Antonio Carlos & Jocafi - Encabulada

Smooth music, with facial hair.

Amp Fiddler - Superficial

I've plumped, today, for Amp Fiddler's Superficial from the Waltz of a Ghetto Fly album from last year. Kenny Dixon Jr. style production, strong Anetria Wright vocal, a good hook and of course Amp Fiddler on keyboards. 'Amp' describes the track as "a kinda Sly Stone influenced jazz vibe, over a dance floor groove". That'll do for me.

The very clever, very nice people at Bleep will let you embed a small mp3 player in your site, and allow you to listen to samples of all their music. So you can listen to snippets from the rest of the Amp Fiddler album straight from here...

Charles Trenet - Boum!

Only a fool would spend his time dawdling in the pissy alleys of existence without a bit of Charles Trenet. Charles Trenet is like that that prepube experience when bubblebath bubbles first burst on your balls... you know its wrong and you know its probably foolish but goddamn it feels good. Monsieur Trenet's song 'Boum!' gives us a highly educational account of the amorous existence of farm animals and tweetie-birds, sung with panache to a jumpy little French theme that makes Amelie look as quaint as a mother-in-law in a thong.

Sly & the Family Stone - Just Like A Baby

The laziest groove you are ever likely to hear. Sly and the Family Stone on top bluesy form from 1972's There's a Riot Goin' On.

EPMD - Strictly Business

Wake up Muttley! An Eric Clapton cover of Bob Marley (vote for your version here). That’s the sample making you wriggle and jiggle like Gelatin.

Here’s a scintillating anecdote for you: I knew a girl in New York who used to sell Erick Sermon sneakers in her Dad's store in Long Island. ’88 was the year with Erick and Parrish Making Dollars, as deadly as AIDS when it's time to rock the party.



EPMD - Strictly Business

Tour De France

It seems appropriate with this being Bastille Day and the Tour de France riders navigating their way over the Alps, that we take a listen to Kraftwerk’s “Soundtrack” to the Tour. The 12 track album from 2003 is all based on the 1983 track “Tour de France.” The final track on the album is a slightly reworked version of the original ’83 track. Not needing to explain to you who Kraftwerk is, this album was their first in over 15 years. It does not necessarily live up to the standards of their finest, but the sound is classic Kraftwerk perhaps a little more ambient and smooth (more DJ friendly) than usual. It is still very machine-esque, which is also an apt description of Lance, on pace for #7.

Think of the first time you listened to Autobahn all the way through, and how cool that was. Well this isn’t that cool, but it does have many of the same synthetic sounds and beats that you expect, and some cool bike sounds. Vive la France (au moins pour aujourd’hui).

Jawaii 5-0

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole

Big name, big guy, high voice.

Have you heard this guy? A song of his appeared on a Lynx advert last year. He sung Somewhere Over The Rainbow in a light reggae off beat way that combines the Hawaiin style with Jamaican, apparently known as Jawaiian. Small category. Big man.

The featured song is actually Somewhere over the rainbow/What a wonderful world medley, from the Facing Futures album(1993). His weight was a serious problem, and once required a forklift to get on stage. He died aged 38, in 1997, from weight related illnesses.

Mmmm Cheese On Toast

Devendra Banhart - Rejoicing In The Hands (Of The Golden Empress), 2004

Has anyone seen that Cathedral City cheese advert, where people eat cheese on toast and everyone else watches with their tongues hanging out?

I do believe the music is Mr. Banhart's. This album is full of very nice things that do not make me want to eat cheese. His voice sounds almost like Marc Bolan doing the warbley hippy thing, but the music is gentle, clear, catchy accoustic guitar stuff. Category: Eerie Uplifting Folk...

I am not a music journalist. But i do recommend this album fully. And I've not yet tried Cathedral City.

Here's the track "This Is The Way"

Front Page - Love Insurance

I couldn't find the cover of this 12", so this later image of Sharon Redd (the singer) will have to do. Nice dress. I think I've seen her on Shoreditch High Street.
To the music: Think 1979. Think Disco. Think Charlie's Angels (that's them top right in case you hadn't guessed). This is it. Lush strings, great percussion and a power vocal. Apparently Sharon was a backing singer for Bette Midler. We won't hold that against her if she could knock out prime, silky, dancefloor fodder like this. This is a long version - listen out for the breakdown with some nice early 303-style sounds. She died in the early nineties of, I believe, AIDS related illnesses.

SundayMixOne

The first mix for this site...think lazy sunday mornings in bed. The papers, fresh coffee and juice, breakfast and just a li'l lovin'.








Irfane (feat. Outlines) - Just a li'l lovin'
Quantic - Sound of everything
Tim Maia - No caminho do bem
Donald Byrd - Cristo Redentor
Oscar Brown Jr. - Brother where are you (Herbert mix)
Bob James - Westchester lady
Herbie Hancock - Sunlight
George Duke - Brazilian love affair
Deodato - September 13th
George Benson - Inside love (so personal)
Patrice Rushen - Forget me nots
Wilton Felder - Insight

Moodymann - The Thief That Stole My Sad Days

I didn't like this track the first few times I heard it. I got frustrated. I kept waiting for it to kick in. I never thought it quite got there. But the anticipation is sometimes the sweetest part. This track has all the classic Moodymann elements: Husky shaky percussion, different strucure, alluring vocals, and samples of a room full of people going 'oh lord', 'oh yeah', and clapping. Rich music. Taken from the forevernevermore album.

Francisco Mora Catlett - World Trade Music

World Trade Music is a gem of an album: earthy, subtle, understated. Rythmically driven by interplay between percussion, bass and piano it's never too out there, and never too straight. The shuffling, ambling style rewards active headphone listening but it can just as well deliver dinner ambience. This is jazz with a techno heritage. It came out about the same time as Carl Craig's Innerzone Orchestra album (which Catlett worked on), and is released on the Planet E subsidiary Community Projects, but feels like it could be an early 70s cut. It's Detroit. But it's organic, rough-around-the-edges, feeling-its-way Detroit. A grower and worth checking out.