape deck with a pitch control and reel to reel. This is how we could mix in exclusives that weren't pressed up on vinyl at that time.
We know you’re a big fan of the funkier, disco-tinged side to gospel from the Disco Gospel 12” you released on Mr Bongo alongside Sadar Bahar. What drew you into that sound?
Growing up I always knew there was a funky side of Gospel. The only difference is secular vs non secular lyrics. One of the first groovy gospel records I heard was through my dad when I was young which was ‘Be Grateful’ by the Hawkins family. Then of course Ron Hardy used to kill it with ‘There but For The Grace Of God’ by Machine which is a house music anthem in Chicago. Alicia Myers ‘I Want to Thank You’ is an undeniable classic as well. Tone B. Nimble started pioneering the rare disco gospel digging and he and I are close friends, so it rubbed off on me. I just started looking for a lot of these rare joints along with Sadar who has a big collection of disco gospel too. I found the Twinkie Clark ‘Awake O Zion’ joint for free in a basement clean up years back. I threw it to Sadar and he started killing the festivals with it. Then I saw people trying to chase it down, with it eventually getting reissued. I knew then we were on to something. I'm looking forward to our next Disco Gospel release, Sadar and I have both been digging super hard and believe we have some winners.
You're known for your eclectic approach to DJing, how would you summarise your style?
My ear has matured over the years. I know what sounds good and I feel my taste crosses over to others who feel the same way. I spin everything from rare disco, funk, hip hop break beats, boogie, jazz fusion, Latin, Brazilian, African grooves that rock the dance floor. My sound is eclectic, but my blueprint is Ron Hardy when it comes to rocking the party.
You’ve released a string of edits of hard to come by, largely unheard-of gems. How do you go about finding these records?
I'm always digging and searching for new music. My definition of ‘new music’ is the first time I heard it, not when it was created. So, I actually go to thrift stores, record shops, elderly people's basements. Some DJs only rely on file sharing but that's not me at all. I play 100% vinyl and actually sit and listen to piles of records. It's a form of therapy for me to discover some funky grooves that I haven't heard anyone play out.
Do you think that online digging has changed the way people search for music and the effort they put into it?
It has definitely made it easier. With record companies being so quick to upload back catalogue music to sites like Spotify and not actually re-issuing the vinyl, the song and artist information is reachable to apps like Shazam. The lazy DJ and digger can easily get that information. But I am here to let you know not everything is on Discogs, Youtube, nor Spotify. There are tons of gems not catalogued that you just have to discover the physical copies.
Have you got any particularly interesting digging stories over the years?
I have definitely discovered some rare 45's (7 inches) for dirt cheap and discovered they were going for a hefty penny. I have done some ghost digging for some record labels and record stores overseas and didn't charge them premium price and later discovered they were retailing records triple of what I charged them. It's just the nature of the game.
You spent a number of years living in the UK – what brought you over here and how did you think the scene compared to Chicago at the time?
I think the UK music scene is incredible for the most part. When I first came over to play the Essential Festival at Finsbury Park in London it was an eye opener to a real urban and eclectic music festival that represented multiple music genres. I came with Kool Keith (UltraMagnetic/Dr. Octagon/Black Elvis) so the crowd was really diverse. I returned to London two months later to officially relocate. While I was there, I shopped demos to every record label of some of my productions and other artists. One record in particular I shopped was a house track I produced which featured Kool Keith and adult film legend Heather Hunter. l got rejected by every label in London. But the DJs kept telling me it was a banger! My confidence became sunken for a while but my persistence and need to accomplish my goal superseded that. I eventually hooked up with Hue who worked at the Mr Bongo Record shop in Soho and he pointed me to a pressing plant that manufactured white labels. I pressed up TPs and got it to the DJs and every label who rejected me started calling me to license the record. I ended up closing a deal with Oxygen Music works and later on with Skint Records in Brighton.
Can you tell us a bit more about your Chi-Talo series - the second of which will be dropping on Mr Bongo in 2024? Why did you want to marry those two places and sounds together?
The Chi Talo series is a rare Chicago disco/boogie record paired with a rare Italian (Italo) disco/boogie record. A lot of the early ‘house’ records that were played by Frankie Knuckles, Ron Hardy, and Farley "Funken" Keith were actually produced in Italy by Italian artists. Artists such as Klein and MBO, Trillogy, Capricorn have created some classic Chicago house anthems whether they know it or not.
When you went to Imports Etc back in the day they had this slightly pinkish/redish stamp that was on the label that let you know it wasn't from the USA. My Chi Talo series just continues in that same tradition. The very first one did exceptionally well and is still sought after from a lot of collectors. I'm hoping Volume 2 does just as well or better. I believe Mr Bongo will help take it to the next level.
In your opinion what makes for a good edit?
I believe a good edit should sound natural. It shouldn't sound like a bunch of forced loops. It should sound like it was naturally sequenced by the original band or producer. I'm kind of a stickler when it comes to this.
How did you come to work with the Ultramagnetic MC’s?
I have known Ultra personally for over 30 years. I actually was a fan of their music early on, myself, Common, and No I.D. used to rock them religiously. I eventually wanted to meet them and called their label Mercury Polygram and got Ced-Gee's number by telling them I wanted him to produce my album. I got super cool with them and when Common was looking for a record deal I linked him up with Ced-Gee to help him out. My relationship with them led to me closing some record deals and licensing deals and releasing rare music of theirs on Black Pegasus. In 2021 I co-designed UltraMagnetic Sneakers with my partner Pritt Kalsi through an Ewing Athletic collaboration.
Can you tell us a bit about the projects you have worked on outside of music? Do you have any advice for young DJs and collectors out there?
I have a few things going. I have recently designed a Common 33 Hi Sneaker again with Pritt Kalsi that dropped in December 2023. This is the follow up to the UltraMagnetic Sneaker. We are the Busy Bodies working on different projects. I also curated a Common Action figure with Hip Hop Toyz. We have some film projects we are in the process of shopping and I believe they will get picked up. I'm just trying to stay busy and productive and most importantly creative.
I will just advise younger DJs to do a bit of homework and look at the history of the DJs who came before them. You must keep practicing to hone your craft. It doesn't happen overnight. It's important to keep practicing, improve and hopefully you can be successful.
A massive thanks to Marc for taking the time to speak to us for this feature. Chi Talo Volume 2 on Mr Bongo is available for pre-order here - shipping 1st March 2024.
Make sure follow Marc on Instagram for the latest updates on what he has got in the works.
It’s that pushing of the boundaries that gives Brasileira it’s timeless nature. Unique, expressive and pouring with passion, Maria was nominated for one of the most important musical awards in Brazil following its release, but the rising cost of promotion meant that the album didn’t get the wider recognition it truly deserved.
Fast forward to 2017 and ‘Cântico Brasileiro No.3 (Kamaiurá)’ went on to gain cult status with its inclusion on John Gomez's superb 'Outro Tempo' Music From Memory compilation. Subsequently, Maria’s music was pulled into the orbit of a whole new generation of DJs and collectors. It is a privilege that next year, Mr Bongo will be reissuing Maria’s seminal album. It also gave us an opportunity to sit down with Maria and delve a little deeper into her story.
What was life like as a young child growing up in Rio Grande do Sul?
I was born in the countryside in the mountains very south of Brazil in an incredibly beautiful landscape. I have three sisters and two brothers, and we grew up surrounded by nature. My Mother was a great reader and my Father a classical music aficionado. When I was around five, we moved to a little village for the kids to go to school. A place with less than 100 people, a catholic church, a spiritualist center, a little school and the grocery that my Father had, by the only road that crossed the tiny village. Soon we moved to a city of Italian background and lived there till I moved to the capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul to study Journalism in the public university in Porto Alegre.
Were your parents musical? What were your early memories of becoming interested and excited by music?
My Mother and my Father were very sophisticated in terms of music and literature. At the same time, we used to listen to the folk music of South Brazil. I always listened to lots of music of all kinds. Elvis Presley was (and still is) the voice I most liked to listen to, together with Milton Nascimento and Elis Regina. Around 14 years old some colleagues, a music teacher and I organized a music festival for students in Caxias do Sul. I started writing poetry aged around 12 and composing using only my vocals. Later, I used the acoustic guitar that I learnt by myself when I was 14. At that time the opportunities were festivals for students or professionals, and we had a group that participated in many such events.
When listening to ‘Brasileira' there’s a clear Amazonian feel, as native instrumentation intertwines with more traditional and contemporary pieces. Did growing up in the mountains of Aparados da Serra have a strong influence on the music you wanted to make?
The Amazonian feeling comes from the natural instruments made using different natural materials, created by Marco Antonio Guimarães and Paulo Santos, founders of the iconic Group Uaktí - both of which I perform with to this day.
The only native instrument in the whole album is a zampoña, a kind of flute from the Andes in ‘Cântico Brasileiro No 3’ played by Elmo Sepulveda. Uaktí had been an essential instrumental group in Brazilian music, performing with Paul Simon, Manhattan Transfer, Maria del Mar Bonet, Milton Nascimento and Philip Glass. Their music should be revisited.
The group finished in 2015 and Paulo Santos one of the founders is still active performing with lots of artists including myself. Luis Eça, one of the biggest names in Bossa Nova and a great arranger and pianist plays acoustic piano in two songs ‘Canção de Barco e de Olvido’ over a poem by great gaucho poet Mário Quintana (who was born in Rio Grande do Sul) and ‘Cântico Brasileiro No 6’. Ricardo Bordini plays many different instruments from acoustic piano, to violin, and lots of electronics with a DX7. At that time synthesizers started to appear, and we were very curious about all kinds of the sounds. Being born in the mountains of Aparados da Serra has not had a strong influence in my music, it is probably one factor of influence among many others.
What was the writing process like for the album?
I had lots of songs written at that time, some of them that I am recording now for a new album to be released soon. So, I did a selection of my own compositions and chose whom to perform each with me.
I had participated in many music festivals alongside doing some different shows till 1985, when I moved to Rio de Janeiro following Luis Eça´s suggestion and to study with him. Brasileira was recorded in Bemol Studio in Belo Horizonte, the four songs with Uaktí Group (‘Lamento Africano’ that I sing alone in quimbundo, a language from Angola, ‘Cânticos Brasileiro No 1’, ‘No 3’ and ‘Rictus’). I recorded with Luizinho and Ricardo in an apartment of a very good friend of Luiz in Rio de Janeiro. He had an excellent Steinway and home recording equipment. There Luiz did his first and probably only incursion into synthesizers on ‘Canção de Barco e de Olvido’. Brasileira is a fruit of friendship, love, and generosity.
How did you come to meet bossa nova pianist, Luiz Eça?
I first met his wife Fernanda Quinderé, who worked at the National Institute for Perfoming Arts in Rio de Janeiro, when I was acting in the field of production for theatre. That was the area of my son´s father, Julio Saraiva, who created the cover and all materials for Brasileira. He was a very talented architect, graphic designer, actor, and theatre director. Fernanda introduced me to Luizinho as he was known in Brazil and we developed a great deep friendship. I have images and feelings of recording with Luizinho fresh in my memory to this day. To sing with him had been an indescribable experience because he knew all the feelings in my soul, all the breathes and all the pauses. We recorded together in the same space, no editions.
Ricardo Bordini and the group Uaktí were also involved in the recording of the album - what was it like working with them all?
I met Ricardo Bordini when I was 16. He was studying to be an engineer and in the end was influenced by me, so he says, to follow a music career in the academic field. We performed together for a long time till he decided to go to the classical field of music, and I moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1985. In 2020 we met again in the studio for the recording of my album Inkiri Om where he brought an amazing arrangement for a string quartet for ‘Run Run se fue pal Norte’ by Chilean great composer Violeta Parra and a garage pad arrangement for ‘Hai Kai das Borboletas’. Ricardo is one of the biggest talents I have met in my life and plays any instrument he happens to have in his hands.
In Brasileira, Ricardo did the amazing arrangement for ‘A Cidade’ where he plays all of the instruments (piano, electronics and violin) and ‘Canção da Garoa’, another poem by Mario Quintana, where he did the electronics for my acoustic guitar. He also did the great and inspired arrangement for ‘Felicidade’ a very popular song by gaucho Lupicinio Rodrigues and an electronic register for a harpsichord in ‘Trilhas’. I played guitar for ‘Relhaços’ and ‘Melodia de Veludo’ that got a wonderful new arrangement by Ricardo Bordini with harp, clarinet and cello for my album Ver Tente released in 2022.
The experience of recording with UAKTÍ was a turning point for me. Marco Antonio Guimarães created the basic arrangements and the four guys invented and added much more in the studio. In ‘Cântico Brasileiro No 1’ you have piano chords performed with drumsticks to imitate the berimbau (there is no berimbau in the album at all), hand claps, body percussion and lots of the innovative instruments of UAKTÍ. In ‘Rictus’ the sound that many think is electronic, is a wood box with some holes where Paulinho had glasses of instant coffee that were tuned as you closed more or less the glasses and he performed with his fingers beating the surface of the glasses.
Which other musicians worked on the record?
Only Elmo Sepulved that played the Andean Zampoña in ‘Cântico Brasileiro No 3’ and Everton Dias who did the programming for ‘O Amor’ where the arrangement is basically done with my own voice. I had Mario de Aratanha helping on the mix, he was the owner of a very important label called Kuarup.
What were your musical influences at the time of writing the album? Were there other artists making similar sounding music you were drawing inspiration from?
I think the influences came from many different factors and not only music. But I can identify influence from Milton Nascimento, Kraftwerk, The Chieftains or Ima Sumac, Mercedes Sosa as well as from Mozart, Beethoven, Sibelius…. I used to listen to music from all places such as Camboja, or the Gamelan from Bali, indigenous and folk or popular music from the whole of Brasil in the collection of Marcus Pereira, Indian, Iranian, the list goes on.
‘Cântico Brasileiro No.3 (Kamaiurá)’ sounds like it could have been made by an electronic producer in 2023. Did you feel it was ahead of its time and was there a significance in opening the album with this track?
This song had been performed in a music festival in 1984. The recording done live is in my album Ver Tente and it was played with bottles being blown, flutes, lots of voices by Zé Caradipia, and percussion. The audience went crazy for it. When playing live shows ‘Cântico Brasileiro No 3’ was always the closure.
I wrote this song in 1978 when there was a big conflict happening in the south of Brazil with the Kaingangs, due to their land being invaded by the agro business. All indigenous people in Brazil were in danger, as we were at the end of military dictatorship that started in 1964. The Kamaiurás live in the north, so I made the connection and the song is claiming for their word to be listened to and for their land to be respected. It had to be the song to open the album when it finally came to existence in 1987, as it was of urgent importance to get attention for the indigenous situation. An issue that is critical to this very day. I think it is successful all around because it came from the guts and is very sincere. Many people feel that the whole of the Brasileira album was ahead of its time.
How was the album received when it was released?
I received a nomination as Revelation in the most important music award in Brazil. The album got a decent coverage in the press but at that time, things were very different from now and promotion was too expensive with it all being done independently.
What made you make the decision to leave the stage and focus on your cultural and arts agency Antares?
It was very difficult to earn enough money to live on with my style of music and also to be musicians on the road. Plus, Ricardo Bordini was living in Bahia, I was in Rio. My music was not easy to be performed and understood. Fortunately, I have Ricardo back in my life at least for recordings and met Danilo Andrade and they are a perfect read on me and my music. My process of creation is totally intuitive. Although I studied music, I compose not in writing. It is all in my head and voice.
We read that Millos Kaiser’s dad, Beto, worked as technical director at your agency for many years and that Millos had been playing your tracks without knowing it was the same Maria Rita whom his father worked with. Has this renewed interest from current DJs and producers like Millos and John Gomez been a surprise to you or did you always feel the album was due more recognition?
To be frank, I never thought whether it deserved more recognition or not. I know that John Gomez thought so and did Outro Tempo. He always said that my album was the inspiration for him to create the compilation when he found it in Japan. I have no idea at all how it went so far, as it was never released out of Brazil before 2017. In any case of course it has been a surprise, although sometimes I found my second album Map of the Clouds selling online from different places, all pirate copies. The interest of vinyl collectors has been decisive as well for Brasileira to come back to life.
Did that recognition reignite your passion for music and give you the spark to start writing and performing again?
To perform yes, to write no. I wrote Inkiri Om that is called Cântico Brasileiro No 7 as well after that and not much more. I will perhaps start writing again, I need to make time for that to happen.
Has the way you approach music changed in the past 30 years?
I think so but it is subtle and not easy to put in words. There is a point in life when one feels there is nothing else to be said. The words had always appeared before in the music I create. Let´s see what the future brings.
What projects are you working on that we can look forward to in the future?
I am recording a new album with the great pianist, Danilo Andrade, that has played on stage with me since 2017. We first met at the Red Bull Music Academy Festival in São Paulo, for the release of the compilation Outro Tempo, organized by DJ John Gomez for Music From Memory. He performed on my album Inkiri Om recorded in 2019 in Canção das Horas, did the amazing arrangement for Sete Cenas de Imyra, by great composer Taiguara and played piano and electronics in some other songs. Later he performed in Pavão Misteryozo, a very well-known song from the ‘70s by Ednardo, my composition Vertente (Stream or strand) that names the album Ver Tente (translation See Try) recorded and released in 2022. The repertory of this album was selected among my compositions from the 70’s that I never recorded. And some songs by very good Brazilian composers.
A big thank you to Maria for taking the time to speak to us for this feature. Our forthcoming reissue of Brasileira is available for pre-order here - shipping 9th February 2024.
Make sure follow Maria on Instagram and Youtube for the latest updates on what she has got in the works.
Piano Piano
Sven Wunder's output is selective and always on point. One of the cream of the crop when it comes to contemporary composers, he has struck gold with 'Late Again'. The album features the 2021 track 'Snowdrops', which is easily one of the most beautifully composed songs in recent years. Taking a slightly more jazz-tinged angle than previous albums, 'Late Again' is about as glorious and sublime as it gets.
2) Ana Frango Elétrico - Me Chama De Gato Qeu Eu Sou Sua
Mr Bongo
A catalyst and dynamo of the contemporary Brazilian scene, Ana has crafted an album of punchy perfection which gets better the further you dive in. Boogie, pop, and heartfelt MPB are all covered in this gem of an album, by one of the most unique artists out there.
Playground Music
The second album from Stockholm in the top ten! The follow-up album from the amazing Dina Ögon (whose members collaborate with Sven Wunder) is slightly more pop than their debut, but still rides the funky Scandi psych-folk vibes, with heavy hip hop-esque drums. One of the best live bands we have seen in ages.
Naya Beat
They say don't meet your idols, but Asha proved this statement wrong when we met up with her in London this summer. A true legend, inspiration, and force of nature. Filip Nikolic and Raghav Mani's Naya Beat Records have taken Asha's classics and let a selection of some of the best producers in the game, such as Maurice Fulton and Psychemagik, put their trademark spin on proceedings.
Mr Bongo
This could easily be number one, but technically the digital album was out in 2022, with the vinyl release dropping in 2023. A tour de force of a supergroup, paving the way for the obscenely talented world of Brazil musicians to follow with their live show through Europe and Japan. Jamz and Sam also gave their song 'Baile De Máscaras' an electronic dancefloor club makeover to round off a stellar year.
Bay Bryan Music
We discovered Bay Bryan thanks to a Luke Una tip. Bay's stunning debut album grows with every listen, hooking you in ever deeper the more you get lost within it. An intimate, tender album that takes you on a ride of emotion. Bay is an artist to keep your eye on.
Diamond West
2023 has been strong for Brazilian albums. Rogê's 'Curyman' features string arrangements by Arthur Verocai and is produced by Tommy Brenneck of Menahan Street Band fame. Released on Tommy's own Diamond West label, this is a truly superb album.
International Anthem Recording Company
We have to admit, we love the Chicago record label, International Anthem Recording Company, but for some reason hadn't checked Resavoir's music properly. A project led by producer/composer Will Miller and friends, Resavoir's new album is a true delight. Not stuck in one genre the record floats and evolves from ambient, to jazz, r&b and hip-hop beat compositions in a relaxed, effortless way.
Self-Released
We accidentally came across the Swiss producer, Melodiesinfonie, on Bandcamp, but it has become one of our favourite albums of the year. A superb mix of styles, from lush soul and downtempo joints to the guitar-led cinematic funk of 'Stay Soft' and the contemporary Brazilian sounds of 'Água Salgada'. The latter features Pedro Mizutani, which fans of Sessa will dig.
10) Dora Morelenbaum - Vento De Beirada
Mr Bongo
We must have listened to this EP more than any other record this year. Dora's sublime 'Vento De Beirada' EP takes you on a trip into the sensuous sounds of her world. On first hearing Dora’s music, we were reminded of the transformational moment when we first discovered the Brazilian singer-songwriter, Joyce. The music is completely new to you, yet instantly familiar, like rediscovering a past love.
11) Various Artists - Hidden Waters: Strange and Sublime Sounds of Rio de Janeiro – Vinyl 2LP/CD
12) Daniel Ögren - Fastingen-92 – Vinyl LP/CD
14) Sholto - The Changing Tides Of Dreams – Vinyl LP
15) Jalen Ngonda - Come Around And Love Me – Vinyl LP
16) Various Artists - Luke Una Presents É Soul Cultura Vol.2 – Vinyl 2LP/CD
17) Various Artists With Love: Volume 2 - Compiled By miche – Vinyl 2LP/CD/Cassette
18) Pharoah Sanders – Pharoah – Vinyl boxset 2LP
19) Wax Machine - The Sky Unfurls, The Dance Goes On – Vinyl LP
20) Robson Jorge & Lincoln Olivetti - Deja Vu – Vinyl LP
21) Various Artists Mr Bongo Record Club - Volume Six – Vinyl 2LP/CD
23) Don Blackman - Say You'll Be Mine / Your Love Makes Me Crazy - Vinyl 7"
24) Various Artists - Coco María Presents Club Coco ¡Ahora! The Latin Sound Of Now – Vinyl LP
25) Misha Panfilov - Atlântico – Vinyl LP
26) Laihonen & Salmi - Rauhan ja nautinnon puutarhassa – Vinyl LP
27) Sadar Bahar & Marc Davis Disco Gospel – Vinyl 12"
28) Grupo Los Yoyi - Yoyi – Vinyl LP/CD
29) John Haycock - Dorian Portrait
30) Cinnamon Soulettes - I'll Show You How / Wishing On A Wishing Well – Vinyl 7"
31) Various Artists - Just A Touch – Vinyl 2LP
32) Alain Goraguer - La Planète Sauvage (Expanded Original Soundtrack) – Vinyl LP
33) Yussef Dayes - Black Classical Music – Vinyl 2LP
34) Rival Self - Rival Self – Vinyl LP
35) Little Simz - No Thank You – Vinyl LP
37) Mac Demarco - Five Easy Hot Dogs – Vinyl LP
38) G.C. Cameron - Live For Love – Vinyl 12"
39) Kieran Hebden & William Tyler - Darkness, Darkness / No Services – Vinyl EP
40) Minas - Num Dia Azul – Vinyl LP/CD
41) El Michels Affair & Black - Thought Glorious Game – Vinyl LP
42) Benaddict, Slim. & Ella Mae Benaddict, Slim. & Ella Mae – Cerulean (Blue vinyl) – Vinyl LP
43) Zé Rodrix E A Agência De Mágicos - O Esquadrão Da Morte – Vinyl LP/CD
44) Flammer Dance Band - Dedikasjon Til Inspirasjon – Vinyl 2LP
45) Felbm - cycli infini – Vinyl LP
46) Abderraouf B Grissa & Dan Drohan - RBGxDD – Vinyl LP
47) JIM - Love Makes Magic – Vinyl LP
48) Nick Walters - Marine Moods – Vinyl LP
49) Mali Obomsawin - Sweet Tooth – Vinyl LP
]]>
What was the inspiration / spark that made you want to put this compilation together?
After putting together For The Love of You 1 and 2, I wanted to give myself a bit of a break from even thinking about another compilation, but then one evening the initial idea for Just A Touch just came into my head. I spent the rest of the night pulling out all of this music that I love and sketched out how I wanted the compilation to sound, and then got up the next day to begin to try to make it all a reality. It took a while! For me there is a clear direct lineage between my previous comps and this one and so the process just felt really natural.
What time period does the compilation cover, and is there anything significant about that period?
That’s a bit of a test of my memory, made more difficult by the fact that some of the songs were only released on white labels and some of the artists weren’t sure themselves when I asked, but I think we are talking for the most part between 1987 and 1995.
There are certainly a few factors that make this period interesting, such as the advancement in musical technology and therefore people could equip themselves with drum machines and synths and just have a go at musical projects more readily, but I also think socially there were big changes that were influential in creating these new sounds. Pirate radio went from strength to strength during this time and was very much the sound of the street and in the late 80s came the second summer of love. I think that this was a catalyst for sort of creating this ‘machine soul.’
The compilation doesn’t define itself with the genre tag ‘street soul’, but do you think the selection broadly fits into that category, or is it wider than that?
I definitely think there are a number of tracks on the compilation that people might define as street soul, but ultimately for me, I just hear these as lesser known, or underrepresented soul tracks. The first two sides feature a lot of the hallmark sounds and instrumentation of street soul, but later on I hear boogie, two step and more lo-fi sounds, such as the long lost Dennis Planter track, ‘I Still Dream Of You’. That record has a special quality to it and stands apart from everything I know that has come from the UK.
How does the UK Soul sound of this period tend to differ from that of its US counterpart?
Whilst I own a lot of music that was made in America during a similar era to Just A Touch, with the US being such a huge country, I don’t know enough about the individual scenes and sub-genres that no doubt popped-up in different states and cities at the time. UK popular music, particularly soul, has a strong influence from the Caribbean, whereas I am not sure if this connection runs quite as deep in America.
If we are talking specifically about street-soul, America did produce a similar sound that went by the name of new jack swing, or swingbeat, but to me, this genre is generally more polished sound than the UK equivalent.
How did you discover the tracks featured in the compilation?
I can’t say there was one particular way I heard all of these tracks, or one source that led to me discovering them. I feel that like most of my digging and research, I am constantly keeping my ears open to music that I like. When exploring similar UK sounds over the years to those featured in the comp, I felt that I was in a rich vein of a particular style, which over time I have gradually got to know more about. If you spend a lot of time with certain music, you start to notice patterns and how everything is interconnected and for me this was no different.
There are certain DJs and collectors that I gave shout-outs to in the liner notes of my compilation because they have shared with me records and have inspired me along the way, so once again out to Alex (Bristol Atlas), Ben and Pat (Heels & Souls), Customs, Delasy, Hampus, Lorem Ipsum and Maybe Tonight. I must send further praise in the first instance to someone I just mentioned here, Delasy, a collector who put together regular livestreams that I would sometimes watch containing all types of UK soul jams. He sold me a few ‘packs’ of tunes that I first heard on said shows and carefully selected, such as Lamor’s classic 'Need Somebody'.
Any personal favourites from this collection you want to highlight?
To me, every track on the comp is a tune, so it is hard to pick a favourite but maybe I can highlight a couple.
Kicking off the album with Bo’vel felt like a massive coup as it is such a huge track for me and I think is a perfect representation of what is about to come across the compilation. While people understandably go mad for ‘Check 4 U’ (it’s a street soul grail and has been reissued), to my ears ‘Coming Back’ is just a better song.
The ‘Don’t Touch’ track is also a special one as it’s a record I have been playing late in the night at parties, when the dance floor has thinned out a bit and only the committed dancers remain! I love the menacing bass line and combined with the lyric of ‘don’t touch my girlfriend’, Cavilier doesn’t seem like the sort of person you would want to make angry.
Did you get to meet / converse with any of the artists behind the tracks?
Quite a number of the artists involved in the project are still UK based, but some are spread out, living as far afield as Thailand and Antigua.
Anthony Brightley, who nowadays lives in Antigua, but spent many years based in East London, linked up with me when he was back in his old home city in 2021. He is a lovely man and you could honestly write a book on his life and his influence in music, particularly reggae, and has been involved in so many facets of the industry over the years. He is also very persuasive as in that short lunch meeting he managed to convince me to visit him in Antigua. Three months later we were there eating ital food in the bush together.
I had other great conversations with Tony Graham and Rex Brough (with Rex living 100 meters away from my old flat when he produced Taffy) but they are both south London based. We still need to find a time to meet up.
Are there any artists featured in the compilation that went on to have a notable commercial recording career?
There are a couple. Kofi, most people would know from her work in reggae and lovers rock, but she crossed over to put her voice to a number of drum-machine tracks including 'Step By Step'.
Taffy had a notable career in Italy recording a range of pop / hi-NRG tracks with Claudio Cecchetto. Her hit ‘I Love My Radio’ was re-released in England and reached number 6 in the charts which lead to public appearances such as on Top of The Pops.
Take a track like Bo’vel ‘Coming Back’, seen as a classic within the scene, but did it see broader commercial success at the time of its original release?
My understanding is that it didn’t see large commercial success. When I spoke to Bernadette, she mentioned 1000 copies were pressed, which when you think that vinyl was the main format at the time, and artists could sell millions of copies of a hit single or album, that is a tiny figure.
I think this is example of an underground classic, that was known by people who were into the sound at the time. It’s become more known probably due to it being uploaded and played via YouTube, and now hopefully because of this compilation.
How do you think the artists feel about the rediscovery of their music?
From my conversations, it seemed to range, but everyone ultimately seemed to be happy to be contacted about the project. Some were definitely taken aback that their work from 25+ years was in any way in-demand, whereas with a couple of the artists, I got the impression that they had always known that they should have been given more praise, and were almost waiting for someone’s call.
Is there enough material in the locker for a part two?
I could definitely do a part two and go deeper into the sound, perhaps going further into the boogie and jazz funk side of things, but I am also very happy with Just A Touch. Never say never of course, but I think that this sound has been properly represented in one compilation.
Any other forthcoming projects you are able to share with us?
There are a couple of things that I’m working on that will hopefully come to fruition in the new year, but for now I am just concentrating on touring which has just been an absolute joy! My final gig of this run is in London at Sweeties, the really vibey club at The Standard Hotel with the amazing sound that looks 10 floors over the city. That’s taking place on Saturday 9th December and I am going to be joined by a, for now, special secret guest who has released Rush Hour. Mark that in your diary and keep your eyes peeled on my instagram for the artist announcement because it’s going to be a big one!
After that I am going into a bit of winter hibernation to focus on said projects before heading back on the road in early spring.
Thanks to Sam for taking the time to speak to us for this feature. The incredible Just A Touch compilation is out now, get your copy HERE.
Make sure you check Sam's Instagram profile and Soundcloud for the latest updates on what he's got in the works.
Picture Credits:
1. Fran Hales / 2. Yan-Kevin Yango Bapala / 3. Jai Toor / 4. Brent Burns
]]>Please tell us a little about your musical background?
I've been obsessed with music for as long as I can remember. I began collecting records in the 80s with my dad, who's a big collector of many different things. Every weekend we'd hit the garage sales, flea markets and thrift shops. Beginning to DJ professionally in 1991 was just a natural extension of my record collecting and my desire to share the music I love with others.
After uni, I moved out to San Francisco in 1997 where I immersed myself in the city's music scene... DJing, producing, working for a label and running a small shop in the Lower Haight that sold everything from 12"s and mixtapes to Kung Fu flix and Battle Of The Year tapes on VHS. We also sold snow cones with liquor in them and there was a mic hanging from the ceiling where guys would come in off the block to freestyle. It was a wild time in a wild place and a paradise for a young, grimy music nerd. We had Zebra Records across the street for hip hop and soulful house, Rooky's next door for soul 45s, Groove Merchant was a block down with Tweekin' Records almost next door, Jack's Record Cellar was around the corner with Faster Bamboo slinging drum & bass records in the mix too. All this in a two-block radius. A glorious time and place to be alive. The city was awash in sounds of every genre you'd care to hear, with great music every night of the week. This is where my most formative years were spent and where my sonic horizons were broadened substantially.
Can you summarise your connection with Brazil and its music?
Yeah, so my taste has always been eclectic and Brazil was always part of that mix but my real education didn't begin in earnest until I landed in Rio in 2008. I came down here originally with a crew from SF for a friend's wedding and a few gigs I'd blagged on the back of that. Two weeks turned into two months which turned into fifteen years. When I landed here, I quickly learned how little I actually knew about Brazilian music and it was both humbling and inspiring to almost have to start from zero with the knowledge. But I got to it the only way I know how: digging, digging, digging. Studying the liner notes and making connections as I'd always done since I was a kid. I've had some great professors along the way too, like my boy Alex Paz, Marcelinho da Lua and Kassin, to name a few. Someone referred to me as an expert in a radio interview recently and it was embarrassing. Being an expert implies knowing everything about something and I will always and forever be but a humble student here.
What was the inspiration / spark that made you want to put this compilation together?
It started life in a very organic way. Like the records featured on Sonhos Secretos, the comp was born without any commercial considerations. Like I often do, I'd made a mix to share with friends, highlighting certain records I'd found and loved, based around a certain theme. This one happened to be private press and independent MPB on 7". This particular mix ended up being picked up by the LA music journal Aquarium Drunkard and from there I was contacted by Org Music. They said they loved the project and asked if I'd want to work with them to produce a proper compilation. It's funny because if you told me five years ago I'd have the chance to produce a comp, I'd have thought it would probably be more related to Brazilian funk, soul, disco or boogie, as those are the sounds that usually feature in my DJ sets. But I'm here happily playing the cards that life has dealt me and I stand by every one of these songs 100%. This isn't a comp for the dancefloor but one I hoped would connect with other true music heads with deep, eclectic tastes. All of the songs, while stylistically different, work together as a cohesive collection, I think, and are all characterized by superb writing and musicianship with really unique arrangements that are full of surprises. Some may be limited by technological constraints, based on the studios they had available to them, and some by monetary constraints... like Moxotó who recorded, mixed, mastered and cut their entire four-track compacto duplo in only four hours because that's all they had the money for... but the beauty in all of them shines through. So far, I've been overwhelmed by the positive reception that the project has received.
How would you describe MPB for the uninitiated?
MPB stands for Música Popular Brasileira or Brazilian Popular Music. The term 'popular' is used here in the sense of being of the people. It's kind of this blanket term that gets applied to a lot of post-bossa nova Brazilian music. Stylistically, it's a big enough umbrella to encompass influences ranging from jazz and soul to rock and pop. All of these influences are present in varying degrees on Sonhos Secretos.
How did you go about discovering these tracks?
Again, this was all a very organic process. All of these records featured here, I found while digging. Except the Moacyr Luz and Luiz Sérgio Cruz compacto that I got in a trade from my buddy Alex Paz. When I say digging, I mean proper hitting the streets, dusty fingers, moldy warehouse style digging. Digging to me has always been about discovering new sounds more than crossing wants off a list and none of these records were known to me when I found them. Some were certainly known before, at least among a select few, but many were nowhere to be found online at the time. I've always had a special place in my heart for private releases so I'd always take records like these home with me when I'd find them. But there was never a master plan to go out looking for records for a comp. They stayed filed in a box until one day I decided to put together that mix to share purely for the love of the music and that gave birth to the compilation.
Do you think Brazilian private press albums tend to differ from what we expect from North American examples? I know that’s a sweeping generalisation, but I read a review that suggested the Brazilian songs you have selected are more fully formed / accomplished than the amateur nature of many of what you find on the known NA albums. From listening to the album, I would agree, but what’s your take on this?
Yeah, I read that review and want to be careful how I answer this because I thought it was a really thoughtful, great review. But I kind of disagree with his point that most private releases from the US or UK or wherever sound less mature or "ready for prime time", as he put it. There are phenomenal private records from both north and south of the equator. And there are no shortage of shit ones as well. For sure, for every record on my compilation, there are twenty others at home in the crates that just aren't very good. Luke Una said something not too long ago in one of the great videos he posts that made me laugh. To paraphrase, he basically said that most rare and obscure records are rare and obscure for a reason: they're shit and nobody bought them. There's a lot of truth to that but I believe that in the case of the tracks on this comp, in a more just world, with a marketing budget and real distribution, these songs would have found their audience and found success. The truth is that these records were only sold at shows and handed out to friends. They never really had a chance. Later in the same review that you referenced, speaking about the song "Por Teu Nome", the reviewer said "By all rights, this should have been the lead cut from a successful album" instead of this being the only thing they ever had the chance to record. I wholeheartedly agree.
The press release states that the tracks “are recorded by a new emerging class of artists operating outside of the major label system” - was this a deliberate stance, to remain out of the major system, or was it a necessity in order to get the music recorded?
I think it's a mix of the two. Some like Grupo Moxotó and Hilton Barcelos were definitely more "militant" in their stance as independent artists while most, I think, were just availing themselves of this new possibility to release music either on their own or through very small independent labels, often run by friends. What they all have in common though is that, recording and releasing their music the way they did, they were able to create music outside of any current trends or external pressures from a label. I think the result is that the work has a timeless quality that never sounds obviously "early 80s".
What is the significance of the period in Brazil that the compilation focuses on (1980-85)?
Well, I can sit here and tell you that this time period marked a sort of second wave of independently released music in Brazil, after Tim Maia's Racional 1 & 2, followed by Antônio Adolfo's Feito Em Casa, demonstrated that it was possible for artists to self-release their music in Brazil. I could tell you that this time period coincided with the final days of Brazil's military dictatorship and that a new wave of optimism was sweeping through the world of Brazilian music, with artists taking to the streets to demand their rights and calling for a return to free and open elections. And while all of that would be absolutely true, these are things I honestly only considered in hindsight. As I said, there was never a master plan here when I started this project as a humble mixtape. Sometimes things just unfold in the way that they were meant to and you fully grasp what's there after the fact.
Do you have any personal favourites featured on the compilation?
It's hard to pick a favorite because I truly love each track for different reasons. That said, the fact that Ricardo Luiz & Jorge Bahiense's song "Por Teu Nome" was recorded by two high school teachers and their students blows my mind. The closing track from Quintais, "Pastores Da Noite," is truly epic and gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. The spacey synth and acoustic guitar on the intro to "Espantalho" always transports me to some place beautiful. Marcello Lessa's "Azulão" was always a deeply emotional tune. The fact that he passed away shortly after I tracked him down adds a whole new layer of depth to it. Really, I've got stories about every song on this compilation that connect me to this material on a deep level.
Are there any artists featured in the compilation that went on to have a notable commercial recording career?
While many of these artists only had the chance to release one record before life took them in different directions, a couple did go on to have successful careers. The one that will be the most known to Brazil heads is Filó Machado, who released his debut LP on the Chantecler label four years prior to the private 7" featured on the comp and his sought-after LP, Origins, came out the year after the 7". He's kind of the anomaly here. The group backing him on "Trem Fantasma" is Placa Luminosa who will be known to BR boogie heads for their LP, Neon. Moacyr Luz went on to become one of Rio's most beloved sambistas, although his first record that's featured on the comp is firmly in the jazz-influenced MPB camp. Renato Faver's song "Espantalho" was co-written by and features Marcos Sabino who had success the following year with his debut single "Reluz" which featured arrangements by Jose Roberto Bertrami from Azymuth. "Espantalho" was recorded in Estudio Tok by the legendary Brazilian drummer Chico Batera. It's also worth noting that in addition to the principal artists, there are a few major names that you'll spot in the credits. Alex Malheiros from Azymuth is on bass on the tune "Tamares" and Wilson das Neves, Antônio Adolfo and Nivaldo Ornelas show up here backing Marcello Lessa.
Did you manage to make contact with many of the artists - were they excited at the prospect of their music being rediscovered / discovered for the first time?
Oh, yeah, absolutely! The reason it took nearly three years for this album to see the light of day after I'd made that first mix is because that's how long it took to track everyone down. There was some real detective work involved but when I finally got to speak to these guys on the phone, it was often very emotional. The first reaction was usually one of bewilderment, like, "Who are you? Where did you find my record? You want to do what with it?!" Most of them hadn't thought much about their records in decades but hearing me tell of my love for their music took them back, bringing up a lot of memories and also reaffirming for them what they'd always felt about what they'd created. And because these were all independent productions, I had the pleasure of working with all the artists directly to license their work, as opposed to some major label conglomerate that couldn't give a shit about a niche project like this.
I've spoken a lot here about me and my digging or whatever but, at the end of the day, this compilation is 100% about these artists and I couldn't be happier that their music now gets a second life and a chance to be heard by a new audience eager to discover more sounds from Brazil.
Is there a part 2 underway?
There certainly could be. Nearly every week I turn up something great with zero info online. Brazil is a bottomless ocean of recorded music to rediscover. But for now, at least, I'm just happy to have got this project across the finish line. Three years is a long time to devote yourself to something and when you add in the mental load of the pandemic, that wasn't always a sure thing. I'm very thankful for the patience and support I received from the label.
Any other forthcoming projects you are able to share with us?
Yeah, definitely. I've worked recently with a much-loved Scottish label to license a killer private press psych-funk 7" from Brazil that should be out at some point. Previously, I did two volumes of a cassette-only project that imagined if the Quiet Storm radio format had existed in Brazil. Following up on weird-themed tapes that explore lesser-known sounds from Brazil that no one's asked for, I've got two more tapes that will be out in the new year. One is 90s streetwise gospel from Brazil with influences of electro, boogie and street soul. The other is a mix of lesser-known Brazilian AOR based on a tape discovered along with a big bag of weed on a shipwrecked sailboat on a small island off the coast of North East Brazil back in the late 80s. Oh, I've got a split tape with my brother, Ologist, from Common Good Records and Thanks For Listening, a dope new shop in Virginia Beach. That one's called Brazil Lado B and, as the name suggests, explores the figurative B-side of Brazilian music. It's a collection of obscure stuff we love that we thought deserved some more shine. There's also a new 45 coming out on Bastard Jazz that I had a hand in. It's a collab between Brazilian artist Guinu and Dan David, the artist formerly known as Trailer Lemon, whose work with The Pendletons I'm a huge fan of. I executive produced Guinu's Palagô LP for Razor N Tape and I've been working alongside him as he gets his next album, OXALATRIX, ready for release. It's incredible and I can't wait for folks to hear it. The best way to stay up on all of these projects is by following me on Instagram @teecardaci where I'm also always sharing recent digs and other records that I love from Brazil and beyond.
Thanks to Tee for taking the time to answer our questions, and of course, for this sublime compilation. 'Sonhos Secretos' is out now, get your copy HERE.
Make sure you are following Tee on Instagram for the latest updates on what he’s got going on.
]]>What was your musical background before recording 'Num Dia Azul’?
Patricia: I grew up singing and performing in Musical Theatre in the US since I was 7 years old. I was also playing piano and writing songs then. As a teenager I became drawn to Sergio Mendes & Brasil 66 and Bossa Nova, blues and jazz, and listened more to those styles than rock.
Orlando: I grew up in Brazil listening to whatever music my brother Rui, who was 3 years older, was listening to. He loved Bossa Nova and Bossa Nova was the new music of Brazil at the time - early 60s. He also came home one day with a Beatles record, and I was totally mesmerised. My mother was a piano teacher and I was exposed to classical music. I later moved to Rio de Janeiro where I studied Classical Guitar, and heard the music of Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Os Mutantes, and Milton Nascimento, having the opportunity to attend their concerts in small venues.
How did you two meet?
Patricia: Orlando and I were both studying at North Carolina School of the Arts. I was a vocal major but more interested in playing jazz piano and writing music. When I heard there was a Brazilian musician on campus, I approached Orlando to ask him to help me write Portuguese lyrics to a Brazilian song that I was composing. That song ('Num Dia Azul') became the title track for the 'Num Dia Azul' album.
Which Brazilian artists were you listening to whilst recording the album?
Patricia: Hermeto Pascoal, Flora Purim and Airto Moreira, Sergio Mendes, Bossa Tres, Milton Nascimento, Manfredo Fest, Zimbo Trio, Elis Regina, Egberto Gismonti, Eumir Deodato.
Orlando: All of the above, plus Stravinski, Bartok, Bach and Beethoven
Do you have a few favourite Brazilian albums?
Both: Brazil 66 - 'Fool on a Hill' and 'Crystal Illusions'; Flora Purim - 'Stories to Tell'; Joyce - 'Feminina'; Gilbert Gil - 'Quanta'; Milton Nascimento - 'Clube Da Esquina'; Djavan - 'Bird of Paradise'; Rosa Passos - 'Festa'; Return to Forever - 'Light as a Feather'.
Where and when was the album recorded?
'Num Dia Azul' was recorded in Greensboro, NC, USA in 1981. A second session was added in 1982.
Were the other musicians on the record also studying at North Carolina School Of the Arts, or were they session musicians?
Musicians from the area who had studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and Kofi Burbridge from NCSA. Drummer Manuel Monteiro from Brasil, had studied with Edson Machado, from Bossa Tres Trio.
Though the album was recorded in the US, it was only released in Brazil, how did this come about?
We had arrived at a decision to move to Brasil for a few years after we had our first child. We wanted to be with Orlando’s family for a while and soak up the music in Brasil. While living there, we decided to manufacture 'Num Dia Azul' there. Pianist Antonio Adolfo was the first to release an album outside of an established label. He formed an association of independent record producers and the association, shared the knowhow with artists who wanted to release their own independent albums. We followed suit. There was a poster, which we still have, of the first catalogue released by the association, of which Joyce and Chico Lessa were a part of.
How many copies did you originally press?
1000
What was the reception to the album upon its release?
Orlando: The reception was very positive. We did a release in my hometown of Lavras, state of Minas Gerais, in 1983; we rented the movie theatre for the night and performed the album live in front of 500 or so people. From there we arranged a release in the state capital of Minas (origin of the name Minas), a city of 3 million inhabitants, called Belo Horizonte. We did the release on a Friday and Saturday at a prestigious jazz club called Tom Chopim (a pun on the name of Tom Jobim and the word for draft beer, chope), which received excellent coverage on the local media. We proceeded then to São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, taking our album to all the important record stores for distribution.
Patricia: We played one release concert of the album before we decided to move back to the USA. People loved the compositions - 'Samba Walk' was always a big hit, which we would extend with a big Brazilian Batucada drumming when playing live. We shortly became caught up with moving to Philadelphia, settling in with our young child and were more focused on getting gigs for income, than the album. The Americans really enjoyed the 'Num Dia Azul' repertoire and we sold some albums and lots of cassettes at the gigs. But we had a lot on our plates and didn’t pursue releasing with a record company, etc.
Did you perform the album live?
Yes, see above. Later in 2016, when we released the re-issue, we performed the entire album at a venue called World Cafe Live, in Philadelphia. By the time we produced the 2nd release, we had recorded 5 more albums - 'Dreams of Brazil', 'Blue Azul', 'In Rio', 'Bossa Nova Day' and 'Symphony in Bossa'.
Who designed the cover art?
Orlando: Rique and Dulce Bittencourt, from an ad agency named “Ao Lápis Studio”, in Rio.
We read that a lot of the original copies sadly got damaged in a fire, what happened?
Patricia: We couldn't take all our albums with us when we moved back to the States so most of them were left behind in Orlando’s mother’s house. We thought maybe we would retrieve them on another trip. A year later, Orlando’s mother came for a visit here in Philadelphia, and on the night that she was flying back to her home in Brasil, we got a call that her house had burned down - everything was lost! Although their family parrot survived because a water main broke above its cage and kept him alive. Apparently everyone in town watched the house burn down and at the end, someone ran out with the parrot on his arm. But no more albums!
How did you feel years later, when you realised 'Num Dia Azul' was a sought-after album for DJs and record collectors?
Totally surprised! We had some vinyls sitting in our basement, thinking it was a done project, when some of our workers came across them and told us that we needed to re-release 'Num Dia Azul'. We had been so involved with recording other albums those years, raising a family, and making a living on performing, so the project had totally escaped our minds. But these young workers really loved the project - Engineer, Brendan McGeehan took the tapes from the damp basement and had to have them baked to be restored. He then helped us mix the project again. As we got involved with promoting it, we started coming across all the people who were interested in collecting it! The original 1983 edition has been sold on Discogs for US$600.
Thanks to Patricia and Orlando for taking the time to answer our questions, and of course, for the fantastic music! 'Num Dia Azul' is released on Mr Bongo on 20th October (Vinyl LP and CD). Pre-order HERE.
]]>
Let’s go back to the start, who were the members / players in Smoke Inc., and where did you guys all meet?
The band’s core was: Stan Terry, vocals/harmonica; Ollie Shotka, Bass and vocals; Keith Stafford, drums and vocals; Roy Schmall, keys and vocals; Lloyd Gregory, guitar; Archie Williams, guitar; Terry Haggerty, guitar; Carlos Alverez, percussion. We all met in Marin County, just north of San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge. Stan and Ollie were playing in another band and I was playing with Kathi McDonald who went on to take Janice Joplins place in Big Brother and the Holding Co. We all had a mutual friend, Snooky Flowers, a baritone sax player who played with Janice at Woodstock, who, recruited Ollie and me to play in his band with Lloyd. After that band broke up, Snooky became our “coach” and, along with Stan and Tim Blain, our manager, helped with getting the rest of the Smoke band together. All our artwork was done by Pat Ryan, who was one of the original San Francisco poster artists.
What was the Bay Area musical scene like when Smoke Inc. formed?
San Francisco had a great music and art scene in the 1960’s. Great venues to play at and lots of musicians to play with. The “peace and love” movement started getting taken over by bad drugs. Mostly speed and heroin. That’s when a lot of musicians and artists moved to Marin County. It had a few world class recording studios where many hits of the day were recorded. The Record Plant and Studio D just to name two.
We read a press release that listed some impressive names that band members had worked with, how did this come about?
We got to open for and occasionally got to play with: Sly and the Family Stone, Rick James, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Burning Spear, Frank Zappa, Bob Marley and others that came thru town.
Who were your personal musical influences?
Some of my musical influences were: Dr John, Professor Longhair, James Booker, Leon Russell, Booker T, Elton John, among other blues and rhythm and blues players.
Did you guys build a following as a live band and then progress to recording music, or was the recording element there from the start?
We got known for our live shows up and down the west coast, but we were always recording whenever we got the chance. We had our own studio that we would rehearse and record whenever we were around home.
Did you have a live band residency?
No residency, but we were in rotation in most of the Bay Area clubs.
Discogs lists 2 x 7” and a 12” EP as your recorded output, was there more? How much is still in the vaults?
The 7” and 12” EP were recorded in major studios: Wally Heiders and the Record Plant, but we had a bunch of songs recorded at our studio that never made it to vinyl.
You released ‘Waitin’ For Love’ in 1977, what can you tell us about the writing and recording process?
I came up with the music to ‘Waiting For Love’ at my home studio. I gave the music to Stan and he wrote the lyrics. Took the song to our studio where we all learned it. We thought it could be a hit so we booked Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco and recorded the 4 songs on the 2 x 7” records.
How was the 7” received by the public, radio and music press at the time of release?
We got lots of airplay on all of the stations that were around then. At that time, there was no internet so the stations were pretty localised. We got written up in all the publications that were around the Bay Area and was voted best Independent band by BAM (Bay Area Musician) Magazine.
Did you get to tour outside of the Bay Area?
We did tour up and down the West Coast, but stayed mostly in the Bay Area.
What do you think when you see just how much people are paying for an original copy of the 7” now? (Someone paid close to $3,000 for one!)
The amount of money people are willing to spend for these records is pretty nuts. Sure wish I had more copies of the originals.
Why did it take 5 years from when the first 7”s to come out until the 12” EP was released in 1982?
We did a lot of original songs and recorded them in our studio. Never pressed any of them. Wish we did.
What happened after the release of that EP?
After the release of the EP we got lots of airplay and it was in all the mainstream and independent record stores that were around at the time. Unfortunately, the band didn’t last long after that.
How do you feel about the renewed interest in your music?
It feels great to have people listening again after all these years. I never would have expected it. I guess if you have a good song it’s always out there. It’s just too bad most of my old bandmates aren’t around to see it.
Thanks to Roy for his time and the music, and thanks to Sarah and Kani, Stanford's widow and daughter, for their assistance. Big love to miche for putting us onto this killer release and for making the introductions.
Be sure to check out the 7” Waitin’ For Love / It’s the Same Old Song’ HERE. Released on Mr Bongo, August 25th.
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MR BONGO RECORDS MARKETING EXECUTIVE:
Salary: Competitive
Closing Date: 28 August, 2023
Reporting to: Head of Marketing
Location: Brighton or London - Hybrid working.
ABOUT MR BONGO:
Mr Bongo started life in 1989 as a small record shop underneath Daddy Kool’s Reggae Store on Berwick Street in London. We were the first shop to sell vinyl releases from independent hip hop labels such as Def Jam, Rawkus, Nervous and Big Beat outside of the USA. We also became an established bearer for hard-to-find, classic Latin music, particularly Brazilian, outside of the Americas.
Our roster features some of the finest Brazilian, Latin, Reggae, African, Soul and Jazz artists including Ebo Taylor, Terry Callier, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Hollie Cook, Protoje, Incredible Bongo Band, Wildstyle, Mike D (Beastie Boys), Jorge Ben, Joyce, Seu Jorge, Arthur Verocai, Marcos Valle, SOYUZ, Kit Sebastian, Surprise Chef, DJ Marky and Luke Una amongst many, many others.
At the end of 2016 we opened a new record store in Brighton beneath our new offices. We have hosted many brilliant in-store events including Luke Una, Jamz Supernova, Geology, Sassy J, DJ Format and others.
OUR MISSION:
To discover and revive incredible historical music through our extensive re-issue catalogue with integrity and care.
To discover new and exciting artists across the world and release their music to our wonderful audience.
To create a happy, positive working environment for our staff.
WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR:
Someone with 3 years+ Marketing experience working within music marketing or similar role.
Photoshop or similar program experience is essential.
WHAT YOU’LL BE DOING:
Working closely with the Marketing Manager in the planning and implementation of marketing activity for the label and artists internationally.
Liaising directly with artists, managers, agents, and other team members in order to execute against marketing campaigns.
Assisting with release metadata creation where required.
Social Media management for Mr Bongo label. Planning, content publishing, engagement, measurement and analysis.
Content creation for label and artist's needs (where appropriate).
Ecommerce - assist with management of Mr Bongo D2C platforms (Shopify + Bandcamp). This includes Mr Bongo product uploads, sales campaigns, stock allocation for key titles, liaising with Mr Bongo USA warehouse team.
Email marketing management.
Supporting the Mr Bongo in-house PR function. Handling different aspects of publicity, plugging and pitching.
Supporting with different aspects of event management.
Working in support role for the wholesale team.
PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES:
Bags of initiative.
Adaptable within a free-flowing environment.
Excellent rapport at all levels of the business.
Personal accountability and excellent time-management.
Organised, efficient and reliable.
Passionate about music.
WHAT WE OFFER:
Company Pension Plan.
Great working environment – small, friendly, relaxed team.
25 days annual leave.
Hybrid working model.
Staff discount on records.
Free gig tickets and team socials.
Mr Bongo Records is an equal opportunities employer. We embrace diversity and are committed to a working environment where no one will be treated less favourably on grounds of their sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion, belief or age.
Please send your CV, cover letter and any links to samples of your work to: jane@mrbongo.com
Closing date for application: Monday 28th August, 2023.
]]>During a trip to Sweden, we witnessed Dina Ögon's captivating live performance, including a solo act by member Daniel Ögren. This extraordinary performance prompted discussions about releasing his now out-of-print 2020 album 'Fastingen-92' on the Mr Bongo label. Daniel's music spans genres yet remains familiar, drawing from influences stemming from South American folk, soul, Nordic folk, and film soundtracks. It possesses a unique, dreamlike, and transformative quality, so we’re thrilled to have a part to play in making this album more widely available. We sat down with Daniel to talk all things ‘Fastingen-92’ ahead of its release in September.
Why did you call the album ‘Fastingen-92’?
In the summers during my childhood there was a yearly carnival in my hometown (a small town called Kristinehamn, in Wermland, Sweden) called ‘Fastingen’. During the 1992 carnival (I was five years old then) a band played the song ‘Llorando se Fue’, an instrumental by the Bolivian band, Los Kjarkas. This song was a huge hit at the time but with the title ‘Lambada, although that’s another story. Anyway, I was blown away by this melody and by the groove that the local band had. There I was, holding my mother’s hand while listening to this music, not being aware that this moment would have a huge effect on me later on...
Which musicians/records most inspired you when you were writing ‘Fastingen-92’?
Two albums with music of Peru called ‘Huayno - Music of Peru volume 1 and 2’.
Pat Metheny Group - Still (life) Talking.
Stevie Wonder - Innervisions.
Vincent Gallo - Recordings of music for film.
Ennio Morricone - Cinema Paradiso.
You can feel a Latin American influence on certain tracks on the record, which countries are these influences from?
I would say Colombia, Bolivia, Peru. I truly love Cumbia and Huayno.
You mention that 'Idag' was the song that gave birth to the Dina Ögon band. How did this collaboration happen?
I have always loved playing together with Anna and Christopher and when this tune came up, I was like “this has to continue!”. So, I asked Anna if she wanted to write some more lyrics and melodies to some other chord changes I could come up with. Both Christopher and Anna wanted to do this so then we asked Love Örsan, whom we played with during recordings of Sven Wunder’s music, to join us. Everyone felt like doing this and we had a lot of fun making the first songs.
For those that do not speak Swedish, what are the 'Idag' lyrics about?
Started in the corners
Moved along the wall all the way out
Allting måste synas
(“synas” has two meanings, in this sentence: “Everything has to be inspected”)
Ingenting får synas och bli kvar
(in this second sentence: “Nothing can be visible and linger”)
Nothing can be forgotten
Or be hidden under the lids
Or be handed over to someone else
Ink from old battles has dried up on the table and on the walls, over the backs and the legs.
Left-over light has been tattooed over the benches and the wooden planks have been bleached, the angry ones have weakened, and they lay down on the beds, and they open up their faces and rest their hands.
If it will be revealed, it will be revealed today
Today
What is the story behind 'Kristinehamn by Night (for Christopher)'? When I first heard this song, I felt it sounded like an electronic dance music style that I had not heard before.
This is a direct result of my listening experience during that carnival (Fastingen) 1992. Those rhythms stayed in me. When I later heard Pat Metheny’s album ‘Still (life) Talking’ sometime around 1999 I was blown away again, and some of those rhythms were there too! When I named the song, I wanted it to be a tribute to my old friend and long-time collaborating drummer Christopher Cantillo. I also wanted to play with the idea of Kristinehamn being a real party-town (which it truly isn’t, at least not in that ‘carnival spirit’).
Listening to Fastingen-92, it is hard to simply categorize the music (genres) on the record. How would you describe it?
It’s what I wanted to do at that time. I never think of genres when I write, I just compose whatever I feel like composing. But I guess it is some sort of jazz for open minded people, haha. Or pop for open minded people…
How was the album recorded, was it recorded live in a studio space or a home studio product?
Most parts are recorded at home while the drums (which is suuuuuuper important for me) are recorded in a good studio environment.
The album was originally released as the Covid pandemic hit in 2020, what was the reaction to the record at the time?
I remember people was really happy about it! It is music that gives the listeners an alternative to other releases because it’s somehow hard to define genre wise. You don’t have to choose because of the “labeling”, it’s just music. During this Covid period I experienced that people were open and thirsty for any kind of art and they seemed to enjoy this album, for which I’m truly grateful:)
How does the writing on your solo tracks differ (if at all) from the process of writing for Dina Ögon?
In many ways it’s the same. I always improvise when I try to write a melody or chords. Only difference is that when I write for Dina Ögon I sometimes write a small part of the melody, but in most cases I leave that part to Anna who does it so good and she really makes melodies that I never could have come up with.
Which other musicians worked on the record?
Anna Ahnlund -vocals
Christopher Cantillo - drums
Josefin Runsteen - drums
Ulrik Ording - drums
Edvin Nahlin - additional synths
Some of the tracks on Fastingen-92 are very cinematic. Which films would you most love to write a film score for?
I love drama and old thrillers like ‘The Shining’. Films that allow the music to be different and experimental. I do love movies that are silent too, haha, like the series ‘Marriage’ from the UK. The music supervisor there did a splendid job:) I would really love writing for film.
Which musicians/vocalists would you most like to collaborate with?
I would love playing with Bill Frisell. But, honestly, any musicians that are open and a good listener would work any time.
Are there any Swedish producers/musicians (new or old) that you would like to turn us on to?
One must love Jan Johansson.
How is the Stockholm music scene?
I think its fun playing here. It’s small though…
Listen to the full album 'Fastingen-92' by Daniel Ögren, and pre-order the release on vinyl LP or CD here.
]]>During his wonderful career of over five decades, Hozan Yamamoto pushed Japanese jazz into new directions, absorbing fusion, funk, spiritual jazz and many other sounds. This resulted in a discography studded with gems of rare beauty. Mr Bongo has had the privilege of reissuing three albums from Yamamoto-san, and it is one of those albums that led to this feature….
In 2021 we reissued Hozan Yamamoto’s original soundtrack to the 1979 mystery and suspense movie, 'Devil's Flute (悪魔が来りて笛を吹く)' by Kôsei Saitô. The film is based on ‘The Devil’s Flute Murders’, a book by the author, Seishi Yokomizo. It is centred around a much-loved fictional Japanese detective, Kosuke Kindaichi, a character who has been described as a Japanese Sherlock Holmes and has been immensely popular within Japan for generations.
The fantastic independent publisher, Pushkin Vertigo, has just released its English translation of ’The Devil’s Flute Murders’, so we thought this was a great opportunity to delve deeper into the world of Seishi Yokomizo. It was one of those glorious "down the rabbit hole" moments that opened our eyes to a body of work that we didn't previously know enough about. The point of this blog is to tell stories, so we thought why not dedicate some time to a master story teller! It also gave us the opportunity to talk a little about the work of an independent publisher in general. There are numerous parallels between independent labels and publishers, but especially in this case, where both parties are noted for looking to the global stage for the talent they represent, enriching the source material with as much context as possible, and presenting sometimes decades-old work to a modern audience. So, step forward, Daniel Seton, a commissioning editor at Pushkin Vertigo, and an all-round top chap.
Please can you give us a brief introduction to Pushkin Vertigo and your role there?
Pushkin Vertigo is the crime and thrillers imprint of Pushkin Press, an independent publisher based in London with a strong emphasis on bringing books from other countries and languages to readers of English. As an editor acquiring for the Pushkin Vertigo list, my main role is to scour the world for the best crime novels that have yet to be translated into English.
How do you go about deciding what to publish - you have an almost endless supply of material to choose from, what makes a suitable Pushkin Vertigo title/author?
It’s tricky. Especially when the novels in question only exist in languages I can’t read! I rely a lot on the advice of translators, agents and editors in foreign countries, who give me tips on what to go for. In general, we look for books that are either big established classics in their home countries (like Yokomizo) or contemporary crime fiction that is getting a lot of attention right now.
How did you discover Seishi Yokomizo?
When Pushkin Vertigo was founded back in 2015, it was a really exciting new imprint to be involved with. I’d always loved reading whodunits by the great British masters of crime, like Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Margery Allingham, Arthur Conan Doyle etc. from a young age, so to have the chance to explore the crime writing cultures of other countries was a real treat. It quickly became apparent that some countries have richer crime traditions than others, and Japan was one of the richest, with decades of classics to explore, very few of which had ever been translated into English. An editor who has now left Pushkin had the idea of looking into Seishi Yokomizo, and luckily both she and I were able to read some of his titles in French, and in old English translations.
How well-known is Seishi Yokomizo in Japan?
Very! His great creation Kosuke Kindaichi is as synonymous with the word ‘detective’ as Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot in the UK. His books have sold tens of millions of copies and been adapted for dozens of really popular films, which are still regularly shown on television in Japan. He’s possibly the biggest name in Japanese crime writing.
The Guardian described Seishi Yokomizo as “Japan’s answer to Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr”, why do you think it took so long for an English translation to come about?
Good question! I think the answer lies in the publishing culture in the UK & US, which was traditionally quite reluctant to publish books in translation. I think publishers used to worry that readers might see translated books as inherently difficult, niche or highbrow, but houses like Pushkin have proved that to be untrue. Our readers love to curl up with a Yokomizo just as much as a Christie!
Seishi Yokomizo’s most famous/iconic character is Kosuke Kindaichi, what do you think the appeal of this character is?
I always think Kindaichi is a bit like a cross between Poirot and Columbo. He’s notoriously scruffy, with a big bird’s nest of hair that he’s always furiously scratching when he tries to think, to the point that the people he meets in the books often underestimate him. He’s also reliably brilliant, however, always coming up with an ingenious solution to the seemingly impossible crimes he’s faced with. He’s actually really likeable too, which is perhaps a slight difference from the two sleuths mentioned above! He’s an undeniably good guy, and his past experiences in the Second World War help to flesh him out as a character.
Your next book in the Kosuke Kindaichi series is ‘The Devil’s Flute Murders’, is it possible to give a brief synopsis of the plot?
We’ve published five Kindaichi mysteries so far, and this is one of the best. It might even be my favourite! Like a lot of Yokomizo’s mysteries, it’s set in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. Much of Tokyo is still in ruins, but somehow the grand house of the Tsubaki family has remained standing. The head of the family is an enigmatic, troubled flautist and composer, Viscount Tsubaki, who is most famous for an eerie, chilling piece called ‘The Devil Comes and Plays His Flute’. When he is found dead it is the beginning of a series of brutal murders, which the great Kosuke Kindaichi is called in to solve…
Have you had the chance to watch the 1979 film adaptation of the book; 'Devil's Flute (悪魔が来りて笛を吹く) by Kôsei Saitô?
I’m ashamed to say, I haven’t yet, which is unforgivable, since I think it is available on Youtube with English subtitles. Thank you for the reminder, though – that’s one for the weekend.
We sent you a copy of Hozan Yamamoto’s soundtrack to the film, was it musically what you expected?
I love it, especially the title theme, which is just as haunting as you would want it to be. I was actually already familiar with it before you sent us the beautiful LP. I have a habit of listening to Yokomizo film soundtracks as I listen to his books, and this is my favourite. And of course, it’s the perfect companion to the book as it allows you to hear the creepy ‘The Devil Comes and Plays His Flute’ while you are reading about it. In fact, I think everyone who reads this needs to get hold of a copy of both the book and album so they can listen/read in tandem!
Anna Morrison’s cover art for the Kosuke Kindaichi series is stunning. How important are these elements to Pushkin Vertigo?
Yes, the covers are amazing, and I think they are a huge part of why the books have done so well for us. We try to ensure all our books are gorgeous objects, which people will want to hold, spend time with and gift to friends. Anna has captured the Golden Age Japanese mystery atmosphere perfectly with her series of designs. Of the lot, I think 'Death on Gokumon Island' (another great book with a cracking Seventies film soundtrack) is my favourite, closely followed by 'The Honjin Murders' – the original and most famous Kindaichi mystery.
Do you think Seishi Yokomizo will ever become well-known outside of Japan?
I would say he is already well on his way! His books are the most popular titles on our crime list, and each new mystery we release seems to be snapped up by eager fans. We’ve had lots of very positive coverage in the press, too, and he has some big-name fans in authors like Anthony Horowitz and Janice Hallett. As to whether he will ever be as huge in the UK as he is in Japan… that’s a big ask, but we will keep on trying.
Here at Mr Bongo, we are finding that as time goes on there is a growing receptivity to music from all over the globe, is that also happening in the publishing world?
Yes, definitely. I touched on this above, but things are really changing in the publishing world too. The percentage of titles published in translation has risen in recent years as publishers have caught on to the fact that readers are actually very open and even excited about exploring books from other cultures.
What are some of the biggest challenges in trying to introduce an English-speaking audience to an author such as Seishi Yokomizo?
As with all our books, it’s important to ensure that the translation is excellent, as well as the book’s cover design and physical package. With some Yokomizo titles (including 'The Devil’s Flute Murders') there has been an extra challenge of working out how to translate certain clues to the mystery that rely on language or wordplay in the original Japanese. I’m pleased to say I think we’ve always managed to find a really good solution and working on those problems with our translators is actually one of the most enjoyable parts of my job.
Other than that, to be honest, Yokomizo is easy to publish! His mysteries have all the enjoyable, familiar elements that many of our readers will recognise from Golden Age British and American Classics, but are also steeped in Japanese culture, filled with unforgettable characters and set in vividly evoked locations. What’s not to like?
Are there any ‘must-read’ authors you would suggest our readers look into alongside Seishi Yokomizo?
There are so many names I could recommend. I’m tempted to say just explore the Pushkin Vertigo list! But if I had to pick out one author, it would be Yukito Ayatsuji. Like Yokomizo, he’s a proponent of the honkaku (orthodox) style of murder mystery – i.e. one in which the readers are given all the clues they need to solve the mystery themselves – but Ayatsuji was part of a new wave of honkaku authors who, beginning in the eighties, started to craft brilliantly clever whodunits with even more emphasis on this central puzzle element, creating perfectly plotted mysteries with diagrams and clues aplenty for readers to pore over and breath-taking reveals in the finale. So far we’ve published Ayatsuji’s 'The Decagon House Murders' and 'The Mill House Murders', and there will be plenty more to come…
Many thanks to Daniel for taking the time to answer our questions. Make sure to follow them on Instagram and keep up to speed with their latest book releases.
Hozan Yamamoto & Yu Imai - Akuma Ga Kitarite Fue Wo Fuku (Devil’s Flute) is out now on Vinyl LP and CD.
]]>To mark the release of the compilation, we had a chat with Joe to try and dig a little deeper into this wonderful project.
Please tell us a bit about your musical background?
There was always an awful lot of music in my house – my dad always played guitar and piano and there were always tons of records around. I played guitar and piano, too, and did a lot of singing from a young age. I was in a few choirs and, weirdly, a Latin Band at school with whom I sung a lot of Colombian and Cuban music. And, through studying music at school, I also got heavily into the French Impressionists Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel – and then, into Erik Satie and Les Six. There was also a short-lived punk band when I was about 12. We were called Extortion Contortion and our last of three rehearsals at Camden’s Roundhouse ended when I did a jump with my guitar and split the crotch of my brand-new tartan trousers. There’s been plenty half-attempts at starting bands ever since. Alongside playing, the curatorship side of music: the journalism, broadcasting, DJing and producing – that all began slowly, growing after interning at NME magazine as a teenager and really took off via my own platform Brazilian Wax, and through working for Sounds & Colours.
In terms of tastes, I was always quite omnivorous as a kid. I had, and still have a deep love for a canon of British “indie” music that’d include The Kinks, The Clash, Ian Dury, Pulp and Blur. And at home, from as young as I can remember, I was also listening to a lot of reggae: The Gladiators, Heptones, Desmond Dekker and Derrick Harriot. There was also some Buena Vista-adjacent son and salsa. And then jazz happened massively for me, with Charles Mingus and Chet Baker becoming my heroes. But throughout, Brazilian music was there, and became more and more dominant.
How and when did you fall in love with the music of Brazil?
My mum’s mum was born in Recife in northeast of Brazil and didn’t come to England until she was in her twenties. Weirdly, and totally coincidentally, my dad’s uncle moved to Porto Alegre in the south before I was born, too. My immediate family aren’t Brazilian, but Brazil was always this alluring presence just beyond reach or understanding as a kid. Football probably compounded my curiosity. My favourite players when I was young were always Brazilian: Ronaldinho and Kaká particularly. I played futebol de salão in London and it was always soundtracked by a tape of what was probably, in hindsight, extremely tasteless Brazilian remixes. But I loved it: I loved the energy. But, more than that, through football and music, I was intrigued by this sense that Brazilian culture really championed creativity and flair and individuality in a way that British culture didn’t.
My first gig, when I was about 11, was seeing Seu Jorge on his América Brasil tour and, that album soundtracked my life for so, so long. A couple of years later, while getting heavily into jazz, I did the inevitable journey through bossa nova and then landed on Jorge Ben’s Samba Esquema Novo. I asked for the record for Christmas, but my parents couldn’t find it so got me some Tropicália compilations instead. And that just blew my mind. I recognised so much about Tropicália that I loved in other music. It had that visceral energy and the subversive context of UK punk, it had the sonic explorations of the Beatles, the Velvet Underground, the Beach Boys and Love, it had the rhythm and energy of ska or salsa, it had the rich harmony and complex structures of jazz… I remember the first time I heard Gal Costa’s ‘Tuareg’ on one of those comps, and very quickly her two 1969 albums became my bible.
How do you follow what is happening musically in Rio?
I began following Rio’s music scene pretty closely after Ava Rocha released her 2018 album Trança – that really blew me away. Like a lot of music that ended up on this compilation, Trança had Tropicália’s “anthropophagic” ethos and also its reverence for Brazil’s rich musical history, without sounding nostalgic. It subverted symbols and sounds from the Brazilian canon (the violão, cuíca, batucada) and ventured into many contemporary sound-worlds: there were intricate electronicky moments and an avant indie sound I saw as comparable to the the kind of art-rock Deerhoof made.
At that age, besides a few São Paulo artists (Metá Metá, Romulo Fróes, Teto Preto), I was still pretty consumed by Brazil’s musical history rather than present. But through Brazilian Wax – which had begun in 2017 as a student radio show – I was engaging more and more with what was happening in modern Brazil, and I was also digging for contemporary cuts to DJ instead of the typical “rare groove” standards. I started scouring Soundcloud and Bandcamp, just typing in tags like “rdj” and found the QTV label, Negro Leo, Tantão… Now I’m lucky enough to know many of these artists and labels personally, so I can keep track via their Instagrams and pester them for updates on new material!
Where and when did the idea for this compilation come about?
I spent about a year editing the music section of Russ’s Sounds & Colours from the summer of 2020. The job included writing Brazilian Wax Round-Ups and interviewing many Brazilian musicians, and I began going deeper, building this huge web of really quite remarkably good music. I found it fascinating that you could trace so many connections between many of the artists I was writing about: they all produced for each other, played on each other’s records, wrote songs for each other, designed the covers for each other’s albums… It felt like this real moment of collaboration and community which reminded me of what had been happening closer to home in UK jazz with the likes of Nubya Garcia, Moses Boyd, the Ezra boys, Maisha and Nérija. It also reminded me of the collaborative nature of Tropicália: obviously, the seminal Panis et Circenses compilation, but also the more long-term relationships between Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, and Caetano’s sister Maria Bethânia and Nara Leão, and Os Mutantes, and Gal Costa, Jorge Ben, and Tom Zé.
There were further parallels to Tropicália, too: the sonic experimentation in this group of musicians, but also the music’s similar political context: back then it was Brazil’s military dictatorship, in 2021 it was Bolsonaro’s censorious premiership. A compilation had been on my mind for a while. I wanted to help shout about this moment – and then Russ suggested it out of the blue in February 2021 and Hidden Waters was born!
How did you and your co-compiler Russ Slater select the tracks for the compilation?
Initially it felt like a mammoth task. In my head, I hadn’t totally zeroed in on one city. While Rio seemed to be the creative epicentre, there were tendrils that reached towards São Paulo: Rio’s Thiago Nassif had recently produced the superb Lances by paulista polymath Sztu; and scene linchpin Negro Leo had featured on Gabriel Edé’s sprawling Terror da Terra, too. Both São Paulo albums were in my top 5 for 2020. But Russ was more ruthless and was right to persuade me to focus all our energy exclusively on the city where the majority of this great music had sprung.
For me, it was important to show the links between many of these artists. The way they all interacted definitely informed and guided the track selection. For example, the compilation begins with Ana Frango Elétrico’s “Saudade”. Off the top of my head, Ana alone has featured on albums by, performed with or collaborated with: Pedro Fonte (track 2), Bala Desejo (3), members of Exército do Bebês (4), Thiago Nassif (5), Negro Leo (6), Rosabege (8), Dora Morelenbaum (9), Marcelo Callado (13), members of Ovo ou Bicho (14), Vovô Bebê, (16), Joana Queiroz (17), Raquel Dimantas (18) and Antônio Neves (19). And the players on “Saudade” are just as engaged in the scene. For example, guitarist Guilherme Lírio is a member of Exército do Bebês (track 5) and Ovo ou Bicho (14), and also plays on the tracks by Pedro Fonte (2), Thiago Nassif (6), Vovô Bebê (7), Dora Morelenbaum (9) – and a track by Ilessi which features on the original Sounds & Colours pressing. You can track these connections in the credits printed on the record sleeves.
Were there any / many artists you wanted to include but couldn’t for whatever reason?
The main one for me is Tantão e os Fita. He makes this incredibly aggressive, very experimental, extremely confrontational music that falls somewhere between hardcore, industrial and noise music and it’s just so stunning. To borrow some words from my review of his third album Piorou: “even at its nastiest, Piorou can be exhilaratingly beautiful. . . It is blood-curdlingly brazen and totally unique.” I wish we could have found space for Tantão but it would have been just too much of a left-turn in the track listing to work. And, also, taking one Tantão track out the context of a whole hulking album just wouldn’t do it justice…
What can you tell us about the stunning artwork and design of the release?
The story of the artwork has an achingly tragic ending: a matter of weeks before the album’s release, one of the album’s two artists Caio Paiva passed away. Holding my first physical copy, I just burst into tears because the idea that Caio never gets to hold his own work was just too much to bear thinking about. It is an inexplicable loss. He was a once-a-generation artist and musician – such an outrageous blaze of light who had become the cornerstone of Rio’s creative culture. And he was such a dear friend to so many people involved in this project.
When approaching the artwork for this project, he was the one person I was desperate to have involved. He was only 22 at the time and he’d already been churning out iconic album artwork for just about everyone. He’d done the art for everything Ana Frango Elétrico had ever done, made a number of covers for Thiago Nassif, for Dora Morelenbaum and for his own band Ovo ou Bicho – all 4 appear on Hidden Waters. He’d also produced a compilation Xepa/Nata alongside Marcelo Callado (also featured on Hidden Waters) – a compilation which features Ana Frango, and also a track we licensed for Hidden Waters by Exército do Bebês called “Avós da Experiência”. He was absolutely central to this group of musicians. When he agreed to take on the project I was so thrilled: for me he was already a legendary artist. And I’d also already decided that his band, who have still only officially released 2 singles, were going to be the band of their generation. I feel so very privileged to work with and know Caio.
And the work he did with his long-term partner Karina Yamane (and photographer Bruna Sussekind) did not disappoint. The artwork itself references Ary Barroso and Dorival Caymmi’s Um Interpreta o Outro, with the cover’s photo taken from the same perspective. It also references the definitive Tropicália compilation Panis et Circenses in which Gilberto Gil held a framed photo of Capinan and Caetano Veloso of Nara Leão. In our first meeting Caio had the idea fully fleshed out: he managed to gather framed photographs of all of the artists in the middle of a Covid lockdown, rented a boat and hit the water. Caio himself is featured second from left in the wallet of passport photos central and at the bottom of the shot. He is so dearly missed and this project will forever be dedicated to him.
The liner notes are extensive and also include essays written by two of Rio’s foremost music critics and cultural historians, how important do you think this context is to the listening experience?
I could write forever on this subject. Apologies in advance for a long answer! In a broad sense, context is always integral. My platform Brazilian Wax began as a radio show with the aim of sharing Brazilian music within a historical, political and cultural context. For me, this was crucial if we were to work towards unravelling the neo-colonial and hugely reductive relationship that has existed between the UK and “world” music(s) forever. Obviously, within Anglophone and European cultures, the consumption of Brazilian music has historically been appropriative, exploitative and, also, contextless. Nowadays, I find the general relationship between the UK and Brazilian music is built upon two problematic pillars: the exotic and the nostalgic – both of which prevent the listener really getting close to understanding the music they’re listening to.
You see so many reductive and inaccurate descriptions of Brazilian music and musicians rooted in this idea of the exotic: “tribal music”, music of the “jungle”, music rooted in sexuality and sensuality, even this misconception of all Brazilian music being this “sunny”, “beachy”, “happy” music (which is crazy when you consider that Brazilian artists were creating during a censorial military dictatorship for the best part of two decades!). People in the UK rarely engage beyond enjoying the classic exotic stereotypes that something like “Mas Que Nada” or a Marcos Valle tune might evoke for them. And, for these audiences, almost as seductive as Brazil being this exotic paradise is the idea of Brazil as this nostalgic space: DJs worldwide love the idea of crate-digging for lost or forgotten Brazilian relics, which then have historically been removed from Brazil (which, of course, is a relationship that can’t really be separated from a neo-colonial legacy). Equally, besides the electronic music of the likes of Mamba Negra and Gop Tun, it is still the Tropicália, MPB, and disco from the sixties to the eighties that takes up most of the focus in the UK.
So, part of this compilation is about, 1) meeting the culture where it is now and, 2) engaging with it properly, not just on the surface via exotic mis-readings. There has forever been sophisticated, nuanced, contemporary, complex and trailblazing Brazilian music and right now there is as much excellent music from Brazil as there ever has been. So, let’s pay attention – not just to histories of Tropicália or compilations of boogie music, but to what Brazil actually sounds like right now. The music on this compilation is testament to that. And it was always crucial to allow this music to have an authentic voice and to be given as much attention as canons of bossa nova or Tropicália.
We were so grateful, therefore, to have such culturally significant voices as Leonardo’s and Bernardo’s involved in this project. They are both eminent critics from Rio who have been engaged in this scene for a long time and the insights they give are rooted in a wealth of first-hand experience that go beyond mine and Russ’s. Equally, the record sleeves are covered in quotes from the artists themselves, telling stories of theirs and each other’s work. This was so special for two reasons: firstly, because it reinforces and demonstrates the relationships between them all; and, secondly, because there’s no one better to represent and speak for a song than the artist themselves. Some of the insights they give are just fascinating.
As an afterthought: the compilation’s title comments on a history of Europe misinterpreting and speaking for Brazil. When the Portuguese anchored off the coast of the continent in January 1502, they mistook the Guanabara Bay for the mouth of a river and called the region Rio de Janeiro (“River of January”). Across the Bay from Rio is the city Niteroi. Niteroi means “water that hides” in the native Tupi-Guarani language. There’s an interesting counterpoint between these two names and styles of perception: the European settlers and outsiders got it totally wrong, went on first instinct and drew on their experience. The natives were in touch with something deeper, truer, more authentic and allowed for something unknown and untouchable.
If you were to extend that dichotomy, I, Brazilian Wax, Sounds & Colours, Mr Bongo, we are all the Europeans approaching a culture that is not ours – a culture that is Brazilian. So, within a history of misrepresentation that begins in 1502, we were adamant that these artists should talk for themselves. The subtitle Strange and Sublime Sounds, I drew from the Thiago Nassif song title Soar Estranho which translates to “To Sound Strange”. Throughout the album, we wanted the musicians and artists involved to describe their own work. With art, essays and quotes from those in the scene, it captures something far more genuine, and the listener can truly engage with a contemporary Rio culture.
Was it important for you that the compilation was made available as a vinyl release?
It was. Part of the fire behind this project, for me, came from me getting a lot of messages from artists asking if I had any routes towards pressing their album. It was something that seemed pretty inaccessible for the smaller artists in Brazil that I’d been reviewing for Sounds & Colours. So, it was nice to be able to do that with some of them. Also, to make something physical like this obviously forces people to stop and think. In the digital age, with instantaneous downloads, you’re never forced to be mindful of what you’re listening to or to dwell on anything. Everything is disposable, and the relationship we have towards cultures other than our own have ever greater potential to become something that’s easy to exploit, appropriate, and misrepresent. So, having a physical record (which is also a historical record) means that people can better engage with music that deserves to be long-lasting.
Where can people hear you DJing or come to your events?
I’m just starting a new monthly residency on the last Thursday of every month at Apples & Pears bar just off Brick Lane. The bar is a long-time stronghold that has survived decades of Shoreditch gentrification and it’s a real pleasure to be working with them. It’s a whole evening thing that gives me time to explore lots of great Brazilian music and they’ve got a caipirinha deal on as well – what’s not to love!?
Many thanks to Joe for taking the time to answer our questions. Make sure to follow him on Instagram, and keep an eye out for the forthcoming DJ gigs he mentioned.
Hidden Waters: Strange and Sublime Sounds of Rio de Janeiro is out now on 2xLP / CD / Digital.
]]>The film blends historical drama with romance and eroticism, ‘Il Casanova di Federico Fellini’ is the famed director’s own take on Histoire de ma vie, the autobiography of the 18th century Venetian icon. Fellini’s darkest film cracks through the myth of Casanova. As played by Donald Sutherland, the notorious womaniser is presented as a grotesque, pitiable, terrifying figure. Casanova craves respect as a scholar and yearns to pursue his interest in alchemy, but a sex scandal lands him in prison. Yet, an escape to Paris provides him a new lease of life but every Court in Europe and its attendant patrons and hostesses will only entertain him if he lives up to his sexual reputation.
The movie, which had a rumoured production cost of over 9 million Dollars, was an outstanding success, which bagged many awards including: an Oscar for Best Costumes to Danilo Donati in 1977 as well as three Nastro d’Argento (Best Set Design, Best Photography, Best Costumes), two British Academy Film Awards (Best Set Design, Best Costumes) and a David di Donatello to Nino Rota for the Best Soundtrack.
The compositions are constantly on the edge of classical and electronic music with playful nuances and the use of instruments like viola and cello. Vocals become a cornerstone, echoing the tradition of 18th century Italian opera. However, Rota also leaves room for more experimental, psychedelic and estranging vibes that make the soundtrack a one-of-a-kind voyage into the creativity of the Maestro.
The CAM release is a 2LP, first time ever on gatefold vinyl affair, and includes fourteen tracks previously unreleased on vinyl. We’ve been very impressed with the label’s approach to reissues - they look and sound beautiful. A high-level of care and attention has been put into the release and that is the type of treatment a soundtrack such as this deserves. Hats off to CAM, the go to label for Italian original soundtracks.
]]>It is our absolute pleasure to announce our two releases for Record Store Day, 2023 happening on 22nd April. See the full list and find participating stores at Record Store Day.
Brazil 45 Boxset, Curated by Mike D - 5 x Vinyl 7"
For the fourth instalment of our much-loved Brazil 45 Boxset series, we have the privilege of presenting a selection from true hip-hop royalty, Mike D of Beastie Boys. The boxset brief is simple, a curated selection of your most beloved tracks from Brazil’s rich musical tapestry. Mike didn’t disappoint, digging deep to unearth incredible funky psych rock, dreamy MPB and experimental nuggets. In a reflection of his most famed musical output of hip-hop and hardcore punk; it's no surprise he has cherry-picked from the experimental and leftfield side of what Brazil has to offer.
Things kick off on the first 45 with a curveball. An obscure and mysterious promotional only 7" track by Inês Soares recorded for Toyota cars and originally released in Portugal. This is paired with Nicholas Mariano's solitary 7" single 'Dita Cuja’, an ultra-raw, distorted, garage rock rough diamond. Up next, we have two leftfield offerings from the visionary composer / percussionist / instrument inventor, Pedro Santos, alongside guitarist Sebastião Tapajós. These are followed by two slices of genius taken off Hareton Salvanini's sought-after Hareton + Meta EP from 1971. Circling back to the psychedelic rock vibe, we have both sides of a supremely rare Modulo 1000 7" compacto originally released on Odeon Records in 1970. Mike’s love for the dreamy 70s MPB / ‘Clube Da Esquina-esque’ lush sound is represented by two selections from the impeccable Erasmo Carlos.
Having Mike involved, we knew this project was going to be special. He has delivered a wondrous boxset that has his identity stamped and forged in the selection.
A. Inês Soares - Toyota - Um Amor Para Toda A Vida / B. Nichollas Mariano - Dita Cuja / C. Sebastião Tapajos / Pedro Dos Santos - Cantico Del Agua / D. Pedro Dos Santos Y Sebastião Tapajos - Todo Es Moda (Tudo É Moda) / E. Hareton + Meta - KM110 / F. Hareton + Meta - Hippie 12 / G. Módulo 1000 - Big Mama / H. Módulo 1000 - Isto Não Quer Dizer Nada / I. Erasmo Carlos - É Preciso Dar Um Jeito, Meu Amigo J. Erasmo Carlos - Meu mar
Terry Callier - Hidden Conversations - Vinyl LP (RSD Edition)
The late, great Terry Callier was an icon and inspiration to many; his work on Cadet Records with Charles Stepney and Elektra in the 70s made him a cult artist. After coming out of musical semi-retirement and returning to the stage in the 90s, Terry's light continued to shine, wowing both old and new audiences with the exquisite beauty his music and voice channelled.
Following his stunning performance at the 2008 Meltdown Festival, curated by Massive Attack, Terry teamed up with the legendary British trio, which resulted in ‘Hidden Conversations'. Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja co-wrote ‘Wings’, ‘John Lee Hooker', and ‘Live With Me’. The combination of Robert Del Naja’s haunting production and Terry’s captivating, emotive vocals fused beautifully. Terry collaborated with the producers Christopher Grabowski and Mark Hardy on the remaining other songs on the album.
Originally released on CD only in 2009, this new RSD edition is the first time it has been available on vinyl and comes housed in a tip-on sleeve, 180g black vinyl, and features an OBI strip with new cover art and design by Mr Krum.
1. Wings / 2. Sunset Boulevard / 3. Hidden Conversations 4. Live with Me / 5. John Lee Hooker / 6. Once I Dreamed of Heaven
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WITCH are a group who have long had our hearts here at Mr Bongo. Known widely as THE Zambian rock band, the group have received a second wave of support globally following numerous reissues thanks to Now Again, and a documentary about the group recording filmmaker Gio Arlotta as he attempts to reform the band with original frontman Jagari Chanda, Patrick Mwondela and contemporary artists Jacco Gardner and Nic Mauskovic. Making waves with a fresh new single, and a documentary finally released about the band, we had the pleasure of having a second sit down with original WITCH member Jagari Chanda - starting with how they first came to the name.
Initially, Jagari recounts, WITCH was named Kingston Market. However, with no ability to record, the group saved their rehearsals for live shows. "The lineup changed a bit quickly, too quickly before we even thought of recording, as it wasn't common to do so. We didn't have recording studios to do things. Even the one that we used for 'Introduction' and 'Living In The Past' was almost accidental. Initially it was just the actual WITCH, like WITCH on a broomstick. The name came from the sound of the footswitch. We have the wah-wah and things like that. In the rehearsal we thought that the the first name we had (Kingston Market) didn't depict the rock genre of the band. It was more of a reggae orientated-name."
When first starting on his musical path, Jagari was so young his family had doubts. "The manager for Kingston Market wanted me to leave school. I was in grade 11. Form Four. And they didn't like the idea. So I couldn't just go along with that idea. I knew I had only one year to go before I could complete high school. So I said, I can't go on with this. I'm leaving. The manager said 'if you are leaving, everyone is leaving.' Then we parted company. He sold the the gear, but we had not recorded anything with him. And then we started looking for a new manager."
As Kingston Market disbanded, the group began experimenting with their line-up. "The common thing was three, four members in a band. Because that was the same as the Beatles. When we listen to Rolling Stones and other bands with five people, the fashion started changing."
When it came to making decisions, the group enjoyed working as a collective, however, this came with its own drawbacks."It was a collective, until we we had a difference with this other new manager with whom we had recorded two albums. His idea of a contract was misconstrued. I said, now i'm finishing my high school. My family is expecting me to contribute. I had refused to join the mines. It was the the trend that when the guardian or the parent leaves the mine where they worked, then when they retired they would replace themselves with either a relative or with their child or something. And my elder brother brought me up. I only lived with my parents for the first six or seven years of my life. And then this elder brother, the first born sibling, he worked for the mines and decided that it was a good idea that I leave the village to come and find school."
For Jagari, it seemed like his destiny was sealed with a family lineage of working on the Copperbelt, in the mines of Kitwe. His elder brother encouraged him to stick with school, despite his homesickness leading to a few escape attempts: "You go and camp at the school for the whole week. That was the plan, but I didn't yield very good results. So my brother said, you come and join me for the work on the Copperbelt, in particular in Kitwe. So he sent for me and I went to Kitwe. I started school in 1959, but around 1960 I was homesick. I wanted to go back to my parents and I sneaked out and got on a bus. But they're talking about 600 plus kilometers away from where we were. And you had to pass through Congo the pit road to go back to where I was born. My elder brother learned about it and he was not too pleased. So he made arrangements and I was recaptured on the way and brought back to Kitwe. So I re-started school again in 1961. This time I was threatened 'if you try that again....!' So I was kept in check all the time."
"His idea was I could help the financial burden he had for the family. He was like the breadwinner, you know? So he thought by sending me to school, at the end of it, I would help him with the financial burden. But what he didn't really understand was when the destiny is calling, there's no escape. You don't understand it. But in the end, you come to realise 'oh, I was meant to do this and this.' Well, I went to school then in full before I moved away from home, because they didn't approve when they heard that I joined the band. It was unheard of."
Before joining a band, Jagari grew up listening to local live acts, available in part by social amenities setup by the township. "The mining conglomerate would arrange some social amenities within the township. We had the social welfare (not the way you regard it here). We used to go there for sports, boxing, swimming, football and things like that. I used to meet musicians there, you know, and try out what I thought I knew. In school, we had our notebooks where we wrote the lyrics of certain songs. We didn't even know Jim Reeves was singing gospel music, so we were dancing to his music as if it were ballroom dance! I really didn't think I'd be a musician, so I didn't keep track of the interests growing. I saw other musicians drop out of school and that gave me an indication that I should be careful. I knew, if I got carried away by music, I would not concentrate in school. So two forces bullying. My family wanted me to be that side....but the talent was calling me elsewhere."
Jagari and the band learnt how to play their instruments through covering popular British and American groups of the 1960's. Growing up near the mining conglomerate, he listened to British radio, and had a stream of various cultures coming through from South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania and Congo, all coming to work in the mines. Through social events, Jagari found himself immersed in music through events held by various families who had migrated. Jukeboxes also became popular, "The radio would play the hits from about midnight to 4am, so I would pretend to sleep and stay up to hear more. Then, on my way to school I would stand outside the clubs hoping to hear tracks from the jukebox."
As WITCH began to draw more and more of a live following, the group stumbled across a way to get their music onto vinyl. "I met this guy, he had a record in his hand, the seven inch single with his name on it. I stopped him am introduced myself and he said, Where did you get this? How did you have this made? And he said, 'at the record company in Kitwe, your town, the industrial area.' I think it was Polygram or something like that. He says 'You can go and find out from them. If you have material they can press for you.'" Jagari found out they could press masters there, with the record pressing and sleeves being made in Nairobi, Kenya.
With the band all living together in one house, they were rehearsing a lot in the storeroom of a grocery shop and writing their own songs. With nothing written down, everything was played by memory. All that was left was to find a studio.
With the band all living together in one house, they were rehearsing a lot in the storeroom of a grocery shop and writing their own songs. With nothing written down, everything was played by memory. All that was left was to find a studio.
"Eventually we learnt that the mining company not so far away from my town had a subsidiary company making documentaries. That's why they also had this section for audio recording. The manager there was a folk musician called Emmanuel, so we were allowed to record there. We recorded, and the manager and I went to Nairobi with the masters and we had the first batch of vinyl made there. We came back with bags of them. And when we were ready for selling, it was like hotcakes. We sold them at gigs, and there was a real demand for them." As the band reached more traction, Jagari pushed for contracts with their manager. This led to them parting ways, and Jagari taking the lead on future decisions. Having stayed on and finishing school, Jagari knew a musical career had potential and was keen to pursue this, despite his family initially disapproval, they began to see how popular WITCH were becoming.
By this time a recording company had started up in Zambia and were looking for bands to sign. Jagari approached them with word of the master tapes, asking for a repress of the first WITCH release, and explaining their previous success. With their old manager holding their original master tapes, they had to negotiate an exchange of their instruments for the original masters. Eventually, the deal was signed, and the recording company bought them new instruments on the condition they record an album per year for four years. Until the instruments were recouped the group struggled to make an income with no royalty payments, and relied solely on live shows.
Zambia had changed a lot in the time that WITCH were releasing music. With various neighbouring countries in political turmoil, curfews and blackouts and meant that some of their live shows had to last 7-8 hours into the night. All of these issues were overshadowed by the emerging AIDS pandemic, which Jagari mentions sadly eventually led to the death of all other original members of WITCH.
By the time that disco became a popular genre, Jagari was married, had a family and saw his time with WITCH coming to an end. Whilst the band continued without him, he didn't stop composing and Jagari's relationship with music became more than just dreams of fame and fortune, of playing live around the world. He wanted to setup a music school, to teach children.
As time went on all other members of the original WITCH line-up passed away, leaving only Jagari and Patrick, who played keys during WITCH's disco-era. Little did he know, thanks to documentarian Gio Arlotta, some 40 years later he would be gracing stages across the world, performing at Desert Daze, on KEXP, doing what he does best to adoring fans across the globe. One things for sure - we are lucky to have him.
Watch the film in the UK: https://bulldog-film.com/films/witch/
Stream / Download 'Waile': https://witch.lnk.to/waile
]]>For this project, however, we're teaming up with Ukrainian volunteer Tania Khuk to take a dive into contemporary cinema, by presenting a London screening of the Ukrainian documentary 'Breaking into Baikonur' in aid of Ukrainian grassroots charities Helping To Leave and Kyiv Volunteer, at Bethnal Green's Genesis cinema.
The film documents Ukrainian researchers Dmitri Gromov and cameraman Angel Angelov as they cross the Kazakhstan desert to reach the classified territory of Cosmodrome Baikonur to watch the launch of the Soyuz space rocket. Risking their lives, the pair suffer with dehydration, starvation, physical and psychological exhaustion on their journey, as well as the threat of being taken to jail if found by the Russian militaries. As a renowned military object, Baikonur was the first and the largest space station in the world, which had become one of the key symbols of the Soviet-American space race during the Cold War. This unique footage tracks the journey of this illegal trespass for the duo, whilst exploring the history of this spaceport and the deeply personal experience of this expedition for the Ukrainian protagonist.
Following the films screening we will be showing a Q&A with Angel.
A selection of Mr Bongo records, merchandise and wares from our partners will be available for sale in the bar following the screening. All proceeds will go toward humanitarian aid in Ukraine.
More about the charities:
Kyiv Volunteer:
Kyiv Volunteer was founded by 30 local restaurants, cafes and 3 bakeries. More than 500 volunteers are involved in the charity. The organisations funds go toward urgent requests for humanitarian aide for people in recently liberated territories, and on improving the quality of life for internally displaced people.
Their current projects include a bakery business study program for internally displaced persons in Kyiv, requests from the Ukrainian military for warm clothes and warm-up equipment, and "Kids for kids", a project that allows children who are now far from the war to put their peace and care in a box and send it to their peers in Ukraine. For Christmas and New Year, Kyiv Volunteers received more than 2500 presents and gave them to internally displaced kids, orphanages, and children's hospitals. The next round is gifts for Easter and Children's Day.
Helping to Leave:
Helping to Leave provides help with evacuation from temporarily occupied territories to safe regions of Ukraine or Europe. They need financial help to provide a mobile and internet network as well as heating equipment for several villages in the Kharkiv region.
Within the first few weeks of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Helping to Leave team set up a network of volunteers and the tech infrastructure required to manage information flow. Now, 350+ volunteers are helping around 1000 people every day. They use AI systems to ensure datasets reflect reality on the ground.
1st March 2023
18:45
Genesis Cinema
93-95 Mile End Rd
Bethnal Green
London E1 4UJ
As we wrap things up for 2022 we want to thank everyone for their support throughout the year. We've released some of our favourite reissues, debuts and added killer new artists to the Mr Bongo roster. Our team will be taking a well-deserved break this Christmas, so please make sure you're aware of our opening hours. We're extremely busy over this time, but will try respond to email/social media/voicemail as soon as we can - please bear with us!
Thank you, and Happy Christmas!
Christmas Shipping
Opening Times
23 December - Final day for shipping and order enquiries before Christmas
29 December – Limited shipping and fulfilment
30 December – Limited shipping and fulfilment
3 January – Business as usual
In order for you to receive your Christmas orders before the 25th December, please take a look at this guidance from Royal Mail. Please note this year is exceptionally turbulent for shipping, and these dates are not a guarantee.
UK
2nd Class - 12th December
1st Class, Royal Mail Tracked 48 – 16th December
Royal Mail Tracked 24 - 19th December
Special Delivery Guaranteed - 21st December
International Tracked & Signed
Caribbean - 1st December
Cyprus & Malta - 6th December
Greece, Eastern Europe (except Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia) and Turkey - 8th December
Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Poland, Sweden, USA and Canada - 9th December
Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland - 10th December
Belgium, France, Luxembourg - 12th December
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland - 16th december
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1) SOYUZ (СОЮ3) - Force of the Wind (Сила ветра)
Mr Bongo
It feels a bit of a shameless plug to put a Mr Bongo release at Number 1, however, whatever label this sublime album was released on, it would be at the top spot. An album that blew us away from the very first listen and has become a stand-out favourite among Bongo staff, friends, DJs, and collectors alike.
Mexican Summer
Though recorded on the other side of the world in Brazil, 'Estrela Acesa' is almost a twin record to Soyuz's album. Sessa's glorious album features several musicians featured on 'Force Of The Wind', including Alex Chumak (SOYUZ) who wrote some of the string arrangements featured. Sessa in turn, features on 'Force Of The Wind'. A modern take on 70s MPB records by classic artists such as Jorge Ben & Milton Nascimento; a phenomenal album.
3) Various Artists - Luke Una Presents 'É Soul Cultura'
Mr Bongo
A magical compilation from a magical fella. Having been up in Manchester for Luke's album launch it was hard not to notice the Mancunians love for Luke, the unofficially Club Cultural Mayor. 'É Soul Cultura' manages to be that rarest of things, totally eclectic, yet containing is a sound and feeling that threads throughout, linking all selections as one.
Piano Piano
Sven and the Piano Piano team never stop surprising us with treats. On 'Sun Kissed' Sven transforms into full-on vintage instrumental soul mode. This amazing production had Bongo HQ's Gary freaking out from the moment the WAV landed in the mail. A superb record.
5) anaiis - This Is No Longer A Dream
Dream Sequence
I get the feeling that anaiis may be under a lot of people's radar at the moment, but I'm sure this won't be for long. 'This Is No Longer a Dream' is an infectious, addictive slow-burn of an album that showcases great songwriting and structures. The release features Bongo HQ favourite CKTRL, and anaiis also collaborates with CKTRL on his 'Zero' EP. This is our unexpected discovery of the year, and we are looking forward to hearing more from anaiis.
6) Tim Bernardes - Mil Coisas Invisíveis
Psychic Hotline
The current crop of contemporary Brazilian artists is on fire, and Tim Bernardes' 'Mil Coisas Invisíveis' record is a colossus. Classic 70's MPB and rock-pop songwriting, yet tailored with a modern aesthetic, resulting in a truly beautiful album.
7) Various Artists With Love: Volume 1 - Compiled by Miche
Mr Bongo
Not a bad compilation for a tattooed chap from Bournemouth ;) Great work here Miche, mate! A choice-curated selection of rare and sought-after AOR, Brazilian, soul, and jazz-funk treasures, all researched and licensed by Miche himself.
8) Gianni Brezzo - Tutto Passa
Jakarta Records
Another brilliant, underrated artist, Gianni Brezzo's (Marvin Horsch) records are always essential, and they keep on getting better and better. An ode to his Italian heritage, 'Tutto Passa' is a lushly orchestrated homage to composers such as Stelvo Cipriani, Piero Umiliani, and other greats. A delight!
9) Sault - Air
Forever Living Originals
Of all the Sault albums, 'Air' is the most divisive and seems to have a split opinion. Some people just don't get it, yet those that do are blown away by its stature and genius. The fact Sault can drop such a magnificent, ambitious contrasting album is a credit to the talented musicians involved.
10) Marxist Love Disco Ensemble - MLDE
Mr Bongo
Coming out of seemingly nowhere, 'MLDE' sounds like some of the best of disco, boogie and post-disco 80's pop whilst remaining entirely unique. A real trip from the mysterious Marxist Love Disco Ensemble.
11) Nu Genea - Bar Mediterraneo - Vinyl LP
13) Misha Panfilov - Momentum – Vinyl LP
14) Charles Stepney – Step On Step - Vinyl 2LP
15) Project Gemini - The Children Of Scorpio - Vinyl LP/CD
16) Glenn Fallows & Mark Treffel - The Globeflower Masters Vol.2 – Vinyl LP/CD
17) Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers - Vinyl 2LP
18) Various Artists - Brasil Novo – Vinyl LP
19) Sylvie - Sylvie – Vinyl LP
20) Felbm - Elements of Nature – Vinyl 2LP
21) Wax Machine - Hermit's Grove – Vinyl LP
22) Admin - Halo / Rivers – Vinyl 7"
23) Various Artists - Mr Bongo Record Club Volume Five – Vinyl 2LP/CD
24) Various Artists - Theo Parrish DJ Kicks Detroit Forward – Vinyl 3LP
25) Surprise Chef - Education & Recreation – Vinyl LP
26) Contour - Onwards! – Vinyl LP
27) Marina Allen - Centrifics – Vinyl LP
28) Asha Puthli - The Essential Asha Puthli - Vinyl 2LP / CD
29) Ron Trent Presents Warm - What Do The Stars Say To You – Vinyl LP
30) BunnDebrettQuintet - BunnDebrettQuintet 2 – Vinyl LP
31) Nicholas Ryan Gant X Karizma - Sweet Love / Gypsy Woman (Kaytronik Remix) – Vinyl 7"
32) Michael Diamond - Third Culture – Vinyl LP
33) Hagop Tchaparian - Bolts – Vinyl LP
34) Various Artists - Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours Volume One (compiled by Paul Hillery) – Vinyl 2LP
35) Ferkat Al Ard - Habibi Funk 019: Oghneya – Vinyl LP
36) Ryo Kawasaki - Juice - Vinyl LP / CD
37) Bruno Berle - No Reino Dos Afetos - Vinyl LP
38) Guerrinha - Cidade Grande – Vinyl LP
39) Lady Wray - Piece Of Me (Deep Emerald vinyl) – Vinyl LP
40) Chronixx - Never Give Up – Vinyl 10"
41) Lil Silva - Yesterday Is Heavy – Vinyl LP
42) Various Artists - Touching Bass presents: Soon Come (Coloured Vinyl) – Vinyl 2LP
43) Tone Control - Illusion (Inc. Theo Parrish Remix) – Vinyl 12"
44) Thee Sacred Souls - Thee Sacred Souls – Vinyl LP
45) Misha Panfilov - The Sea Will Outlive Us All – Vinyl LP
46) Mount Kimbie - MK 3.5: Die Cuts | City Planning – Vinyl 2LP
47) dreamcastmoe - Sound Is Like Water – Vinyl LP
48) Say She She - Forget Me Not / Blow My Mind – Vinyl 7"
49) Hazel Scott - Hazel Scott – Vinyl EP
]]>
We are looking for a full-time 'Web-Store & Mail Order Assistant' to join our small and pro-active team at Mr Bongo HQ in Brighton.
We are on the search for a friendly and communicative 'Web-Store & Mail Order Assistant' to join our busy record label. This person will thrive on organisation and problem solving and work well both solo and as a team. Please note this position will require the web-store & mail-order assistant to be present in our Brighton office Mon-Fri, 9-5.
The Role:
Assist the in-store manager:
Pull and pack orders and pre-orders.
Unloading deliveries and help manage warehouse stock levels.
Regular stock checks, Bandcamp orders and manage returns.
Customer Care during absence
Attending Record Fairs.
Assist the wholesale manager:
US Bandcamp and non-Bongo records on Shopify.
Helping pick and pack wholesale orders.
Assist the physical music buyer:
Taking product photos for the website.
Writing sales copy and adding products to website to cover absence.
What we're looking for:
Essential Skills:
Positive attitude.
Team-player with a can-do attitude.
Flexible approach as work tasks vary week-to-week.
Excellent customer service.
Competent using mac and PCs.
Ideal Skills:
Use of Shopify and Royal Mail systems.
Copywriting ability.
Photography skills useful.
Music industry experience.
Interest in relevant music.
To apply, please send a CV and cover letter to jane@mrbongo.com.
Applications close on 19 October.
Salary: £19,000.00-£21,000.00 per year
Please note we have received a very high amount of interest for this role, and will therefore be unable to get back to everyone individually.
Mr Bongo is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.
No formal qualifications are necessary.
He recently released his FFTT compilation on the ever excellent Re:Warm records and it has become a firm favourite here at Mr Bongo HQ. To dig deeper into this rich seam of lost treasures and obscurities we also asked if he’d be up for contributing a mix in our Record Club series. He’s a Selector / DJ of some pedigree, having played alongside The Polyphonic Spree, Arthur Lee & Love, Bonnie Dobson, Spiritualized, 4 Hero, Happy Mondays, Simian, The Bees, Julian Cope, Courtney Pine and many, many more. So, being the top gent he is, a sublime 2hr mix was promptly delivered and is now available for all to enjoy:
Hi Paul, please can you introduce yourself and gives us a bit about your musical history?
My love of music didn't stem from my parents that's for sure. We did have a record player at home, it was one of those sideboard cabinets jobs with the turntable inside and a heavy lid. Apparently I was fascinated with it and nearly chopped off my right thumb when the lid came crashing down on my 3-year-old hand. 50 years later I still have a scar. My parents only had a few records, Elvis, Brenda Lee and Alan Freeman's ‘History Of Pop - 40 Famous Hits That Made Pop History’. That Freeman comp was my introduction to a lot of musical genres; Gene Vincent And The Blue Caps, Johnny Otis And His Orchestra, The Kingston Trio, Adam Faith, Ricky Valance, Georgie Fame & The Blue Flames, The Animals, The Beach Boys, Manfred Mann, The Yardbirds, Bobbie Gentry, as a young kid I loved that album, it was a proper compilation bouncing around all over the shop and was the springboard for my ever growing love of records. When I was 9 or 10 my sister brought home a copy of ‘The Motown 20th Anniversary Album’ which I hammered!!!
I was always desperate to play the guitar, but it never happened. Instead I performed on stage at middle school with a guitar made of cardboard which was the height of uncool so desperate was I to be in a band. I eventually gave up trying to be a guitarist and records took over. At the age of 12, I decided I was going to be a DJ and called my imaginary night the very Balearic 'Club Tropicana’. My love of cardboard emerged once more as I got my cousin Scott to help me build a 6-foot palm tree out of old crisp boxes which I was planning to use as a prop to play records under.
What drew you into the world of folk funk (and trippy troubadours)?
Folk Funk and Trippy Troubadours came about around 15 years ago. I'd always loved that type of music but couldn't really play those types of records out at the gigs I was booked for. I tried but my home town just wasn't the best place to do this.
I did support a lot of bands though and began to play records under the name 'folkadelica' - I imagined mixing ‘Screamadelic’ with folk music. I eventually ended up as the support DJ for The Polyphonic Spree on their UK tours and I’d play a lot of folk-funk and sunshine pop but I hadn't honed in on the sound yet.
I was part of the vergygoodplus forum after being introduced to it by my friend James ‘Bodger’ Clark. That place introduced me to so many knowledgeable and lovely people, Sie Norfolk, Towny, Rhys Jones and Barney Harsent to name a few. I loved the annual Xmas CD swap that we did and hearing those gave me the confidence to start doing something similar with the records I'd collected over many years of digging.
I loved the folk-funk comps that had been released in the mid-90s, Pete Reilly & Tim Hayward’s ‘The Folk Funk Experience Volume 1’ (1995), ‘The Mighty Mellow (A Folk-Funk Psychedelic Experience)‘ (1997), and John Stapleton’s series of compilations on Harmless which all seemed to go hand in hand with the trip-hop scene at the time.
I never saw myself as a polymath or that knowledgeable and was always filled with insecurities about not knowing enough or as much as some of the collectors on VG+ so I made up my own genre and called it 'Folk Funk and Trippy Troubadours'. It gave me license to add whatever I deemed to fit into the mix, taking in soft-rock and loner folk along the way. And because I had made it up - no one could tell me I was doing it wrong.
What was the impetus behind starting the FFTT blog?
Mixcloud was a turning point. I had the folkfunkandtrippytroubadours blog on Wordpress where I uploaded tracklists and had links to downloads of mixes I’d host, but it was all a bit clunky. With Mixcloud I could host my mixes in one place and it was free to use. Although Soundcloud was getting more hits at the time you had to pay a fee after a couple of uploads. I‘d also added a YouTube channel to share single tracks rather than whole mixes.
After suffering a breakdown and struggling with my mental health I eventually stopped DJing out and this gave me the freedom to buy records just for me and without having to worry about pleasing a Saturday night crowd who had no interest in listening to a Bridget St John 45.
After a while, I heard about a Facebook group which had been started using my Folk Funk and Trippy Troubadours title. Someone posted on YouTube about how much they loved the Facebook group. I had no idea it existed. I was a bit worried at first as I'd built up the Folk Funk and Trippy Troubadours name in hopes of one day releasing a comp. Les Fisher was the admin of the group and a smashing chap and we agreed to let it remain. I come off social media quiet regularly but the group is there permanently and it created a community of like minded music freaks.
Did you always have an ambition to put out a compilation of the FFTT sound?
For sure!!! It was always a dream to get a compilation made. I'd pick up compilations over the years and I'd ask myself how did they get to do this? How do you get to the point where someone will believe in you and your choices and say let's do it. I didn’t live in a big city, I was hardly a well known name and I was rarely DJing out so it seemed like a pipe dream.
How did you connect with the Warm guys?
Micky was always very supportive of what I was doing with Folk Funk and Trippy Troubadours and contacted me asking if I’d consider doing a series of compilations with Warm.
‘We Are The Children Of The Sun’ was already in production but no-one was aware that it was happening.
After talking with Micky and liking the idea of a long running series I started to piece together some records that would encompass the 12+ year journey of Folk Funk and Trippy Troubadours.
I wanted to avoid doing a folk-funk compilation as the guys in the 90s had already been there. I’d written an article for Stamp the Wax which was ‘A brief history of Folk-funk’ and did my definitive top folk-funk tracks - https://paulhillery.co.uk/a-brief-history-of-folk-funk/ - I felt to have a truly unique folk-funk compilation I would have to include certain tracks and licensing them would be impossible, so I couldn’t see how a true definitive folk-funk comp could happen. A Folk Funk and Trippy Troubadours series could!
Are you working on volume 2 of FFTT?
The original plan with Warm and ‘Folk Funk and Trippy Troubadours’ was a series. So I wanted Volume One to be a taster and not the main course. I left tracks out to be used in the follow-ups. We have just started talking about moving Volume Two forward.
Your ‘We Are The Children of The Sun’ compilation that was released on BBE has been a firm favourite in the office and amongst our customers, how did that one come about?
The wonderful and knowledgable Tony Higgins got in touch with me about my mixes and a Folk Funk and Trippy Troubadours t-shirt I'd put on my blog. We started talking and he put me in contact with Peter Adarkwah at BBE. I pitched 'We Are The Children Of The Sun' as a concept, explaining it as a means of being able to travel by music without leaving your home. Music was how I coped with my depression, anxiety and my isolation and this was just before the whole world went into lockdown, and then every one was thrown into isolation, for a while anyway.
I didn't want 'We Are The Children Of The Sun' to be a genre-led endeavour and to be honest it was hard to pitch to BBE what I wanted to do exactly. So I did them a mix and they said yes. It came out beautifully and I'm so grateful for the opportunity and to be able to share my selections. We set to work on the follow-up as soon as we'd wrapped the first compilation, which was a real confidence boost. Production delays have meant the release of the follow-up has been put back. It’s due early 2023. The third volume for BBE is being put together at the moment.
Tony Higgins has been such a great mentor and a source of sage advice and positivity.
How would you say the two compilations differ musically, or are they connected?
The BBE compilations are much more genre-fluid and have a Balearic outlook and would probably be classed as more DJ-friendly, whereas the Folk Funk and Trippy Troubadours are probably more esoteric and I'm hoping will become a real collection and a genre of their own. I want all my comps to do what that Alan Freeman comp did for me and spark off in different directions.
Where can people hear you DJ?
Online these days and I’d say I was more of a selector than DJ. I like the music to be the hero and very much like being second fiddle. I struggle with confidence and anxiety so rarely leave home let alone go out and DJ. I loved playing support for bands as no one was there to see me, I was just there to set the mood. I loved that and felt no pressure at all. I played every Lunar Festival and love that lazy Saturday or Sunday afternoon slot. I’d like to play a few more festivals but I don’t have the right connections - anything chilled with no gurning faces covered in powder. Loved playing Manchester especially Refuge with Chris Maude, Luke Una did a wonderful job there. I enjoyed playing Spiritland at Merchant Tavern and Kings Cross, but I had to cancel my last booking there many years ago due to my anxiety. I haven't played out for years. I've been on crutches for the last 3 years and doing a 4-hour set just isn't physically possible for me. Plus the anxiety issues mean I struggle in general. It’s a pain in the arse. It’s been pretty hard these last 8 years but the music has been my constant mood stabiliser and works better than any of the medication they offer.
How and where was the mix recorded? (Equipment / location)
A while back I stopped recording mixes live straight from the deck. I’d always been a vinyl DJ - I need the stimulation of the sleeve artwork to kickstart my memory. I struggle with 45s as I can never get my brain into gear and have crap memory recall. I ended up moving regularly and never seemed to have the space to have both decks set up. Then a friend dropped one of my 1210s as he carried it out of a pub which left me with only one working deck so I had to adapt to a new way of recording mixes.
It took me years to do but I went through every album I owned and recorded the tracks that I may want to use in a lossless format. I tagged each track, FF, XIAN, CHILL, BAL, JAZZ, LONER, CONT, LOVE etc - it's all very anal. I then have those tracks in iTunes and in different folders all named and divided into playlists. Sorted in the same way any vinyl junky collates and stores their vinyl. Now every new 45 or LP that comes through the door is given the same treatment. Listen, record, tag and file.
So I have around 3000 tracks that I have recorded but haven't processed that sit on a backup disc waiting to be cleaned up and outputted and I have 17000+ songs that have already been processed that I can choose from. I've used nearly 2000 individual tracks so far in the 116 volumes of the Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours mix series.
I use Audacity to record and take out the odd pop and click and then Garageband to commingle the mixes. It's why my mixes lack the segue finesse I'd wish for, as tweaking the pitch to beat match isn't straightforward. I was never that great at mixing, but I was okay and got by. I never really did the seamless dance floor venues anyway so I wasn’t that bothered to learn to scratch and mix properly.
How did you discover these tracks?
I used to love going digging for vinyl. I'd spend hours in basements and on dusty floors in the hope of finding just one 45. I spent years and years doing this. Every holiday or place I'd visit I'd spend half the time hunting for shops and secondhand places where vinyl might be hiding. Trips to America would be spent hauling suitcases of vinyl back on the flight home.
The sort of music I dig now can rarely be found in the wild in the UK and definitely not in Northampton. My knees are knackered and the crutches make digging hard so I do almost all of it online now. There is a great local shop, Vinyl Underground, but oddly enough it’s up 3 flights of stairs and not underground at all. I can’t get up the stairs unfortunately so if I order from them I have to pay for it to be shipped so I just look online for the best deal on new releases.
When the £ was worth something and shipping was cheap I'd take many blind punts on vinyl from all over the world. It was the same as any charity shop hit - most would arrive and be listened to and be absolutely awful, but every now and again you hit a diamond. If I order from further a field I always try and look through the sellers inventory and pick something to add to the order that’s very cheap, just looks right, you know it may have the right musician or recorded at a certain studio at the right time, has an engineer who I’m aware of, or has a flute on it.
The problem is the music I want to buy is getting more popular and some sellers have turned this once golden vista of cheap unknown beauties into a marketplace where prices are more aligned to Northern Soul records. It’s really very annoying. I always loved sharing something that you could find for a couple of quid but it's just getting harder to do. I’ve seen records that have never sold for more than $10 being re-listed at $300 it’s obscene.
How did you go about programming the running order? (Is it tempo, mood for example).
The running order evolves. I'll start with a mood track. From that mood track, I will create what I call a SHELF folder and place suitable tracks into that folder. I then move some to a folder I call BOX. All the tracks will have come from the original tagged folders I spoke about earlier. I then cherry-pick and place tracks into a PICKS folder from this folder I'll start to put the MIX folder together based on what feels right to me, and sometimes the mood track isn’t even in the final cut.
I have around 20 mixes taking shape at any one time - all in the process of being moved from folder to folder. Some take months to finish.
Hang on I can hear a steam train . . .
Any personal favourites in the selection? Anything you want to highlight?
Nick Harrison's ‘The Loner’ is an all-time favourite ever since I was a kid in the 70s watching Adam Faith in Budgie on a black and white telly. I absolutely adore that track and I'm hoping to license it one day and get it on a future release, I think that would make me very happy.
Where do you record shop?
Discogs is probably where I buy most stuff. eBay I used more for punts before the prices went bonkers. There are some wonderful independent sellers out there that find some wonderful vinyl and sell them at affordable prices - Growing Bin, WIWWG, Holywax, Séance Centre, Perfect Lives, All Night Flight, and Picnic are just a few.
Which other compilers / DJs are you a fan of and why?
Peter Beaver has a wonderful ear. Danny Mclewin must have the best record collection out there, we almost did a compilation together but the stars didn't align. I listen to Alan McKinnon's ‘Duvet Rustling Jazz’, lovely man. Chris Coco is still a favourite from way back to the Blue Room days. I try and listen to Kev Beadle's ‘Mind Fluid’. Balearic Mike's tips are always top. Hampus Gunnarsson has impeccable taste. I tune into Laura Coxeter & Patrick Forge, both have been very supportive of Folk Funk & Trippy Troubadours. Cerys on Sunday morning always has something to make me smile.
In truth, I try hard not to listen to other people's mixes as I don't want to compare myself to them, I end up beating myself up over how much better they are than I am. It's a horrible personality trait but I'm so pessimistic that if I listened to loads of other people I just wouldn't bother doing anything as I'd think what was the point. Plus listening to other people ends up with me wanting to spend a fortune on even more vinyl.
I’d like to highlight two comps that came out this year that I thought were just smashing ‘Down & Out’ - Compiled by Bruno Halper & Samuel Strang for NTS and ‘With Love: Volume 1 - Compiled by Miche’ on Mr. Bongo - both have tracks I’d have loved to have comped but they beat me to them!
What have you got coming up?
'We Are The Children Of The Sun' was released on BBE early this year and it sold out on vinyl and is being repressed. That was so wonderful to hear. My first attempt and it sold out, I was blown away by all the lovely things people had to say.
We also re-issued the Monica Rypma album 'Classifieds' which I think is such an underrated album that everyone should own. BBE did a fantastic job with Frank Merit mastering. It is beautiful and ticks everything Balearic. Monica is a really loving person and it was so nice to hear how genuinely happy she was that people would be listening to her music again. It still seems to be under the radar for some reason.
A follow up ‘Once Again We Are The Children Of The Sun' will be out on BBE in early 2023, the production delays have been a nightmare.
With BBE we also have a re-issue of a privately pressed album by a band called Forest that came out originally in 1978. The re-issue will have 6 previously unreleased tracks on, think Tim Buckley jamming with Mother Earth. Finding the OG was expensive and rare so it’s great to be able to re-issue it so people can get a copy and also the band can get paid. It’s a gatefold with full sleeve notes.
Then we have the sublime and long-awaited re-issue of Will & James Ragar One. One of my favourite all time albums it’s been remastered and the artists said it sounds better on the repress than the original. It’s released on BBE in 2023. Nice Gatefold cover with sleeve notes and there is a 45 re-issue too!
'Folk Funk and Trippy Troubadours Volume One' is out now on Warm and I'd encourage everyone to go and buy it. It’s a lovely gatefold sleeve with loads of notes about each artist. Volume Two should joyfully skip along behind it soon enough.
I'll be looking for more opportunities to re-issue a few more albums along the way too. Lots of guest mixes coming up and always willing to do more.
I'd really like to do a truly chilled folk loner compilation so if anyone wants to talk about doing that with me please get in touch.
Many thanks to Paul for taking the time to answer our questions and sending us the wonderful mix. Make sure to follow his blog, his mixcloud and keep an eye out for the forthcoming releases he mentioned.
]]>For this next instalment of Digging Deeper we invited Mike O'Mara and Danny Lynn to tell us about their latest project, ROAM. A DJ duo and club night, Mr Bongo have long held these two in high-regards for both their selections and the way they make a wide-range of genres and tempos fit together seamlessly. If you see them on a line-up or one of their own ROAM parties, do the smart thing and go check them.
You don't need to just take our word for it though, the guys have kindly put together an exclusive mix for our Record Club Guest Mix series that demonstrates exactly why they deserve the high praise. There's street soul, Brazilian heat, African funk, Turkish funk, kwaito, boogie and all sorts of the good stuff up in the mix. A real DJ's DJ type affair...
What is the idea behind ROAM?
We’ve both always collected records that don’t necessarily fit into club DJ sets. During the Covid lockdowns we were buying records to listen to at home rather than the latest pumping dance records, exploring different genres more with all that extra time on our hands! It’s nice to be able to share our finds in public finally and see people dancing to these records. Ultimately, it was just a really good excuse to get together and play each other records given we now live across the Pennines from each other. We unfortunately lost a very close mutual friend (and incredible DJ) recently, Danny J Wooton, it’s brought us closer, remembering him by still getting together with some booze and good tunes.
Can you introduce yourselves and a bit about your musical history?
Danny: When I was younger I used to DJ a fair bit at free parties and clubs in London, I quickly got more into the running of the parties which overtook the DJing side. A lot of my friends were great DJs too so I was happy to let them take the reins on that front. I continued to buy records but I was quite quickly just buying stuff I liked to listen to rather than for DJing. I worked full time as a club programmer and promoter in London then later in Sheffield. That's how I ended up meeting Mike. I moved up north to run the late night programming for Tramlines and manage the bookings at The Harley then became good friends with Mike and Danny J when they were promoting their Huddle nights at The Harley which always involved a lot of rum…
Mike: I was lucky growing up, I had older mates who got me into decent music and clubs at an early age. I worked in a record shop for a few years in my early 20's in Manchester which was a real education, I got put on to so much great music by Adam and the other lads who worked there. DJ-wise, I was a back room resident for a few years for the Development parties in Manchester, they had the likes of Ron Trent, Kerri Chandler and Benji B in the main room and me playing soul, disco and hip-hop in the back room. I moved over to Sheffield to study at 30 and started a little party called Huddle with the legend that was Dan J. That ran for about 5 years and was lots of fun and lots of rum.
Where do you guys tend to DJ now?
Danny: I haven’t really considered myself a DJ for almost 15 years, so just in my living room mainly! I am enjoying playing records again and happy to be playing at our ROAM parties for now.
Mike: Lucky to be a resident for the mega Crucial Youth Sound System parties in Sheffield, they throw three or four free parties a year and they’re always loads of fun. Apart from that it's been a quiet few years gig-wise to be honest. I've just finished a two year Masters Degree whilst working full time so haven't really been very proactive on that front. It'd probably also help if I stopped telling people I've retired every 6 months.
How and where was the mix recorded?
The mix was recorded at Mike’s in Stretford, Manchester. On the lovely Mastersounds Radius 2 and FX Unit, two turntables and two very old CDJs.
The mix is a masterful blend of music styles from across the globe, how did you discover these tracks?
Danny: Personally, I spend a lot of time connecting the dots between older artists and producers I like, then spend a fair bit of time going through music on Youtube like a manic teenager. I try to listen to as much new music as possible, listen to radio shows and keep up with labels I currently rate, which includes fine re-press imprints that save us from bankrupting ourselves on discogs. We both send each other tunes a fair bit and there’s some healthy competition to find new stuff that Mike might not have heard yet but as long as it’s good we will play it, no matter the source. Some of the tracks I’ve had for years, a few we’ve scoped out especially for the mix.
Mike: Echoing Danny really in terms of finding music, it’s an obsession and takes up most of my free time. A mixture of trawling through Bandcamp, Discogs, youtube and the like, plus nipping in record shops whenever I get a chance and getting my knees dirty. There's a mixture of new finds and older records that’ve been sitting on my shelves for a while. I picked up the Kleeer and Carla Thomas records many years ago, both were really big records in Manchester in the 90’s. They linked in really well with the international street soul and Kwaito sounds we’d both picked up recently. I’ve never had the money to be a proper digger/collector so I’m happy to pick up and find the music however it comes, be it a re-issue, compilation, charity shop find or a Wav off Bandcamp for a quid, I’ve never understood the snobbery of owning an OG copy!
Also, how did you go about programming the running order?
We had a full day of playing each other records whilst hungover after seeing WITCH in Manchester on a Monday night. Once we'd decided on what we wanted to include it was just a case of trying to find links between the different records and styles, and fitting them together in a way that flowed nicely. Hopefully it does.
Any personal favourites in the selection?
Mike: "Mighty 7 - Call Me" is an all time favourite, lovely boogie record from Gee Bello who apparently was on tour with Wham! around the time he made it. I’m a sucker for any boogie record with a phone call/phone number in it.
The "Akiyo" record is another favourite, it's beautiful. I only recently discovered Gwoka music from Guadeloupe thanks to the excellent Time Capsule comp that came out earlier this year.
Danny: That “Spokes H” Kwaito track has been a big ear worm for me recently so I was particularly glad we made that fit into the mix, it sounds a bit different but actually ties a lot of it together, I think it was made in ‘97 but I could easily see it working in an Amapiano or Bruk mix too.
The final track “Ay Bir Tane” is a personal favourite, it’s simply beautiful. I’m a bit obsessed with Turkish funk as Mike will attest to, so glad we snuck it on there.
Where do you record shop?
Danny: Unfortunately there’s a lot less physical record shops in Sheffield than in Manchester so I don't get out buying records in the real world as much as I’d like. New stuff I try to buy directly on Bandcamp where I can and of course Mr Bongo is a go-to for discovering new music. I’d like to shout out Sounds of The Universe (Soul Jazz) though, when I was younger living in London they really opened me up to a lot of different styles.
Mike: There's records in the mix from quite a few different shops. King Bee and Vinyl Resting Place in Manchester are the regular local spots for me, plus there’s a couple from the ace Distant Rhythm online shop. I always try to check out local shops when I'm in a different city too, there's some records in the mix from recent visits to Yo-Yo in London and Vinyl Disc in Porto, shout out to the lovely Nuno and his port wine!
Which other DJs are you fans of and why?
Danny: Debonair is a favourite for sure. She plays across the board but everything she seems to play is her sound. Every time I hear her sets I end up on Discogs after buying a record I never would’ve thought I’d be into.
Mike: I know he's a glaringly obvious choice, but I’ve always been a huge Theo Parrish fan, his nights at Plastic People were as good as anything I’ve ever experienced. It was the perfect place to see him from start to finish.
In terms of local DJ’s, Angela Kendall, Matt Lewis and the Sunny Side Up lads in Sheffield are big favourites, great DJs with phenomenal record collections. The Dharma Collective chaps in Liverpool are favourites too, James and Kole are mega DJs and their radio shows on Melodic Distraction are a must listen each month.
What have you got coming up parties wise?
We've got a free party on the 30th September at Piña in Sheffield. We've got MYNA on as our first guest, one of the most exciting young DJs in the north at the moment.
We're just finalising some plans for a couple of all day fundraising parties next year in Sheffield and Manchester for local charities. Hoping to get some pals to come along and play.
Many thanks to Mike and Danny for taking the time to answer our questions and sending us the killer mix. Make sure to follow them on Instagram and keep an eye out for forthcoming ROAM parties.
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Mr Bongo celebrates With Love with Miche
Join us for a special Mr Bongo in-store celebrating the release of Miche's compilation 'With Love: Volume 1 - Compiled by Miche'.
DJ sets from…
Miche
Fraser (YMC)
Alena Arpels
Mr Bongo DJs
Friday 23rd September / FREE / 2pm-8pm
Mr Bongo HQ, 6 Gloucester Yard, Gloucester Road, Brighton BN14AF
]]>The Cromagnon Band created one of our favourite albums of the year to date, so when we were given the chance to host an interview with them we of course jumped at the chance. Conducted in July 2022 courtesy of friend of Mr Bongo, Chris Headcount...
When I’m looking at the record sleeve of the debut LP by London based trio The Cromagnon Band and listening to the gritty, cinematic music alongside it, it feels like an earthquake has ruptured the Earth’s mantle and released some boiling musical magma. Released in May this year on We Stay True and already requiring a reissue – I wanted to catch up with Tom Watt – one of the 3 people behind one of my favourite releases of 2022.
Hi Tom. Well first up, congratulations on what is a brilliant LP. I've been listening to it tons since I got my hands on a copy. When I'm describing your music to people it's not the most straightforward thing to convey. So, for your current fans and for those who are coming in fresh - could you give us a breakdown of how you'd describe your sound and what kind of things influence the band?
Hi Chris. Glad you like it and thanks for the nice words. Yeah, it's not the easiest sound to categorise, I guess that's a good thing! Genre tags like psych-funk-cinematic-prog-breaks are the quickest way to summarise us but it's nice to go a bit further. We've described it as reverse engineered hip hop. We usually start jamming around a groove that might be strongly influenced from a sample-based track and then work backwards to kind of reimagine what the song it was taken from would have sounded like and then arrange that into a new song. So, we are heavily influenced by crate digging culture and although we don't sample (and make strictly live music), we often go about things in a similar way and start by searching for interesting sounds, grooves, ideas, and melodies in obscure places to inspire us.
Hip hop is a massive influence on the sound especially the rhythm section. We love a good boom-bap golden era groove. We are fortunate to have a prodigious keyboard player/multi-instrumentalist (he plays pretty much everything on the album apart from the drums/bass) who draws a lot of inspiration from classical music as well as being a hip hop fan.
To go into a few specifics… Edan is the rapper/producer who throws together so many mind-blowing sounds, we are constantly vibing off him. The Bomb Squad's production has had a big impact on us. They constantly pack in hooks which is important, and they make music you can listen to over and over again and not get tired of, which is also something we strive to attempt. As one of the best electric piano-based bands Marc Moulin's Placebo are a favourite too. And I think anyone who says they are influenced by hip hop production must certainly acknowledge James Brown for sure!
Reverse engineered hip hop! What a great description and one I can't argue with. So how long have you been operating as a trio? Can you give us a brief overview of how the band came to be?
We've been together as a trio since about 2015 but the roots of the band go back way further. We were all massively into golden age hip hop and then the underground scene in the 90s/early 2000s and obsessive crate diggers/beat makers. But around 2004 we got a bit bored of sampling and started to really get into some of the obscure psych/prog/funk/rock/jazz records that we'd discovered and thought "we need to make this stuff ourselves!"
At the time I lived in a big flat in Ealing and we started to have little jam sessions that slowly grew as we didn't get any noise complaints from neighbours and the band kind of formed out of that. But then after a few years I had to move out and without a base the band went on a hiatus and other projects we were all involved in started taking off.
Jack Sharp was in the very first line up on guitar and we were both in Wolf People. Ross Harris was on flute, and he formed the Speakers Corner Quartet. Bert formed a band with Lenny who wasn't in the old line up but had always been a mate and fellow crate digger.
We never released anything, only played 2 festivals but a few tracks made it onto mixtapes or were heard via Myspace. One of them was on an Andy Votel mix which ended up being sampled by the Go! Team. So we had a track sampled before actually ever releasing anything which is cool. Also a song was used in a German video game that was quite successful.
Fast forward the best part of a decade; myself, Bert and Lenny (the current line up) were at a friend's wedding in Germany where we got chatting about the kind of music we'd like to hear bands making and we thought we should have a go at doing it ourselves. It took a while to forge the sound but a few years later here we are. It felt like a continuation of the original band, so we stayed with the name.
Wow! An extensive history and it sounds like it was a long time in the making - like something was brewing up and getting ready to explode into life - which kind of brings me on to a question about your name. How did you pick the band name? The only reason I ask is... Once I remembered what Cromagnon meant - it seemed to make sense - because your music does have this kind of deep, textured, primordial sound. Are those two things related? This a geeky fan question… so apologies.
That sums up the name really well! Our old bassist Mike suggested the name. It was something he saw in an X-Man comic and apart from sounding cool, it simultaneously evoked both the prehistoric and progressive. We added the "Band" part to the name as we wanted to make it clear that this is a live project and because collaboration and developing ideas together is important to us. Also, there is of course the 60s group Cromagnon (I guess pretty much every one word name is already taken!) so we needed to change it slightly. When we reformed the project after a long gap the name seemed to make even more sense, so we stuck with it.
Wicked! So, tell me about your live shows. What kind of set up do you rock and where can people check you next?
Our live shows are a bit stripped back. Drums, bass and keys but there's still quite a lot going on for a 3 piece. Bert plays parts on the Moog and Fender Rhodes simultaneously - t's quite fascinating to watch.
As Bert overdubs so many instruments we didn't think the music would work live and remain a studio project but then in lockdown winter 2020 we were asked if we could play a gig at Islington Assembly Hall (where I work as the technical manager) to test the new streaming installation and distanced seating (150 people instead of 900). It was a great opportunity to see if the material would work as a 3 piece, so we gave it a go and it went down very well. So bizarrely we are probably the only band in the world that played more shows because of the pandemic than we would have otherwise. We are lining up just a few shows this year but will hopefully do a lot more touring next year when we release the second album.
August 5th St Leonards - The Piper
September 2nd - Finsbury Park (London) - The Night Owl
Well, I'm going to try my best to get down to at least one of those shows. 'Dismantle' is the type of album I'd love to hear played live. Anyway Tom, I'll leave it there and advise anyone reading this to go check out your work - and I can't wait to hear more new music from the band once it's ready. Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions and good luck with everything going forward. Peace.
You can pick up the brand new, debut LP ‘Dismantle’ HERE.
Join us for a special Mr Bongo in-store celebrating the release of Luke Una's compilation 'É Soul Cultura'.
DJ sets from…
Luke Una
Mickey Duke (1BTN)
Mr Bongo DJs
Saturday 4th June / FREE / 2pm-8pm
Mr Bongo HQ, 6 Gloucester Yard, Gloucester Road, Brighton BN14AF
]]>We've teamed up with Shindig! Magazine to open our doors for a very special instore party at The Mr Bongo shop during The Great Escape festival!
It's been a while since we've been able to open up to the public, and to celebrate we have created a Mr Bongo x Shindig! limited edition mini-mag made just for this event.
DJ sets from…
Kit Sebastian
Paul Osborne (Project Gemini)
Glenn Fallows
Shindig! DJs
Mr Bongo DJs
Friday 13th May / FREE / 1pm-8pm
Mr Bongo HQ, 6 Gloucester Yard, Gloucester Road, Brighton BN14AF
]]>It is our absolute pleasure to announce our two releases for the 15th anniversary of Record Store Day, 2022. See the full list and find participating stores at Record Store Day.
Brazil 45 Boxset, Curated by Kenny Dope - 5 x Vinyl 7"
We couldn't think of anyone more fitting to curate the third volume in our "Brazil 45 Boxset Curated by" series than one half of the Masters at Work duo, the mighty Kenny Dope.
For his volume of the series, Kenny selected 10 knockout tracks from the golden era of Brazilian music. As you would expect from such a legend, he surpassed the brief of simply compiling the tracks, as he re-edited and remixed a number of his favourites especially for this boxset. Amongst these exclusives is a blazing, heavy psych-funk remix of Antonio Carlos & Jocafi's 'Quem Vem Lá’, and a hip-hop breakbeat bounce woven into Luli Lucinha E O Bando's folky-MPB beauty 'Flor Lilás’. Di Melo and Miguel De Deus are also given the Dopeman remix and edit treatment.
Kenny's selections pull out some forgotten classics and recently overlooked gems, many of which were once top of the want-lists for collectors in the 90s. These include Milton Banana Trio and the irresistible version of 'Berimbao' by Jayme Marques. Along with the Brazilian funk and jazzy-bossa dancefloor-oriented tracks, Kenny has also chosen the leftfield, deeper, trippy
psychedelic folk sounds of Papete.
As with previous volumes, the selections are very personal and represent the individual sound and taste of the selector digging from the rich tapestry of Brazilian music. Its unique palate and stamp are exactly what you would expect from a Master At Work.
A: Luli Luchinha E O Bando - Flor Lilás (Kenny Dope Remix) / B: Jayme Marques - Berimbao / C: Di Melo – Perlonga (Kenny Dope Remix) / D: Toni Tornado - Sou Negro / E: Milton Banana Trio - Primitivo / F: Milton Banana Trio - Cidade Vazia / G: Papete - Procissão Dos Mortos / H: Papete - Domingo No Parque / I: Antonio Carlos & Jocafi - Quem Vem La (Kenny Dope Remix) / J: Miguel De Deus - Black Soul Brothers (Kenny Dope Edit)
Rob - Rob (RSD Red Vinyl Edition) - Vinyl LP
The Accra-born pianist and frontman, ROB, only released a few albums in small quantities, yet two of them are among the most sought-after records from 70’s Africa. This was the first.
So what do we know? After learning his craft in Benin and playing with the likes of Orchestre Poly-Rythmo de Cotonou, ROB returned to Accra to write his own material and find a sound.
Hooked on the driving funk and raw soul of stars such as James Brown and Otis Redding, he would often imitate his heroes on his father’s piano during school holidays.
The title track sets the pace with a JBs-like rhythm, ROB almost shamanic with his sparse yet commanding vocal. The organ and wahwah guitar spin us out before those imperious horns bring us back in.
And what better way to close this set than with ‘More’, swept up in a call and response between Rob and his backing singers as a ‘Blow Your Head’ synth flares and the brass blasts. Good times guaranteed.
As the man himself says, “Funky music is in my blood. What you hear is the coming out of my mind.” No one sounds like Rob, because there is no one like Rob.
A1. Funky Rob Way / A2. Forgive Us All / A3. Boogie On / B1. Just One More Time / B2. Your Kiss Stole Me Away / B3. More
]]>1) Cleo Sol - Mother - Vinyl 2LP
Forever Living Originals
Cleo Sol's 'Mother' has to be the most universally loved album amongst the Bongo staff, regardless of individual tastes, it resonated with all. The second album from the Sault vocalist sees Cleo mature into parenthood through twelve intimate and beautiful soul, RnB, gospel, folk-soul inspired songs. Produced by the in-demand producer Inflo. Spacious and calming, 'Mother' is a real treat.
2) Kit Sebastian - Melodi - Vinyl LP
Mr Bongo
At number 2 we have another second album by another big favourite of ours, Kit Sebastian. Not to be content replicating the same album as their debut 'Mantra Moderne',‘Melodi’ is more diverse and provides glimpses into many different worlds from the Italian Riviera to the mountains of the Caucasus, the beaches of Bahia to the city streets of Istanbul and Paris. This joyous merging of soundscapes evokes a borderless planet with music as an international language, belonging everywhere and nowhere.
3) BadBadNotGood - Talk Memory – Vinyl 2LP
XL Recordings
A BADBADNOTGOOD album is always a cause for a celebration, and 'Talk Memory' is a future classic. Featuring collaborations with the legendary Arthur Verocai, Brandee Younger, Laraaji, as well as notable others; the record takes you on a psychedelic, genre-fluid journey.
4) Sven Wunder - Natura Morta - Vinyl LP
Piano Piano
The third obscenely fantastic album on Piano Piano Records by the crazy talented Swedish musician Sven Wunder. 'Natura Morta' finds Sven exploring art as a bridge between nature and the human ability to judge and observe in eleven musical compositions with brightly coloured textures and an emphasis on vibrant melodies. An amazing album.
5) Madlib - Sound Ancestors (Arranged By Kieran Hebden) - Vinyl LP
Now Again
The hotly anticipated Madlib and Kieran Hebden (Four Tet) collaboration 'Sound Ancestors' certainly started the year off with a bang. A result of years worth of work from the two acclaimed musicians experimenting with tracks, loops, and ideas from Madlib's beats and studio sessions. Kieran Hebden took it upon himself to edit, manipulate and combine these pieces of music into tracks that could be listened to from start to finish.
6) Nu Genea & Célia Kameni - Marechià - Vinyl 7"
NG Records
We love these guys and its so great to have them back and delivering a beauty like this. 'Marechià' has to be the fastest record to sell out on the website this year. Hopefully, their next album will soon be around the corner.
7) Lynda Dawn - Roses - Vinyl 7"
Bes Kept
One of our favourite contemporary artists is the amazing Lynda Dawn. Released on the excellent Extra Soul Perception label and produced by Bes Kept; 'Roses' is a stellar street soul gem and comes backed with an equally great XL Middleton re-interpretation on the flip. Essential stuff.
8) Joel Culpepper - Sgt Culpepper - Vinyl LP
Mr Bongo
We are so proud of Joel and his team for producing this formidable debut album, a true labour of love. 'Sgt Culpepper’, is an incredible modern soul album and the product of a two-year undertaking that saw him attract an array of respected producers and musicians from the UK and beyond, a testament to the reputation he had already built as a dynamic songwriter and performer among his contemporaries.
9) Emma Jean Thackray - Yellow - Vinyl 2LP
Movement
As massive fans of Emma-Jean Thackray we have been looking forward to the debut album for some time. Emma dropped a vintage that is both a nod to the past, but also contemporary and timeless. An essential record!
10) Amanda Whiting - After Dark - Vinyl LP
Everyone needed some moments of calm and healing in 2021 and harpist Amanda Whiting's 'After Dark' was just the tonic.
11) Carwyn Ellis & Rio 18 With The BBC National Orchestra Of Wales - Yn Rio – Vinyl LP
12) BunnDebrettQuintet - BunnDebrettQuintet – Vinyl 2LP
13) Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert – Vinyl 2LP
14) Admin - Step Into Light / Reflect + Heal – Vinyl 7"
15) Gabriels - Love and Hate in a Different Time – Vinyl EP
16) The Brkn Record The Architecture Of Oppression Part 1 – Vinyl LP
17) Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The London Symphony Orchestra - Promises – Vinyl LP
18) Space Afrika - Honest Labour (Grey & Black Smash vinyl) – Vinyl LP
19) Glenn Fallows & Mark Treffel - The Globeflower Masters Vol.1 - Vinyl LP
20) mndsgn - Rare Pleasure (Yellow vinyl) – Vinyl LP
21) Jimmy Mack - Pop Goes The Weasel – Vinyl 7"
22) Bubbha Thomas and The Lightmen - Boogie Down – Vinyl 7"
23) Duval Timothy - Help – Vinyl 2LP
24) Matty & Mandaworld - Warm You / Spoonfeed – Vinyl 7"
25) Mankunku Quartet - Yakhal’ Inkomo – Vinyl LP/CD
26) Lucky Mereki - You Got Me Dancing – Vinyl LP
27) El Michels Affair - Yeti Season – Vinyl LP
28) CKtrl - Robyn (Clear Vinyl) – Vinyl EP
29) Snooch Dodd and The Pro-Teens - I Flip My Life Every Time I Fly - Vinyl LP/CD
30) SAULT - Nine - Vinyl LP/CD
31) Surprise Chef - Masters At Work & Harvey Sutherland Remixes – Vinyl 12"
32) José Mauro - A Viagem Das Horas – Vinyl LP
33) Delta Nine - Raise The Balance / Raise The Dub – Vinyl 7"
34) GALXTC - Life Is A Mirror – Vinyl 12"
35) Mark Fry - Dreaming With Alice – Vinyl LP
36) Okyerema Asante - Drum Message – Vinyl 2LP
37) Hozan Yamamoto & Yu Imai - Akuma Ga Kitarite Fue Wo Fuku – Vinyl LP
38) João Donato, Adrian Younge, Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Jazz Is Dead 7 (Green Vinyl) – Vinyl LP
39) Jaubi - Nafs At Peace – Vinyl LP
40) Dougie Stu - Familiar Future – Vinyl LP
41) Various Artist - For The Love Of You, Vol. 2 – Vinyl 2LP
42) Hiroshi Suzuki Cat - Limited Edition Crystal Clear Vinyl LP
43) Greymatter / Black Fan - Tesla / Cuttlefish 7" – Vinyl 7"
44) Erika de Casier - Sensational – Vinyl LP
45) Various Artists - The Key To Our Love Vol 2 – Vinyl LP
46) Vels Trio - Celestial Greens – Vinyl LP
47) Betty Lou Landreth - I Can't Stop – Vinyl 7"
48) Theatre West - Bow To The People – Vinyl 2LP
49) Rebecca Vasmant - With Love, from Glasgow – Vinyl LP
50) Andres y Xavi - Sounds From The Secret Bar – Vinyl LP
51) Foshe & Bentley - Parlour Cucina - Vinyl LP
52) Alice Coltrane - Kirtan: Turiya Sings – Vinyl 2LP
53) Sandra Sá - Vale Tudo – Vinyl LP
54) COS - COSMIX – Vinyl LP
55) The Far - East I'm In Love – Vinyl 7"
56) Ziad Rahbani / Joseph Sacre - Bennesbeh Labokra... Chou? – Vinyl LP
57) Delores Fuller - One More Chance Lord / My Greatest Desire – Vinyl 7"
58) https://www.mrbongo.com/collections/all/products/webster-lewis-quintet-live-at-kongsberg-jazz-1971-vinyl-lp
59) Webster Lewis Quintet - Live At Kongsberg Jazz 1971 – Vinyl LP
60) The Sweet And Innocent - Express Your Love / Cry Love – Vinyl 7"
61) Bless The Mad - Bless The Mad – Vinyl LP
62) Various Artists - Club Coco – Vinyl 2LP
63) Hiatus Kaiyote - Mood Valiant – Vinyl LP
64) Sandro Brugnolini - Utopia – Vinyl LP
65) Other Mirror - Other Mirror – Vinyl LP
66) High Pulp - Mutual Attraction Vol.2 (Green Vinyl RSD 2021) – Vinyl LP
67) Ricardo Bomba - Eu Sei / Flutuando – Vinyl 7"
68) The Ultimates - You're My Lady – Vinyl LP
69) Lewis Taylor - Lewis Taylor – Vinyl 2LP
70) Various Artists - Modern Love – Vinyl 2LP
71) Brian Jackson / Adrian Younge / Ali Shaheed Muhammad - Jazz Is Dead 008 (Blue Vinyl) – Vinyl LP
72) Muriel Grossmann - Natural Time – Vinyl 2LP
73) Hassan Wargui - Tiddukla – Vinyl LP
74) Awkward Corners - Amateur Dramatics – Vinyl LP
75) Richie Phoe Featuring Leroy Horns & Kassia Zermon - Baby I Love You So – Vinyl 7"
76) Josi Dias & The Kevin Fingier Collective - Um Brilho Novo – Vinyl 7"
77) Kiefer - When There's Love Around (blue/yellow vinyl) – Vinyl LP
78) Estela Magnone & Jaime Roos - Mujer De Sal Junto A Un Hombre Vuelto Carbón – Vinyl LP
79) Viejas Raices - De Las Colonias Del Río De La Plata – Vinyl LP
80) Jorge López Ruiz - El Grito (Suite Para Orquesta De Jazz) - Limited Edition Sunset Vinyl LP
81) Dean Blunt - Black Metal 2 – Vinyl LP
82) Piry Reis - Piry Reis – Vinyl 2 x 7"
83) Let Your Hair Down - Waiting Room – Vinyl LP
84) Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek - Dost 1 – Vinyl LP
85) Manduka - Manduka – Vinyl LP
86) Gail Lou - I Still Love You – Vinyl 7"
87) Jan Tober & Ron Satterfield - What Game Shall We Play Today / We Are Love / Focus / With The One You Love – Vinyl 7"
88) Lady Wray - Through It All / Under The Sun – Vinyl 7"
89) https://www.mrbongo.com/collections/all/products/arthur-russell-another-thought-vinyl-2lp
90) Sávila - Mayahuel – Vinyl LP
91) Spirits Rejoice - African Spaces – Vinyl LP
92) Trees Speak - PostHuman – Vinyl LP + 7"
93) Various Artists – Swave Villi Us - Independent Soul 1971-84 – Vinyl 2LP
94) Aver & Move 78 - The Algorithm Smiles Upon You (black vinyl) – Vinyl LP
95) Zopelar - Mensagem – Vinyl LP
96) Caixa Cubo - Angela – Vinyl LP
97) Curtis Harding - If Words Were Flowers (coloured vinyl) – Vinyl LP
98) Khruangbin - Mordechai Remixes – Vinyl 2LP
99) Cláudio Bocca - Morada Poesia – Vinyl 7"
As we wrap up everything for 2021, a huge year for vinyl manufacture, incredible new music and releases, we want to thank everyone for their support during these tumultuous times. Our team will be taking a well-deserved break this Christmas, so please make sure you're aware of our opening hours. We're extremely busy over this time, but will try respond to email/social media/voicemail as soon as we can - please bear with us!
Thank you, and Happy Christmas!
Christmas Shipping
Opening Times
24 December - Final day for shipping and order enquiries before Christmas
29 December – Limited shipping and fulfilment
30 December – Limited shipping and fulfilment
31 December – Limited shipping and fulfilment
4 January – Business as usual
In order for you to receive your Christmas orders before the 25th December, please take a look at this guidance from Royal Mail. Please note this year is exceptionally busy for online orders, and these dates are not a guarantee.
UK
2nd Class - 18th December
1st Class, Royal Mail Tracked 48 – 21st December
Royal Mail Tracked 24 - 22nd December
Special Delivery Guaranteed - 23rd December
International Tracked & Signed
Caribbean - 1st December
Australia, Greece, Italy, New Zealand and Portugal - 6th December
Africa, Central and South America, Asia, Far and Middle East - 8th December
Sweden, Cyprus, Malta - 10th December
Eastern Europe (except Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia), Turkey - 11th December
Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Poland and USA - 13th December
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland - 16th december
]]>We were offered the opportunity to host an interview with the guys and we jumped at the chance. The interview was conducted by Chris Leigh in July 2021, and the introduction are also Chris' words...
In late 2019, just before the pandemic temporarily re-shaped the live music scene around the world, two musical entities from Sydney, Australia were starting a month-long residency at the famous Parlour Cucina venue in the heart of the city. The first of these was a trio of musicians known as Foshe. Gigging heavily since 2018 and supporting the likes of Lonnie Liston, 30/70 Collective, Horatio Luna & GODTET, the group are renowned for their fully improvised sets of polyrhythmic, afro and Latin infused jazz/house explorations. The second entity I speak of is an incredible drummer called Mike Bentley. Inspired by the likes of Kamaal Williams & Vijay Lyer, Mike produces modern jazz/house experimentations combined with odd time signatures. He was a key driving force behind the set of live recordings from the month-long residency at Parlour Cucina. Those recordings were mastered into the album ‘Foshe & Bentley – Parlour Cucina’, released on limited edition vinyl on Headcount Records in June of this year. I recently sat down with Bentley to discuss the album and the process behind its creation.
First up, congratulations on the release of Parlour Cucina. It's such a dope LP. You've explained previously that the music was mainly improvised during a month-long residency. Can you tell us how much of it was completely made up during that run of shows? Were there parts of the record already in place which you then built on, or was it all born during that run?
Hey man, thanks. It was a good time making it. Yeah, well the shows were every Friday, August through to December 2019. Two sets each night. 100% made up on the spot with nothing pre- conceived or thought out. What made it even more fun was bringing in players that we’d never played with and getting to know them on the night. The first four tracks of the album are from one night with Daniel Pliner on keys and Tomas Ford on bass - this was maybe the second time playing and meeting with Dan. The last two tracks were with Nick Henderson on bass and Zigi Blau on keys. Second time meeting and playing with Nick as well. We just outline the vibe that we’re going for - lots of space, patience and focus on groove over anything else - and run with it. When you are completely comfortable with your instrument, improvising comes naturally - It’s a bit like speaking. You learn the language over years, to get to the point where you can converse with anyone.
Amazing! I've seen some pictures from the gigs, and it looked really intimate and fun. Did the venue 'Parlour Cucina' or the crowd that turned up alter how you approached each evening, or did you just go with a blank canvas regardless?
Yeah it was super cosy. The crowd and venue definitely altered how we approached the sets. If it was really packed out and loud, people getting a bit loose, moving around dancing, we’d naturally pick it up a notch, play with more energy, less ‘kooky experimental’ more ‘keep them moving, keep the vibes good’. The last thing you want is to set up to a bumping crowd and have them all leave because your vibe isn’t right.
And seeing as it's all improvised how likely is it that fans will hear some of the tracks from the LP again? It seems a shame that bangers like 'Tech Yes' might never get rolled out live again - although I can see a certain charm in tracks and musical pieces existing only once in public.
Haha yeah never say never I guess! To us playing ‘songs’ isn’t as enjoyable, which is why we don’t do it. But if we were to do an album event, or certain events linked to the album itself, it’s something we could incorporate for sure. Foshe’s debut EP ‘Foshe’ was played front to back in its entirety only once - at the EP launch. It made the night really special because we played the album as we knew it - without rehearsals or anything - and we’ll probably never play it again.
You've picked up support from Gilles Peterson, Mr Bongo and many others. A lot of people seem to find it hard to categorise the music. It most definitely is a hybrid between House and Jazz and never strays too far from either. It veers comfortably from one sound to the next and plays around with what sound like some fun experimentation and time-signatures. Is this an approach that both Foshe & Bentley are recognised for?
Yeah spot on. We play around with odd time signatures but make it groovy through putting a consistent kick down on every beat ala’ house. The rhythms keep it interesting for me as a drummer and allow us to stay engaged on one idea for a while without feeling the need to change. We love house and we love jazz. This is our contribution to both!
Well congratulations again on what is a joyous LP. I can't wait to get the chance to see you all play live again. Before we sign off please let us know what you're all working on and what projects we can look forward to in the future?
Thank you! We’ve got about 6 new records in the oven just marinating. Bentley plus Horatio Luna is coming up next, released in a few months. Collaborations with keyboardists and synthesists Daniel Pliner, Matthew Thomson and Omri Aruch. Bassists Nick Henderson, George Sheridan and Arn Utiger. And some more from the original Foshe trio of myself, Zigi and Tom. Oh, and a dreamy ambient house experiment with Indira Elias is on the way. Loads!
Big thanks to Foshe & Bentley for taking the time to answer the questions, and big ups to Chris for conducting the interview. 'Parlour Cucina' is out now on limited edition vinyl and available HERE at Mr Bongo.
To accompany this feature, and to further explore their musical world, Glenn and Globeflower Masters' cover designer Rob Crespo (Mr Bongo's very own), kindly put together an exclusive mix for our 'Record Club' series. It sees them further mining the rich seam that provided influence for the album with a serious selection of rare TV/film soundtrack and Library music from the late 60s and early 70s. Enjoy!
How would you describe your musical tastes?
MT - My tastes are pretty broad. Opera and Death metal are about the only things I really don’t like. I particularly like anything with interesting harmony, whether it be the beautiful simplicity of Federico Mompou’s piano works, or the interweaving harmonies of artists like CSN, The Staves, Moses Sumney and The Bulgarian Folk Ensemble. I like music with a groove, like The JBs, Meshell Ndegeocello, Stevie Wonder, or Parliament but at the same time love the rock stylings of Led Zeppelin, Hendrix and Radiohead. I love interesting acoustic guitar playing, such as Bruce Cockburn, Antonio Forcione or Egberto Gismonti, and when that crosses over into songwriting with the likes of Joni Mitchell, Anais Mitchell or John Martyn. I also really love a great songwriter, whether it be the wit of Randy Newman, or the poetry of Paul Simon, or the genius of Prince. I pretty much love all music!!
GF - I think my musical tastes were influenced massively by two periods of my life. Firstly, when I was growing up, my Mum used to listen to a lot of The Beatles, Carpenters, George Benson and other music which, whilst being grounded in excellent song-writing and arrangements, also involved quite lavish production at times. Also, I used to spend a lot of time with my Grandparents who would listen to a lot of Mancini, Matt Munro, Paul Robeson and other stuff which had large and lavish string productions. I think that gave me a love of big and multi-layered sounds. The second period was when I was at university where, as well as listening to a lot of indie guitar and dance music, I was also becoming more aware of and into downtempo, 'trip-hop' (no, I'm not keen on that expression either, sorry) and hip hop which sampled cinematic and library artists like David Axelrod, Quincy Jones, etc. Again, albeit perhaps more passively, I was being immersed in and developing more of a love of big, cinematic productions which were mostly instrumental. After that I got heavily into funk and soul, being in and eventually managing and writing for a deep funk band. Even here I was having to write for and arrange a band with anywhere up to 12 people, so again the layering and depth of that type of music was a key interest of mine.
Who are your biggest musical inspirations?
MT - Herbie Hancock, Randy Newman, Prefab Sprout, Stevie Wonder, Meshell Ndegeocelllo, Joni Mitchell, Brian Eno.
GF - Quincy Jones, David Axelrod , Stevie Wonder, Terry Callier, Hendrix, The Who, The Small Faces, John Williams, J Dilla, DJ Shadow, Alan Hawkshaw, Booker T. Also, a lot of my musical education and inspiration came from listening to radio shows - Dr Bob Jones, Norman Jay, Gilles Peterson, John Peel and that kind of thing.
How did you guys meet and start working together?
GF - I was asked to do a dep gig on guitar for a band called the Soul Steppers down in Brighton. Somehow I was still playing guitar for them 3 years later. Mark's the keyboard player for that band. He's very good with music theory, whereas I'm more-or-less self taught and don't read very well - there's chords I play regularly on the guitar that I still don't know the proper name of, which is shameful. Anyway, working with Mark was a real education for me as I needed to be able to talk music theory with him at his level, so had to try and get my theory much more on-point. I'm not sure I really managed it, but over a few months at the start of working together we found a way to work productively and get in tune with one another. Through that time I think we worked out that we have a degree of shared interest and The Globeflower Masters is the product of that. I think the vital thing that makes it work is that we both write compulsively (an incessant itch that requires constant scratching) and therefore are able to get stuff done in a pretty productive way.
What is the concept behind ’The Globeflower Masters’ project?
GF - As I say, I've always been into big, lavish productions and particularly enjoy getting lost in instrumental music. A few years ago I wrote some stuff for a Balearic music project called Andres y Xavi and a couple of the reviews of that album picked up on the fact that these tracks sounded similar to Axelrod's works which were sampled by DJ Shadow. This made me realise that the sound I'd managed to cultivate over the years had been leaning more and more towards this kind of cinematic music, but I'd never actually made an album like that. The concept was to write an album that brought together cinematic arrangement and production, the aesthetic of library music (another huge influence on me over the past 5 years or so) and the accessibility of the soul music which Mark and I had been working on in a live environment for some time. Approaching Mark to provide all of the keys and synths for the project was the obvious move as he's a killer player and he also has a room full of amazing old toys (synths, pianos, organs and suchlike) which would help bring an authentic sound to the project. However, as well as that, he's also got an amazing ear for arrangement and production which helped us to realise the original concept in a way which I wouldn't have been able to do on my own.
How and when did you get into soundtracks / library music?
MT - I read an interesting book around 15 years ago about revolutionary producers, and one of them was David Axelrod. It was really interesting to get insight into his musical vision, and once I had heard 'Holy Thursday' I was hooked. A few years ago there was a great documentary about KPM, De Wolfe, and some of the Italian Library labels. It was great and I started listening to a lot of it, loving the experimental nature of a lot of it. Great things happen when you leave fantastic musicians to just compose whatever they feel like at the time.
GF - I think I've always had an interest in soundtrack music both from cinema and TV. However, I suppose it's only really in the last 5 to 10 years that I've started properly digging into rare soundtrack and library records. I've been DJing for a long time, but due to the nature of live DJ sets, I'd always bought more vinyl that was good for playing out to dancefloors than soundtrack and library which is much more laid-back. However, I started doing a radio show about 6 years years ago on 1BTN Radio (every other Sunday 2 til 4pm UK time, with my long-time DJ partner Chewy Beatwell) and we've had a lot of guests who were more and more involved in and/or interested in library and soundtrack (Shawn Lee, Jonny Cuba from Soundsci, Chris Read from whosampled.com, Paul Sandell from KPM records, Paul Elliot and Sean Lamberth who directed the Library Music film) and I think this dragged me further and further into the depths of these genres. However, I should say I've not gone anywhere near as deep as some. I put on and played at an after party for The Library Music film when it premiered in Brighton and we got Mr Thing and DJ Format to play. Seeing and hearing the collections that those two have was frankly terrifying - so many good records - very few of which I'd ever heard of. I really wish I had enough money to be able to buy loads of rare vinyl, but there's only so many pounds in a pay-packet and I'm always instead shopping for guitars and studio gear to be able to keep composing and making original music.
If you had to choose just one library LP and one Soundtrack, which would you rate as a pure masterpiece?
MT - That’s hard, but I do love 'Superfly' by Curtis Mayfield.
GF - This changes regularly, as there's too much choice, so I shall go for the ones I've listened to most over the past year. Soundtrack: Jean-Pierre Mirouze 'Le Mariage Collectif'. Library: Stefano Torossi 'Feelings'.
How do you find working together?
MT - We have quite different ideas, and that tension of ideas comes together in interesting ways. Our process for sending ideas back and forth feels very natural, and we haven’t struggled at all with writing together, even in the last year of remote lockdown working. We both output a lot of music, so there is never a shortage of tunes to work on. The hard part is making the choices of what we leave out.
GF - I agree with Mark. What I will also say from my perspective is that Mark is much more of a perfectionist that I am, which I find massively helpful as I have a very short attention span. He makes me up my game, which I really need. We've been working on album two recently as well and the balance of writing is definitely more evenly shared on this album, which I think is a very good thing. I think a keen ear would be able to tell which of the two of us came up with the original idea for any given track, but they all end up meeting in the middle in terms of arranging and production, which hopefully gives it all a consistent and coherent sound.
When and where was the album recorded?
MT - In the first lockdown in our own home studios, and in two drummer's studios.
The record sounds immense, beautiful orchestration - who produced and arranged it?
MT - There was a lot of sending ideas, adding layers and sending back, but on the whole for the first album most of it was Glenn creating the string arrangements. The second album has a more even split.
GF - I think the arrangement is an interesting one as while I think I probably 'produced' it (whatever that means these days) the arrangements changed though out the writing process depending on what new instruments or layers we were adding. There were definitely occasions where I had written a guitar line, or a string part and then changed it completely as Mark had written a piano part or a synth line, etc which was much more compelling and needed to be made the central part of the track at that time. With that in mind, I think it sort of organically arranged itself over the period we were writing it.
Are there any producers you would like to work with in the future? Can be a total Wishlist - doesn’t need to be practical.
MT - I’ve always produced myself, so never really thought of working with a producer that wasn’t in the band.
GF - Impractical suggestions would be Quincy Jones and Questlove. Also, I really like what Adrian Younge has been doing with his soundtrack work. A bit closer to home, I'm a big fan of all of the stuff that ATA Records have been doing over the past 5 or 6 years - Sorcerers, Abstract Orchestra, their library compilations - all killer.
Are there any under-rated musicians / producers that we should be listening to?
GF - I'm not sure they're particularly under-rated, but the stuff that Sven Wunder and Surprise Chef (and the rest of the College Of Knowledge stable) have been putting out is just great (Mr Bongo Big-Ups!). I'm also a big fan of Children of Zeus. The 'Discodor' album by Lee Skelly and Pierre Duplan on Wonderful Sound is also an, erm, wonderful sound. The recent 'Other Mirror' album project on King Underground is lovely. Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention my good mates at Mocambo, including their Bacao Rhythm and Steel Band albums, which have found a very comfortable new home on Big Crown Records.
The album cover was designed by Rob Crespo, what influences / steer did you guys give him to work from?
GF - I think we really liked the idea of geometric shapes forming a big part of the artwork. This is a strong theme of a lot of library releases and gives them not only a strong look for each release, but also allows buyers to be able to easily distinguish which library a record is from, just from the artwork - Bruton probably being the best example of this. However, it's probably fairly obvious from the colour schemes and general vibe of the artwork that there's a pretty strong Bauhaus influence in there, too. We're really pleased not only with the artwork that Rob has created for us, but also the way he's been able to work with Jared Tomkins on the animations to visually bring the album cover to live as music videos. They really add something to the project that we're really proud of.
How did you connect with Mr Bongo?
GF - I've known various people from Mr Bongo for years, who I've met via DJing, radio, or elsewhere - Brighton is a small scene. I met Rob Crespo (who does design work for Mr Bongo, as well as other labels) when I moved in next door to him and we realised we were both producers. We have a lot of very nerdy music chats over the garden fence. When I had finished mixing the record, I wasn't sure quite what to do with it. I played it to Rob and he said I should send it to Mr Bongo. I'd wanted to release a record on the label for many years, but I hadn't written anything which I thought would fit in with the label's other releases. I figured that time was as good as any to see if they liked what me and Mark had been doing and, fortunately, it got picked up. A real dream for us both to be working with and releasing on such a well respected label, alongside so many other great acts.
What’s the Brighton music scene like these days?
MT - Busy. A lot of young players coming out of BiMM, but it’s a great scene. Everyone know everyone else, and has played with them at some point.
Is releasing the album on vinyl important to you?
MT - There’s something about having artwork at that size and scale that really makes it feel real. I do also like the process of putting on a record, but I have to say I do love the CD version as well. Really nice environmentally friendly packaging, with extended artwork, and I don’t have to get up half way through to turn it over.
GF - Mark says I'm a vinyl snob. He's right! No track or album I've made has ever felt like it really properly exists until I've got the vinyl in my hands. Part of my day-job is writing library music albums which these days are typically only ever digital-only, as that's all media programmers, etc need to be able to select music for whatever project they're working on. That means that 90% of the music I write only ever exists virtually and isn't really available to the public. Whilst this is a bit of a shame, it does mean that when I work on an album for commercial release, like The Globeflower Masters, it makes it all the more sweet to have it exist as a proper physical product.
Where do you dig for records these days?
MT - Charity shops. Although most now know the value of their records. I do love Resident in Brighton. It has a great selection, and I can spend hours on the listening posts looking for something new. I used to love trawling through the racks at Wax Factor on Trafalgar street, but it has now sadly closed. My best find was an Eric Whitacre album called 'Light & Gold', that a friend had recently mentioned to me, and it was just sitting there in the bargain rack for 99p! The ultimate double whammy of a bargain combined with a life changing piece of music.
GF - 'These days' is the important part of that question. Due to the pandemic, I've not had a chance to get out to any records shops for a proper dig for a long time. Instead, I'll simply give a shout to my two favourites in Brighton. One is Rarekind Records in Trafalgar Street and the other is (somewhat predictably) Mr Bongo.
Do you plan to tour the album?
MT - Love to if it becomes popular enough. I love to make a live thing something different from the recorded work, and I think we could do something really interesting, but it would take quite a few players, as I refuse to play with any additional sounds on backing. I did it when touring with Blue States and I didn’t enjoy it. It sucked the life out of the performance and detracts from the energy in the room. Keeping to just the live players can really force you into interesting live arrangements that bring something new out of the work.
Many thanks to Glenn and Mark for taking the time to answer our questions and sending us the killer mix. Make sure to follow them on Instagram and keep an eye out for forthcoming gigs and more music.
You can pre-order 'The Globeflower Masters Vol.1' from Mr Bongo here.