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: Patti Labelle – “Music Is My Way Of Life”

October 27, 2021 — Leave a comment

Pictured: Cover Artwork for ‘It’s Alright With Me’ (LP) (Released on March 2, 1979) (via Epic Records)

Good Morning to you! You’re reading the words of Jacob Braybrooke, and it is time for me to get typing up for yet another daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! As a diva that is responsible for selling over 50 million records worldwide, an actress who has appeared in productions like ‘Dancing With The Stars’ and ‘American Horror Story: Freak Show’, and an entrepreneur with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, as well as a lifestyle TV host for ‘Living It Up With Patti LaBelle’ and an inductee of the Apollo Theater Hall Of Fame, the question for Patti LaBelle is more clearly: What hasn’t she done? For her musical career, she started singing at church and later formed a vocal group, Patti LaBelle and The Bluebelles, which later became simply known as The LaBelles, and they scored a US #1 single with ‘Lady Marmalade’. As a solo artist, she set the R&B genre alight once again with ‘It’s Alright With Me’ in 1979, her third full-length LP, which she produced alongside the Grammy Award winning mixer Skip Scarborough, and the album enjoyed a sizable run of mainstream radio and chart success, reaching the #33 position of the US R&B charts. ‘Music Is My Way Of Life’, later to be remixed by electronic music producers like Joey Negro and John Luongo, soon became an ultimate R&B/Disco classic of the late 1970s. Follow her philosophy below.

One of the most interesting facts that I’ve read about the Pensylvania-born singer is that, in 2015, she released her own ‘Patti’s Sweet Potato Pie’ to the US supermarket shelves, and, due to a YouTube video praising the product shortly going viral, literally sold like hot cakes, as if they were, and shifted millions of units where, through the result of a 72-hour period, Walmart reportedly sold one pie every second. An 8-minute dance stomper, 1979’s ‘Music Is My Way Of Life’ came around when Disco was huge and hit a commercial peak, although LaBelle mixed things up a little by working with Scarborough, known for producing his romantic ballads, to create arrangements that were more sleak and intricately designed. ‘Music Is My Way Of Life’ isn’t a slow jam however, and it provides a lot of Disco grooves instead. Lyrics like “When I dance they look at me, That’s the one thing you can’t take from me/That’s the music that I feel in my soul” and “When the daylight comes and I’m leaving the dancefloor/By night time, I’ll be back for more” feel exuberant and triumphant, and it is filled up with feel-good instrumentation to boot. The Jazz elements shine through clearly, and there’s plenty of guitar licks that keep proceedings feeling upbeat and light-hearted. The vocal performance is strong, and LaBelle sings about how music shapes her identity and how dance music brings her together with loved ones with a convincing passion. The track is also filled with a floating Piano line of chords that add to the Jazz sound, and the Horn section creates another soulful groove. Overall, ‘Music Is My Way Of Life’ is a classic due to it’s traditional Jazz and Funk grooves, and it’s open-armed embrace of unity and Disco. If that is her philosophy – then It’s Alright With Me.

Pictured: Patti LaBelle at the BET Honors at Warner Theatre, Washington (2016) (Photo by Paras Griffin)

Thank you for checking out my latest throwback track post on the blog today, and I’ll be back tomorrow for a long-awaited debut appearance on the music blog from an emerging female-led Post Punk band from the Isle Of Wight who will be touring in locations such as Cambridge, Oxford, Guildford and Reading in the winter months. Signed to Chess Club Records – the home of artists like Sinead O’Brien and Phoebe Green – the 4-piece have been praised by UK newspapers like The Observer and The i.

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Today’s Track: MNDSGN – “Hope You’re Doin’ Better”

August 3, 2021 — Leave a comment

Massaging the inner workings of your crowded mind on a bright day. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for ‘Rare Pleasure’ (LP) (Released on May 14th, 2021) (via Stones Throw Records)

Good Morning to you! It’s Jacob Braybrooke here, and it’s time for me to unload with another music recommendation for you, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! ‘Rare Pleasure’ is the brilliant new album on Stones Throw Records from the Los-Angeles based singer-songwriter and graphic designer Ringgo Ancheta, who releases his own Soulful blend of laidback Jazz and soft Funk music as MNDSGN. That does look pretty unpronounceable at first glance, but you are supposed to say it as “Mind Design”. He is very new to my ears, in all honesty, but he has been doing the rounds for several years, collaborating with Danny Brown for ‘Classic Drug References, Vol. 1’ in 2013, working in the side project of Vivians with The Koreatown Oddity for a self-titled album in 2015, and, last year, he released the gorgeous ‘Forever In Your Sun’ collaborative album with Lionmilk. He is the youngest brother of four in his family, of Filipino descent, and he developed his interests in music when he learned how to play the Organ at a young age, before his older brother introduced him to Hip-Hop music and beat production. If you’re a fan of Thundercat or Toro Y Moi, you’d love this. Check out ‘Hope You’re Doin’ Better’ below.

To gain your interest further, Stones Throw Records’ description of ‘Rare Pleasure’ reads like: “Inspired by soundtrack music, Samba, Exotica and 70’s/80’s library records, Rare Pleasure is intensely intimate, sourcing lyrics from MNDSGN’s family and interpersonal experiences, and reflective of the world at large”, and the new LP features guest appearances from Anna Wise, Kiefer, Carlos Niño, Devin Morison and more, who all contribute precisely to Ancheta’s mellow sonic soundboard. The title more or less tells you all that you need to know about the track, with Ancheta singing about the severed bonds of friendships when circumstances of life naturally change, and how distance or disagreement plays a role in the cycle of human nature. Lyrics like “Going through the motions like that” and “You know you’ve got a friend whenever you need one” make his intentions clear, while Anchetta delivers these vocals with a familial warmth and the musical equivalent of a polite smile, bolstered by some mid-tempo keyboard riffs and some light influence from 1970’s Funk that plays out like George Clinton has just gradually slowed down to a crawl at one of his Parliament and Funkadelic parties. The soulful grooves are quite cerebral in pace, mellow in tempo and they are given a more airy weight, but the reverberated Synth patterns and the clear Neo-Jazz production, created by some gently pulsating Drum melodies and some tight Brass samples, feel rhythmic enough to get a funky groove going. It’s not a dance track by any means, but it feels very soothing, and these softly catchy melodies allow the timed duration of the track to slowly dissipate away as you tune in to the thick basslines, simply relaxing your ear-drums and conveying some very hypnotic effects in the process. The dreamy vocals call back to Frank Ocean at his most haziest, and the soothing guitar melodies reminds me of late J Dilla, while some child-like qualities carry the basic themes of the songwriting to a more compelling level. This is a truly excellent lead single from a fantastic new album, which has been on regular rotation among my lists and my libraries for the past crop of weeks, and I would highly recommend streaming the full record the whole way through for more. ‘Slowdance’ is another top-notch single with a similar, but more flirtatious, tone to it. A very well-arranged new release that is impossible not for me to recommend. Bravo.

Pictured: MNDSGN (Ringgo Ancheta) in a photoshoot for ‘Medium Rare’ (2021) (Photo via KRCW.com)

Thank you for your continued support for the blog, and, if you’ve been going through a tough time lately, I hope you’re doin’ better. Please feel free to join me again tomorrow, as we go ‘Way Back’ to late-1960’s Jamaica for our weekly Wednesday throwback, as we revisit one of the most prolific female vocalists of the old-school Jamaican Reggae scene, who released her material on Duke Reid’s Treasure Isle label.

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Today’s Track: Iden Kai – “Disco James”

April 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

My haircut would be right for a Silent Disco – no volume what-so-ever. New post time!

Pictured: Front Sleeve for “Disco Fortuna” (Released on January 15, 2021) (via Neon City Records)

Good Afternoon to you (Borderline Evening) – I am Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s finally time again for me to get scribbling up about your track of the day on the blog, as per typical, because it’s always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Bandcamp is a truly excellent resource for finding some rarities from some of the world’s independent creatives, and one of my recent discoveries has been Iden Kai’s new album, ‘Disco Fortuna’, which was released to the app and wherever you stream your music on January 15th via Neon City Records. I could find very little information on Iden (Which is pronounced as “Eiden”) when I had searched him up on the web, other than knowing how he pronounces his name and that he is a Mexican DJ and Electonic Funk record producer. However, he seems to be gaining some rock solid traction with those who enjoy their Future Funk and Disco revivialist anthems – for instance – he currently has 3.3k montly followers on Spotify and ‘Disco Fortuna’ has amassed over 10k streams on the platform as well, which is pretty good going for someone so off-the-radar online. Check out the single, ‘Disco James’, below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFcIe-JACzA

Iden Kai offers up his mixes to the currently popular ‘Future Funk’ sub-genre, which, if you are not familiar with the name of this style of music, it pays homage to the viral culture of Synthwave, Chillwave and Vaporwave, but ultimately takes on a more hyper-melodic and anime-style visual work that is defined partly by it’s samples of rare smooth jazz, R&B and lounge Jazz recordings of the 80’s. In more simpler terms, it’s basically the most “poppy” music that you could probably come across, with young artists who share their material around places like YouTube. It’s sometimes seen as quite a trashy and disposable style of production, but like with any good art, it just depends how you treat the genre and what credibility you strive to add to it. ‘Disco James’ is actually a nice way to get acquainted with the relatively new sub-genre. It strips away the more ‘trashy’ qualities of the early-2010’s internet meme culture for me, and it provides an update to 90’s house that feels driven by more Japanese influences. The sound is strikingly upbeat, as Horn melodies and synth instrumentation provides a throwback feel designed to get the party grooving. Meanwhile, the vocal samples are chopped up and screwed up, the lyrics barely inaudible, to also carry across a Metropolitan aesthetic. The keys are playful and the effects experiment with nostalgic moods, with a breakdown towards the end of the track that feels less Jazz-influenced and more video game sound directed. Of course, there’s quite little here in the way of original material from the artist – but it seems like the goal for Iden was to re-purpose these prominent samples of vintage tunes for appeal towards a fresh audience. While it probably won’t appeal to everybody for it’s disposable approach to art, depending on who you ask, it’s earned a few good repeat listens from me. Super melodic, emphasizing on fun and knowingly nodding to the 80’s with care, there’s enough here to keep the party dancing all through a long night.

Pictured: Still image from the ‘Disco Fortuna’ music video (2021) (Photo by Real Love Music)

Thank you for checking out my latest post – I did try to beef it up! This one should get the extended bank holiday weekend moving in style. The festivities continue tomorrow with our ‘New Album Release Friday’ section – where we take a sampler of one of Good Friday’s new album releases. Tomorrow’s track comes from a fresh South London 4-piece group who have been fusing witty, jumbled Spoken Word sections with Post-Rock guitar shredding to unanimously praised effect! 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/

New Album Release Friday: Nubiyan Twist (feat. Soweto Kinch & Nick Richards) – “Buckle Up”

March 12, 2021 — Leave a comment

You may stop to ask, how many people does it take to make one song. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Freedom Fables” (Released on March 12th, 2021) (via Strut Records)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke and, you guessed it, it’s time for me to get typing up for your daily track on the blog, since it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! Here we are again. New release day. This week’s offerings include a new solo LP from Cypress Hill’s DJ Muggs The Black Goat, a live album from North London’s Sorry and the return of German indie pop duo Haerts – who have had their music featured in numerous film & TV productions like ‘Carrie’, ’13 Reasons Why’ and ‘Love, Simon’. Tom Grennan is paving the way for the mainstream crowd, and Grouplove are back with a surprise new album. However, the record that’s earned the spotlight from me for this week comes from Nubiyan Twist. Born out of Leeds and currently based in London, they are a 10-piece Afro-Jazz collective comprised of a 4-piece Horn section, two vocalists and an electronics rhythms section. Orchestrated by guitarist/producer Tom Excell, the band have released their second album, ‘Freedom Fables’, today via Strut Records. The guest list includes CHERISE, KOG, Ria Moran and more – each of which “explores their own memoirs, a freedom of expression underpinning our belief that music is the ultimate narrative for unity” on the record. The group have seen rotational airplay from BBC Radio 6Music in recent weeks, among frequent performances on Jamie Cullum’s show on BBC Radio 2, with an appearance on ‘Later… With Jools Holland’ set to follow this month. So – let’s hit the gas pedal (Ya get it?…) on ‘Buckle Up’ below.

‘Buckle Up’ sees the London-based collective enlisting the help of saxophonist Soweto Kinch for a melodic solo, and a further call for help from vocalist Nick Richards, who sings about the mundanity of an unfulfilling life cycle. With Latin Jazz, Afrobeat and Trip-Hop callbacks, the single was an effective teaser for a record where “You can hear touches of broken beat, blunted hip hop, highlife, Latin, jazz and UK Soul running through the tracks” according to Tom Excell in a press statement for the album’s announcement. Although seeing a few Covid-related delays along the way, it’s here in the end. Predominantly, I feel that ‘Buckle Up’ references the sounds that the ensemble grew up becoming attached to, with a vintage tinge of Roy Hargrove-esque Brass melodies and undulating Organ polyrhythms blending with the more modern production allocated by the synth-inflected backing of the grooves and the bright horn lines which permeate the mostly Soulful qualities of the sound. The vocal section of “Sometimes I lean back in my chair, look up at the sky, Past these clouds and stars/To find new perspectives to loosen up my life” pads out the first half, while the second portion of the track goes for a more Hip Hop-inflicted beat. A speedy vocal delivery from Richards lowers the melodicism a tad, and the chorus allows the splashings of Trumpet melodies to shine with a more summery, energising mood, with vocal lines like “A journey to find a sense of peace and not desire” and “If I could catch a glimpse, Maybe this time find a door to the peace of my mind” feel much more self-reflective and self-developed. The Latin Jazz style feels at ease with the more melodic Hip-Hop influences though, with a little Dubplate and Reggae bursting through the Spoken Word outro. Overall, while the results are not a groundbreaking record, they are deeply satisfying and quite likeable. It feels relaxed, although not too restrained, and it feels nicely accessible – I’m glad that I could come along for the ride.

Pictured: Tom Excell (Lead Vocals/Producer), Nick Richards (Saxophone), Pilo Adami (Percussion), Oli Cadman (Keyboard), Denis Scully (Baritone Saxophone), Joe Henwood (Drum Machine), Finn Booth (Bass Guitar), Luke Wynter (Synths) and Jonny Enser (Horns/Woodwinds) (in 2021) (Photo via PR)

Thank you for reading my latest blog post! I’ll be rather busy making the trip back to my university term-time accommodation tomorrow, and so my entry tomorrow will probably be a little shorter and sweeter than usual. I can’t let the team down though, so I will be back with an in-depth look at the final track in my pre-Christmas backlog, at last. Tomorrow’s band emerged from a promising wave of early-2010’s British Hardcore Punk groups, with the line-up being a 5-piece super-group of musicians from bands like Arms Race, Vile Spirit and Gutter Knife. 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/

Today’s Track: Bullion – “Thirty Two”

February 1, 2021 — Leave a comment

A Bullion of silver – let’s see if this music is worth it’s weight in gold! New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Heaven Is Over” (Released on September 25, 2020) (via Jagjaguwar Records)

Good Afternoon – I’ve just seen the Royal Rumble, and that means it’s time for me to get typing up for your 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! We’re kicking off the new month with a familiar face to the blog – and one of the releases that you might have missed in 2020. We’ve covered Bullion’s work once before – and this is the electronic music alias for NTS Radio host Nathan Jenkins, who largely self-produces his own material from his studio in West London. The follow up to the “We Had A Good Time” EP, which released at the very beginning of last year, was the “Heaven Is Over” EP, a little release that I would really recommend for it’s subversive, Warp Records-esque production tools. Under his pseudonym, Jenkins has released a multitude of work for the Young Turks, R&S, The Trilogy Tapes and Jagjaguwar Records companies. During his time-frame, Jenkins has also established himself in the European dance scene, where he’s lived in Lisbon, Portugal for a number of years. My eyes were really drawn to this beautiful fan-made video to his track, “Thirty Two”, which was uploaded onto YouTube last October by TRUTH CRAB, with the Japenese anime’ visuals being taken from Ai Monogatari’s 90’s mini-series, “9 Love Stories”. Let’s take the beauty in below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF7E5nDPsXc

“Thirty Two” was, indeed, taken from the “Heaven Is Over” EP from Bullion – which got it’s digital release last September, and a physical 12″ vinyl release followed that December. I’d say it would have made for a brilliant Stocking filler at yuletide time – and the five-track EP was also released as a part of the “Friends Of” project – which was launched, then, as a joint initiative between the Jagjaguwar Records, Secretly Canadian and Dead Oceans label to provide financial support for independent artists affected by the difficulties of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Jenkins also kept himself busy throughout the year by producing Westerman’s debut solo album, “Your Hero Is Not Dead”, along with collaborating with Sampha and Talking Heads’ David Byrne. Even though “Thirty Two” was never officially released as a single, I think it’s still a solid reflection of the 80’s euphemisms and the self–quoted “Pop, Not Slop” attitudes that Jenkins brings to the table. Some might find the lack of any vocals to turn them away, but we’re instead treated to a richly detailed atmosphere that evokes a nostalgic, child-like emotion that would be fairly difficult to replicate with real words. The odd hum, or two, from Jenkins is enough to create a Shoegazed, dream-like backing track to the instrumental sounds. Speaking of those, we get a more electronic style of sound than some of the more piano-based compositions you would find on the EP, with shuffling drum beats and slightly grooving guitar licks evoking a gently propelling sound, while 80’s New Wave-inspired synth lines glide slowly beneath the organic instrumentation to blend these soft instrumentals with a more child-like ambience. It reminds me slightly of Boards Of Canada – with toy Organ chords and mid-tempo Synth lines creating a lightly psychedelic haze to the overall sound. Together, these soft instrumentals gently ascend in tempo, while the odd rumble of bass brings the celestial Synths back down to Earth. I know that some listeners really don’t like the lack of vocals in their music, but I really liked this little release. “Thirty Two” feels very relaxed and quite child-like, but there’s still a light melancholy to the sound with it’s mid-tempo pacing and the push-and-pull bassline. Overall, it is a very nicely laid out little track, and the possible flaws are easy to shake.

Pictured: Bullion (a.k.a. Nathan Jenkins) in a photoshoot for his NTS Radio Show (2017) (via NTS)

If you liked “Thirty Two”, I get the feeling that you will also like the title track from Jenkins’ “We Had A Good Time” EP release last February. Check it out right here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/05/27/todays-track-bullion-we-had-a-good-time/

Pictured: Cover Art for “We Had A Good Time” (Released on February 28, 2020) (via DEEK Recordings)

That’s all I’ve got to share with you today – and so I’m going to move on with my shorter working day. Join me again tomorrow for an in-depth look at one of my favourite singles in quite a long time, and this next one is currently really blowing up online with the 6Music crowd of listeners. The track comes from a London-based, female-led Post-Punk group who have recently signed up to the well-known 4AD indie music label, and they were inspired to write and perform their own music by bands including The Feelies, The Necessaries, Pylon and even The B-52’s of wide “Love Shack” fame. 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/

Way Back Wednesdays: Digable Planets – “Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)”

January 6, 2021 — Leave a comment

As Booker T would have said around that time – Can you dig it, Sucka? New Post time!

Pictured: Ishmael Butler, Ladybug Mecca and Craig Irving (2005) (Photo Credit: LasVegasWeekly.com)

Good Morning to you, I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m here to – you guessed it! – get typing up your 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. Never mind the “Rebirth Of Slick” – it’s the “Birth of a New Era” here on the blog today – because this is my first entry in a brand new weekly feature. “Way Back Wednesdays” (…See what I did there?) is a new weekly entry where, each Wednesday, we take an in-depth look back at an influential cut or a rarity, that was released pre-2000. I feel this is just a decent way to get more broader, classic music thrown into the mix, to go along with all of my new release-based output that runs on the blog throughout a typical week. Digable Planets was the brainchild of Ishmael Butler, Craig Irving and “Ladybug Mecca” Marianna during the 1980’s and 90’s, a trio of Hip-Hop chic who you could label under the umbrella of “Boom Bap” Hip-Hop artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Public Enemy and Nas, who were emerging in contemporary rap culture of the time. Interestingly, they never set out to be a “Jazz-Rap” group – they simply made use of Jazz-infused samples and using the resources that were available for them to use, being as creative as their composition practices would allow by experimenting with the tools at their disposal. “Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” was their first single, and it became the lead single of their debut LP, “Reachin’ (A New Refutation of Time and Space)”, released in 1993 via Pendulum. The track got to #15 in the US Billboard Hot 100 charts, and it was certified as Gold by the RIAA shortly after, with the sales figure of 500,000 units. Thanks to today’s tech – You can still check out the music video below.

Although the track was never intended to be a “Hit” – It still earned the group the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1994. Sadly, it seems that it was not really meant to last for Digable Planets. Their second album, “Blowout Comb” – released in 1994 – failed to match the success of their original LP effort, leaving the group to follow their own paths and begin their own seperate projects, although there have been a few notable reunions in the decades since. Nonetheless, “Rebirth Of Slick (Cool Like Dat)” would have been an impossible development in Experimental Hip-Hop and Sample-Delia at the time, even if Ishmael Butler likes to now record his own left-field Funk music under the alias of “Shabazz Palaces” in these trying times. It was anchored from a sample of the 1979 track “Stretching” by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, whereby the trio interlace fragmented Trumpet breaks and smart, catchy Acid Synth rhythms. Butler raps about childhood and the political awareness of underground hip-hop records in the first verse, while Marianna raps about the feel of unity that it encourages in the second verse, and Irving jumps in with a verse on the expression of ethnicity through hip-hop culture at the end. The “Cool Like Dat” refrain changes to “Chill Like Dat” and “I’m Peace Like Dat” throughout the process, and the combined “We Jazz Like Dat/We Freak Like That” hook at the end sets a table for the trio’s lofty musical ambitions. The sound is confident and polished – with vintage Saxophone riffs and light-hearted dribbles of Acid Synths crafting a satisfying, mid-tempo Jazz-Aura aesthetic, which has been created uniquely through sampled materials. The “Boom Bap” production feels less aggressive on this release, in juxtaposition with their peers of the time. However, it creates an atmosphere of “Slickness” and “Cool” that makes it an enjoyable listen – due to a relaxing Lounge-Jazz vibe, and it still remains to be the chemistry of the three musicians that makes it work – and so it jostles happily through the spectrum of Hip-Hop self-aggrandization.

Pictured: Cover Art for “Reachin’ (A New Refutation Of Time and Space)” (1993) (via Pendulum Records)

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my exciting, new post! As always – you can join me for more of the same tomorrow, where we’ll be taking an in-depth look at a more recent release that you may have missed throughout the last year. We’re going into Electronic/IDM territory tomorrow, with a single from a San Francisco-based producer who is often compared to the likes of Boards Of Canada and Ulrich Schnauss in the ways that he merges natural sounds with synth beats. You may also know him as ISO50 for his graphic design and photography work. 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/

Today’s Track: Bent – “Friends”

January 5, 2021 — Leave a comment

The Sample-Delia duo who see nothing wrong with bending the rules! New Post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Up In The Air” (Released on November 14th, 2020) (via Godlike & Electric)

Top ‘O’ The Morning to you – I’m Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s time for me to fulfill my duties of typing up about your daily track on the blog, because it is routinely my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! As we see out the last year and enter the new one, it’s nice to look back at some of 2020’s lower-key releases that you might have missed. Unfortunately, Bent’s “Friends” falls under that category, and I don’t mean it lightly – because this one has really grown on me. Bent are the Nottingham-based Sample-Delia duo of Neil Tolliday and Simon Mills, who released “Up In The Air” last November, which marks their first LP release in 14 years – since 2006’s “Intercept”. When I first discovered “Friends”, I sadly did not know very much about the duo, because when you type up “Bent friends” into a Google search, it obviously came up with some questionable results. However, I have now learned that Bent were pioneers of the Chillout music genre, and I have also learned they are very influential to Electronica, and gained critical praise from major publications like NME, The Quietus and Mixmag. Their music has frequently been used in advertising, and they would sell copies of their records in the hundreds of thousands. Collectively, Bent have also become known for their sense of humor, which displays quirky ‘crate-digging’ results on their concept albums, including 2000’s “Programmed To Love”, 2002’s “Everlasting Blink” and 2004’s “Ariels”, and they have remixed artists including Dolly Parton, Hall and Oates, Faithless, and Morcheeba. Let’s stream “Friends” below.

Bent was conceptualized through Neil and Simon’s dis-satisfaction with the state of the electronic dance music genre in 1997, and they felt it wasn’t meeting their expectations. Released in November, “Up In The Air” has a rural, countryside vibe to it – through the transformative sampling production and the incredible promo art – which depicts nature and farm animals. Like a fresh cider on a summer’s day, “Friends” proves to be a slightly more upbeat ending to the chilled, gentle sounds of the rest of the album. Created through a sample of a track that was recorded way back in the 1930’s, the Bent duo manage to put a tropical, breezy spin on the recording. The album was recorded remotely from Neil in his UK studio in Sherwood, and Simon created four of the LP’s tracks in his rural Ireland studio, and I think that the album’s themes of countryside and farm life manages to feel timely and profound, in a time where many of us are isolated. “Friends” feels joyous and cheerful, with an old-fashioned female vocal crooning: “Just friends, we’re not lovers no more/Just friends, not like before” and “To think of all that’s been/Not to love again, It’s like pretending, this is our beginning” over the top of a slowly moving, but comprehensively layered, sequence of gently sweeping String sections and the cinematic, vintage set of Disco instrumentation – with lightly reverberating Synths. Oh yes – and there’s plenty of Bongo drums as well. The chorus is lightly catchy, but it still manages to sound pretty relaxed, opening up the gap for a slightly downtempo, sadly emotive quality to the vocals – While the mid-tempo drum beats and the summer-inspired bass rumbles veer the track just a little into Space Disco territory. I read some negative reviews for the album on places like Album Of The Year, with some users calling it “Spa music” and felt the “Background music” feel of the album was disappointingly dull. At first, it didn’t really quite manage to grip me, because the album is certainly not going to be the most visceral or quick-paced record that you’ll hear all year around, but with the frequent set of re-listens, it’s managed to connect with me. It makes for some greatly thematic listening, and it has an ethos of taking obscure, vintage material – with the clever uses of sampling to extract some more transformative and absorbing moods. It might be that it’s because I’ve spent a lot of life growing up in The Fens myself, and so it has almost been like revisiting my own wilderness. In any case, I definitely feel that it’s worthy of your time and a fair chance.

Pictured: BENT (Simon Mills and Neil Tolliday) in a recent press shoot (2020) (Photo via IDMmag.com)

Thank you for checking back with me on the blog today! Tomorrow’s post will be an exciting one – because it’s the first entry of a BRAND NEW weekly feature – right here on the blog! I bet that suprised you, right? This is “Way Back Wednsedays” (See what I did there?) – the time of the week where we dig our music collection for something which made it’s mark before the date of the 2000’s. Our first entry comes from an Alternative Hip-Hop trio originally led by an Experimental Trip-Hop/Funk artist who is now known as “Shabazz Palaces”. 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/

Today’s Track: The Avalanches – “Music Makes Me High”

December 11, 2020 — Leave a comment

The light in my life is going out tonight without a flicker of regret. Time for a new post!

Pictured: Cover Art for “We Will Always Love You” (Released on Dec 11th, 2020) (via Universal Music)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and it’s now time for me to get typing up all about your daily track on the blog, because it is always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! It’s New Release Friday – and although there’s a new EP out today by Foster The People, which you should also check out – since you’re reading my words, we’re going to take a look at the third LP collection to come from The Avalanches, “We Will Always Love You”, who are one of my TOP tier favourite artists. The album is full of 25 sample-delia and plunderphonics tracks that explore cosmic themes, spirituality and what it means to be human. The narrative of the album was inspired by an idea that voices of lost records and lost artists are floating around in space to send out transmissions – with the concept also being inspired by the romantic tale of Ann Druyan, creative director of the Golden Voyager project, whose heartbeat was captured for the Golden Record on the day after Carl Sagan proposed to her, whose image is imposed on the cover artwork of the record after the sound waves were processed through a Spectogram, and turned into the image. Now comprised of Robbie Chater and Tony Di Biasi, the duo are most famous for 2000’s “Since I Left You”, a debut record that, no pressure to the two, really changed the way that we make music. “Wildflower” followed a lengthy 16 years later, and seemed to get a more mixed general reception, but I felt it was an excellent album in it’s own right. Let’s sample the track “Music Makes Me High” below.

At least it only took them four years this time… Along with some help, of course. Released today via Modular Recordings, the new long-player features a staggering guest line-up including MGMT, Johnny Marr, Kurt Vile, Tricky, Sampa The Great and more – alongside guests such as Neneh Cherry, Blood Orange, Rivers Cuomo and Sananda Maitreya (formerly Terrence Trent D’Arby) who have already appeared on the singles. It’s staggering to think how it was back in February that we heard our first tease of their new effort, but it’s now finally here. In an interview with NME, I can recall Robbie and Tony explaining how “Music Makes Me High”, their new promotional single of the time, was largely a throwback to the style of music which they grew up listening to. There are definitely prominent elements of Detroit House and Chicago Soul here, with a very vintage genre of sound which, you could argue, inhabits the qualities and values that Robbie and Tony are all about as artists – Scavengers of an endless record collection – that harken back to the roots of their sample-based production flair. Sampling hallucinogenic beats from Salty Miller’s track of the same title, and The Devoted Souls 80’s anthem “Keep On (Holding On)”, the vocals retain a lighthearted feel of a wild, drug-induced night out, while the short and snappy synth loops give the track an upbeat, funky feel. The short samples of cheering crowds remind me of the adventurous, earthly vibes of “Since I Left You”, and the brief Gospel backing vocals add some weight to the track’s cooling effects of it’s hook. While the track probably might not be for everybody’s cup of tea due to it’s lack of the sonic qualities found on their more hip-hop oriented work, I think the layout is very impressive, as the central sample pulls together with the push-and-pull production to form a clean, unified sound. The gift of The Avalanches’ work of repurposing old samples into a format that feels imaginative, and this track really emphasizes those abilities of the duo’s ever-present desire to uplift – and renew, in the face of adversity.

Pictured: The Avalanches (Robbie Chater & Tony Di Blasi) in a press shot for “Wildflower” (2016) (via PR)

It’s been a long singles run for the duo in the lead-up to today’s album release, and we’ve covered some of the bases already here on the blog. Check out my review for the first teaser, from way back in February – and the titular track – here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/02/21/todays-track-the-avalanches-feat-blood-orange-we-will-always-love-you/, followed by the second single, “Running Red Lights”, here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/03/20/todays-track-the-avalanches-feat-rivers-cuomo-pink-siifu-running-red-lights/, and finally, we also took a look at “Wherever You Go”, of which you can read up on my feelings on here: https://onetrackatatime.home.blog/2020/07/23/todays-track-the-avalanches-feat-jamie-xx-neneh-cherry-clypso-wherever-you-go/

Pictured: Mural promoting “We Will Always Love You” in Melbourne, Australia (2020) (via Stereogum)

Thank you for putting up with my latest love letter to The Avalanches. Happy Listening! Wherever You Go, don’t miss out tomorrow’s post on the blog, which highlights some more alternative Festive music, this time being a comedic single that came in the 1960’s from a Country and R&B singer-songwriter who has been inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall Of Fame and the Christian Music Hall Of Fame. 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/

Today’s Track: Djo – “Keep Your Head Up”

October 21, 2020 — Leave a comment

You may think this release is a bit weird, but I’ve seen Stranger Things. New post time!

Pictured: Cover Art for “Keep Your Head Up” (Single) (Released: September 9, 2020) (via Self-Released)

Good Morning to you! My name is Jacob Braybrooke, and I’m here to fulfill my daily duties of writing up about your daily track on the blog, because it’s routinely always my day-to-day pleasure to write up about a different piece of music every day! A track that prickled my ears a little on a recent episode of 6Music Recommends, curated by Lauren Laverne, is the funky jam “Keep Your Head Up”, and what prickled my ears even more was her introduction of the new track, as it was produced and recorded by Joe Keery, who is best known for playing the role of Steve Harrington in the Netflix flagship series, “Stranger Things”, which I also really like. He records his own music under the side-project of Djo, and it turns out that he even put out a debut album, “Twenty Two”, last year, which was a success, despite releasing with hardly any promotion or fanfare beforehand. If you’re anything like the cynic that is me, the whole endeavor probably sounds rather random to you. However, Keery has actually been pursuing music for a long time, and, he is a former touring member, and a current contributing musician, of the Chicago-based Psychedelic Surf-Rock group, Post Animal. He debuted “Keep Your Head Up”, his first music material since last year, in a conversation with Wayne Coyne, of The Flaming Lips, on Talkhouse’s Instagram, and Keery later promoted it as part of a Reddit AMA on the r/indieheads subreddit. It is expected that more music will follow up soon. Let’s have a listen to the track below.

Keery was planning to embark on a solo tour as Djo throughout 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic obviously hit, and here we are now. But, in his press release, he commented that his new single represents “a much-needed bolt of positivity in an otherwise dark time”, and he has been enlisting the aid of producer Adam Thein as a collaborator on his new music. “Keep Your Head Up” represents an output from Keery that goes back to 80’s Soul, with a hint of Prince stemming from the glossy production and the sensual elements of Glam-Pop, with lyrics that feel suggestive and provocative, as Keery pleads: “Got to love yourself/Go ahead, touch yourself” to bring a feel of irreverent humour into the fold. The beat gradually becomes heavier and more synth-oriented as the first verse rolls along to “Take that time alone, before your heart belongs to someone else”, before the chorus introduces some robotic backing vocals to the scene, and Keery throws in a George Clinton-inspired Funk sensibility for the chorus, with a joyous set of percussion and a vivid series of piano notes that mix with the jaunting electronics to craft a well-rounded percussion section. The breakdown at the end feels chaotic, with a glitzy set of Funk-laden instrumentals and a heavy use of synthesized vocal effects, before a brief and swinging Horn section enters the picture and the Saxophone solo gives the overly electronic vocals a rest. The production is a flashy and polished affair, while the overall sound is blending elements of 70’s Psych-Funk and 80’s Synth-Pop together with a current EDM undertone, similarly to his contempories like Jacob Collier. I feel there is perhaps a bit of an over-use of the auto-tune effects here, but that’s probably down to my personal preference because it also works well as a stylistic choice with the drowning synth sequences and the experimental layout of the sequencing, but there is a clear love for Nu-Jazz in here, and it feels sophisticated in it’s approach, so it turns out to be a pleasant surprise overall, although I think my heart is set on Natalia Dyer always being my favourite from Djo’s Netflix series – I think she is just wonderful!

Pictured: Djo (Joe Keery) visiting the AOL Build series studio in New York (2019) (via J.Kempin/Getty)

Thank you very much for reading my new post! As usual, please feel free to join me again tomorrow. I will be taking an in-depth listen to a recent single from a British Dream-Pop trio, who nobody seems to really know anything at all about, and they’ve been building up their following with a big sense of mystery, following their delightfully warm singles “Empty Beach” and “One Time Villain”. 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/