And This... #3: Titeknots + Tru Thoughts 15th Anniversary

And This...
#3
TITEKNOTS
+
TRU THOUGHTS 15th ANNIVERSARY

I'm a big fan of Tru Thoughts. Have been since the early days (don't they all say that?) and am proud to have repped them and their artists hard, both personally and professionally. One of my enduring memories of the label was the warmth, friendliness, free records and delicious food I was supplied with when I was lucky enough to get to Brighton - and even co-host a Breakfast Radio show with Sweetpants, and TM Juke, Natural Self with label-boss Rob Luis, from a flat in some leafy street in the seaside city.

They're celebrating their 15th Anniverary in 2014, and I'm bloody stoked for them. Consistently strong releases and a willingness to press wax at every possible opportunity continues to win me over. Getting Alice Russell back on board was always going to be a winner, too. Talk about enduring memories.

Anyway, I could've picked any one of a number of tunes to highlight the milestone for the label, but I've gone with one from the compilation 2CD you can pick up now. It's a track with a whiff of early-Quantic to it, but it comes courtesy of one of the label's more recent signings, Titeknots. This young UK producer has released a string of bangin' singles, all twisting house music into some bloody interesting - and increasingly danceable - shapes. I like. I reckon you might, too. Listen to the single 'Hummingbirds' here, or in the player below.

Titeknots website.
Tru Thoughts website.

Review: Ondatropica

ONDATROPICA
Ondatropica
[Soundway Records]

Many of us mere mortals fantasise of following our dreams, throwing in the tools and breaking the shackles of modern life for something more exciting, more challenging. Something more real. Some of us don't dream, they just do. One of those people is Will Holland, Better known as Quantic. Some time back (after releasing about twelve albums in the space of seven years) Hollands followed his deep interest in the music and people of South America with a number of visits, before moving to and deciding to live in Colombia. He is now fully ensconced and has released a number of albums, with a mixture of local and guest musicians, as Quantic and His Combo Barbaro, and Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno. On this occasion though, Holland has teamed up with Mario Galeano, the brains and power behind Colombian band Frente Cumbiero, to present Ondatropica. The project is an ambitious one, putting together in the famous Discos Fuentes studio in Medellin some of Colombian music's most legendary figures with young players from both Holland and Galeano's bands and asking them to represent both the classic and modern styles of Colombian music. Ambitious, yes, but ultimately, successful. There is a ahuge amount of music to digest in one sitting, but taken piece by piece Ondatropica is a rambling, sprawling triumph, and a credit to the spirit in which it was recorded. Lovingly released by those good folks at Soundway Records, Ondatropica is highly recormmended for summertime listening, dancing - and maybe even dreaming.

3 and 1/2 stars from 5

Check out a couple of cuts from Ondatropica in the player below, or via one of the many links above. You can also watch a "making of" film here.

Ondatropica by Barbican Music

Review: Quantic & Alice Russell with The Combo Barbaro 'Look Around The Corner'

QUANTIC & ALICE RUSSELL WITH THE COMBO BARBARO
Look Around The Corner
[Tru Thoughts]

I love the music of Will 'Quantic' Holland. I love the music of Alice Russell, too. I've been following them both for some time. Still the best-selling artists on the Tru Thoughts label, they were my (and probably many folks') introduction to the little Brighton-based label-that-could. Indeed, my love for both musicians runs so deep I was afraid my expectations of this album were too high, my hopes too great. And upon first listen, I didn't know what to think. However, it doesn't take long for the full charms of this fantastic record to reveal themselves. Recorded in Holland's adopted hometown of Cali, Colombia, during two visits from Russell, and utilising much of Holland's regular recording and touring band the Combo Barbaro, Look Around The Corner is (remarkably) the first album project Russell and Holland have worked on together. Like a great melting pot of the contributors' differing styles and blend of influences - blues, soul, gospel, an underlying Latin feel which is always present - the album has huge and varied appeal. Big string sections, memorable melodies, intoxicating percussion; the momentum barely lets up, the energy and enjoyment levels seldom dip. Russell is superb throughout, with her effortlessly powerful voice showing shimmering layers of subtlety. Special mention must be made of pianist Alfredito Linares and violinist Mike Simmonds (a regular Russell collaborator), both of whom seem to sprinkle gold dust over everything they touch (particularly on the outstanding instrumental track Una Tarde en Mariquita); while Holland's trademark warm production compliments the immaculate ensemble playing. Look Around The Corner is not only everything we could have hoped for from an Alice Russell/Quantic collaboration - deeply soulful, extremely funky and beautifully rendered - it is arguably the best work yet from either of these artists.

4 and 1/2 stars from 5

There are plenty of links to follow in the review above, but also check out the cover version of I'll Keep My Light In My Window below. Purchase your copy of the album on vinyl and/or on CD...

Quantic & Alice Russell with the Combo Bárbaro - I'll Keep My Light In My Window by Tru Thoughts

Review: Tru Thoughts 'Shapes 11.01' Compiled by Robert Luis

Various Artists
SHAPES 11.01
Compiled by Robert Luis
[Tru Thoughts]

Throwing shapes. Making shapes. Whatever. For me, the word 'Shapes' will forever be associated with semi-regular lable compilations from Brighton-based independent Tru Thoughts. For the past wee while they've been putting out often double-disc (and recently on vinyl, too!) selections of tunes old and new; and 2011 is no different, with co-owner Robert Luis again compiling a bespoke collection reflecting the label's eclectic musical vision. Brand new signings (Mark de Clive-Lowe, Anchorsong, Benji Boko) nestle alongside old hands (Quantic, Kinny, Hint), plus all sorts of other goodies, including previously unreleased tracks (which are actually quite good, not just outtakes), new remixes and guest appearances from Aloe Blacc, Bembe Segue, Tawiah, Skream and Mark Pritchard. Shapes 11.01 is divided into two discs, and disc one is the clear winner in terms of sheer "listenability". Standouts include Lanu (aka Bamboos' main-man Lance Fergsuon) and Megan Washington's quirky Roosevelt Blues; Belleruche's classy, stripped-back dancefloor-pleaser Northern Girls; the effortless soulful pop of Lost Baggage, from Kinny (currently working with De La Soul on their next single); Portada Del Mar, my faourite track from the Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno album Dog With A Rope - plus Dr Dre re-interpreted cumbia-style with Nuthin' But A 'G' Thing given a radical rework by Quantic Y Su Conjunto Los Miticos Del Ritmo. All of this alongside the hazy glitch of Anchorsong's Plum Rain and the thrust and impetus of Hidden Orchestra's duelling drummers on Dust; while, elsewhere, Tawiah teams up with Maddslinky for the future funk twist of Hiding Place, Tenor Fly adds toasting style vocals to Smerins Anti-Social Club's mad reggae version of the Dr Who theme, and Anthony Mills and Freddie Cruger's hit-and-miss Wildcookie collab contributes one of their better tracks with Serious Drug. Even if it purports to be more mellow, CD1 really is an absolute belter of a selection. Standouts on disc two feature Bembe Segue and Nia Andrews adding funky, gritty prettiness to Push (itself one of Mark de Clive-Lowe's most complete pieces of tough future funk from his recent Renegades album); a trip back to Lanu's self-titled debut album for Tru Thoughts with the funky breakbeat of Mother Earth, featuring Quantic (guitar) and Aloe Blacc (vocals); J Boogie adding a little club-flavoured beat-spice to Quantic and His Combo Barbaro's already fetching Un Canto A Mi Tierra; electro-styled bleep-funk courtesy of Beta Hector and their Jupiter Mission - which sounds exactly as the title suggests; a mad mash up of glam synth funk and dubstep with glitch-tech via dancehall on speed, thanks to Be Electric, from the also appropriately monikered Randomer; and Maddslinky and Skream seriously upping the wobble-factor with 50 Shades Of Peng. Disc two, while inarguably fresh and exciting, is perhaps just a little too ambitious and varied in its musical spread to consistently please these ears - but that could be splitting hairs. Either way, the "future music" found - particularly on the second disc - on Shapes 11.01 brings not just freshness and excitement, but also a certain sense of balance, to what is ultimately yet another compelling collection showcasing one of the most thrilling independent music labels ever to really give a shit.

4 stars from 5

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REVIEW: Chico Mann 'Analog Drift'

CHICO MANN
'Analog Drift'
[Wax Poetics]

Once in a while an album drops which surprises you, takes you to unexpected places. Analog Drift, the second solo release from jersey City-based Chico Mann, is one of those rare gems. The multi-instrumentalist, born Marcos Garcia, melds 1970s Afrobeat, soul and funk with 1980s breakbeat and electro to create a hybrid he describes as "Afro-Freestyle and Electro-Afrobeat". Stuttering handclaps, plucked guitars and vintage synths up the charm factor, but not nearly as much as Mann's simple call-and-response vocals: half choruses are effortlessly offered up in both English and Spanish, seemingly unpolished, yet entirely memorable. Mann's "dayjob" is playing guitar in New York allstar Afro outfit Antibalas and his musical family included a Father who owned a Latin record label, so it's not surprise those elements have informed the music. Throw in a little Herbie Hancock, Egyptian Lover and Quantic, and this compelling melting pot of sound takes hugely enjoyable shape.

Four and a half stars from five

Review: Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra 'World Of Funk' and 'Hooked Up Classics'

SHAWN LEE'S PING PONG ORCHESTRA
World Of Funk AND Hooked Up Classics
[Ubiquity]

There are many words reviewers use which are superfluous. That's probably a chief culprit right there.

However, the one I'm picking on introduce this brace of Shawn Lee albums is "prolific".

The LA-based DJ, beat-maker, producer and weed-head Madlib aka Yesterday's New Quintet aka Otis Jackson Jr is prolific, recording quite literally stacks of material for the Stones Throw label, under multiple aliases. Legendary American indie rock-popper Robert Pollard is prolific, churning out something like eight albums a year via his bands Guided By Voices, Boston Spaceships, Circus Devils and too many more to mention here. Brighton-born, Cali, Columbia-resident, producer, DJ and crate-digger Will Holland is prolific, recording as Quantic, Quantic Soul Orchestra, Quantic and His Combo Barbaro and many others besides.

Add American-born, UK-resident Shawn Lee to this list.

This multi-instrumentalist, producer & musicologist is genuinely prolific, having released literally dozens of albums on his own, as the Ping Pong Orchestra and in collaboration with the likes of Money Mark, Tommy Guerrero, Clutchy Hopkins - not to mention in his past life as a session musician for hire, when he worked with everyone from The Dust Brothers & Jeff Buckley to the Spice Girls, while the man has made a mint from providing the musical backing for hugely popular TV shows like Lost, CSI, House, Ugly Betty etc. You could argue he began his career as a "library" music composer and performer when he released the phenomenal Ape Breaks series back in the day.

Under his Shawn Lee and The Ping Pong Orchestra guise, he now presents two more albums of heavily conceptualised library music, each as eminently listenable as his past work.

Following in the footsteps of recent albums Soul In The Hole and Sing A Song, where Lee was joined by a roll-call of guests in albums dedicated to various readings of one musical style, World Of Funk is packed with churning, riveting afro-funk in all its many flavours.

Guests include legendary Egyptian singer Natacha Atlas, multi-instrumentalist Brazilian artist Curumin, Dengue Fever's LA-based Vietnamese singer Chhom Nimol, Truth and Soul recording artist Michael Leonhart, NOMO band-leader Elliot Bergman and others.

While some may rail against Lee ripping off or bastardising these musical styles, the fact remains that this is a labour of love for him. He really does pour himself into these albums, playing many of the instruments himself & wholeheartedly committing himself to an authentic, genuine approach to song-writing, performing and recording the music.

The second of this pair of Ping Pong Orchestra albums is inspired by the Hooked On Classics series of the early '80s (factoid: put together by ELO's Louis Clark) and follows more in the vein of previous Lee albums Hit The Hits and his Christmas album.

Hooked Up Classics sees universally known songs like 1812 Overture, Swan Lake, Dance Of The Sugar P{lum Fairy, Also Spracg Zarathustra and eight others given a right odl dressing down, with Lee taking the essential elements from each piece and reinventing them within entirely new frameworks: 1812 Overture becomes a sweet, sunny, BBQ reggae track; Flight Of The Bumblebee welcomes a freestyle "chorus" over a boom-bap beat; and Hall Of The Mountain King gets twisted into a frenzied surf-guitar stomp.

This is an entirely enjoyable, hilarious and musically unpredictable journey through some of the best known songs ever written. Upon first listen I snorted, more than once, thinking "Sure, this is fun, but how many times am I actually going to listen to this gimmicky record?"

The answer? Prolifically.


World Of Funk: SIX AND A HALF sitars out of TEN
Hooked Up Classics: SEVEN AND A HALF outraged classical music buffs out of TEN

Listen to the Radio Ponsonby Record Review with 90, every Weneri morning around 8.30am, on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show. Thanks To Longroom.

Review: The Rhythmagic Orchestra 'The Rhythmagic Orchestra'

THE RHYTHMAGIC ORCHESTRA
The Rhythmagic Orchestra
[Impossible Ark / Unfold / Tru Thoughts]

As I lean back in my plushly lined listening chair in the expansive sound lounge of Chez Nyntee, with a cup of tea in one hand & the hi fi remote in the other, casually dictating this week’s Radio Ponsonby Record Review to one of my many personal assistants, a troubling thought again crosses my crumpled brow…

Why does good music like this get so little attention?

OK, so to us cynics the answers seem painfully obvious, so much so that I will simply ask you, dear reader, this: does the TV3 Nightline news team really need to be “reporting” about Justin Bieber? It’s after 10pm. What IS their target audience…?

But we at In The Pocket are not about to launch into a general rant about the many failings of the culture of celebrity while there’s an opportunity to carve some interest for a group who most certainly fall squarely into the aforementioned “brow-crumpling” category.

The Rhythmagic Orchestra was conceived & is produced by Benedic Lamdin & Hugo Mendez, two individuals with deep roots in Jazz & Latin music respectively; while the Orchestra themselves count members of Nostalgia 77 Octet, Ska Cubano, Examples Of Twelve & Jazz Jamaica among their number.

Lamdin himself is Nostalgia 77 & the co-owner of Impossible Ark, the label this self-titled debut is released upon (via Unfold & Tru Thoughts). He has long been championed in the British Jazz scene & beyond, with his work with UK legends Keith & Julie Tippett, as well as his critically acclaimed Skeletons project, of particular note to the Jazz Cats. His collaboration with Alice Russell on the massive slab of music that is Seven Nation Army, their stonking version of the White Stripes’ track, is a huge reason why he has also turned Heads in underground dance music circles.

Speaking of underground dance music circles, Hugo Mendez has generated more than a few & been gainfully employed in many more than that in his time. His own record label, Sofrito, is a true beacon of Latin-based music & he is considered a leading light in the London “tropical music revival” (for want of a better phrase). He assisted Soundway Records in compiling their outstanding Tumbele compilation & has brought tropical music to the heads & feets of many folks across the UK & Europe.

Enough nerding out – what about the music?

It’s not often you can put an all instrumental album on your stereo & have it hold your attention from start to finish. I have listened to the Rhythmagic Orchestra album no less than five times through in the last couple of days. It is genuinely compelling listening, particularly for a fan of Soundway Records, Quantic & His Combo Barbaro & (dare I say it!?) the Buena Vista Social Club.

The Rhythmagic Orchestra features some of the finest Jazz & Latin musicians in the UK, so it’s no surprise that the rhythm section’s interaction is excitingly fresh & the rhythms playful; the lyrical melodies are strongly presented via some beautiful brass playing; & it is all tied together with an understated, never overplayed, hand by a very versatile pianist. It seems as though everyone involved is playing FOR the betterment of each song. Wow, what a concept!

The Rhythmagic Orchestra have presented us with a beautiful blend of Jazz & Cuban music, well crafted & passionately played, which makes for vibrant, liberating listening, from top to bottom. The only sensible thing to do is turn the Bieber-dial down & get your stereo speakers popping with some actual music.

In A Nutshell: Liberating, vibrant, compelling Jazz/Cuban music, well crafted & passionately played.

90's Rating: EIGHT stoned bongo players out of TEN.

Listen to the Radio Ponsonby Record Review every Wenerei at 8.30am on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show. Huge thanks to Longroom for sponsoring the review. Nice one.

Radio Ponsonby Record Review: Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno 'Dog With A Rope'

Quantic Presenta Flowering Inferno
Dog With A Rope
[Tru Thoughts]

I don't know about you, but I reckon it's getting colder as the NZ winter really begins to slide her icy fingers under our collective rump.

So when an album billed as "Tropical Horns on Reggae Rhythms" arrives for release, I find myself fighting thoughts of jealousy. When said album turns out to be the new Quantic full-length, from his Flowering Inferno project, well that, my dear reader, is another matter entirely.

Let's get the disclaimer out of the way up front: British-born, Colombia-resident Quantic aka Will Holland, is one of this music fan's favourite independent artists, with a vast back catalogue of excellent releases as Quantic, Quantic Soul Orchestra, Quantic & His Combo Barbaro & The Limp Twins; & projects with Alice Russell & Spanky Wilson.

Flowering Inferno is the freshest of Holland's many musical guises, which, all up, have seen the uber-prolific young prodcer, musician & DJ release 14 full-length albums in 10yrs, each of them on the little-label-that-could, Brighton's famed Tru Thoughts.

Dog With A Rope is his 2nd album as Flowering Inferno & it sees him embrace even more fully the ties between Jamaican music's reggae rhythms & Afro-Latin's many dance styles.

Recorded at his own Sonida Del Valle Studios in Cali, COlombia (where Holland has been resident since 2007), the album is inspired by soundsystem culture & is a seamless blend of rocksteady, reggae & dub with Colombian cumba & Cuban rumba, delivered by a well-schooled cast of musicians.

Holland has gathered an ensemble of horn players from Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico & Panama to ply alongside Jamaican-born drummer Conrad Kelly (UB40, Steel Pulse), Peruvian pianist Alfredo Linares (who has appeared on Holland's last 3 albums), Colombian percussionist Wilson Viveros & Holland himself, of course. The featured vocalists are Nidia Gongora, who you may remember from the ubiquitous Quantic & His Combo Barbaro single Un Canto A Mi Tierra; & Markittis Micolta, a vocalist who began his career in the '60s with the Colombian band Peregoyo y su Combo Vacana, one of the first groups to combine Descarga & Cuban sounds ith Colombian folklore.

Dog With A Rope stands in contrast to - and as an ideal companion piece for - Quantic & His Combo Barbaro's critically acclaimed 2009 album Tradition In Transition, which saw Holland explore the Latin styles of cumbia, son, salsa & mambo; and Flowering Inferno's debut album, Death Of The Revolution, upon which Holland delved more deeply into the roots of reggae.

On Dog With A Rope we hear more fully formed "songs" & more vocals than on the Death Of The Revolution, yet Holland keeps each track short & sweet; with the ideas plentiful, the sweet funk bountiful & the freshness palpable. Heavy, heavy bass, tropical reggae & genuine Latin rhythms make for the sunniest listen of our winter months & also one of Holland's finest albums to date.

The initial Tru Thoughts vinyl release of Dog With A Rope includes the album on LP plus a 7" vinyl single & the full album on CD!

In A Nutshell: top shelf tropical reggae with plenty of heavy bass
Nyntee's Rating: NINE Mojitos out of TEN

Check out the Radio Ponsonby Record Review with Nyntee, on Murry Sweetpants' Breakfast Show on Radio Ponsonby, every Wednesday around 8.25am. Tune in! 107.7FM.