Review: Planet People - Terra Firma EP (Planet People/Rush Hour)

It's always exciting to find a new 12" with Amsterdam's Rush Hour's seal of approval on it and Planet People's 'Terra Firma' is no exception.

If you're a DJ on NTS Radio and claim your label (Lost Control Records) showcases, "the best hydrotrip for the 7th dimension", you can imagine when owner, Black Eyes got together with Reedale Rise to form Planet People, the results on the Liverpool-Berlin expressway where only going to be a blend of Detroit techno dub distilled from Chicago & New York House & 90s UK ambient.

The result is instant classic with 'Hyper Glidin' and 'Portal Funk' leading the way closely followed by 'Reaktor Theory' (this one having a touch of synthed up 'Thousand Fingered Man' to my ears).

 'Subsurface Nature' slips into the basement for some bin biz space synths.

The vinyl is super limited so get your feet off the ground and onto your likely suspect record shops quick before they run out.

Artist:  Planet People

Title: Terra Firma EP

Release date: 16th December, 2022

Label : Planet People / Rush Hour

Catalog Number : PP-001 [12” - Limited Edition of 300 ]

Review: K.O.G - Zone 6 Remixed EP (Heavenly Sweetness)

If you recall 'Zone 6, Agege' from earlier this year, you'll know K.O.G is a now a rising star with his own releases and through his collaborations with Nubiyan Twist, Scrimshire and ONIPA.

Heavenly Sweetness released the 15 track album which so suited their Afro/Jazz/Carib/Disco/Funky groove and this stands out as an Anglo Ghanian Fela stylee.

Kweku Sackey (aka K.O.G) has a gorgeous vocal that moves effortlessly between English, Pidfin, Ga and rap, poetry, soul and gospel.

So just to remind compilers of 'Album Of The Year' lists, here's a remix EP from the global dancefloor. 

I predicted back in the spring to mark your card for 'Ebenezer' as we're now in festive season and Aroop Roy takes a Fela to a disco party so we can get thiall the Scrooges outta town.

The Canadian Ghislain Poirier is as well travelled as Aroop and has just as many remix credits (most recently Gut's 'Kenke Corner') so no surprise that he was a top choice for 'No Way' which is just as fast as the original but heavier on the percussion making it another choice play for the dancefloor.

I said at the time that it would be a tough to decide on a single but I had no idea what Village Cuts (UK duo) could add to 'No Way' but we're Carib-bass heavy-Highlife and it's great or that Captain Planet (Bastard Jazz) who tweaks 'Shidaa' in a more jazzy hip-house with classy sax, organ and guitar arrangements.

The set is completed with the album vesions of 'Shidaa' and 'No Way' which makes this EP, a six of the best. In fact, don't wait to hear, “Hey! You boy”, get your 'Zone 6 Remixed' EP now! 

Artist: K.O.G

Title: Zone 6 Remixed EP

Release Date : 9th December, 2022

Catalog Number : -

Label : Pura Vida Sounds / Heavenly Sweetness

Format: 12" EP / Digital

Review: Urbs – Levitation (Compost Records)

Urbs' 'Levitation' does just that, it take you higher as if you're floating on air.

Beautifully laid back and ready for your summer holidays - couldn't be better timed.

Not a great fan of the artwork - is the archipelago going to erupt?  

What can be said, this trip hop vs dope beat electronica hybrid is ready to blow up as Compost have got themselves another winner with this one.

Artist: Urbs

Title: Levitation

Release date: 9^th December, 2022

Label : Compost Records

Catalog Number : CPT603-5 Digital / Bandcamp 

New Regency Orchestra – Mambo Rama (Total Refreshment Records)

It's that time of year to get out 'Christmas Jollies' by the Sasoul Orchestra and this year, it'll be joined by this special release.

New Regency Orchestra! Check 'em out with two versions of Tito Puente's classic 'Mambo Rama' that was originally recorded in the home of Salsoul, New York City in 1952.

The thing is, this doesn't sound at all dated.   It's as vibrant as the cover artwork is 'now' in terms of the dance.

Eliane Correa has a wealth of Afro-Cuban and Latin Jazz expertise  (remember WARA?) and she put together eight-piece rhythm section and a storming twelve-piece horn section including Rosie Turton, Tamar Osborn (Collocutor) & Nick Walters (Ruby Rushton, Riot Jazz) alongside Ernesto Marichales (Waaju, Jordan Rakei), Flavio Correa, and Jimmy Martinez.

Then, instead of a remix, there's an alternate version by Lex Blondin that features Momoko Watanabe Gill (Tirzah, Coby Sey, An Alien Called Harmony) and Alex Burke (Forest Law, Esa, Haha Sounds) with contributions from Capitol K and Kissu.

New Regency Orchestra has definitely got the new swing and we need more of this in 2023.

Artist: New Regency Orchestra 

Title: Mambo Rama 

Release date: 9th December, 2022

Label : Total Refreshment Records

Catalog Number : LP / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Si Tew - An Apology (Atjazz Record Company)

Si Tew's debut album was called, 'When The Clouds Ran Away' so perhaps 'An Apology' is over due as why has Atjazz Record Company had to wait so long for the follow-up?

Well, it would appear that Si 'ran away' to Caracas in Venezuela to get the new album, 'Quietude' into shape.

There's certainly no hard feelings as here's a single (with 'Roshinaya' on bandcamp - link below) and here's video.


Artist: Si Tew
Title: An Apology (Radio Edit) / Roshinaya
Release date: 8th December, 2022
Label : Atjazz Record Company
Catalog Number : ARC200ADS1 Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Biggabush - A Different Style EP (Tru Thoughts Recordings)

After our recent interview with Glyn 'Biggabush' Bush - he of Rocker's Hi-fi, Studio Don, Lightning Head, MDO, the black Albumen and half of The Dandelion Set - here's the long awaited follow-up EP to last year's fantastic 'BiggaBush Freevisited' - 'A Different Style'.

Now, you might be thinking that that is odd that there needs a 'different style' for a Biggabush as he's a master of so many styles but as he says, "The thing I love about a good remix is that it references the original track but adds the remixers stamp and style in a respectful way that enhances the song and takes it off in new directions that I would never have thought of".

And we certainly love these styles as it's introduced us to four new 'followers' of the Biggabush set.

Sentinel 793 certainly has a lot of dub/reggae/afrobeat in his bruk and it's quite stripped back but not at all naked.  At the other extreme Robot Riddims has put 'Black Swan Revival' through his 8-bit noise conveyer belt system and it's all pretty minimal .

Then James Hayford makes an appearance as with his 'Shoes' monika for the appropriately entitled 'Sole Sister' track. 

Bigga has been such a Studio Don and Lighting Head of dub for so long, rising to the dub on 'Real & Regal' with his mate Farda P who sounds so deep and resonant; it must be weird having such a great voice as Farda P when he's doing everyday conversations.

And at the furtherest extreme of all, I'd never thought I'd be lucky enough to re-edit the most euphoric track from the album, 'This River' (now with vocals by the incredible Jackie 'sounds like Ella' Walters) as Glyn and I walk along the River Stour's towpath in both our adopted county of Dorset, hand-in-hand (metaphorically of course).

We might think of Glyn as the Dr. Who of dub, instrumental hip-hop, ambient dub, electro, deep house, prog rock as he free-from-ed 'Free' into 'Freevisited' (so clever eh!) and now with another different style, who knows, with all the references to 'God' on the 'This River' track, there's a remote chance that it might be No. 1 at Christmas! 

See full YATM interview HERE.

Artist: Biggabush

Title: A Different Style EP

Release date: 6th December, 2022

Label : Tru-Thoughts

Catalog Number : Digital / JunoDownload / Traxsource / Bandcamp

1		The River (Sentinel 679 Runs Deep Version)                                                      7:02    Featuring - Jackie Walters
2		Black Swan Revival (Robot Riddims Hurting A Different Style Remix)                4:56 Featuring - Farda P, Jackie Walters
3		Illegal Rising Dub (Biggabush Remix)                                                                 7:08 Featuring - Farda P
4		Sole Sister (James Hayford Shoes Remix)                                                         7:01
5		This River (Gerry Hectic’s River Stour Towpath Extension)                              13:56 Featuring - Jackie Walters
6		The River (Sentinel 679 Remix Instrumental)                                                     7:02
7		Black Swan Revival (Robot Riddims Hurting A Different Style Instrumental)      4:55
8		Illegal Rising Dub (Instrumental) (Biggabush Remix)                                          7:08

Antonio Trinchera – The Tractor And The Child (Elbert Phillips Remix) (A.MA Reforged)

There's many things we've learnt this year but one of the best is that there's a vibrant new jazz scene in Italy that's represented by A.MA Records (see Ennrico Bracco's 'Flying In A Box' album and 'The Blue Zone' by the Davide Peluso Quartet). 

And here's another one as guitarist Antonio Trinchera musically explores his love of Fauvism art movement on an album called 'Fauves' with a band of Camillo Pace (double bass), Alessio Santoro and Leo Consoli (both drums/percussion) with co-writer of five of the nine tracks, Dony Valentino on piano/electric piano and violin.

Electric violin! Lost to jazz if it's not Jean-Luc Ponty in the 70s and there's certainly lots of fusion influence in this as you might tell from the title of the first track, '1976'.

But hang on a minute, what's this about an Elebert Phillips Remix? Well, like the Re:Warm label or BiggaBush's 'Free-visited' the label has a Reforged arm and has already had a huge house hit with Elbert (producer, remixer, label owner and contributor to 5 Magazine - that's just like our own Will Sumsuch I hear you say) with Elbert's remix of Antonio's 'Joy Drops' last year.

And he's back this week with an extended remix of 'The Tractor And The Child' with more keys, the violin and added 'bone (could there be a connection with Gianluca Petrella?) and lots of 'Chicago' (Elbert's past credits includes being Frankie Knuckles warm-up DJ!)

The eight minute 'Done Deal Remix' comes with the orginal album version and I'd be most surprised if this doesn't make the Colour & Pitch end of year mix.

Many thanks to once more to DJ Bob Hill (BBE, TWR, ReddSugarBlack Creative) for championing their releases with a this and his compilations.

Elbert Phillips: 5 Magazine DJ Series

Artist: Antonio Trinchera  

Title: The Tractor And The Child (Elbert Phillips Remix)

Release date: 2nd December, 2022

Label : A.MA Reforged / A.MA Records

Catalog Number : A.MA Reforged 002 / Digital / Bandcamp 

Interview: Glyn 'BiggaBush' Bush (Rockers Hi-Fi, Lightning Head, The black Albumen)

If you don't immediately recognise the name of Biggabush, usually, if you say, "Rockers Hi-Fi", there's a musical reflex response of, "Push-Push!"  Nearly 3 decades on from that international hit, he still keeps the multi-genre dance floor busy as BiggaBush, Lightning Head, Magic Drum Orchestra and in groups The Dandelion Set (as recently featured on Imaginary Radio) and The black Albumen (who also released an album this year).

It was not long after the release of the album Biggabush Free that I interviewed Glyn for another web site so it's about time that I caught up with the big guy (he’s 6’3” you know!), old 'Acid Fly' himself.

So years before such things as social media/photoshop, the original 'Biggabush Free' artwork on the CD looked a bit 'touched', like a 30's Berlin Jazz club, were they supposed to look like that? I had met Jeannette Muchar when I played at a friend’s birthday party in Paris and she was doing these beautiful retouches on photos, so I simply asked her to do her thing and this was the result.

Equally, at that time no one could possibly have imagined what a lock-down was or what we'd be doing in one.  You decided that a 16 track BiggaBush Freevisited was the way to go? (such a great title - released last year on Tru Thoughts) The reason was that Tru Thoughts were releasing my back catalogue and there were tracks on Free with contentious samples that had to be replaced.  Once I started the process of rebuilding some of the songs it just became apparent that I could revisit the whole album and try some new approaches both musical- and production-wise.  And that became the perfect lockdown project…

There's a reaction that this is what the original album should have sounded like? I wouldn’t necessarily agree with that actually; the original album was a product of its time and the gear I had in the early 00s.  The new version gave me an opportunity to rework some tracks, add live brass, different vocalists, better beats, to replace some tracks I felt didn’t belong on there any more.  The main difference was the old album was done on Cubase on a PC, the new on Ableton on a Mac.

There's some new tracks that weren't on the original release - are they new or of that time? 'Real & Regal' is a remake of my remix of 'Illegal' featuring Benjamin Zephaniah with Farda P on vocal duties.  'Black Swan Revival' was an old Rockers demo from the Overproof sessions that I tweaked up to completion.

In my old interview you were ''Acid Fly' which is such a great track and fits in with renewed enthusiasm for all things Acid House, is that going to be on the new 'remix' release? Not this time.  But I was really happy with the remade version. 

And you were going to tell us what "your role was in the release of Peak's 'Get Carter' on Afro Art Records (label founded by Ashley Beedle)" I may have played it to Paul Murphy back in the day... (Paul, just had a birthday mix and now having his own label, Jazz Room Records)

I think there's more to it than that but it's track 16 on Glyn's Spotify 'Bigga Bush Fave Reworks' playlist below. 

So you've been in Rocker's Hi-Fi, Lightning Head, MDO, the black Albumen (a modern  extravaganza of a project) and top DJ, What's next for Biggabush? At the moment I’m slowly getting my mojo back having had a LONG dry period.  Working on lots of ideas, no one single concept,  just getting inspiration from what my daughter (DJ re:ni - look out for 'Revenge Body' on Ilian Tape) is playing and writing and introducing me to, such as footwork.   Buying too many records as usual, getting ideas from 90s trip hop, MO Wax especially, 90s d&b, modular synthesis, playing the bass guitar [AND] I’d be delighted if the black Albumen were popular anywhere to be honest…

And talking of DJing, back in 2005, you were talking of trips to Japan, Germany, Portugal, do you miss this jet-set lifestyle?  I don’t actually miss the travelling which started to get on my wick after a while: EVERY flight seemed to be from Stansted Airport which is a right schlepp from where I live.  I’m also reducing my carbon footprint! 

By November, 2005, "there is no stopping him as the best tracks are released on 12", 'This River' (Drum Und Bass Version By BiggaBush) whilst in 2022, there's a new EP coming out next week, 'Black Swan Revival' (featuring Farda P and Jackie Walters - have we even mentioned how good her new vocals are on the classic 'This River'?) is coming out on the TruThoughts 'Best Of' 2022 compilation and then there's the 1BTN radio monthly show, Bigga’s Big Dig [first Friday on the month, next one tomorrow on 2.12.22]

Is this schedule just like BiggaBush of yore? (it is festive season thing), "I wouldn’t say I was on top of the game, I just keep going and trying different ideas!"  

Apart from being a fan for many years, these "different ideas" includes a massive EP, 'A Different Style' coming out next week [so stay tuned in to YATM for more information] that includes a very extended edit of 'This River' and he's going to be featured on Music Is My Sanctuary who will be hosting with a 'A Different Style' mix soon.

Many thanks to Glyn for his time, help and patience (once again) and due to the magic of the internet, our 2005 interview is available HERE.  Let's hope it won't be so long before the next one! 

The Soul Motivators feat. Shahi - It Is What It Is (Do Right! Music)

Having a deep love of all things Canadian and Do Right! Music in particular, how great it is to see a new 7" with a red and white label that's full of funk and soul.

As Shahi says, "It is what it is"!

Artist: The Soul Motivators feat. Shahi

Title: It Is What It Is

Release date: 2nd December, 2022

Label : Do Right! Music

Catalog Number : 7" / Digital

Sandman Project - Hamsa Remixes (Batov Records)

Lots of fantastic remix projects about at the moment and here's one not to be overlooked.

Batov Records have organised four different versions of 'Hamsa' by experts in their own fields as they take on the original track that's Mulatu Astatke of Ethiopia with a West African psychedelic rock vibe.

No. 1 for us is absolutely brilliant. This is usually the case with anything to do with Jessica Lauren and Emanative - typically in the Sun Ra meets Ethio Jazz.  We have to declare an interest as I've DJ'd with Emanative (aka Nick Woodmansey) way before the release of his critically acclaimed albums for Brownswood Recordings, Jazzman Records and Futuristica Music.  And he's not shy when it comes to remixes, (most recently, the far too short 'San Francisco Dance' for RE:WARM) and like any good DJ/producer/drummer/show-off he's reworked 'Hamsa' playing the drums himself and getting bests mate keyboard whiz Jessica Lauren to do a Farfisa solo plus Vince Vella adding an Afro-Latin kick, on congas, udu drums and other assorted percussion. 

Stunning I think you'll agree. But wait! What's this Ayala's Rhythm Mix?  Sticking to the theme but a bit more jazzy horn whilst the Koichi Sakai remix is Ethio with trumpet and housey keys that grooves then gets a little dubby sometimes and a little spacey too!  And not to be outdown in the spacey dubby groove, Italian DJ/Producer Woxow gets deeper into all aspects with some added spoken word 'thoughts'. 

Batov Records (they of Sababa 5 - see our review HERE) are getting in the party mood with this one and I'm expecting more of the same quality next year too!

Artist: Sandman Project

Title: Hamsa Remixes EP

Release date: 2nd December, 2022

Label: Batov Records

Catalog Number: Digital