Today’s Track: Jitwam – ‘Brooklyn Ballers’

May 5, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Chalo co-founder Jitwam in a promotional photoshoot for ‘Brooklyn Ballers’ (2022) (Photo via PR)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for me to give a shout-out to the Broolyn Ballers and each of the readers from elsewhere as we get prepared for yet another daily track on the blog, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A self-described “Psychedelic Soul Savant” who was born in North-East India, now based between New York and Sydney, moved to New Zealand and Australia to spend his formative years there, later living in monasteries in Thailand and washed-out apartments in London, Jitwam is the co-founder of Chalo, an ambitious creative project alongside Dhruva Balram that supports up-and-coming Indian, Pakistani and Kashmiri artists, with a full-length self-titled album being released via The Jazz Diaries in 2020 that had its proceeds donated to the Human Rights Law Network and the Zindagi Trust. As a solo artist, however, he’s released a string of EP’s and a few albums, with 2019’s ‘Honeycomb’ serving as his latest LP. Jitwam has also collaborated with numerous artists including Dam Swindle, Mike Bloom and renowned Broken Beat maestro Kaidi Tatham. Other career highlights include his placements on Moodyman’s DJ-Kicks compilation series, embarking on a national NTS Radio tour in India, touring across the US and Europe, and opening a show for the acclaimed Funk virtuoso Roy Ayers with his full live backing band. His brand new single – ‘Brooklyn Ballers’ – is a one-off release from what I gather, but it offers an energetic ode to his passion for (just) one of the area’s that he has lived in throughout his eventful lifetime. Give it a spin below.

“Brooklyn Ballers is a homage to the city in all its hustle and bustle“, Jitwam explains about the far-reaching notes of the track which are delivered below the soulful and radiant instrumentation, adding, “The magic in the air, that can make dreams come true and can turn your fears into your worst nightmares“, in his own single’s product description on the Bleep website. The opening reminds me of one of Skule Toyama or Night Tempo’s modern Chillwave records, where the summer atmosphere shines right through thanks to the raucous sampled guitar hook that induce the nostalgia of the 70’s Disco-Rock era, before the track soon evolves into more of a Detroit House style of record with additional elements of Hip-Hop and World Fusion music. The lead vocals have a spoken, but catchy and rhythmic, delivery to them where subtle nods to Guns ‘N’ Roses ‘Paradise City’ and Joe Smooth’s ‘Promised Land’ creep in due to the lyrics and the key song structure. A myriad of styles, including Psychedelic Soul and Vaporwave, make their way into the instrumental-driven sections of the track. Jitwam melds together the Gospel-esque backing vocals, some Madlib-style sampling and some Maribou State-style cues of World-Funk and Dub into the mix too to finalise the package, which plays out as a chilled soundtrack to his simple love for the location and a very deep, percussive groover that acts as an ode to some of New York’s most respected producers. The area’s energy is almost embodied by the Jazz inflections and the Detroit House influences, creating a laid back shuffle that gradually builds and draws upon various elements to expand it beyond the original state. A chef’s kiss.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Brooklyn Ballers’ (Single) (Released on March 23rd, 2022) (via Roya Records)

That’s all for now! Thank you for checking out my latest blog post, and I’ll be ready to take you through a new entry of ‘New Album Release Fridays’ tomorrow as we take a quick preview of one of the weekend’s new and notable album releases. The record in question comes from the Prog-Jazz and Electronica sides of the Alternative Music spectrum by a duo made up of two members from The Comet Is Coming. The duo’s drummer has also toured with Sons Of Kemet, Melt Yourself Down, and Yussef Kamal.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Betty Davis – ‘Come Take Me’

April 6, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Betty Davis in an unknown official photoshoot (date n/a) (Photo via The Vinyl Factory/Baron Wolfman)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for us to go retro for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ on the blog, which helps me to fulfill my goal of writing up about a different piece of music every day! We’re going to be remembering Betty Davis today, a North Carolina-born singer-songwriter who made an erotic string of Afro-Funk, R&B, Soul and rock-tinged Blues albums during the 1970’s. Davis was also known for her sexually provocative lyricism and her flamboyant live performances and, although she never became a household name, she developed a cult following and she has been cited as an influence by contemporary artists like Janelle Monae, Outkast and Jamila Woods, as well as fellow icons like Prince and Grace Jones, for her experimental blend of genres. Davis wrote, arranged and produced all of her own music in her time, a rarity for any female artist, yet alone a Black woman, during her era. She started out as a model, appearing in magazines like Glamour and Seventeen and working with designers, before she became the second wife of the legendary trumpeter Miles Davis. Although their marriage ended after a year due to implied abuse, she personally introduced him to Jimi Hendrix and Cream. She also penned material that got The Commodores signed to Motown Records. Davis sadly left us, aged 77, in February in Homestead, Pensylvania – where she had lived since her childhood – after being diagnosed with cancer a week prior. At one point, Marc Bolan of T-Rex fame encouraged her to write music for herself and she took that advice to heart when her self-titled debut studio album was released in 1973. Originally released by Just Sunshine Records (an upstart label), the record preceded three more solo albums and it got a CD and Vinyl re-issue in 2007 via Light In The Attic Records. She enlisted the help of The Pointer Sisters, Neil Schon, Sylvester and more guest contributors to bring the distinctive record to life and my focus track – ‘Come Take Me’ – was previously an unreleased track until 15 years ago, when it was included on special editions of her self-titled LP. Get a better idea of her sound with the cut below.

Her AllMusic profile describes Betty Davis as “a wildly flamboyant Funk diva with few equals… [who] combined the gritty emotional realism of Tina Turner, the futurist fashion sense of David Bowie and the trend-setting flair of Miles Davis”, according to the website, and so the music world continues to feel the effects of her tragic loss earlier in the year. ‘Come Take Me’ feels like textbook Betty Davis at her finest and most distinct, although the Vinyl re-issue of her entire back catalogue felt as though it was long overdue before the mid-00’s and it had not happened properly yet. That said, if you like the Jazz-tinged Psychedelia of Sly & The Family Stone, the loose Funk influences of Beck’s ‘Midnite Vultures’ era and his unconventional song structures, and the aggressive delivery of 70’s Rock ‘N’ Roll stalwarts, this one is for you. The intro feels a little unorthodox, before the guitar stabs and the wonky bassline comes in, with Davis croaking lyrics about not disrupting the rhythm and treating a lover right albeit with a frenzied and rather crazy attitude. The drums progress nicely throughout the track, starting off with a slow and steady vibe, before controlling the rhythm with a more frantic pace. Davis recites her lyrics with an instructive growl in her voice that complements the unapologetically Funk production of the track, where the warbling vocals carry the wobbling guitars and the trickling fusion of the Motown-esque Bass and Drums to create a rather irresistible groove. It doesn’t sound too out of date and although the songwriting may sound dated, Davis’ imagination of combining then-contemporary Blues-Rock sensibilities with creative, provocative explorations of lust, desire and sexuality in her howling vocals and erotic Jazz/Funk melodies is still there. Davis was a class act who was ahead of her time. The wide world wasn’t ready for her.

Pictured: Betty Davis in an official erotic photoshoot (date n/a) (Photo by NewYorker.com/Native Voice Films)

That’s all for now! Just to let you know that if you enjoyed today’s tribute to Betty Davis, a re-issue for her final album is also planned to be happening through her label sometimes in 2022. Thank you for checking out my latest post because your support is always highly appreciated, and I’ll be shifting our attention back to new music releases tomorrow with a review of a recent single by a South London-based indie rock band who will be releasing their self-titled debut album via Dan Carey’s Speedy Wunderground label on April 29th. They have performed at festivals including Green Man Festival, SWN Festival in Cardiff, and Fred Perry’s All Our Tomorrow’s live Festival.

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Way Back Wednesdays: War – ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends?’

January 12, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Leroy “Lonnie” Jordan (Lead Vocals/Keyboard), Stuart Ziff (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals), Stanley Behrens (Harmonica), Sal Rodriguez (Drums/Backing Vocals), David “Pug” Rodriguez (Percussion), Marcos Reyes (Percussion/Backing Vocals) and Trevor Huxley (Bass Guitar) (2016) (Photo via The Cincinnati Enquirer)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, of course, and the time has come to revisit one of the seminal sounds from the past as ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ headlines yet another daily track on the blog, not forgetting that it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A band who transcended cultural and racial barriers with a diverse multi-ethnic line-up, War were scoring top ten hits on the US Billboard charts long before my mother was changing my nappies (and just about when my grandmother was changing her’s) as the Funk band from Long Beach, California continued to find success through the 1970’s and 1980’s. Known for exploring elements of Funk, Rhythm & Blues, Latin music, Reggae, Psychedelia and early Prog-Rock music genres, War were called “one of the fiercest progressive Soul combos of the 70’s” by Martin C. Strong. Their 1973 album – ‘The World Is A Ghetto’ – was also Billboard’s best-selling album of that year. Although Leroy “Lonnie” Jordan is the only original member who remains in War’s current line-up, their energy has been sustained by The Lowrider Band that was formed between four of the other members in the 1990’s. Their seventh studio album – ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends’ – is sadly not their most well-remembered today, but the title track has been used in film and TV productions like ‘The Simpsons’, ‘Bridge To Terabithia’ and ‘Wild Things’ to notable results. It was also a top ten hit in the US, where it reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1975. War wrote the track after a fight broke out at a festival they were playing in Japan, and so they turned it into a clever tale conflating post break-up reconciliation with a really humanitarian plea for racial harmony that is ultimately a call to quell post-Watergate paranoia. Today’s post also ties into recent releases, as War released a ‘Greatest Hits 2.0’ compilation featuring the song as recently as November 2021. Check out the remastered music video below.

The title track of the album that it also closes, in a unique choice of placement, ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends’ also made history as a track that earned the distinction of being played in outer space as NASA beamed it to the linking of Soviet cosmonauts and U.S. astronauts for the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project in July 1975. It kicks off immediately with the chorus, as bright Brass punctuation combines with a jaunty lead vocal that comes off as a little rakish in delivery to form an infectious chorus of steady, but celebratory in texture, drum hooks and a contagious Reggae beat that forms a catchy groove. The lyrics, like “I’ve seen you round for a long long time, I remembered you when you drank my wine” are full of overtly political calls for peace and unity. Hooks like “I paid my money to the welfare line, I see you standing in it every time” are also rooted in economic equality, while short sequences like “The colour of your skin don’t matter to me, As long as we can live in harmony” are urgent calls for a sense of racial integration, while the soulful delivery of the track’s title hook in the chorus poses, what would have been, the question of the decade. I feel the song’s structure is unique in how various members of the group trade short verses between each other in the chorus, but the layout is still simple as the main hook of “Why can’t we be friends?” is proudly sung four times after each two-line verse, which actually amounts to over forty times in under four minutes, which is an intriguing fact in itself. Although it touches upon significant racial themes, it is very feel-good and light-hearted as a complete package, boasting some punchy Reggae-driven melodies that form non-confrontational arrangements. The vocals have a swift air of ‘unpolished’ to them and the groove is a little sloppy around the edges, but somehow, these technical flaws come across like a part of the point being made by War in the lyrics. There’s a hearty stew of Jazz, Funk and Latin music to the track and although some underdeveloped musical ideas rear their heads a tad, the main groove is still very uplifting and the sentiments of the lyrics are still valid, as well as coming across as before their time in terms of the songwriting themes. A track that displays a laudable devotion to unify the different ethnic minorities of the world, during the 70’s and beyond, ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends’ used tried-and-tested Funk rhythms to get a poignant message across.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Greatest Hits 2.0’ (Compilation LP) (Released on December 11, 2021) (via Rhino Media)

That brings us to the end of the post of the day. Thank you for accepting my friendship by reading your daily post today, and I will be back tomorrow to shine a spotlight on some soulful new music from a Minneapolis-based and Chicago-raised Alternative R&B singer-songwriter of Venezuelan and Guatemalan heritage who has worked with producers like Sen Morimoto and Luke Titus. She is signed to City Slang.

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Today’s Track: Khraungbin & Leon Bridges – ‘B-Side’

January 7, 2022 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Khruangbin (Laura Lee, Mark Speer & Donald Johnson) and Leon Bridges (2019) (Photo via Dead Oceans)

Good Morning to you! You’re reading text by the familiar face of the blog, Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time to put your anxieties on pause for a few minutes as we listen to yet another daily track on the blog, since it’s always been my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Having spent the past three years as an independent music writer, I have learned in my experiences that music often brings together a magical meeting of the minds to blend together. One pair of acts that have issued some robust material in the past together are the Grammy-nominated contemporary Jazz songwriter Leon Bridges and the Houston-based soulful Psych-Funk trio of Khruangbin who host the ‘AirKhruang’ podcast that you can hear via Apple Music and Facebook Live. I’ve written about the Laura Lee-led outfit, with Mark Speer on guitar and Donald Ray ‘DJ’ Johnson on Drums in tow, several times before on the website since I’m already a huge fan of their 60’s Thai-influenced music. In 2020, Bridges and Khruangbin released the ‘Texas Sun’ EP together, and they will be releasing a direct sequel or companion piece to that mellow record entitled ‘Texas Moon’ on 18th February, 2022 via Dead Oceans in partnership with Night Time Stories and Columbia Records. They decided to combine their efforts once again because, as Khruangbin note, “Without joy, there can be no real perspective on sorrow” and “Without sunlight, all this rain keeps things from growing. How can you have the sun without the moon?” in the EP’s product description. It’s going to be an exciting new year for Bridges and Khruangbin, and the five tracks on the new EP offer our first taste of what’s in store for them both and so I’m excited to hear the full results in a brief handful of weeks’ time. Check out their lead single – ‘B-Side’ – below.

Drawing sonically on the shared location of Texas which Bridges and Khruangbin both call home as an influence, the project aims to redefine “how people perceive Texas music – that beautiful marriage of country and r’n’b – and really paying homage to that”, as Bridges also notes in a press release. Filmed in a re-creation of an 1800’s Western village, the music video denotes this idea exponentially and feels right at home with Khruangbin’s installments of the LateNightTales’ compilation series of records that we’ve been following over the last few years. For pre-existing fans of Khruangbin, you already know there isn’t really any major adjustments being made to their sound on ‘B-Side’ with Bridges, however, it’s another stellar guitar performance from Speer and Lee that meshes beautifully with Johnson’s drums to create a tapestry of warm sounds that feel bright and mellow with a light Disco influence, all being dressed in their typically Psychedelic fashion that makes for their winning formula, and so the slick Funk-inflicted grooves and the pounding Bass and Drums combo, make for classic Khruangbin material which feels excellent, if familiar. Bridges’ vocals, meanwhile, are on-point too as he goes for a lovesick Falsetto croon that allows lyrics like “Deeply miss your love/When I’m far away, in another place” and “When I fly above/Weeks roll into days” to feel radiant while having the room to breathe as the pacing feels neat. His soulful style reminds me a lot of Michael Kiwanuka, while the classic, traditional Jazz template of his involvement with the instrumentation is more reminiscent of Curtis Mayfield and so it feels ‘Golden’ overall in terms of sounding vintage without coming across as outdated in any real way. The chorus really captures what it means to be missing somebody, as opposed to just what it feels like, as a result of the engaging vocal performance that blends cohesively with Khruangbin like a hand fits a glove, and so he just feels like another part of the band here and feels connected to them. Overall, there’s nothing that feels massively new here but, once again, the cool synergy between Bridges and Khruangbin clicks together pretty seamlessly and each of the performances are solid. We all know that we’re in really safe hands with these four musicians, and this is another expansion of the ideas the folks have explored together before that’s been created charismatically.

Pictured: Khruangbin performing at Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival (2019) (Photo by Frazer Harrison)

If you need a reminder of how ‘Texas Sun’ sounded ahead of the successor, you can check out my post about the title track here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/01/06/todays-track-khruangbin-feat-leon-bridges-texas-sun/. Alternatively, if you want to read more about Khruangbin, then you can check out ‘Pelota’ here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/06/26/todays-post-khruangbin-pelota/. There is also ‘So I Won’t Forget’: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/05/20/todays-track-khruangbin-so-we-wont-forget/, ‘Time (You and I)’: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/05/02/todays-track-khruangbin-time-you-and-i/ and ‘Christmas Time Is Here’: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2019/12/13/todays-track-khruangbin-christmas-time-is-here/.

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘Texas Sun’ (EP) (Released on February 7th, 2020) (via Dead Oceans)

That’s all for now and thank you for continuing to support for the first day or lending a few minutes of your day to it for the first time if you are a new reader. Variety is the splice of life, so we’re going to be looking at some new music from a big name together. Led by Kele Okereke, the 2000’s indie rock band have sold over three million records worldwide and have been known for inflicting their guitar-oriented sound with elements of House music and urban Electronica music. In April 2022, they will be releasing their first new full-length album which will be directly involving the new members of the project who joined up when the original line-up was changed in 2015.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Stereolab – ‘French Disko’

November 10, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Tim Gane (Lead Guitar/Keyboard), Lætitia Sadier (Lead Vocals/Percussion), Andy Ramsay (Drums), Joseph Watson (Synths) and Xavier Muñoz Guimera (Bass) (2021) (Photo by David Cowlard)

Good Afternoon to you! You are reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to take you back to a much simpler time for another weekly entry of ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A cult favourite and influential band who were one of the first bands to be dubbed as “Post-Rock” in the 1990’s, Stereolab have seen a few line-up modifications in their share of time since they formed between London and France, but they currently tour and record music together as a 5-piece. Known for combining some elements of Kraut-Rock, Lounge Jazz and Motorik music together, and realizing some philosophical and sociopolitical themes of Surrealist and Situationist themes within their lyrics, Stereolab were a key figure for renewing interest in older analogue equipment during the Synth-oriented times of the 90’s. Also drawing from Brazillian and Funk influences in their sound, Stereolab have been regarded as one of the world’s most important bands and have once managed their own record label, Duophonic. Despite achieving relatively little commercial impact in their 90’s heyday, the band have reunited as recently as 2019 and they have hopped between the likes of Warp Records and Elektra Records when releasing their material. 1993’s ‘French Disko’ is one of their most recognizable singles, and it had originally appeared on their EP, ‘Jenny Ondoline’, before finding a second life on their 1995 compilation, ‘Refried Ectoplasm (Switched On, Vol. 2’. As someone who’s been to a handful of gigs before as a young adult in Cambridge and Stoke-On-Trent, I can say that I often see a die-hard in the crowd with a Stereolab shirt. Give them a spin below.

‘French Disko’ has been covered by the likes of Editors, The Raveonettes and Cineplexx since Stereolab’s original release in 1993. Another very interesting fact about the track is that in the UK, due to ‘French Disko’ becoming a surprise commercial success due to unexpected commercial radio airplay, the ‘Jenny Ondioline’ EP had stickers that read “Includes French Disko” on the cover art, and so the EP was being sold on the strength of ‘French Disko’ as an unnofficial single at one point. Stereolab also gained attention with the live performance on TV above, which was broadcast on a programme called ‘The Word’ that was designed to replace ‘The Tube’ in Britain. The track itself, ‘French Disko’, isn’t really the soulful and funky disco tune that you may expect when reading the title, and it instead places an emphasis on driving 60’s Motorik beats and absurdist lyrics that act as a call to arms for action against a dominant socio-political force. Refrains like “Well, I say there are things worth fighting for”, often recited by Lætitia Sadier, feel conversational and catchy, bolstered by a wry delivery that plays on the absurdity of the overall themes of the songwriting. There’s some elements of the Grunge era led by Nirvana in the 90’s with the distorted bass guitar riffs, and there’s some slower sections of the recording that point towards a more Acid Rock-oriented sound. The vocals have an air of 70’s Jangle Rock about them, mainly in their upbeat and quick-witted delivery. Other lyrics, such as “Though this world’s essentially an absurd place to be living in/It doesn’t call for a total withdrawal” and “Acts of rebellious solidarity/Can bring sense in this world”, that play on how we believe the things that we read in the news as humans, and how the media is typically motivated by a secret agenda. Overall, the concise lyrics are touching upon personal freedom and how there’s a path to a better future if you’re going to spend time calling out what clearly isn’t working. These themes still feel relevant today, in a world where we’ve been following instructions on how to navigate the Covid-19 pandemic as a mass society. While Stereolab are dealing with a rich assortment of some complex themes here, the sound of the track itself felt contemporary for it’s time and the formula of Sadier intonely droning above the harsh Synth climax and the noisy, collage-like guitar and drums melodies creates enough of a late-80’s New Wave element to balance a retro and modern style for its time to a point where it feels original and not outdated. The hook of “La Resistance” is a powerful and ominous one, and the track has an overall playful style to it that weaves together the band’s different influences of Kraut-Rock, Prog-Rock, Drone, Noise-Pop and Synth-Rock in a way that feels accessible yet stacked. Therefore, it’s that reason why I would suggest ‘French Disko’ as a good entry point into the rest of Stereolab’s discography if you are not familiar with their music. In conclusion, ‘French Disko’ is a very punchy cocktail of academic influences that still sounds unique today.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Jenny Ondioline’ (EP) (Released in 1993) (via Duophonic/Elektra Records)

That’s all for now – and, as I mentioned yesterday, ‘Way Back Wednesdays’ will be going on a short break until Wednesday 5th January, 2021, because it’s time to begin our ‘Countdown To Christmas 2021’ feature that we’ll be spreading throughout the days of the coming weeks because Santa’s on his way – whether we like it or not. With the goal of adding some Alternative festive options to your playlists, we’ll be mixing some of the latest seasonal releases with older tunes from some of our favourite on-brand names on the blog. Tomorrow is ‘New Album Release Fridays’ and we will be shifting our focus to the new LP from multi-time ARIA award winner Courtney Barnett.

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Today’s Track: Pachyman – “Destroy The Empire”

August 10, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘The Return Of…’ (LP) (Available from August 16th, 2021) (via ATO Records)

Good Morning to you! This is Jacob Braybrooke, and the time has come for me to upload yet another daily post about a track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A university-trained Reggae musician, LA’s Pachy Garcia is perhaps best known as the drummer and vocalist of the LA-based Prog-Punk band Prettiest Eyes, although he was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. During his upbringing, Garcia was obsessed with vintage instrumental Dub recordings from his greatest influencers, Scientist and King Tubby, and he now aims to recreate their vibes with his own unique take on the genre. His latest album, ‘The Return Of…’ is set for release on Friday, August 13th, through ATO Records – the same label where you would also find the likes of Nilüfer Yanya, Allen Stone and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard. He’s been gaining traction lately, with airplay on BBC Radio 6 Music and KCRW, and he won the ‘2021 Discovery Award’ at this year’s Latin Alternative Music Conference. Check out ‘Destroy The Empire’ below.

With ‘The Return Of..’, Pachy Garcia wants to show how the ‘Caribbean flow’ of his heroes can be transnational, and he tells the press, “With this project, I was looking to make positive music and radiate good energy; something to kinda disconnect from the negative things that were happening at the moment”, Garcia – aka Pachyman – explains. He adds, “I am trying to make this product a service for humanity in the sense that I just wanted to shine a positive light” to his notes, and his sound is built from a rich tradition of musical forms that resounds from Jamaica and San Juan, to Mexico and Southern California. With a simple, reverberated shout of “Destroy The Empire”, we’re immediately off to the races with the beginning of his latest single. Garcia radiates some good energy with the opening drum riffs that begin to just effortlessly scatter themselves around some more traditional Dub instrumentation, creating an initial soundscape that subtly develops throughout the rest of the track’s duration. Garcia delicately introduces Twangy rhythm guitar riffs and sultry Drum beats to the mixture that add a soulful, honeyed skew to the bright, summertime sound. Another highlight is the wobbly Cuíca melody, which gives proceedings a more quirky and, perhaps, falsely exotic lift. There’s also some gently rattling Maraca melodies to add some more spacious percussion to the laidback mood of the sound, and more shimmering sounds that seem to be coming from the Guiro, although I’m not entirely sure whether this is the correct instrument he uses or not. Either way, when thrown together, these sounds create a globally influenced atmosphere that feels bright and inviting, but Garcia pays homage to these Dub and Latin American sounds of old with his tongue in his cheek a bit, although he is absolutely believing in the music that he is making. He just manages to provide a light-hearted take on these heroes of his, and so his hazy and breezy melodies radiate with a quirky personality throughout. It probably falls under a niche overall, but I find that approach rather charming and likeable, and it’s clear that he’s done his research to pull it off. It’s not entirely clear who the ‘Empire’ is, and my gut tells me that it’s a nod towards Brazil’s Tropicalia movement, but I certainly am quite excited to destroy it with him on Friday.

Pictured: Pachy Garcia (Pachyman) in a ‘At 333 House’ PR shoot (2021) (Photo by Total Control/AUS)

That brings us to the end of the page for another day, and thank you very much, as always, for reaching this point. I’ll be back tomorrow for ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, as we take an in-depth visit back to one of the sounds of the past that have been influential for the present! My next pick comes from a Jamaican vocalist, producer and songwriter who was known as ‘The Queen Of Dancehall’, and she was the first female DJ to become a Grammy-winning and Platinum-selling artist during her peak.

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New Album Release Friday: Darkside – “The Limit”

July 23, 2021 — Leave a comment

The experimental duo who don’t always look on the bright side of life. New post time!

Pictured: Vinyl Copy of “SPIRAL” (LP) (Released on July 23rd, 2021) (via Matador Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time to take a moment out with your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Latitude Festival may be the biggest talking point of this mid-July weekend, but, for those of us who couldn’t get ourselves a ticket and need to rely on getting our music fix elsewhere, there is a handful of new records available to fresh ears. Anne-Marie, Joel Culpepper, The Jungle Giants, Emma Jean-Thackray, Leon Bridges and Mercury Prize winner Dave all have new full-length albums hitting store shelves today. My pick for this week has been eight years in the making. ‘Spiral’ arrives this morning through Matador Records from Darkside, the collaborative side-project of the insanely prolific Chilean-American composer Nicolás Jaar and the Brooklyn-based rock multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington, a previous member of indie bands ARMS and Translations. The follow-up to 2013’s ‘Psychic’, the new record was written and recorded in 2018 and six of the tracks were largely made through an extended week-long session during that summer in New Jersey. It has a 79 on Metacritic to show solid reviews, with Charlotte Krol of NME calling it “A gorgeous, filmic record that rewards with each spin”. Check out promo single ‘The Limit’ below.

“From the beginning, Darkside has been our Jam band, something we did on days off”, Jaar spoke of Darkside’s return from hiatus, adding, “When we reconvened, it was because we really couldn’t wait to jam together again”, to the press release. Dave Harrington added, “It felt like it was time again. We do things in this band that we would never do on our own. Darkside is the third being in the room that just kind of occurs when we make music together”, to the press notes for the hype machine. Down to a tee, ‘The Limit’ is a psychedelic adventure through experimental corridors of patterns and exciting, wildly free-spirited tones that make the steadfast jolt feel like a diverse, atmospheric journey. Beginning with some intriguing Woodwinds-like sounds, Jaar laments a loss of grip on reality of life with contemplative vocals like “Don’t sow what you reap/Submit to the pace” and “The waters erase/Nothing left to see” as we build up to a lengthy instrumental that combines Folk-led guitar riffs with stiff Keyboard frames, with a driving Drum melody that adds a lot of heft to the strength. We reach a breaking point when Jaar refrains “Current with no direction”, as the steely frames take an intrusive turn to something that feels much more harsh and abrasive in setting, as the transcendant Funk beats grind to a squelching, grounded halt with grating guitar sections and propulsive Synth cuts. The finale is also dynamic enough to stay interesting on your repeated listens, as Harrington’s production cascades through jangled rhythms with an Acid rain-like quality, while Jaar’s vocals feel unphased throughout the obscure experiment of the five minutes. It’s a strange but controlled mixture of ambient tapestry overall, with an opening that reminds me of Django Django in it’s 00’s dance flair and Folk-inflicted guitars, but the following sequences of ethereal audio really keeps you on your toes and feels incomparable to much else in terms of it’s dissonant explorations of creaking acoustics. On the whole, it expertly walks the line of bizzare and frantic like a tightrope circus act, yet it never loses it’s footing to fall off the said tightrope in the analogy. It never feels like pure chaos, since the eclectic instrumentals have a coherent narrative of-sorts and the key changes never stray from the path of consistency too aggressively. It’s certainly not mainstream, but it’s good to remember that Darkside’s records are being aimed more towards an avid fanbase, as opposed to those who will just take whatever formulaic dance track the pop charts throw at them. The tune is a very cool record, with an ever-changing dymamic in sound that mixes Jaar’s virtuosic skill as an experienced classical composer with Harrington’s ear for psychedelic influences that he honed on the US DIY indie electronica scene. You can revel in it’s Jaaring nature. See what I did?

Pictured: Nicolas Jaar & Dave Harrington (2013) (Photo Credit: Jim Carroll/The Irish Times)

We’ve reached your destination – which is the end of the page for today! I’ll be back to do it all over again tomorrow, however, with an in-depth look into some brand new music from a popular cult UK lo-fi independent Prog-Rock duo – a married couple – who are making their second appearance on the blog with a new single that features the British godfather of Punk himself, Iggy Pop, to confirm their new set of tour dates.

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Way Back Wednesdays: Definition Of Sound – “Wear Your Love Like Heaven”

July 21, 2021 — 2 Comments

If you’d asked in 1991 – I would not know the meaning of the word. Let’s go Way Back!

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Moira Jane’s Cafe’ (Single) (Released in 1994) (via Circa Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke, and I hope that you are ready to take things down a notch for your daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! For ‘Way Back Wednesdays’, we revisit one of the sounds from the past that influenced those of the present, or an oddball rarity that may have slipped by the radar. ‘Wear Your Love Like Heaven’, however, was something that I swiftly noticed on an old repeat of ‘TOTP 1991’ on BBC Four, and so you know what we’re probably getting into here. The tune seems a little forgotten, and I admittedly couldn’t find out a great amount about it on the internet. It was released in 1991 by Definition Of Sound, a London-based Soul and Dance duo made up of Kevin Clark and Don Weekes, who collaborated with musicians including ‘The Red King’ Rex Brough and, eventually, Michael Spencer. The single performed decently, reaching the #17 spot in the UK Singles Chart at its peak, and reaching the #28 position of the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart. Another notable hit of theirs was 1992’s ‘Moira Jones Café’, which also reached the UK Top 40 and later hit #1 on that specialist chart in the US. Let’s get a blast from the past below.

Despite sharing the same title, Definition Of Sound’s ‘Wear Your Love Like Heaven’ was not a cover of Donovan’s 1967 Psych-Funk classic, but, if you listen closely to the chorus, the duo obviously used a key sample from that track. I also read that it was used in an episode of The Simpsons where Homer goes on an acid-filled psychedelic trip in his mind. This sounds like the sort of obscure 70’s record that The Avalanches could have used for a sample on ‘Wildflower’, as quick sample work and the pastiche House structure with playfully pitched vocals call back to the upbeat, laidback Hip-Hop sounds of De La Soul and the old-school Trip-Hop beats reminiscent of Mos Def. There’s a call back to A Tribe Called Quest in terms of the vaguely Jazz elements, and although I’m not certain that I would categorize the whole recording as Hip-Hop, as such, it’s more of an energetic Psych-Soul tune with a knack for rapping. More or less, it’s a connected thread of breakbeat elements from a selection of styles. It’s not an entirely derivative collage of past sounds, however, because there’s a hint of Fat Boy Slim to the easygoing, roughly Disco sound, and the kooky vocal samples add a nice level of individual personality to the mix. The lyrics aren’t much to write home about, with rapped verses about uniting the world around ourselves and working together to create a sense of heaven creating an optimistic mood that, while a slightly generic effort, fulfills its purpose and refrains from overstaying it’s welcome too much. For me, the lead vocals work pretty decently almost 30 years later, with an early flair of Chicago House and the brightness of the Sunshine Pop style giving the relaxed tempo enough good material to bounce off. It certainly nodded appreciatively to the East Coast for their hip-hop scene, and the combo of the Bass and Drums hardens the melodies up just a slight bit. On the whole, this was surprisingly better than I had expected. There’s nothing about it that feels incredibly unique on paper, but it’s an eclectic mix of clear influences which jangle together effectively. It’s inspired enough. The production is very early-90’s, but it never felt too outdated, as such. It may not have rewritten the dictionary, but it is water-tight when the parts are pieced together.

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Love And Life: A Journey With The Chameleons’ (LP) (1991) (via Circa Records)

That’s all the ‘love’ that I have to give to you today, but, please feel free to join me yet again tomorrow for some more music. Tomorrow’s pick brings some female voices to our week, as we review a recent track from a rising-star female-led Psychedelic Rock 4-piece band who met while attending Tufts University on the borders of Medford and Somerville in the US where the members had all lived and played together until 2016.

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Today’s Track: Deep Tan – “Camelot”

July 5, 2021 — Leave a comment

Just another evening at the tanning salon for the knights of Camelot. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Creeping Speedwells” (EP) (Released on June 4th, 2021) (via Practise Music)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – and I hope that you’re ready for another daily track on the blog, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Today’s track serves as an introduction to the site for Deep Tan, an all-female Post-Punk/New Wave-like trio from Hackney. The ladies have been kicking around on our capital’s underground scene for a few years now, showcasing their skills to London’s drag, ballroom and LGBT communities, and the band’s vocalist – Wafah Dufour – was the drummer for Cate Le Bon’s backing band. Likened to Foals, Warpaint and The XX in terms of their sound, Deep Tan have shared the stage with similarly successful post-modern DIY Post-Rock artists like Squid, Yard Act, Sinead O’Brien and Jessica Winter, have earned features in music publications like NME, Loud and Quiet, and So Young, and airplay from Apple Music’s Beats1 and Amazing Radio USA. ‘Camelot’, released alongside a music video directed by Chino Moya, was the lead single for the emerging group’s debut EP, ‘Creeping Speedwells’, which was released on June 4th via Practice Music. Give it a whirl below.

“Camelot is an unashamed tribute to ‘the sesh'”, Deep Tan explained, noting, “A group of people have just been evicted with only 48hrs notice, leading them to have one last rager in order to forget about the stress of not finding a new home with such short notice, coming in at less than two minutes, the frenetic energy of the track sets the scene for total obliteration”, in their press release. ‘Camelot’ is designed to be a short-and-sweet jolt of virtual insanity, then, and the post-apocalyptic scenes are visualized through the relentless force of the heavy guitar work and the unrestrained nature of the skittering Drums. Hooks like “Forget the 48 hours, Don’t let the panic grip” and “Pour it out, and drink another one” are cycled through in a playful Jangle-Funk nature, and verses like “Stacked against the kitchen wall/Cans of gold from Piwowarska/I’m hearing how you got kicked out/Of the drovers for starting a fight” have a more cyclical delivery. The tone is brooding and ghostly throughout, as the raw vocals conjure up memories of heavy nights out at a dingy rock bar, with a fast tempo which mimics the buzzing rush of attempting, and failing, to drown out the memories that bring anxiety and fear through heavy drinking parties. It sounds like the dark style of tunes that you may find the band playing in such an environment, where the illicit live shows of a gloomy club match the skeletal song structure. It contrasts the fairly soft, more spoken delivery of the vocals, before we spring out into a chorus of “It’s the second last night in Camelot” backed up by a punchy Bassline. The drums get gradually louder too, and, by the end, we’re left with a strangely catchy Fugazi-inspired tune with a playful set of key changes and an obvious likening to Squid. There’s also a hint of 80’s Blondie or 90’s Garbage in here, with angular guitar riffs and a deliciously semi-deadpan delivery where instrumentals jolt past the lyrics in bursts. All in all, it is an engagingly wry showing from the intriguing up-and-comers.

Pictured: Wafah Dufour (Lead Vocalist/Rhythm Guitar), Celeste Guiness (Lead Guitar/Backing Vocals) and Lucy (Drums/Percussion) (in 2019) (Photography by Melia Beaudoin/SoYoungMagazine.com)

Thank you for your continued readership to the blog, and please feel free to join me again tomorrow for some brand new music from a returning face on the site. It comes from one of the most exciting Alternative artists of the last few years, marking the comeback of one of Warp Records most exciting signees. They also collaborated with Kelsey Lu on an atmospheric one-off single last December.

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May Bank Holiday Monday Special: Breakestra (feat. Charli 2na, Double K & Soup) – “Family Rap”

May 31, 2021 — Leave a comment

A ‘Family Affair’ to mix up the Funk flavour of your Bank Holiday. Time for a new post!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Hit The Floor” (LP) (Released on October 25, 2005) (via Ubiquity Records)

Good Afternoon to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here – wishing you a healthy, happy Bank Holiday Monday! It’s time for today’s track, since it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘Family Rap’ is a Funk track from 2005, and so it’s pretty niche. It also doesn’t really fit the timeframe of the pre-2000’s ‘Way Back Wednesday’ or the Emo phase theme of ‘Scuzz Sundays’, and so it’s something that’s nice and different to revisit on a bright day such as this. ‘Family Rap’ comes from Miles Tackett’s Breakestra music ensemble that started out as an ensemble playing live covers of Funk, Soul and Jazz breaks to the style of the pre-sampling 70’s. Since then, Breakestra has worked with a huge variety of different guests – such as the late DJ Dusk, Jurassic 5 rapper Charli 2na and the Soul vocalist Afrodeyte. ‘Family Rap’ was the promotional single taken from 2005’s ‘Hit The Floor’, which was their first full-length album, which they put out through Ubiquity Records in 2005. It was their first record to feature entirely original recordings of tracks that fused elements of Hip-Hop, Funk and Soul Fusion. It comes highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a good groove or have enjoyed Tackett’s live shows, along with the two ‘The Live Mix’ parts of LP releases which Breakestra released prior to this one. It’s time to kick back, relax – and simply ‘Hit The Floor’ with ‘Family Rap’ down below.

“While Hip-Hop DJ/medley inspired covers are the foundation of Breakestra, it is only natural we’d want to express our own soulful proclamations”, is what Miles Tackett posted on Bandcamp to explain the project’s transformation from a live covers band into one producing their own material for a new transition in 2005, adding “I’ve been releasing original Funk cuts before putting out The Live Mix, Part 2. The first Breakestra single was an original song called ‘Getcho Soul Togetha”, so this album is really just a part of the natural flow”, he added to the press statement. ‘Family Rap’ feels like a solid fit for the size and lively atmosphere of one of Breakestra’s critically acclaimed live shows, as lengthy Trumpet sequences and a shimmering bass groove rolls the Hip-Hop essence along. The rap vocals are pretty tricky to keep up with, adding an increasingly quick tempo to the clattering Drum instrumentation and the Swing-laden Saxophone melodies. There’s a particularly nice section of Tinny drums towards the middle stretch, before the second half of the track adds a more percussive breakbeat to the stylistic Funk revivalism. The track manages to feel rather old and classical in it’s approach to 60’s Soul and 70’s Jazz, with a healthy dose of Rap vocals that reminds me of the music that A Tribe Called Quest or De La Soul used to make in the development of West Coast Hip-Hop. Vocally, Charli 2na & Double K bring some forceful rapping to the mix, as the lyrics take us through an idyllic route of “The City of Angels”. There’s nothing that striking to the vocals, but it accompanies the dance-oriented rhythms nicely and it adds a melodic attitude to the fray. Overall, it’s a relentless barrage of old-school Funk and DLO3-esque Jazz sequences that conjure up pictures of Booker T & The MG’s or Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five, and a nice way to keep Funk music going until the likes of Thundercat arrived during the 2010’s.

Pictured: Miles Tackett, Davey Chegwidden, Mixmaster Wolf, Todd Simon & Carlos Guaico (2015) (via PR)

That’s it for now – I hope that you enjoy the rest of your Bank Holiday Monday! Join me back here tomorrow for some brand new music, as we delve deep into the brilliant new track from Sheffield’s finest experimental pop project. You may know her from her time as the drummer and occasional vocalist or guitarist of the Slow Club duo. She also went on to feature on vocals for Django Django’s ‘Surface To Air’, which appeared on that band’s third studio album, ‘Marble Skies’. If you really liked what you just read, why not follow the blog to get notified when every new daily post is up and why not like the Facebook page here?: https://www.facebook.com/OneTrackAtATime/