Expand your taste in music. Based in Beijing, China.
Our favorite reissue label, Wewantsounds, offers yet another gem to one of the coolest catalogs around. This album comes from Egyptian diva Nagat, and it’s an example of a type of disco homegrown in Egypt – Disco Arabesquo – which combines the erstwhile dancing style of the 1970s with Arabic beats. Insanely good.
Meaty, beaty dub is on offer here by Errol Brown (no, not the Hot Chocolate singer, but the sound engineer based out of Kingston, Jamaica) courtesy of Dub Store Records out of Tokyo, Japan. Those who know me well might figure out why I appreciate the title.
Though Kofi Ayivor now lives in Amsterdam, there was a time where he was the disco king of Nigeria as well as a conga legend with Osibisa. The music here is what one can call proto-Afrobeat, proto-Nu Jazz, and it sounds so incredibly modern that I thought it was a Compost Music release. Funky and great!
Kink Gong have done stellar work documenting ethnic music from around China. This release covers the work of dotar player Abdurehim Heyit, an artist mired in controversy whose death was falsely reported several years ago.
Six pipes, three drummers, a bassist and a massive wall of sound are what Latvian band Auļi offer, and this album shows the band collaborating with a score of modern musicians updating a powerful ethnic sound. According to the Bandcamp site, “this album is dedicated to the Latvian masquerade traditions in winter. Starting from the Winter Solstice and ending with Meteņi.”
I have to say that, until a few days ago, I knew nothing about Jorge López Ruiz, but after reading this writeup and listening to the funky exotic jazz on this album, I’ve become a fan. From the Bandcamp website:
“Jazz, funk, and bossa vibes kiss each other, all wrapped up in JLR’s trademark cinematic feel. In his colourful Un Hombre de Buenos Aires, recorded in 1978, JLR puts the political outcry of his early 70s works aside and focuses on his love for the city of Buenos Aires.
Jorge López Ruiz gets far less credit than he deserves. His crucial role in shaping Argentina’s jazz history should place him right next to Gato Barbieri and Lalo Schifrin, who found success abroad. It’s an honour do dig deeper into his vast discography after having already reissued his masterpiece Viejas Raíces and his historical milestone album Bronca Buenos Aires.
As always, Jorge López Ruiz enroled for the recording of Un Hombre de Buenos Aires some of the best musicians in the country. The line-up includes Dino Saluzzi on bandoneon, Domingo Cura on percussion and his lifelong friend Pocho Lapouble on drums.”
‘Beautifully lo-fi’ is perhaps the best way I can describe Jeff Gburek’s latest release on Muteant Records, a company you will be hearing plenty about on this blog.. The tracks have the rawness of the early Dunedin sound (think Roy Montgomery, Alastair Galbraith and labels like XPressway and Flying Nun Records. It’s still grounded in Jeff’s trademark guitar work, but with some elements that feel like they would be home on an ethnographic record of some culture in a hidden-away island in the Indonesian archipelago. Don’t ask why, just listen, especially to Undead 8. You can see more of Jeff’s releases on this website here.
Filalete are a project released on the estimable Borenail Records, who specialize in weirder, more neglected scenes like witchhouse, vaporwave and the like. The band produces a really pleasant sweeping sort of ambient, easy to drown your thoughts in. My favorite track was Sweet Nectar, which manages to balance electronic music and post-rock sublimely. A fine record.
This record is the latest $5 (in this case, $7 for being a double-album) special, a long out-of-print avant-jazz classic. From the release website:
“Out-of print on vinyl for over 25 years, this is the first release of the two album collaborations (Coxhill/Miller Miller/Coxhill and “The Story So Far…” “Oh Really?”) between saxist Lol Coxhill and pianist Steve Miller (the pianist, not the rock guitarist), who first worked together in Delivery and continued their partnership for several years afterwards.
These albums are quite fondly remembered by those luckily enough to own them for their unique personality and low-key approach to improvisation and composition and feature guests such as Phil Miller, Richard Sinclair, Pip Pyle, Archie Legget, Laurie Allan and Robert Wyatt.
Produced, remastered and with liner notes by Michael King, the material is presented in the absolute best possible sonics. We’ve also included the last known interview with Steve to help shed light on his career and found some great, rare photos to include in the huge, 20 page booklet.”
Ulaan Passerine is one of many aliases used by Los Angeles-based guitarist Steven R. Smith. This latest album is a shimmery walk into guitar instrumental territory. Smith produces an elegant kind of instrumental music that would sit well with both post-rock fans and those into a more mellow psychedelic vibe. Think along the terms of the band Oregon as a reference. Not ‘easy’ listening, but ‘gentle’ listening. Well done.