Review: Oscar Mbo & Jazzworx - Vuka feat. Thukuthela (The Ashmed Hour Records)

The pre-Valentines Day, sunworship track from Oscar Mbo & Jazzworx, 'Vuka' feat. Thukuthela.

Already a bit hit in South Africa, this channels the powers of the Sun that Ra could only imagine as a Afro-house-Balearic 3-stepper dream with perfect vocals from Thukuthela to match.

DJ / Podcaster, Oscar Mbo is the host of the Monthly Show The Ashmed Hour and introduces fellow producer Jazzworx who is involved in many other projects that we'll be hearing this year.

Well, if they are all as good as this one, the future is indeed not!

Artist: Oscar Mbo & Jazzworx 
Title: Vuka feat. Thukuthela 
Release date: 13th February, 2025
Label :The Ashmed Hour Records
Catalog Number  TBC
Format: Digital 

Review: Alma Negra ft. Pat Kalla - La Plage EP (Delusions Of Grandeur)

This is the first of many times this year you'll be hearing Alma Negra 'La Plage' featuring Pat Kalla at beach party or anywhere else ready to have a party.

Pat Kalla (aka Patrice Kalla N'Galle) is French poet, muscian, singer who is so 'Heavenly Sweetness, Pura Vida Sounds' he could even surpass Mssr. Guts, Anthony Joseph, David Walters and K.O.G!  

Delusions Of Grandeur are not known for a nu-Afrobeat house (as in Soul Of Hex's 'Constellation EP' last year - see review HERE) but this is soulful and percussively busy and you are as likely to here it on European radio stations as you are at many a beach party.

And whilst you're thinking of what swimwear to pack, get down with the synths on 'Sexta Feira' (with Bodo Maier) and sunshine disco boogie for seven minutes. 

And you're wondering so what would Delusins Of Greandeur's head honcho (Jamie Odell aka Jimpster) play out?  I'm thinking he'll go for the synths rolling up and down the beach with 'The Vibe' before going totally dancefloor mental with 'The Freak' with Afro-chant and down low dirty synths.

So whilst there's some echoes of Jamies' Dads' past (with Shakatak) this is very now and it's another 4 track all-win non-deluded release.

BUY LINK: La Plage EP | Alma Negra

Artist: Alma Negra ft. Pat Kalla
Title: La Plage EP
Release date: 14th February, 2025
Label :Delusions Of Grandeur
Catalog Number  TBC
Format: Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Close Counters - Lovers Dance Academy (Close Counters)

Wow! The Naarm / Melbourne massive are taking over the world and now spearheaded by Close Counters, they are coming to form a 'Lovers Dance Academy' near you soon.

We've recently had Rami Imam's 'Safara EP' (Interview HERE and review HERE), Nick Marks, Ziggy Zeitgeist of ZFEE (see review HERE) and the Pro-Teens (new album HERE) and they are all incredibly active and excellent, but are they signed up to the 'Love Dance Acamdemy'.

Clearly the administrators know all about their past students as they have called up Allysha Joy ('Waiting All Night'), Lyric Jones ('Feeling Takes Over Me'), Shiv ('Freedom We're Needing'), Tiana Khasi ('On The Move') and Jace XL ('Constant Love').

 

Joy, she of First Word, Gondwana Records and the 30/70 Collective (see review HERE) puts in her hight level on soulful vocal and one of the more opened jazzy bruk tracks whilst the other tracks have this deep jazz-funk groove updated for dancey crowd; 'Constant Love' being a prime example, possibly the one that'll get on the radio; can you say 'nipples' on the radio these days?) and if you hear it there first, all these tracks are this good too!

And if you love the original jazz-funk-soul-house, Finn Rees and Allan McConnell, the joint heads of Close Counters, know their stuff and there's quite a Dexter Wansel/Herbie Hancock disco/funk/Philadelphia (Ed. don't mention the Eagles) underliing to some great tracks, 'CloseTo Me', 'Dusk' and the brilliant opener, 'Waterfall'. 

You'll recall Finn's solo album on Mr Bongo (see review HERE), 30/70 and his appearance on Alexander Flood's 'Can’t Get Enough'  (see review HERE) who has found in Allan a close working relationship.  Indeed, Close Counters are busy touring and have a wide collection of fans Gilles Peterson, Folamour, Jamz Supernova, Jague (BBC Radio 1) and Complexion (BBC 1Xtra) so you'll be hearing a lot from these guys this year.

BUY LINK: Pre-Order / Pre-Save: https://bfan.link/lovers-dance-academy

Artist:  Close Counters 

Title: Lovers Dance Academy

Release date: 12th February, 2025

Label : Close Counters

Catalog Number : CC026

Format: Limited LP vinyl / Digital / Bandcamp 

Review: ASHRR - Please Don't Stop The Rain (Ron Trent Remixes) (20:20 Vision)

Here's a thought for students of climate change dancefloors, LA's ASHRR plead 'Please Don't Stop The Rain' and it gets the blessing of the legend that is Ron Trent on remix duty.

When we rocked up to the We Out Here Festival last year, our small part of the field was buzzin' for the appearance of Ron Trent; and this was Thursday morning and Mr Trent wasn't due on 'till 1am Saturday!

From what I can remember, 'The Bowl' arena was crammed to the very edge from the stage upwards and Ron wiped us down in the early hours with a mesmerizing set of tunes.

Which brings me to his two remixes on this new release on 20:20 Vision.  There's a 'Ron Trent Remix' and a 'Ron Trent Dub' and they just shimmer in the LA meets Chicage house-disco vibe.

The original version is on ASHRR's second album, 'Sunshine Low' and not to be out done, ASHRR join the party with their own Sound System Remix and Instrumental versions.  These two focus more on the disco-dub-funk and whilst it might sound heretitcal to fans of T-Funkshun/Ron Trent, I think I prefer the for their dubbiness; but it's a close run thing.

Of course, Mr. 20:20 Vision, Ralph Lawson knows his space disco from his post-punk as the label boss has been selecting eclectic electronic soul music since the mid-90s to now - the best part of 30 years!

Still not convinced how cool/in demand Ron Trent is?  He's been hanging out with Khruangbin you know!

BUY LINK:  https://www.juno.co.uk/products/ron-trent-ashrr-please-dont-stop-the-rain-vinyl/1055239-01/

P.S. Original tracks taken from the ASHRR album, 'Sunshine Low' 

Artist: ASHRR
Title: Please Don't Stop The Rain (Ron Trent Remixes) 
Release date: 10th February, 2025
Label: 20:20 Vision
Cat. No: TBC
Format: Vinyl / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Omar - Can We Go Out (Lyric Video) (IMPRESS!VE Collective - an imprint of BBE Music)

DIgital/Video singles are not our usual thing but when it comes to UK legend, Omar, we are prepared to make that exception as his voice is just a brilliant way to start the week.

'Can We Come Out Again' may sound like a post-pandemic throw-a-way or a LGBTQ+ call to arms; either way, it's a great start to the week. 

Not only that, it's the first full single from Omar's forthcoming 9th studio album called 'Bright The Days'.

You may recall that last year, we started off with the single 'Lovey Dovey' so if you were wondering what to do for the forthcoming Valentines Day.

NO DIGITAL : BANDCAMP LINK Lovey Dovey / This Thing Called Life (Instrumental) | Omar 

Artist: Omar

Title: Can We Go Out (Lyric Vi5deo)

Release date: 7th February, 2024

Label :  IMPRESS!VE Collective (an imprint of BBE Music)

Catalog Number:BBE801SDG1

Format: Bandcamp  

Review: Peter Matson - White Noise ft. Kendra Morris (Bastard Jazz Recordings)

Peter Matson's 'White Noise' is the first single from Brooklyn-based musician/producer Peter Matson (co-leader of Underground System) with debut solo LP, 'Hotel PM'

It's been nearly a year since F.I.D.E.L's 'Out Of Sight' (see review HERE) and Buscrates' 'Control Centre' (see review HERE), Simon Mavin's 'Good Hair Day / Only You & Me' (see review HERE) and Casa Bonita (see review HERE) so, even as fans of the label, is it any wonder that a new release is quality?

If you're in the Razor-N-Tape, lovetempo, Star Creature post-disco envelope this is a monster for you!  No surprise that Peter knows all the local big heads having worked with JKriv and Ibibio Sound Machine in the past whilst Kendra Morris has connections with Cinema/TV and the hip-hop scene including MF DOOM (Ed. she'll be a fan of the MF Teen 'tribute' - see review HERE).

Not only that, fans of 'Daylight' (see review HERE) and friends of Toribio joined together with Peter on 'S.Y.G' - check it out below.

This 'White Noise' is nothing like BBC's Radiophonic Workshop's experimental 'White Noise'  but I hope we get an instrumental/disco-dub remix to go along with this as it's far too short (4:21) with all those lucious strings.

 

Artist: Peter Matson

Title: White Noise

Release date: 7th Februaty, 2025

Label : Bastard Jazz Recordings

Catalog Number :  TBC

Format: Vinyl (pre-order) / Digital / Bandcamp  

 

Review: The Invisible Session - What Is Wrong With Your Mind? (Agosta Remix) (Space Echo Records)

The Invisible Session return with the funk - did someone say, "Fred Wesley"?  

When you're after some new Space age Afro-funk train ride with the best 'bone in the bizz (Gianluca Petrella) stoking the engine’s fire as Space Echo Records, this release this must have 7" single.

With the original and a equally cool Agosta remix this it's great to hear Petrella so soon after last months' Deiza Passer by Gerardo Frisina & Toco (see review HERE) on Schema but also The Invisible Session themselves as former Schema artists themselves when they started 20 years ago with 'To The Powerful'.

This is miles away from Lorenzo Morresi e Le Isole's album 'Pop Flop' that came out on the Space Echo Recordsa couple of years ago but with that same class and stylish cover artwork too!

Very Italian.

Artist: The Invisible Session 

Title: What Is Wrong With Your Mind? (Agosta Remix)

Release date: 7th February, 2025

Label : Space Echo Records

Catalog Number  Vinyl 7" / / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: VA - The Original Sound of Mali 2 (Mr Bongo)

Thinking about a Mr Bongo Record Club compilation that focuses on the original sounds of Mali, this new compilation adds to 2017's Vol. 1 digging deeper into incredible sounds from the 70s and 80s.

French journalist and African music expert, Florent Mazzoleni joined forces with Mr Bongo's David Buttle to bring you this amazing, if not magnificent dozen of tracks by such household names as Ousmane Kouyaté & Ambassadeurs Internationaux, Rail Band, Les Messagers du Mali, Mystère Jazz de Tombouctou and many more.

Drawn from the 70/80s post-independent Mali, the freedom of traditional musicians with modern instruments went to their heads and ended up in the melting pot: none more so than Les Ambassadeurs du Motel de Bamako with 'Get Up James' - this is not a one track album, I repeat, definitely NOT as one track album, but if you love James Brown, this is one to get up to - it's 'James NOT James' to mis-quote.

Hotels in Bamako were the place to party back in the day and now it's a hot bed of recording studios due to the Tinariwen effect and those Ambassador's know how to switch to that camel jazz walk 'n' blues ballad ('Matou Kagni').  Of course there's lots on international visitors to the Hotels bringing western music and it's possibly best asseminated in the opening tracks 'Kefimba' and Bouba et Sakona Sacko's 'Mamaniya'. 

'Yayoraba' and 'Moussokéléyato' by Allata Broulaye are marvellously 'rock-guitar' based mixed with wailing vocals  you can see why Robert "I'm a Brummie" Plant is such a fan of Malian music.

And not to be outdone, there's a couple of jazz bands, Malian style of course; Mystère Jazz de Tombouctou and Tentemba Jazz du Mali and possibly our favourite, the Rail Band ('Massaré Mousso') as Bamako would be for the rail terminous and all the hotels; that's how it all works.

And if there's any mod-revivalists still tuned in, the cover version of 'Midnight Hour' by Tjiwara Band de Kati to end on is pretty sharp in its own way; great guitar and drum solos which just about excuses the vocals not being up to Mr. Pickett soul quality. 

So whilst Vol. 2. still has the Mali/desert blues feel of Vol.1 . Zani Diabaté et Le Super Djata Band, Alou Fané & Daouda Sangaré et al, but if you do get it only for 'Get Up James', you won't be sorry.  And if you get the album for the other tracks, you won't be sorry either: Win - Win! And get on up and add this album to the collection. 

BUY LINK: https://www.mrbongo.com/products/the-original-sound-of-mali-2-vinyl-2lp-cd

Artist: Various Artists 

Title: The Original Sound of Mali 2

Release date: 7th February 2025

Label : Mr Bongo

Catalog Number : MRBCDLP278

Format :  2xLP Vinyl / CD / Digital / Bandcamp

Review: Alexander Flood feat. Vivian Sessoms - Can’t Get Enough (Atjazz Record Company)

Atjazz Record Company have done it again, the floodgates are open for 'Can’t Get Enough' for the new dancefloor season with vocal 'find' of the year so far, 'Vivian Sessoms!

Still hot on  Alexander Flood last release on the Atjazz label, 'Life Is A Rhythm' featuring Cazeaux O.S.L.O (see review HERE) and now we've got the second single, 'Can’t Get Enough' from the forthcoming album ‘Artifactual Rhythm’ and Ms. Sessoms gets all the love on the dancefloor.

And as you won't be able to get enough, even with a instrumental and radio edit, because it's already earmarked as a big Flute Gang favourite for 2025 already!

Increasing the demand for the album release in April, this is a big tune.

P.S. it also features Finn Rees who is 50% of Close Counters, with a review of their new release 'Lovers Dance Academy' coming HERE next week.

Artist: Alexander Flood feat. Vivian Sessoms

Title: Life Is A Rhythm
Release date: 7th February, 2025
Label: Atjazz Record Company
Catalog Number: ARC260ADS2

Vivian Sessoms - Vocals
Alexander Flood - Drums, keybass, additional keyboards, production, programming
Erica Tucceri - Flute
Finn Rees - Rhodes

Review: Knoe1 & Tim Tucker - Girl UR Freaky (Star Creature)

I'm happy to blame Rick James, Shalamar and all other spaced out funk and soul troupers for Knoe1 & Tim Tucker's blast-off track, 'Girl UR Freaky' - and lets throw the old Atomic Dog himself, Mr. George Clinton. 

That's some heritage these guys have found and they've really done an upstanding track that you'll love as the vocal plus more than grateful for the instrumental version to back this one up; especially if you're just got into the label's recent release, Stimulator Jones' 'Stimulator Tracks Vol. 2' (see review HERE) that's more new school than retro but you may well find a connection; especially on 'Cali Red'.

That might be because Knoe1 and Tim Tucker both come from California and Tim has prevously worked with the emperor of synth funk and boogie, the Egyptian Lover; don't even get me thinking about the posibility of a an Egyptian Lover remix - that really would be a freaky gurl.

Nailed the "This is tough groove for tender moments on the dancefloor" brief as it's hard to better this one.

Artist: Knoe1 & Tim Tucker

Title:  Girl UR Freaky

Release date: 7th February, 2025

Label : Star Creature

Catalog Number : SC7073

Format: 7" / Digital / Bandcamp Link HERE