Lloyd Parks is one of the greatest bass player in Jamaican music history, but he’s also a brilliant singer. He started his singer carrier in 1967 at Studio One with The Termites and then had numerous hits with songs like “Officially”, “Slaving”, “Ordinary Man”, “Mafia” or “We’ll Get Over It”. In 2013, Fruits Records producer Mathias Liengme travelled to Jamaica to record The Inspirators album, an all stars group gathering Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, Lloyd Parks, Earl “Chinna” Smith and Anthony “Sangie” Davis playing and singing together. Taken from these recording sessions, Lloyd Parks’ “No Bother Chuck It Pon Me” is for the first time available on 7” record including a wicked dub version on the B side by Roberto Sánchez.
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Danish drummer Terkel Nørgaard presents his trio consisting of some of the key players in the Copenhagen scene and adding ECM-recording American star trumpeter Ralph Alessi on the lineup. Not merely a "feature", Alessi and the Danes form a coherent band unit capable of producing memorable and highly inspired contemporary jazz which links to the Nordic tradition of dynamic sound ranging from delicate minimalism to powerful avantgarde eruptions. The album Terkel Nørgaard "With Ralph Alessi" will be out via Helsinki's We Jazz Records on May 17.
On the new album, the Danish trio plus Alessi achieve something that can always be regarded a remarkable feat. They deliver a highly inspired set of music which links the album onto the ever-evolving lineage of jazz music, and at the same time introduce a new band capable of stunning the listener in the here and now. Terkel Nørgaard "With Ralph Alessi" will be released on vinyl (black / mint colored), CD and digital formats.
Following on from big recent releases from Neue Grafik & Oliver Night, CoOp Presents Sivey, with an all-new double-header of heat, 'Nobody Else' and 'Somebody Samebody'.
For those that don't know, Manchester-based Sivey became a player in the future beats scene a couple years back, releasing music with the LA-based collective Soulection, as a solo artist and via collaborations with Evil Needle, which came to fruition after a series of online beat battles, as well as releases and remixes with labels like Astral Black and Ninja Tune.
His last wave of output was greeted with enthusiasm by fans of soulful beats championed by artist collectives such as HW&W and Darker Than Wax, and saw Sivey subsequently spinning at events across the UK, and perform shows as far afield as Los Angeles and Tokyo.
Rooted in hip hop production, Sivey's largely instrumental tracks have brought together elements of millennial R&B, neo-soul, UK garage, jazz and 80s funk. In the few years since his previous releases, Sivey has continued to experiment with new ways of exploiting his diverse influences in his productions. As his listening habits became increasingly orientated around jazz and obscure 70s fusion records, his own productions began to reflect the shift.
The recent resurgence of the broken beat movement was something that also inspired him, admiring the balance between musicality and danceability of the genre. He made his first experiments with bruk in 2017 and found that it mixed perfectly with what he'd already been creating. Eager to share the results with the world, it made perfect sense for his first offerings of this ilk to find a home here with us at CoOp Presents.
These two tracks exemplify the ever-evolving progression of Sivey's sonics; the familiar deep keys and synth sounds of his previous productions are there, but nestled alongside more uptempo grooves, and the lush rhythmic complexity of bruk. Tied in with his love for jazz fusion, 'Somebody Samebody' sees Sivey reinterpret a late 70's track by Japanese guitarist, Kazumi Watanabe; this one also enlisting the help of Trian Kayhatu on keys. As well as the original tracks, prolific Selectors Assemble crew member Danvers adds in his own tasty heads-down version of 'Nobody Else', and label co-founder IG Culture (who recently received a Worldwide Award for 'lifetime achievement'!) provides a dope bruk-funk flip of 'Somebody Samebody' to close out the set.
Cochemea Gastelum is coming home to connect with his roots. After nearly 15 years of touring the world with Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, the saxophonist offers a deeply personal album of jazz and indigenous-influenced rhythms. All My Relations¸ out February 22 on Daptone Records, is 10 tracks of mesmerizing and spiritually ascendant instrumentation. The first single 'All My Relations' is available now.
'All My Relations is a way for me to explore my roots through music. Some of it is a memory that is imagined from a time and place I've never been ('Sonora') or a musical impression of ritual ('Mitote'),' Cochemea says. 'I felt compelled to add the way I feel when I go to ceremony, when I feel connected with my ancestors, to the musical narrative.'
A California native with Yaqui and Mescalero Apache Indian ancestry, Cochemea grew up surrounded by music but without knowing much about his heritage. Both his parents were musicians, and they gave their son a heavy name meaning 'they were all killed asleep.' Cochemea has spent much of his diverse musical career - as a soloist, musical director, composer and ensemble player - exploring and iterating on roots music, and All My Relations is a capstone meditation on his own ancestry.
Originally conceived during Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings' final year of touring, Cochemea and Daptone's Gabe Roth cast a varied but familial set of New York musicians to bring All My Relations to life. A large portion of the album was created through improvisation and collective writing, where its 10 musicians created a melodic, percussive conversation. 'It was a beautiful experience - people would start playing and we'd work up these arrangements on the spot, then record it.'
'In a sense, this record is a prayer for unity, love and the recognition that we are all part of a web, and everything we do effects everything else,' Cochemea says. 'These days there's so many lines being drawn, I wanted to focus on what unites us.'
Cochemea has a long history of uniting multiple genres with his powerful polyrhythmic sensibilities. His roots in jazz, Latin, funk and rock led to multiple tours with funk-jazz organist Robert Walter's 20th Congress, and connected him with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings for their 2005 Naturally tour. Cochemea also played tenor sax with The Budos Band and Antibalas, and Baritone sax on the Amy Winehouse sessions, before becoming a full-time Dap-King in 2009.
In between marathon tours, Cochemea recorded a critically acclaimed solo album of soul, funk, and afro-Latin jazz, The Electric Sound of Johnny Arrow, all while doing session work for the likes of Mark Ronson, Rick Rubin and Quincy Jones. He's performed alongside Archie Shepp, Beck, David Byrne, Public Enemy and The Roots. Cochemea was also a featured soloist in the award-winning Broadway play Fela!, which led to historic performances in Lagos, Nigeria.
- A1: Noel Kelehan Quintet - Spon Song
- A2: John Wadham - Floatin
- A3: Louis Stewart - Araby
- B1: Joe O'donnell - Caravan
- B2: Taste - On The Boards
- B3: Granny's Intentions - Nutmeg, Bitter-Sweet
- B4: Mellow Candle - Lonely Man
- C1: Sonny Condell - Red Sail
- C2: Supply, Demand & Curve - When You're By Yourself
- C3: Rosemarie Taylor - Mister Sleep
- C4: Apartment - Weekend
- D1: The Plattermen - Africah Wah Wah
- D2: Jonathan Kelly's Outside - Misery
- D3: Dr. Strangely Strange - Mary Malone Of Moscow
- D4: Stacc - Holy Smoke
- D5: Zebra - Silent Partners
'Buntús Rince' translates from Irish as 'basic rhythms', and this new compilation explores how Irish musicians were influenced by strands of different genres of music from around the world, merging them to create their own unique sounds. The compilation features some of the most innovative and talented figures in the history of Irish music and includes rare Irish jazz, fusion and folk outliers from the 1970s and early 1980s from musicians relatively unknown outside of Ireland.
Often regarded as a musical backwater, the 1970s finally saw Ireland begin to make its mark on international music. The nature of this feat is all the more commendable, considering how isolated and conservative the country still was in the middle of the last century. The emergence of acts like Skid Row, Thin Lizzy and Van Morrison instilled in budding young Irish musicians the belief to dream big.
Unlike many other European countries, Ireland had not benefited from the cultural impact of immigration. Pioneering Irish musicians did not have access to the type of vibrant music scenes ubiquitous to most European cities at that time. With no talented players or even in some cases recordings of the music, they had to cultivate and invent their own small scenes.
A jazz scene had begun to blossom in Dublin in the late 1950s. Self-taught players like Noel Kelehan and Louis Stewart emerged as the Irish standard-bearers. Their level of musicianship saw them play with some of the world's most renowned artists. The 1960s would see the emergence of the 'beat' scene in Ireland, with groups like Granny's Intentions, Taste and Eire Apparent finally challenging the hegemony of Irish Showbands. Change was in the air.
The late 1960s also saw many Irish emigrants returning home, bringing with them inspiration from the new styles and sounds of London and further afield. The arrival in the late 1960s of pirate radio stations like Radio Caroline, new music magazines and the availability of music on vinyl meant that different genres were now becoming more accessible. The musical landscape of the country began to transform and evolve, influencing a new generation of musicians in the process.
The 1970s saw advancements in studio technology. 8-track studios began appearing in Dublin, offering more opportunities for groups to record singles and albums. Synthesizers and other instruments were also becoming easier to acquire as the younger generation turned to electric jazz and fusion music.
While the level of musicianship was high, the levels of opportunities in Ireland were still very limited. Many groups and solo musicians had to emigrate to try and succeed.
Thankfully for those who remained, this new emerging scene didn't go totally unnoticed and local labels began to take a chance on more obscure Irish groups. Labels like Mulligan and also producers like John D'Ardis and Terri Hooley championed and documented music from the Irish underground of the 1970s.
Their valuable work is a common thread which connects many of the tracks on this compilation. From the soaring flute playing of Brian Dunning, to the swinging piano of Noel Kelehan and the sonic force of Jolyon Jackson's synthesizers; 'Buntús Rince' lifts the lid on a vastly underappreciated period of Irish music history.
One for the collectors.
The meditative New Age album Sojourn reshaped including unearthed tracks from the archives produced in that time frame now for a long time overdue worldwide release ! Young, the percussionist and marimba player in the seminal New York art-wave group, recorded a series of cassette-only releases in the '80s after Liquid Liquid disbanded. A couple of these were picked up at the time for Korean release, which is where Daehan Electronics, a South Korea-based label dedicated to tracing the history of electronic music in the land of the morning calm, comes in. Sojourn was one of these albums, part of a biorithmically-aligned New Age serie, each one meant to be heard on specific days of the week. DE has worked with Young to restore and remaster the original masters for this new release, bringing out the full warmth of the analog synthesizers used to create it. It is the second in a series of collaborations with Young, which will delve deeply into both the scarce cassette issues and other, unreleased material newly discovered on tapes. Liner notes outline the history of the record and include Young's own pathway
Until now Tape only New Age Dance masterpiece Visions reshaped including unearthed tracks from the archives produced in that time frame now for a long time overdue Vinyl release ! Young, the percussionist and marimba player in the seminal New York art-wave group, recorded a series of cassette-only releases in the '80s after Liquid Liquid disbanded. A couple of these were picked up at the time for Korean release, which is where Daehan Electronics, a South Korea-based label dedicated to tracing the history of electronic music in the land of the morning calm, comes in. After the market fail of the biorithmically-aligned New Age serie planned by the label Visions could never see life on Vinyl and felt forgotten due to the limited tape run released at first. DE has worked with Young to restore and remaster the original masters for this new release, bringing out the full warmth of the analog synthesizers used to create it. It is the third in a series of collaborations with Young, which will delve deeply into both the scarce cassette issues and other, unreleased material newly discovered on tapes. Liner notes outline the history of the record and include Young's own pathway
Marvellous synth rhythms are the key-player on ZEIT008, Roman Debnar’s Dark Matter EP.
Born in the 1940s in Istanbul, Italian painter and percussionist Wilfred Copello had, from the onset, a predisposition for exotic sounds.Indeed, his interest for latin music was manifest early on in his career. In 1970 he was an uncredited member of the Italian band Latins 80 who released the same year the LP Foglie Gialle All’Imbrunire which has now gained cult status.From that period onwards, Wilfred settled in Rome where he gained an excellent reputation as a studio player; he participated in a large number of projects and albums, especially on the jazz scene with his friend Romano Mussolini (The Latin Taste, Jam Session , Soft & Swing, etc.). But it is the music from Brazil that had the greatest impact on Wilfred. In 1974 he recorded ‘Viva Brasil’ with the group Expo 80, an album which was an ode to Brazilian music. A few years later, at the turn of the 80s, he formed the band Wilfred Percussion. He brought with him an all-star cast of the jazz and Latin scene in Rome which included Argentinean drummer Osvaldo Mazzei and respected trumpet player Cicci Santucci.It was actually in Cicci Santucci’s Audio Sound Studio that was recorded Wilfred Percussion’s only album.Recorded in 1983, the album is a musical gem. Self-produced, Wilfred Percussion is composed of covers and original compositions. Covers include original titles by the unclassifiable Hermeto Pascoal as well as Milton Nascimento, and are reinterpreted here in a totally unique fashion with that distinctive Italian groove. Wilfred Percussion is an album which allies funk to MPB with jazz undertones, introducing the listener to a singularly fresh and evocative opus.
'Quasi' is Ariwo's second album, after the release of
their first self-titled album in 2017:
Despite Ariwo's diverse mix of musicians
(Cuba/Iran/Canada/UK) their music doesn't belong to any specific genre. In
''Quasi', Ariwo use the building blocks of deep bass, afro-Cuban polyrhythms,
carnival melody and immersive live electronics as a starting point to engage
with key players on London's jazz scene.
The result is a hypnotic journey for the listener from techno
to avant-garde jazz via West Africa and the Caribbean. 'Quasi' aims to mirror
the evolved direction of Ariwo's live set, which after extensive touring over
the past three years has gradually become more stripped back and club-oriented.
Many of the building blocks for this album started life as improvisations in
live sets and have been developed into full tracks on 'Quasi'.
The album features guest appearances from MOBO winning saxophonist
Binker Golding (Binker & Moses) and acclaimed UK keys player Joe Armon-Jones
(keys). Cuban trumpet players Thommy Lowry Garcia and Yelfris Valdes also
feature on the album, bringing carnival melodies that interweave through the
percussion and electronics.
Ariwo have used songs from 'Quasi' to create the music
for 'Portals' - a tour of Carlos Acosta's new contemporary dance company
'Acosta Danza' in Havana.
Having previously collaborated with the likes of Shafiq Husayn, Chester Watson and Foreign Beggars, electronic space funk outfit Paper Tiger return from an explorative journey to the dark edges of the cosmos with their long-awaited third album ‘Rogue Planet’.
The Leeds and London-based outfit (whose collective playing credits include Yellow Days, Werkha, Nubiyan Twist, Cinematic Orchestra & more) once again seamlessly combine elements of live recording and improvisation, their emphasis on blending organic sounds with electronic production techniques. The result is music which is interesting and technically proficient, but remains vibrant, colourful and funky -captivating both in headphones and on the dancefloor.
Just like the journey from debut long-player ‘Laptop Suntan’ to sophomore album ‘Blast Off’, and in-keeping with the band’s space travel fascination, ‘Rogue Planet’ is a cosmic leap from its predecessor. Band leader Greg Surmacz explains: ‘There is still humour and a sense of playfulness hopefully -largely provided by our MC Raphael Attar -but the overall sound is much more lush, jazzy and soulful. We wanted to make something that fits into our universe but hits a deeper emotional nerve’.
With diverse guests ranging from the legendary Steve Spacek on lead single ‘The Cycle’ to Olivia Bhattacharjee (the vocalist of Gondwana Records-signed Noya Rao) on the shuffling, leftfield beats of ‘Bioluminescent’ and Chicago-born but LA-based MC Lando Chill’s quick-fire delivery on the ironically titled ‘Slow Motion’ the album is a rich and varied listen. It’s a record drenched in futuristic soul, brimming with textured samples and intriguing progressions demonstrating the enviable musicianship on show here. G-Funk-esque melodies run throughout, joined by reverberating celestial horns and scattered drum patterns.
Danish drummer Terkel Nørgaard presents his trio consisting of some of the key players in the Copenhagen scene and adding ECM-recording American star trumpeter Ralph Alessi on the lineup. Not merely a "feature", Alessi and the Danes form a coherent band unit capable of producing memorable and highly inspired contemporary jazz which links to the Nordic tradition of dynamic sound ranging from delicate minimalism to powerful avantgarde eruptions. The album Terkel Nørgaard "With Ralph Alessi" will be out via Helsinki's We Jazz Records on May 17.
On the new album, the Danish trio plus Alessi achieve something that can always be regarded a remarkable feat. They deliver a highly inspired set of music which links the album onto the ever-evolving lineage of jazz music, and at the same time introduce a new band capable of stunning the listener in the here and now. Terkel Nørgaard "With Ralph Alessi" will be released on vinyl (black / mint colored), CD and digital formats.
We are delighted to present our fourth release on 12” format, a very special collaboration with legendary Jamaican trombone player Vin Gordon.
"Bowl go, packy come" is an old Jamaican proverb equivalent to “what goes around comes around”, or in a more positive form “one good turn deserves another”. In this EP it symbolises the migrations and cultural exchanges between Jamaica and UK and back from UK to Jamaica and the rest of the world, pretty similar to the life journey of Vin Gordon himself. The music and the artwork here try to represent that continuum of exchange between both shores.
The Ep contains two uptempo instrumental tracks that are a mix of classic Jamaican sounds with a UK influence, combining classic live instrumentation and modern programming. Each track comes with it’s own dub version mixed analog live by Ojah in traditional fashion.
Also available complementing this release is ALDBS7008 “What Goes Around Comes Around”, a 7” that contains an additional Hammond and melodica solo version and an additional dub of the “Packy” riddim.
Limited edition of 600 copies, 180g heavyweight 12” vinyl, hand-numbered, served in a spined sleeve with outstanding artwork by Victor Castro.
Hammond & melodica recorded by Nik Torp at Squat Sound Studio, London, UK, 2015
Percussion & keys recorded by Ojah at Rollover Studios, London, UK, 2015
Trombone recorded by Jamez at Black Lindy Studio, London, UK, 2015
Guitars recorded by Puppa Shan at Discoinferno, Madrid, Spain, 2018
All tracks produced, mixed and mastered by Oscar Pablos “Ojah” at Alchemy Dubs Studio, London, UK, 2018
Graphic design by Victor Castro
Presenting 'Fire Zone'. Album written, produced & mixed by Zane Reynolds and pressed on 180g vinyl, by Ekster. Coming out May 2019, including poster 57x57cm artwork by the artist. Mastered & cut by Helmut Erler at Dubplates & Mastering.
The music of Zane Reynolds AKA SFV Acid celebrates lysergic life in small town America. His are urban hallucinations. Conceived in 'business parks, strip malls', in 'blue collar luxury'. On a diet of 'diner burgers'. From the self-released, hand-painted cassettes of his high school years, he has moved to work commissioned by locals 100% Silk, Japan`s Big Love, and Dutch imprint, BAKK. His latest long-player, Fire Zone, will be issued by Belgian label, Ekster.
The album continues to reference Zane's Los Angeles home, and in this case the devastation that rages there every Summer. The concept however, reaching away from the horror and flames, to offer an escape.
There are moments, interludes, that hint at, and hide, something darker. Where drone twists from tape hiss. Bends. Out of shape. Where chords distort. Their degraded edges disintegrating. Charred perhaps But Ai welcomes you to 'San Fernando Valley', and a low-riding 808 booms. Less L.A. More Overtown, or Liberty City. Its racing booty bass calmed by wind chimes. The rapid Electro-Funk clip countered by modal synths. Its sunny disposition reflecting the SFV climate.
Playful rhymes, fragmented dialogue, and answer phone messages, rub up against Rave sirens. Roland`s silver box squeezes out a Sci-Fi Jazz. Through ping-ponging percussion. Through a drum and bass battery. Punched by keys that wanna be horns. Rewinds that create a bin-blowing vacuum. Shore-line samples washing the more head-nodding tempos. Euphoria rising while a perfect beat pops and locks. (text: Robert Harris)
Point B Biog 2018
Starting out on legendary Electro label SCSI AV and Orson Records in the mid noughties, Point B began to earn himself a reputation through his intense dance floor-focussed EPs and pensive, experimental long players. By sewing together influences ranging from 70s sci-fi films to traditional middle eastern music, he wove a unique sonic fabric. Later that decade and after absorbing the waves of dubstep and post-garage that washed up on the shores of South London, his sound matured into something that can deliver club euphoria and introspective melancholy.
With his last commercial release back in 2014, a four year hiatus passed whilst he worked on other music projects. During that time he built up a collection of handcrafted synth patches, some of them employing modular synthesis techniques. The ensuing sketches formed the basis of his latest work: Smash Hits. This is arguably Point B's most direct and focussed record to date. Opting for a techno template, he consciously kept the sound palette narrow, concentrating his efforts on the groove, energy and production fidelity. This is a statement record that demonstrates his creative control and programming playfulness.
170 bpm halftime dubwise style. Heavy basses, deep subs, breaks and reggae vibes sums up this hard hitting single by Champion Sound called "Warn Dem". With this track the trio makes their debut on the Dub Communication imprint. On remix duties we also welcome Halcyonic and G Roots to the label. Together with horn player Vale they twisted the original to a great remix for the B-side of DUBCOM005V.
mule musiq's sub label studio mule has formed a group of shifting members and are now releasing a debut album with 8 tracks of reworked obscure japanese gems.
the album contains the three singles the group released so far, featuring miyako koda of the ex-perimental pop band dip in the pool -- whose "on retinae" was reissued by music from memory to great acclaim -- on vocals and mule musiq staple kuniyuki on production with direction by label head toshiya kawasaki.
one of them, "carnaval," is a cover of the japanese dance classic by taeko ohnuki, produced by ymo. "shinzo no tobira" is a remake of the track by mariah, a band led by sax player yasuaki shi-mizu, from their album utakata no hibi -- which was one of the reissues that sparked the global interest in obscure japanese music in the last few years. studio mule's version features japanese lyrics rewritten by miyako koda. "face to face" is a cover of the ambient pop gem from the ultra rare album desire by yumi murata of mariah -- an album visible cloaks is a fan of.
also included is a rework of "kagami no naka no jugatsu," a song by tamao koike produced by ymo, turned into a dubby balearic pop track -- dubbier than the version included on the yen label compi-lation -- sang by nanako sato, one of the artists enjoying some newfound success following a string of reissues stemming from the "city pop" revival craze. the oriental ambient pop "yugao" by singer songwriter mioko yamaguchi is covered by vocalist saho terao, whom some describe as this gen-eration's taeko ohnuki.
"the april fools" is a rework of yukihiro takahashi's track, which itself was also a cover of the origi-nal song by burt bacharach. this new version boasts a more experimental arrangement with nanako sato handling the vocals. ymo's "ballet," originally with vocals by yukihiro takahashi, was reconstructed into a dance floor-ready instrumental by kuniyuki. many say yoshiyuki ohsawa's "soshite bokuwa toho ni kureru" is one of the greatest songs of the '80s. the 12" dance version is reshaped here into a melancholic balearic house track.
the album cover is by the increasingly popular hotshot photographer kota shouji.
The first release on a new label: Pura Vida Sounds founded by Guts, in conjunction with Heavenly Sweetness. El Tipo Este is a pioneer of Hip Hop in Cuba and Al Quetz, a leading French beat maker.
This canny combo have drawn from the local musical currents, absorbing Afro-Cuban sounds, adding the freedom of jazz, the metronome of hip hop and a healthy bass shake of neighbouring island Jamaica.
For Cubans, El Tipo Este is the pioneer of all things hip-hop. As founding member of Obsesion, one of the nation's most notable hip hop exports. Early champions of his music included Gilles Peterson, who selected a track
to include in his 'Havana Cultura; New Cuba Sounds' compilation. Hot off the heels of this, El Tipo Este was enlisted to assemble the full band of musicians for the Havana Cultura tour. This unit played stages across Europe, USA and
closer to home in Latin America, and in turn this led to collaborations with The Roots and Mos Def For this long player, El Tipo Este he has enlisted beat maker France's Al Quetz to carry his rhymes. Originally known as Quetzal, Al Quetz is a crucial figure in
the world of beat making. A sound scientist whose cut, loop, program, paste compositions has seen him collaborate with the likes of Onra, Guts, La Fine Equipe and Milk Coffee & Sugar.
b1 Regla Sound System
[|] b2 Tu Vera
[] b3 Dicen
[~] c1 Usame
[] c2 Interludio En El 106
[] c3 Inflowencias
[] d1 Ya No Me Pertenezco
[] d2 Revolucion Vivencial
[] d3 Tierra, Semillas Y Frutas
[{] b1 Regla Sound System
[|] b2 Tu Vera
[}] b3 Dicen
[~] c1 Usame
[] c2 Interludio En El 106
[] c3 Inflowencias
[] d1 Ya No Me Pertenezco
[] d2 Revolucion Vivencial
[] d3 Tierra, Semillas Y Frutas
[{] b1 Regla Sound System
[|] b2 Tu Vera
[}] b3 Dicen
[~] c1 Usame
[] c2 Interludio En El 106
[] c3 Inflowencias
[] d1 Ya No Me Pertenezco
[] d2 Revolucion Vivencial
[] d3 Tierra, Semillas Y Frutas
With a discography held in such high esteem amongst fans of conceptual French pop and soundtrack composition, the likelihood of finding an unturned stone amongst maestro Jean-Claude Vannier’s fertile psychedelic rockery falls somewhere between slim and skeletal. Even the most intrepid explorers of the most fearless and fastidious nature should naturally expect to encounter one or two shadowy characters when braving the oblique corners of the Vannier vault, but few lost souls cast a darker silhouette than the cinematic obscurity known only as La Bête Noire (The Black Beast).
Lost and presumed missing for decades the soundtrack tapes to this lesser-known 1983 French thriller (featuring a cast culled from films such as Alphaville, The Modern Couple and Sweet Movie) captures the revered composer and arranger of Serge Gainsbourg’s Histoire De Melody Nelson embarking on a darker exploration of free jazz, frenzied batucadas and cyclic carousel psychedelia. Counting key players of the French jazz scene within its ranks, The Insolitudes group comprises a crack team of Palm/Futura/Actuel/Saravah regulars such as saxophonist Philippe Mate´ (Acting Trio/Mate´-Vallancien/Tacet) alongside drummer Bernard Labat (Mad Ducks) and legendary Arpadys/Voyage rhythm masters Marc Chantereau and Pierre-Alain Dahan (Brutus Drums) all of whom alongside Michel Zanlonghi (Ensemble De Percussion De Paris) make up this thunderous, tumultuous, four-headed rhythm machine bridging an authentic gap between The Jef Gilson Groups and France’s signature “cosmic” revolution. Naturally these previously unheard compositions are spearheaded by lead pianist and composer Vannier and for devotee’s of his 1972 concept album L’Enfant Assassin Des Mouche there is much to admire and cross-reference herein.
Having been the most loyal and long-running guardians of Jean-Claude’s monster archive over the past two decades Finders Keepers Records are proud to present this first catch of newfound vintage Vannier discoveries on this limited and unlikely free jazz 45 single (which should find a perfect home between coveted Euro jazz 7”s by Krzysztof Komeda, Franc¸ois Tusques and Brussels Art Quintet). Almost 15 years since Finders Keepers once liberated the Mouches it is now time to set free another Black Beast amongst discerning listeners.




















