Dan Snaith aka Caribou released his first new song in nearly three years at the beginning of April.
Honey is a four-minute banger, closer to the club-friendly style of his other nom de plume Daphni than the unadulterated psychedelic Sixties stylings of Caribou. Yet, Dan has had no hesitation in giving the latter's music over to other artists for a radical makeover, including friend and sounding board Kieran Hebden aka Four Tet.
No surprise then to read that Kieran has had a hand in arranging this song with Dan. Honey is mixed by long time collaborator David Wrench, whose current project audiobooks with Evangeline Ling is no stranger to lure of the dancefloor either.
No sign of any remixes as yet, but Honey is accompanied by a mind-melting video. Avoid staring at blank walls after watching this, otherwise you'll be seeing flamingos for hours afterwards.
On the Bandcamp Friday just gone (and the last one until September), Dan was also offering his digital back catalogue as a name your price option so I took the opportunity to pick up the remix companions for the albums Swim (2010) and Suddenly (2020). I'd had a few tracks of each so it was a good chance to purchase the full collections.
Two of the previously owned remixes included the above mentioned artists, so here's Never Come Back from Suddenly, reworked by Four Tet, and Odessa from Swim stripped down to a 'drumapella' by David Wrench. I'm looking forward to listening to the rest over the coming week.
Having missed an opportunity in Bristol in February, I had the good fortune and great privilege to see Fatoumata Diawara and her band in Cheltenham on Sunday.
Appearing on the bill of the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Fatoumata was one of several artists that stretched the definition of jazz somewhat, although it's fair to say that she has smashed through many barriers to what a Malian musician should be and play, so why not?
It was a series of firsts: my first time seeing Fatoumata live in concert, my first time at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival and my first time at the Town Hall for any reason, let alone a gig. Much like the John Cale gig at the Subscription Rooms in Stroud last year, the stalls area was turned over to rows of folding chairs, but in a much grander surround.
It was looking half empty until the 2 minute call, when floods of people took their seats. I was amused by the two very bored looking kids in the above pre-show photo, no doubt dragged along by their hipster parents for a bit of enforced education. Suffice to say there were a fair few babies and children in the audience, with or without noise cancelling headsets, though they will have done little to reduce the average age in the room.
Another aspect of the Jazz Festival setting was that Fatoumata was playing at 2.00pm with a strict 3.15pm cut off, so roughly about half a hour less than the Bristol show the previous month (I know this because the latter has already been posted on YouTube). Not that it mattered of course: this was a full on, energetic set, Fatoumata and band ensuring that the audience got a full and fulfilling experience.
The band quietly took to the stage, dressed smartly and uniformly in shirts, black waistcoats and trousers, the occasional hat; guitar, bass, keyboards, drums. Nothing fancy, nothing distracting, the star of the show was still to come. As they settled into an extended intro to Tolon, from last year's London Ko album, Fatoumata arrived from stage left like a queen addressing her subjects. Albeit a queen with a guitar strapped on and ready to play.
The photos will not do her justice, but Fatoumata looked spectacular, matching yellow headress and flowing skirts, black leather bodice over a red PVC T-shirt, gold bracelets, black lips framing a stellar smile. She completely owned the stage before she had played a single chord or sung a single note.
I've relatively recently bought Fatoumata Diawara's albums, each with a slightly different musical flavour and focus. London Ko is a further exploration and expansion of her musical palette, and mostly co-produced with Damon Albarn. The set draws heavily from this album but in a live setting, the songs are stretched out considerably, with the electronic studio versions swapped out for funky with a capital F. Fatoumata's a mean guitar player too, at times seemingly channeling Hendrix. There are no rules here, it's all about feeling the music, on stage and in the audience.
About four songs in, Fatoumata addresses the audience. "I want to introduce the next song, Sété. I want to bring awareness about the barbaric practice
of female genital mutilation that is still prevalent in many parts of
Africa". She then goes on to talk about her personal experience of FGM, haemorrhaging on a table, surviving and using her platform to call to put an end to this barbaric practice and "give children the space they deserve as they represent our hope for a better future".
This is important as Fatoumata largely sings in Bambara, so to these untutored ears, Sété is otherwise an uplifting and beautifully sung song, with no idea of it's lyrical content. Fatoumata addresses the audience again later, with message about female inspirations, strength and empowerment. She has been told that women from Mali should not be fronting a band, writing their own songs or exploring other musical genres. Thank goodness Fatoumata ignored all of this and carried on.
Acknowledging Nina Simone as major influence (cue round of applause), Fatoumata goes into a version of Feeling Good, that feels completely and utterly her own. It's an incredible few minutes and another striking example of her voice in full effect. Fatoumata manages to skip and dance around scales, seemingly effortlessly, but this is no Whitney or Mariah-style vocal gymnastics and a joy to hear.
Again, my hastily snatched photos do an injustice in capturing the occasional and minor costume changes. At one point, the headdress comes off to reveal another towering creation underneath.
Later on, Fatoumata returns to the stage wearing a mask. When that is removed, black headgear with a white streak running back from the forehead is in place.
How any of it stays on is another minor miracle, given that Fatoumata is very active on stage, not least with three or four turns as a spinning top, with or without guitar. Fatoumata introduces the band midway through the set but let's be honest, she is a completely and utterly compelling stage presence, to the extent that you can easily forget that there's anyone else on stage with her. Having seen the Bristol gig on YouTube, I can also say that the absence of a large screen backdrop at Cheltenham was very welcome; logistics aside, it would have been superfluous.
And then it was all over. Fatoumata and band lined up, holding hands and taking a bow, before the mass exodus blinking into the mid-afternoon daylight. Was it all a dream? Happily not.
Sadly, Mrs. K wasn't able to join me as planned, so I'm hoping that we both get to see Fatoumata Diawara when she next returns to the South West...
I usually try to recreate the setlist whenever I can. I've not done it here for a few reasons:
1) As the set was mostly made up of the London Ko album, albeit in a different running order, I'd much rather you bought her album(s) from Bandcamp or the like;
2) To be honest, I quickly forgot what the exact setlist order was; and
3) Doing my own selection means that I can drop in more songs from Fatoumata's other albums.
So, here's a 12-song selection, the first two definitely mirroring Sunday's set, Sété placed at number 4, followed by an earlier song about FGM called Boloko. I found an Italian TV performance of Feeling Good from last month and I've also included a live version of set closer Anisou from 2019, nine and a half minutes of sheer joy.
1) Tolon (ft. Yemi Alade) (2023)
2) Somaw (ft. Angie Stone) (2023)
3) Mousso (2011)
4) Sété (2023)
5) Boloko (2011)
6) Save It (2022)
7) Bonya (2018)
8) Feeling Good (Live @ Propaganda Live, LA7 TV, Italy) (Cover of Nina Simone) (2024)
If you're hungry for more and don't mind shaky handheld cams, then here's Fatoumata's full show at the Bristol Beacon on 6th February 2024, courtesy of jungleboy. Enjoy!
Like buses, you wait for a Jezebell-related release for a while, then three come along at once. I'll cover the new music later but just over a week ago, I received the long awaited double vinyl edition of the superb Jezebellearic Beats Volume 1 compilation.
Bearing in mind that Jesse Fahnestock and Darren Bell released Jezebell's debut single Thrill Me in 2021, issuing a 'greatest hits' in August 2023 and labelling it 'Volume 1' may have seemed rather ambitious, cocky even. Yet, even with a digital edition packed with 20 tracks, the duo still had to leave out many mixes and versions that could easily have made the cut. It's really that good.
I've hugely enjoyed all of the Jezebell music as it's emerged, whether under their own name, remixes for other artists or re-edits that in reality remake and remodel the source material into something so different that it's essentially a brand new song. So, when it was announced that a limited vinyl pressing of Jezebellearic Beats Volume 1 would be available, I didn't hesitate in ordering it.
Given the timing constraints of four sides of vinyl - only Side 3 nudges above the 25/26-minute mark - the track list and running order varies a fair bit from the digital edition, making for an equally rewarding and essential listening experience.
The digital edition opens with the full length widescreen version of Jezebelle Et Moi, their 3-part cover of Max Berlin's 1978 song. At nearly 12 minutes, it's swapped on the vinyl version for one of the variations, Le Funk Et Moi, with no less impact as a statement of intent. The following three songs match on both editions, including the (kind of) title tracks and re-titled re-edits of Tullio De Piscopo and Laurie Anderson.
I should add at this point that though I purchased many of these songs at the time of their original release, the versions on Jezebellearic Beats Volume 1 have been given a re-master by Rich Lane.
For the remaining three sides, the ordering is mixed up more considerably, not least because the vinyl version contains 16 tracks compared with the digital edition's 20. So, track 5 on the latter - a superb re-edit of The Notorious B.I.G. - opens Side 4 of the former. "Bed Heads", Jezebell's contribution to Shelter Me: The Album in 2022, is track 17 on digital but closes the vinyl album in fine style.
At the time of posting, there are 9 copies of the one-time only vinyl pressing left on Bandcamp. If you miss out and haven't bought the digital edition yet, then what are you waiting for? The compilation cover by Rick Oliver is based on Dave Little's artwork for the seminal Balearic Beats: The Album Vol 1 collection and believe me, the music on this Jezebell compilation is every bit as good.
Side 1
1) Le Funk Et Moi (Remix) (Cover of 'Elle Et Moi' by Max Berlin's): Jezebell (2022)
2) Jezebellearic: Jezebell ft. Alfredo (2023)
3) Spring Calling aka Stop Bajon (Primavera) (Jezebell Edit): Tullio De Piscopo (2022)
4) Re-Birth aka Born Never Asked (Jezebell Edit): Laurie Anderson (2022)
12) Red Shift (Jezebell's Inner Child Mix): MAN2.0 (2022)
Side 4
13) Vibrations aka Baby Let Me Kiss You (Jezebell's Hitachi Dub): The Notorious B.I.G. (2022)
14) Trading Places (3PM) (Remix): Jezebell (2023)
15) Burning Bush: Jezebell (2023)
16) "Bed Heads": Jezebell (2022)
I've cobbled together a half-hour Dubhed Selection EP, selecting one song from each side of the vinyl edition, plus A Dangerous Side, the bonus digital track offered as an exclusive to those purchasing Jezebellearic Beats Volume 1 on vinyl.
The Shelter Me compilations raise funds for housing and homeless charities, the latest compilation focusing on Crisis, which does incredible work across the UK. Even if it wasn't for a good cause, these albums are chock-full of great music that you should want to buy, regardless.
Jezebell contribute again to Shelter Me: In Crisis with the brilliantly titled Perfect Din, which has got me scratching my head trying to work out what samples they've expertly woven into 408 seconds of groovy sounds.
Jesse Fahnestock has also reunited with Emilia Harmony for another excursion on the version as Electric Blue Vision. Trance Stance was released last week, via the empathetically named Electric Wardrobe Records. The single version is described as "a hooky and seductive electronic slow-dive [which] hypnotically conjures up the story of dance-floor attraction with all
the anticipation, posturing and human behavior that comes with it."
I think that pretty much nails it, but see what you think.
if you like that, just feel the quality of the three accompanying remixes.
At a glance, The Time Machine Dropouts was an unfamiliar name, until I read that this a duo of Matt Gunn and legendary DJ Chad Jackson. An inter generational soundclash that provides breakbeats, funky guitar, Moroder-esque synths, shades of M's Pop Muzik and Emilia's vocals right up front. Great stuff.
San Francisco-based drummer Cole Odin is another name that's new to me. A lovely, syncopated synth-washed rinse with Emilia's treated vocals swirling in and out of your ears. Jesse himself brings things to a close with 10:40's sunshine skank reprise. All in all, another top notch release and perfect for what's proving to be a sun-kissed bank holiday weekend here at Casa K.
I haven't visited NPR's Tiny Desk Concert in a little while so I dropped by to find that Hot Chip played a 4-song 'greatest hits' set on Monday. And very good it was too.
Digging in the vaults for a trio of François Kevorkian remixes, all available on compilations and EPs via Bandcamp for a steal, in my opinion.
As with Les Disques Du Crépuscule yesterday, Harmless Records have made a ton of their top notch compilations available digitally for seven quid, including the excellent Disco Discharge series. Originally issued as 2CD sets between 2009 and 2012, there are 18 themed collections to choose from.
My pick, fronted by a live performance from 1983, is François Kevorkian's 12" mix of Keep On by D-Train, which appears on the Disco Boogie collection, along with Average White Band, Sharon Redd, Skyy and Nick Straker Band. Great stuff.
Originally issued in France only as a single in 1993, Tout Est Bleu by Âme Strong got a wider release in 1997 with remixes by Attaboy, 16B (Omid Nourizadeh) and François Kevorkian. You can also find the latter on the Airtight In Session: Volume 1 compilation from 2009.
In 2003, Zapology aka Delroy Clarke lent his vocals to Midnight Bustling by 3 Generations Walking, furnished with an epic remix by François Kevorkian. In 2009, New York-based Lion1 Records released the 12-track Believe EP/remix album, containing reworks of the title track, Her Song and four mixes of Midnight Bustling, including vocal and dub rinses by Monsieur K.
Legendary label Les Disques Du Crépuscule have been steadily making their back catalogue available for sale via Bandcamp, including several classic albums with bonus tracks at a bargain price of £7.00 for a digital download. Many are also available on shiny disc.
Too many to mention in one post really, so I've selected seven as a sampler, namely
Nue Au Soleil (Complètement: Ludus (2024) (compilation previously released as an 11-track vinyl in 1987 and a 28-track 2CD in 2017; the digital version contains all 18 tracks from CD1 and the 4-song John Peel session from CD2)
Moving Soundtracks: Various Artists (1983) (this appears to be the 2008 rejigged reissue, originally 20 tracks, here minus 2 songs by Be Music and Alan Rankine; I picked The Pale Fountains for today's selection)
Seminal compilation From Brussels With Love, the debut release on Les Disques Du Crépuscule in 1980 and featured in the headline photo, is also available as a digital download. That'll cost you a tenner but for 28 tracks a bargain.
Having missed the last Bandcamp Friday and with a stack of albums on my list, here's a random selection of singles and remixes that will also be going in the basket this Friday, having grabbed my attention these past few weeks and months.
First in is Iraina Mancini. With influences described as "60s/70s, French pop, psychedelia, soul, garage, Ye-Ye Girls and vintage cinema" and backed by Pete Paphides, the odds were stacked that I would like Iraina's album Undo The Blue and I do. Sugar High was issued as a single and video last year, backed with a wonderful remix by Saint Etienne. The latter was re-released at the end of March with a brand new remix of the album's title track by Richard Norris and Erol Alkan, reunited as Beyond The Wizards Sleeve. I've gone for the Saint Etienne remix here, but really you can't do without both (or the album).
Toby Tobias resurrected his Casinoboy alias last year after several releases in the late 2000s. I'm not familiar with his previous music, but the 4-track EP he's released on Italian label Duca Bianco hits a sweet spot of Balearica, breakbeats and a 90s-style rap that just about treads the line between Stereo MCs and 2 Unlimited (!) Infectious.
A third London-based artist, albeit born in Italy and influenced by Jamaica, is a favourite of this blog, Daniele Gaudi, teaming up here with fellow Italian 3-piece Savana Funk for a 2-track single, Raha b/w Orewa. This is Afro-Cosmic-Disco that is brimming with funk and designed to get you moving. It succeeds.
Deep down to Australia now and Sydney-based duo Rachel Rutt and Ryan Grieve aka Heart People. I was only previously familiar with them from an Andrew Weatherall remix of their 2017 song Voices, which led me back to the source EP, Homecoming, and it's dub companion. In December 2023, the pair returned with the Adriatica EP. Musically, it reminds me of Mick Karn's solo music from the 1980s, but Rachel's voice adds an extra dimension, particularly on the title song.
My last pick is some Czech rap courtesy of Prague-based duo Mutanti Hledaj Východisko, which Google reliably informs me translates as Mutants Search For The Exit. Fotbal is taken from the album Puma, which is frankly an astonishing and bewildering mix of samples, sounds and styles. And the best album cover of the last twelve months, no question.
More from HANN, courtesy of Two Minutes To The News, the second single of 2024 and a precursor to debut album, Forever In A Glance, due in the summer.
This is the video for We Were Seventeen, which came out in January.
I jumped on board the HANN wagon in late 2022 and I really enjoy the mix of hummable tunes, slice of life narratives and ace one-liners, delivered in a wonderfully deadpan style.
I don't want to miss anything but I really need a wee
(Will She? Won't She, 2022)
Hannah Fitzpatrick avoids the current vogue for sprechsang, yet it's still like being with your mate down the pub, catching up on their latest (mis)adventures in love and life.
I've no idea what the mix of brand new and previously released songs will be on the album, though I'm guessing Two Minutes To The News and We Were Seventeen will be shoo ins.
What I do know is that Forever In A Glance will be going straight into the shopping basket the first Bandcamp Friday after release and promises to be one of 2024's most fun releases. And goodness knows we need that in our lives right now.
Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier have reunited to release a new single, Insanely Beautiful, which I presume is a direct lift of the feedback that they received from the first person they played the song to.
As a huge fan of Fluke throughout the 1990s, weathering the departure of Mike Tournier and the final releases as a duo of Jon Fugler and Mike Bryant in 2003, the prospect of new music from Fluke in the 2020s was an impossible dream.
And yet, here we are. Jon's voice may carry the weight of the passing years and the trademark bubbling beats may be replaced with strident steps. Otherwise, it's like they've never been away. Insanely Beautiful sounds very much in the present day but unmistakably Fluke.
The single's available on Bandcamp as four individual tracks. The original seven-minute monster, cinematic synth sweeps and stadium-sized rhythms, is presented in both vocal and instrumental versions. Leah's Mix by Fluke features Leah Cleaver on sole vocal duties. Finally, Sean Johnston and Duncan Gray deliver a Hardway Bros Meet Monkton Uptown mix that's every bit as good as you might expect from them, slowing down the pace, turning up the bass and creating a nine-minute beat-driven behemoth.
It was listening to Mutuashi by the fabulously named Zong Zing All Stars a week or so ago that planted the seed for today's selection, artists with names beginning Z.
Now, even the modestly travelled blogophiles amongst you might say that this is blatant rip off/poor imitation (delete as applicable) of the "Rock's Greatest..." series over at No Badger Required, which to date has covered the letters J and W. To which I'd reply, if only I were half that good...!
The closest this selection gets to rock is via hirsute Texan trio ZZ Top, although legendary New York DJ/producer John 'Jellybean' Benitez does his best to drag them onto the dancefloor. Mind the broken glass, sticky beer puddles and piles of vomit, boys...
Sticking with New York, sister act Cristi Jo and Jessica Zambri caused a bit of a stir in the late 00s/early 10s, although seem to have released just one album, House Of Baasa, in 2012 and been quiet on social media since the summer of 2018. Easier is an early song, remixed by Berkshire's finest Does It Offend You, Yeah? who I revisited in a post earlier this year.
Staying in the city, another New York DJ legend, Justin Strauss, trims and polishes Tomorrow People by Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers to make a radio-friendly hit. Not the first reggae tune on this selection, you won't be surprised to read.
From New York to Phoenix, Arizona, Zola Jesus aka Nika Danilova is an artist that I haven't listened to in a little while, having been on a intensive immersion in her catalogue back in 2022. As the title suggests, Versions contains reworkings of songs including Collapse, which originally closed Zola's third album Conatus in 2011. This string-laden version features Jim 'Foetus' Thirlwell and the Mivos Quartet.
The aforementioned Zong Zing All Stars are a London-based 9-piece, playing euphoric music informed by the Cavacha rhythms with Soukous from the Democratic Republic of Congo. I don't profess to be knowledgeable about these genres in the slightest. However, I can point you in the direction of the esteemed Ernie Goggins at 27 Leggies, whose continuing African Odyssey series has been an education. You can hop back to last year's stop at the Democratic Republic of Congo, to sample the likes of Zaiko Langa Langa, who apparently created Cavacha back in 1973. From there, go back to the beginning and enjoy the entire trip, which most recently paused at Mali.
The final stop on this trip is my birthplace Bristol and producer extraordinaire Eeyun aka Ian Perkins with Zoob & The Co-operators. The first burst of melodica should underline the fact that South Of The River Avon is inspired by Augustus Pablo's East Of The River Nile and in all likelihood Dr. Pablo and Dub Syndicate's 'response' album, North Of The River Thames. South Of The River Avon is the B-side of one of several vinyl 7" singles that I bought last year from Happy People Records and enjoys a regular airing on the Casa K turntable.
1) Zion High (TGU Remix By Transglobal Underground): Zion Train (2004)
2) Velcro Fly (Dance Mix By John 'Jellybean' Benitez): ZZ Top (1986)
3) Tomorrow People (New York City Edit By Justin Strauss & Murray Elias): Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers (1988)
4) Mutuashi: Zong Zing All Stars (2020)
5) This World (Album Version): Zero 7 ft. Mozez (2000)
6) Lush Life (The Ironix Remix By Felix Eickhoff & Simon Reichardt): Zara Larsson (2016)
7) Easier (Does It Offend You, Yeah? Remix By James Rushent): Zambri (2009)
8) Last War (Jah Jah Children Arise): Zap Pow (1977)
9) Collapse (Version): Zola Jesus ft. Jim Thirlwell & Mivos Quartet (2013)
10) South Of The River Avon (Version): Zoob & The Co-operators (2022)
