Rooted in dubwise textures, subtle groove architecture, and warm analog sensibilities, this record unfolds with elegance, restraint, and a strong sense of atmosphere. With Echoform, the label once again underlines its refined aesthetic and deep understanding of timeless underground music.
James Davison, the most startlingly talented UK brass player of his generation, joins this highly experienced team with brilliant results. Charlie Parker's 'Ornithology',Thelonious Monk's 'Straight No Chaser', Billy Strayhorn's 'Satin Doll' and Horace Silver's 'Peace are amongst the gems to be found here. This is the second Woodville Records release to be based solely around the brilliant arranging skills of world class trombonist Mark Nightingale. The first, Alan Barnes plus 11 (WVCD151) featured Mark's adept and characterful handling of a twelve- piece ensemble. Jazz Classics ...with a Twist displays equal inventiveness and imagination, showcasing a sextet line-up in a programme of individually re-thought takes on these ageless tunes. In Mark's hands this band frequently resembles a much larger ensemble such is his skill in manipulating tone colour and voicing.
Percussionist Tim Barnes has played with Jim O"Rourke, Wilco, Sonic Youth, Stereolab, Silver Jews, Tony Conrad, John Zorn, Faust, Tower Recordings, Alan Licht and many others in improvised & experimental music. Diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer"s in 2021, Tim"s new collabs with Ken (Bundy) Brown (Tortoise, Pullman) feature Joshua Abrams, David Grubbs, Oren Ambarchi, David Daniell, Darin Gray, Glenn Kotche, Tara Jane O"Neil, Jim O"Rourke, Ken Vandermark and Tim"s stalwart rhythmic zeal.
Noumena is the second volume of music capturing percussionist Tim Barnes in a variety of collaborative settings recorded in extraordinary circumstances over the past few years. Since the 90s, he has collaborated with a range of talents in the indie rock, improvised & experimental music scenes. In 2021, Tim was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer"s at the age of 54, and he and his family went public with this immediately. The response from Tim"s network of friends and musical peers was overwhelming, and, beginning in late 2021, collaborative recordings were undertaken, coordinated and assembled by Tim"s longtime friend Ken (Bundy) Brown, with whom Tim had worked in the past as a member of the group Pullman, early pioneers of the new Americana movement in the indie scene of the late 90s. The recordings for Noumena feature the playing of Joshua Abrams, Oren Ambarchi, Ken Brown, John Dieterich, Darin Gray, Glenn Kotche, Robert Carlos Lange, Ro(b)//ert Lundberg, Douglas McCombs,, Matt Mehlan, Rob Mazurek, Tara Jane O"Neil Jim O"Rourke, Chad Taylor, Thollem, Britt Walford and Mike Watt. As with Lost Words, Noumena cuts a dramatic swath through a sweep of music styles, all of which are deepened by Tim"s versatile, intensely stimulated percussive feel.
"‘Where The Light Gets In' is the debut album from actor & singer songwriter Ben Barnes. The title of the album reflects the hopefulness of the songs, and the perspective earned through lived experience. Ben’s personal hope for these songs is that they encourage finding clarity when life feels sombre, feeling powerful when pain tells you you're vulnerable and lovable when the world tries to tell you that you're not enough as you are. The album is about the different stages of a relationship; beginnings, tension, sorrow, sex, love, endings... nostalgia. It's about how our history and our scars configure to make us who we are in this moment. If a part of us has ever felt broken, we can mend... transforming ourselves into something moreprecious than we were before.
The album was recorded at Apogee Studios in Santa Monica with the band all together, including James Valentine and Sam Farrar (Maroon 5) who also produced the record along with drummer/manager, Paul Hamilton."
8 years after the official reissue of the LP “An Eye For An Eye” by Byrne & Barnes, Favorite Recordings proudly presents this new single release.
The 7inch first includes the classic “Love You Out Of Your Mind”, extracted from the WestCoast classic LP, which was a one-stop collaboration between Robert Byrne and Brendan Barnes, however both display incredible music career and went on to produce for famous artists such as Pointer Sisters, Patti Austin, Earth Wind & Fire, or Phil Collins to name just a few. The song parades all the elements of the AOR style: a jazzy sometimes fusion approach, with modern soul and groove flavors.
The other side features an exclusive and unreleased track by Robert Byrne, dug by the original executive producer up in his archives for our great pleasure. “Do You Wanna Make Some Love” is also nurtured with Westcoast and AOR vibes, while leering to Boogie and Disco influences. We have no doubt it will delight all the Byrne & Barnes music lovers and many more.
Last year's superb Pura Lempuyang album has been pulled apart and served up on a couple of separate 12"s and this is the second one. It comes on limited turquoise vinyl and offers four cuts of stylish deep dub and techno. Fletcher's 'It's A Virtue' goes first with taught, twanging bass and grubby basslines then Mike Schommer's 'Kingmaker' offers liquid dub funk with watery pads and hissing static. Nicolas Barnes picks it up a little with a darker but still warm dub techno roller in 'Sonic Dial' and Redrop's 'Genesis' is the more driving of the lot but again exists right on the ocean floor.
J. J. BARNES has given us a magnificent collection of Northern Soul 45s including: “Please Let Me In”, “Real Humdinger”, “Baby Please Come Back Home” and “Our Love Is In The Pocket”. But, perhaps the most beloved of all is the 1969 crossover masterpiece “Sweet Sherry” which, ironically, JJ never recorded on a single. It first appeared and became known to the scene on the Volt Records album ‘Rare Stamps Vol 1’.
JOHN GARY WILLIAMS cut this superb crossover classic in 1973 for his lone self-titled album. The single followed later that year and is reissued here almost fifty years on.
Part of the joy of collecting soul music is searching for and discovering lesser known gems. Phoenix, AZ, might not be known as one of the main American cities for black music despite spawning artists such as Dyke & the Blazers and Eddie & Ernie, but the city holds a cult status among rare soul collectors thanks to the small output of labels like Artco, OK&T, Poorman’s and Raina.
One of the state’s well kept secrets is Bobby Barnes, who had a small number of 45 releases on local labels. All strong tracks which really deserved wider recognition than they got.
The 14th S4R release contains two previously unissued songs, from 1977 and 1984 respectively, recorded for the Raina label with Lawrence Carroll producing and arranging.
”Super High On Your Love” is in my opinion his best song - a super soulful floater type of modern soul dancer. The flip is an alternative, extended version of “I’ve Had My Share”, to my ears superior to the original with a sparser backing and keyboards replacing the guitar. Two truly sublime sides!
The late Dena Barnes reputedly recorded four sides for Harry Balk in the Impact studios circa 1966-67, two are featured here, the other two have yet to surface... oh what joy! If You Ever Walk Out Of My Life' IS Northern Soul to many devotees ever since it was first spun on the UK club scene some 40 years ago. Co-written by Gar'dena' Barnes and Duke Browner, during his glory years, and arranged by Detroit royalty Mike Terry. Surely this iconic double-sider demands to be in every soul fans collection.
SALES POINTS:
All time Northern Soul Classic - Two fabulous sides
Massive appeal to ALL Northern Soul fans
repress !
More Late 70s/early 80s Westcoast Yachtpop you can almost dance to!
Buoyed by the incredible love felt for TSTD Vol. 1 in summer 2014, Berlin's renowned pop archaeologist, that master musical excavator DJ Super-markt, has leapt straight back into the soft-top and been out digging for the lost gems you'll find here on Volume 2. This is another perfect collection of missing-in-action, late-70s/early-80s smooth, singer/songwriter, AOR-paced, yacht-based pop and blue-eyed soul. Every song brims over with that West Coast sunshine, and for Volume 2 we've dug even deeper into obscure corners of LA, London, even Cologne, to create an even more potent soundtrack to that lost world that's somehow always with us. So join us on another sunset trip as we soundtrack summer 2015 in the company of these lost luminaries. Bask in every detail of that glorious over-production, and recall an era when the music industry had the time, money and sheer musical talent to make everything BIG. Pay no mind to the cynics, the cooler-than-thou-erati, or the buzz kills of the sincerity police. These are big tunes that deserve to be hits, even if it's taken 40 years to get there, driving slowly up that winding California coast road in the wonderful warm summer air.
