Review: Transmission Towers - Crooked Transmissions (É Soul Cultura)

This album starts with the chant of "Well I'm back" and never a truer word said for this "new" album on Luke Una's transmissive label, É Soul Cultura.

So we've had the original album (see review HERE) and then the single 'My Shadow' (Crooked Shade) / 'Mega' (Crooked) (see review HERE) and here's the full album version by Crooked!

The album starts with 'Mega' but it's 'Up' that gets us engrossed with its dub/version/remix style of 'Part 2'.  

Crooked Man (aka Richard Barratt) has got some Perry/Sherwood/Weatherall influences to draw upon and much more as his credits range from Róisín Murphy's 'Róisín Machine' (and 'Crooked Machine') to remixing Escort's 'Cocaine Blues' and working with the late Richard H. Kirk.

So Crooked Man has got form in this type of mutation and 'Crooked Transmissions' is a pretty diverse album, such as 'Up' gets transmitted to a higher plain of Sheffield synth pop heritage and with this "out-there" adventurism, most of the tracks are quite lenghty which is great for the dancefloor; particularly like 'Everything (Gone Crooked)' that's got a bit of PIL's 'Metal Box' to it and the warped 'Planetary Alignment (Bent Crooked)' where the lazer beams have been deflected (in fact, this need to be longer).

Talking of warped, what the George Clinton is 'One (2 Crooked)' about? It's like Talking Heads have had an electro shock lobotomy - brilliant.

It's not all experimental, 'My Shadow' has a dnb vibe, there's the chill-out dub 'Go Slow Heart' and 'Sparse' goes a bit trip-hop-pop. But is it all a build-up to prepare us for 10 minutes of 'Roller Skater (Crooked Wheels)'?

In fact, this is one of those albums that's so well produced and deep on every level, it's really hard to say what your favourite track is (so i won't) but if you had any thoughts that this was some hurriedly put together 10 track remix 'throw away' release, you'd be miles of the mark - I predict this is going to be 'Album Of The Year' on many a chart. 

In some ways the original album and this, lets call it a follow-up, is very much Luke Una, (check his Luke Una presents É Soul Cultura compilations on Mr Bongo, see review HERE) as he's not a man to get tied down musically and I wonder what the future plans for Transmission Towers (Mark Kyriacou and Eleanor Mante) could possibly be?

Artist: Transmission Towers

Title: Crooked Transmissions

Release date: 25th October, 2024

Label: É Soul Cultura

Cat. No: ESOULDIGI01

Format: All the Digitals / Bandcamp

Review: V/A - Mr Bongo Edits Volume 2 : Luke Una (Mr Bongo)

 "Like getting your money's worth?" you've heard on the adverts. Mr Bongo is thinking the same way in this days of austerity by getting Luke Una on the edit for 24 minutes of funky fun on the dancefloor. 

We know Luke from this legendary DJ status and his compilations, Luke Una Presents É Soul Cultura (see review HERE) and more recently, Transmission Towers (see review HERE) but this is a bit different as he's let us into his world of 'secret weapons' with a  longer and tweaked version of 'Love Games' (Thandi Zulu & The Young Five) and rare jazz dancer, 'Plum' by Lionel Pillay. 

The A-side is typical of Luke as it's an odd mix of 80s disco boogie (Pure Energy) done in heavy South African style whilst the B-side, South African again, that starts all heavy organ jazz-soul al a Lonnie Smith and then mutates into this piano house banger that's really hot jam - would love to have a Brian Auger mix. The orignal of 'Love Games' is only 40 years old and 'Plum' is even older which goes to testifies to Luke's knowledge/digging abilities. 

Both tracks are stunners and a fitting follow-up to Vol. 1 by Danny Krivit from a couple of years ago which is already a collector's item so don't hang around on Vol. 2 is our advice. 

Artist: Thandi Zulu & The Young Five / Lionel Pillay 

Title: Mr Bongo Edits Volume 2 : Luke Una 

Release date: 29th March, 2024 

Label : Mr Bongo 

Catalog Number : MRB12061 

Format : 12" / Digital / Bandcamp