| REVIEWS 12th May | ||
This week's featured artists: Click on the names to see the reviews Adelyn | Big Joe Turner | Big Num | Crystal Distortion | Finniston | George Wassouf | HKB Finn | Jair Dynast | James Brown | Johnny Copeland | Kenny Rogers | Lata Mangeshkar | Linda Leen | Manu Dibango | Michael Lynch | Nylon Rhythm Machine | Oscar Peterson | Ras Midas | Susy Thomas | MC Tali | Woody Guthrie | Yellowman | |
Reviews archive |
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Moving to the UK at age 13, the Jamaican born star put this culture shock into the foundation of his work offering slightly Westernised, R&B takes on traditional reggae sounds that had been the noticeable backdrop to his childhood, Clarendon meeting Birmingham in total dismay but musical harmony. Fun and funky, Ras Midas has collated his inspirations into blaring reggae pop songs that inspire as much as they sidetrack, being sunny though laidback, snaps of breezy and palatable pop which at its heart is inciting revolution of the mind. |
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In a career lasting over 65 years, the live piano legend Oscar Emmanuel Peterson has ventured no fewer than 200 records and been the envy of almost anybody sat in front of the ivory for decades. His hasty, beating patterns have earned him a number of nicknames, none so as obsequious as the Maharaja of the keyboard, given to him by fellow jazz pioneer Duke Ellington. Also a trumpet player and composer, his music that was at its height in the late 1950’s bends his heart-throbbing skill on the keys with exhilarating arrangements that seem to bounce everywhere under his ever controlling hand. |
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Nylon Rhythm Machine - Electronica The beat funkery of Nylon Rhythm Machine is the brainchild of one Tim Gomersall, with a supporting cast that includes Wildchild, Wayne Lotek, Ashley Bull, Sophie Faricy and Naomi Bedford all stepping in to offer verbal firepower. Light hearted but startlingly original, everything from chilled out acoustic melancholia to Jello Biafra-sampling downtempo electro suits Nylon Rhythm Machine just fine. There’s a wide eyed approach that sees Gommersal take influence from wherever he darn well pleases, admirably shunning scene conventions and defying expectations with thrilling results. It’s in your veins, this stuff. |
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Woody Guthrie is as important to folk music as he is to punk music and, arguably, American politics. His famous ‘This Machine Kills Fascists’ sticker sat perpetually on a guitar on which he would strum out everything from political diatribes and protest songs (most notably, and beautifully, on ‘This Land is Your Land’) to children’s music and traditional folk. Without the man who would become known as The Dust Bowl Troubador – once a columnist for a communist newspaper and, in song, always a staunch ally of the working class from whence he came – we’d have no Dylan, no Joe Strummer… and you can plot on a graph what that would mean, essentially, no good music in the last 60 years |
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Like most blues singers in 1950’s America, Big Joe Turner, named so due to a massive stature to match his equally as large voice, found music through the church. Taking influences from gospel, Turner was one of the first performers to use swing with blues to make what would commonly be regarded as some of the first rock ‘n’ roll songs; including the timeless ‘Shake, Rattle and Roll’ that would more famously be covered by Bill Hayley and his Comets. Big Joe Turner also played an important part in the sound of artists such as Elvis Presley who found that the upbeat blues was beginning to make its way into mainstream white culture. One could argue that without artists such as Big Joe Turner, we might not have had rock ‘n’ roll. |
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New Scottish outfit Finniston may be a pop band, but their Celtic influence by choice of instrumentation gives them something far more exciting to hit your ears with. Amid melodies not unlike The Feeling or Morning Runner, their piano work and string sections escape the humdrum within their tunes allowing them to score direction into playfulness. Songs like ‘Bellona Shuffle’ sound like The B52’s doing Fleetwood Mac and though being reasonably unknown just now this chirpy Glasgow band have more than enough magnetic pop and catchy vocals, living in what are genuinely well written songs, to become one of the more chart appealing acts of British soil. |
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Deserved winner of the coveted title of number one female drum and bass MC at this year’s riotous DnB awards, MC Tali has come a long way since growing up on a dairy farm in New Zealand. Though drum and bass might be very much her thing, she’s a clued up girl, willing to chat your ears off about new jack swing and folk if given half a chance. After being invited over to Bristol to work with scene godfather Roni Size – an offer one doesn’t turn down – the pairing birthed an album, Lyric on my Lip, the success and sheer ‘my god, that sounds huge’-ness of which finally convinced her to push pause on the journeys of her other talents – she’s a classically trained singer, pianist and qualified secondary school teacher – and forever tear it up on the mic. The classroom’s loss is drum and bass’ gain, no doubt.   Back to top |
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An English take on full-size, brash American stadium rock, Big Num putting a completely wonderful modern alternative, heavy scope onto a soulful and honest vocal that sheers Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones with glints of Bono or Jack White. Classic rock in the vein of Billy Idol dazzlingly sped up to a contemporary model with an eccentric overtone of grinding, stirring guitars and lyrics that demand head-bang brutality. They serve shout-a-long enthralment with an accomplished style and batch of finely and expertly arranged songs which sound well rounded and memorable. This band is an absolutely lustrous and gallant gem in the British rock scene. Back to top |
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Cameroon might not be internationally known for too much, but the fusing of its traditional music with innovative jazz at the hands of saxophonist and vibraphone player Manu Dibango has gained huge international acclaim. Though he built his name through collaborating on said traditional tones with the likes of Fela Kuti and Sly and Robbie, he’s also credited with creating one of, if not the, first soul records in Soul Makossa, a huge and acknowledged influence on the likes of Michael Jackson, The Fugees and Rihanna. Now probably the most respected face in music in Cameroon, he served as the first chairman of the Cameroon Music Corporation, but hasn’t in his later years become any less active as a musician – at 74, he still gets out the saxophone each and every day, and long may that continue. Back to top |
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Susy Thomas - Singer Songwriter Simplicity is the key to understanding why London singer Susy Thomas has the ability to rid your days of demands. This songwriter has an earthy, almost Stevie Nicks tone that follows as brightly striking against her more subtle guitar moments and fiercely commanding songs like ‘Searching My Soul’ that pull towards Cheryl Crow in ardour. Pop folk is never as engaging as when performed by a woman that can offer her world on a sleeve of genuine talent and flowing, well conceived songs that show defined execution and talent for creation. Back to top |
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Although his early career in jazz and doo-wop bands didn’t fly, his achievements as a solo performer have earned him the title of being arguably the biggest man in country music today. With an award winning catalogue spanning four decades, his biggest hits include ‘Lady’ and ‘Islands in the Stream’ which was a duet with fellow country legend Dolly Parton being debatably the biggest country record in the world. Kenny Rogers still performs today, being one of the most celebrated artists on the road, his new material equally championed both critically and commercially, his strong vocal and classic melody giving him a changeless charm. |
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James Brown will make you get down… and then back up again. The fact of whether or not his influence is felt today isn’t even a question, renowned as the godfather of soul his legend is one of true unending power. Not just a vocal exhibition, his rough and poignant grunt being as well known as his choice of suits, but a master of the beat often using a variety of lines to make breakbeats and hip-hop. He would then put almost gospel style vocals to this base that would make songs such as ‘Get Up’ and ‘Poppa’s Got a Brand New Bag’ so alive with ‘This is a Man’s World’ offering his most endearing and touching performance as a vocalist. Sorely missed since his death in late 2006, his music is now being used as samples across a myriad of templates. |
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Latvia’s premier pop talent, Linda Leen rose to prominence through entering a string of competitions in her homeland which she just, basically, kept on winning and winning. Her first performance as a professional was at the country’s annual music awards, where she caught the eye of a public who would later go on to vote for her in a competition to represent them at the Eurovision song contest. It lead to support slots with the likes of Macy Gray and the Pet Shop Boys, two artists you could argue her soulful, synth pop sound manages to deftly amalgamate. All that, and she’s also been a contestant in Miss Globe. Some people, eh? |
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HKB Finn isn’t what Andrew Ward’s mother would call him, but when you’re in the inner city London spoken word / hip-hop game, details such as that matter little. Especially when you’re this much of a big player in said game – one of the most innovative and politically clued up faces on a burgeoning scene, the former Katch 22 front man has been solo for the best part of a decade now, releasing a string of part reggae, part jazz releases more stylish and elegant than the mindless, simple hip-hop so rife in mainstream culture that HKB Finn, rightly, strives so consistently against. |
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Johnny ‘Clyde’ Copeland (the nickname comes from his days as a boxer) first made his recording debut in 1956, as a founding member of the Dukes of Rhythm in Houston, Texas. It was the start of a staggeringly successful career for the legendary bluesman, which saw him play with the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson and Big Mama Thornton in his early years before finding more commercial success in the early to mid eighties. Albums such as Copeland Special and Bringing It All Back Home became classics of the genre, though if you’re a newcomer, it’s arguably the Grammy winning Showdown LP that should be your first port of call. |
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When a medical condition forced US rapper Jair Dynast to leave his athletic scholarship he used the prospect to put his full energy into making his urban street scripture a vocation that could not only entertain, but inform. Political influences and an articulate voice have given Dynast the ability to punch real issues in his music, his lyrics written to inspire underachievers and the disillusioned. ‘GoRiLLa WaR’, taken from Jair’s debut album ‘V.I.A.L.E.N.C.E’ is a powerful, political rant against middle-America and the state of economics that have broke the lives of many US citizens. The song, as is the intent on the whole album, eager to stimulate change. |
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George Wassouf has fronted over 30 records, performed live internationally and earned a stature in Arabic popular culture as a modern icon. He shot to fame at the age of 16 via a Lebanese showcase that started the careers of many large stars at the time. Known as the King of Tarab his songs, such as ‘Hilef il Amar’, have been substantial Arab hits, his apt for layering music in such a bold way winning praise outside that of just the Arab world. Easily one of the best vocalists and musicians behind the leading Arabic pop songs, George Wassouf is still releasing new material today that grows in popularity as the Asian invasion proves itself to have merit and inspiration in the Western world. |
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Crystal Distortion - Electronica This breakbeat dance project is about transformation, from the grime of London hip-hop, techno and rhythms this band brings a blaze to a new sound that infuses sonic expression with European beats to make an accomplished club experience that can easily be taken on across a variety of niche dance genres. Celebrated live, their appearances are highly sought after with shows delivering a high-octane sense of panic with vocal samples and climbing, swelling and ultimately punishing beats escalating out of control. Back to top |
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Michael Lynch - Singer Songwriter Michael Lynch – sure, he wants you to tap your feet and hum along, but there’s something more at play here, something about the guy that suggests he really wants to get you thinking as well as whistling to his emotive, painfully honest songs. It’s all about the delivery – stories are told in his music by the lyrical narrative, sure, but as much of the tale is given away by the sheer range of sounds those vocals of his can create as is let on by the words themselves. Recorded in his kind of music’s spiritual home, London’s Tin Pan Alley, his LP Revived deals with near death experiences, but comes out sounding resoundingly alive. |
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Though their strings cry Madness, their vocals take Works in Progress more towards Jurassic 5 or The Specials with a deep and howling spoon for turning life into a party moreover dispelling mundanity with solid urban poetry. Fast, twitchy and engaging, their music is part reverence to the likes of Bob Marley, undoubtedly in subject matter, brought into the contemporary age with a conflict of melodies and upstart, funk vibes which flavour Works in Progress’ tracks with the kind of underground movements you’d expect from a band sincere about the genre they’re singing about; heavy, stocky bass lines and rising arrangements that make them worth anybody’s attention. Back to top |
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Lata Mangeshkar, it’s fair to say, is a well known voice in India. You don’t sing on nearly a thousand Bollywood movies without one or two people taking notice. The elder sister of Asha Bhosle (the inspiration for Cornershop’s ‘Brimful of Asha’, no less), she’s the proud owner of a number of accolades, among them the Bharat Ratna (the highest honour an Indian civilian can receive) and, from 1974 to 1991, the Guinness world record for the most recordings in the world. That’s a career that includes 30,000 songs in 20 languages, something which suggests she started on this path at an early age, which would be correct – when Lata, on her first day of school, was told off for teaching other children how to sing, she was so upset that she never went back. She also worked as an actress, but it was her stunning voice that made her the favourite of so many Bollywood directors, and before long, the Indian public at large. |
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Yellowman, or ‘King’ Yellowman to those who, y’know, really like him, was at the peak of the Jamaican dancehall and reggae scene during the nineteen eighties. An albino kid growing up in a Catholic orphanage, he didn’t have the best time of it until the world started taking notice of his incessant toastings at outdoor sound system dances. On the back of his notoriously thrilling live shows, he became the first dancehall artist ever to sign to an American major when CBS records snapped up his services, and though a notorious and controversial figure, he’s also amongst the most influential the scene has ever birthed. |
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