Blue-in-Green:RADIO is a contemporary soul/funk/jazz/Latin internet radio station broadcasting an array of incredible shows from presenters and DJs from across the world.
Independent German record label, Resistant Mindz, have
followed up on the fantastic release by funk-filled soul act My Trippin Mojo (‘Edda’s
Garden’) with the super group formation of Shawn Lee and Mike & Nick Rufolo,
forming The Brothers Nylon.
Since ‘Analog Spirit Quest’ which was released on Ropeadope
Records in 2015 (pairing them with Michael Kammers (MK)), New York-based twin
brothers Mike and Nick Rufolo have taken their love of the analog sound to the next
level, and found the perfect dance partner in which to take their sound to the
next level… enter Shawn Lee. The endlessly
prolific producer, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, himself also no stranger
to collaborations – seems to have stumbled onto something with the Rufolos perhaps
previously untapped, thus birthing the playful, inimitable and… well it wouldn’t be fair to exclude the word
funky here… funky ‘Bitches Cold Brew’.
The album, while still very much rooted in authentic
production and recording techniques, serves as a testament to the modern age of
how a transatlantic pairing now comes together: initially recorded onto tape in
New York, then digitized and sent over to Lee in London to be refined with his
own touch, until being sent back overseas to the Rufolos again.
Saying this album puts the “fun” in “funk” is perhaps a bit of
an obvious line but just a cursory look over the tracklist is enough to raise a
smile and generate interest: ‘Coffee Shop’, ‘CousCous’, ‘Hot Sauce’, ‘Local
Fruit And Veg Emporium’, ‘Shove It In My Mouth’ and ‘All Man Milk’… make of
those what you will but it’s that kind of humour that makes ‘Bitches Cold Brew’
as described earlier, “inimitable”. A
great example would be on the group’s ode to Game of Thrones, ‘Khaleesi’: “I
got to save the day, because the winter is coming, but the cold never bothered
me anyway”… An effortless transition from the mature and violent world of
George RR Martin’s fantasy epic to the alternate fantasy epic in Disney’s own
right. Another effortless transition
here is in the music throughout the album – that analog sound of the recording
is prevalent throughout as it flits from smooth soul to more uptempo funk.
Kudos to The Brothers Nylon for an imaginative release… and
for reintroducing CousCous as a staple part of my diet again!
Aside from the excellent shows we have scheduled for the week, we're also happy to announce that our 24/7 selection that plays in and around the below shows has undergone a revamp with the inclusion of music by The Haggis Horns, Robert Glasper, Janelle Monae, Maisha and Ayo Awosika.
Also, we've uploaded songs from D'Angelo from the live rehearsals of his 1998 Essence Festival performance. Members of the band include Anthony Hamilton on backing vocals and Roy Hargrove on trumpet.
You can tune in to our shows via the player at the top of this page or by looking us up ("Blue-in-Green:RADIO") on iTunes and TuneIn and check the below times with where you are in the world here: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
MONDAY (27th March)
Get To Know...(Mondays 7-8pm; show repeated Wednesdays 7-8am)
The show that spends an hour focusing on the music from some of our favourite producers and musicians, this week shines a light on... Quantic aka Will Holland and his many guises of Quantic, The Quantic Soul Orchestra, Flowering Inferno and Combo Barbaro.
Monday Mix (Mondays 8-9pm; show repeated Wednesdays 8-9am)
Thrilled to announce the inclusion of DJ Rhonnie Rhon to our station. Coming to us from San Jose, California, Ride The Vibe delivers an hour-long mix of soulful house and nu-soul tracks that we couldn't be prouder to showcase. (Click here to check out more mixes by DJ Rhonnie Rhon: https://soundcloud.com/dj-rhonnie-rhon)
TUESDAY (28th March)
Nu-Skool Soul (Tuesdays 8-10pm; show repeated Fridays 7-9am)
Playing the absolute best in contemporary soul, R&B and neo-soul. This week's show features Raheem DeVaughn as our artist of the week along with music from Lauriana Mae, Jeff Bradshaw, Aaron Abernathy, Cocaine 80s and Zo! amongst others. Our Themetime2from1 has 'infidelity' as the theme for this week.
WEDNESDAY (29th March)
20th Century Soul(Wednesdays 8-10pm; show repeated Tuesdays 7-9am)
A two-hour playlist of classic and connoisseur soul this week featuring music from Roberta Flack, Maze & Frankie Beverly, Prince, Lou Bond, Donald Byrd, Aretha Franklin, Shirley Brown and much more.
THURSDAY (30th March)
The Blue-in-Green Sessions(Thursdays 8-10pm; show repeated Mondays 7-9am)
Soul, jazz and funk music featuring The Steve McQueens, Lakecia Benjamin, Michael Kiwanuka, Snarky Puppy and Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators. 'Edda's Garden' by My Trippin Mojo is our album of the week, and Nicola Conte is our '2from1' artist.
SATURDAY (1st April)
Liberation's Frequency / Frequency Liberated(Saturdays 10-12pm)
Two back-to-back playlists: Liberation's Frequency is the big bucket of alternative and left-of-centre selections that you won't find played anywhere else on the station. Tune in and indulge your alternative side. Frequency Liberated however focuses more on some soulful house numbers along with chillout and nu-soul selections.
'Telepathy' by Christina Aguilera featuring Nile Rodgers
Finding its home on the soundtrack to Netflix's 'The Get Down', the pairing of Aguilera and Rodgers only tells half the story: 'Telepathy' was written by Sia Fuller - the immensely talented artist with the golden pen - and features three of the most proficient musicians from Daptone Records and Truth & Soul Records, Thomas Brenneck, Nick Movshon and Homer Steinweiss.
'This Woman's Love' by Sidibe
Taken from the digital EP 'You Got The Luck', 'This Woman's Love' is one of two tracks produced by Jack Splash and, like the rest of the EP, is rich in 80s soul and R&B. Sidibe wears obvious comparisons with Sade comfortably but brings more than enough of her style to make her someone we should all be eager to hear more from.
'Color Blind' by October London
If you're not won over by October London's voice after 10 seconds, then nothing I write hear can possibly win you over. This is the title track from his 'Color Blind: Love' release. This is no vocal sample of Marvin Gaye - that's actually London!
There was
clearly something in the water when it came to the recording sessions for
Kendrick Lamar’s third studio album, ‘To Pimp a Butterfly’, released 15th March 2015 on Interscope Records... The
Platinum-selling, Grammy-winning and genre-defying (and defining) album marked
a decided take on socially-conscious and politically-charged hip-hop. Musically, the themes were rooted in jazz and
the avant-garde, and brought to life by a swathe of incredibly talented
musicians many of which have gone on to huge successes in their own right. So while the album has rightfully propelled Kendrick’s
star into the stratosphere, we thought we’d showcase the rest of the graduates
from To Pimp a Butterfly University, see what they got up to next and highlight
an exciting movement in West Coast Jazz.
Terrace
Martin (saxophone, production)
Terrace’s
contribution to TPAB can’t be overstated.
Having had a hand in almost every track, aside from producing ‘For Free’
and ‘These Walls’, Martin also produced two tracks under the moniker LoveDragon
with trumpeter Josef Leimberg (see below).
Whether it was writing, production or instrumental work, Martin’s stamp
is all over this project and he was able to successfully build on its success
with his follow-up project, ‘Velvet Portraits’.
Released through Ropeadope Records, ‘Velvet Portraits’ has been
described as an extension of ‘TPAB’, even as far as having brought many of its
musicians along for the ride: bassist Thundercat and Robert Glasper appear on
‘Curly Martin’, saxophonist Kamasi Washington appears on the album highlight
‘Think of You’ (which also features a superb vocal from Rose Gold) and the
album culminates in 12-minute rendition of Kendrick’s ‘Mortal Man’. In many ways, like ‘TPAB’, ‘Velvet Portraits’
is very much a love letter to the West Coast, and his affection really
permeates through the music: ‘Turkey Taco’ is an obvious song to cite with its
G-Funk-inspired groove as is the vocoder work on ‘With You’ and Lalah
Hathaway’s ode to ‘Oakland’.
Josef
Leimberg (trumpet, production)
Moving on
to the other half of LoveDragon, we visit the excellent album by trumpeter
Josef Leimberg, ‘Astral Progressions’ – the sleeper hit on World Galaxy Records
that generated a huge buzz amidst contemporary jazz fans. Although Leimberg appears on several songs
throughout TPAB, his credentials extend much further than Kendrick as he can
boast having chalked up collaborations with Erykah Badu, Dr Dre, Funkadelic,
Robin Thicke, Terrace Martin and Shafiq Husayn.
It’s a diverse mix of collaborations that have all gone on to shape the
sound of ‘Astral Progressions’ making it a masterfully-created and exquisite
piece of work.
Robert
Glasper (piano)
Arguably
the musician here who needs the least introduction. Pianist and band-leader Robert Glasper
successfully crossed over in 2011 bringing his jazz-fusion band, The Robert
Glasper Experiment, with him. A few
Grammies later, Robert Glasper is one of the most prominent names in
contemporary jazz, soul and R&B and brought his talents along to several of
the songs on TPAB. Securing Glasper must
surely have proved to be a huge coup for the project as finding any free time
in his schedule must be near impossible: since the release of TPAB, Glasper has
gone on to release three albums (‘Covered’, ‘ArtScience’ and ‘Everything’s
Beautiful’), contribute to the soundtrack of Don Cheadle’s Miles Davis biopic
‘Miles Ahead’, appear on numerous other projects for artists and continue
touring extensively.
Thundercat
(bass)
Bassist Stephen
Bruner’s star has progressively risen since his contributions to TPAB. Already able to boast an extensive resume
prior to his award-winning collaborations with Kendrick, Thundercat has
continued to steadily put out work with artists including Flying Lotus and
Kamasi Washington since that time. The
release of his critically-acclaimed third studio album in 2017 however, ‘Drunk’,
seems to have made him a household name aided in part by inspired contributions
from Pharrell Williams, Flying Lotus, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins and
Kendrick Lamar.
Kamasi
Washington (saxophone)
Kamasi
Washington has gone on to incredible success following his sax work on
Kendrick’s ‘u’. The three-disc magnum
opus, ‘The Epic’, was released on Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder label just two
months after TPAB and established this LA-based composer and bandleader as a
frontrunner within the realms of cosmic jazz.
‘The Epic’ boasts a ten piece orchestra, a choir and did we mention this
is a debut comprising of three discs?!?
It’s as bold an introduction as you can get and a gamble that paid off
royally. Kamasi Washington has since
gone on to appear on several other projects including the aforementioned
‘Velvet Portraits’ and ‘Astral Progressions’.
Ronald
Bruner Jr (drums)
Brother of
Thundercat, Stephen, Ronald
Bruner Jr – who played drums on Kendrick’s ‘The Blacker The Berry’ – sees the
release of his debut album ‘Triumph’ in 2017 through World Galaxy Records. Having previously chalked up collaborations
with undeniable legends including Prince, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan and Q-Tip,
this debut release – which showcases Bruner as lead vocalist as well as drummer
– genuinely shines as one of the most exciting projects to emerge this year. The album is a unique fusion of jazz, soul
and R&B and backed by contributions from Thundercat, Mac Miller and George
Duke – frankly, it’s unmissable!
Ambrose
Akinmusire (trumpet)
Although
Ambrose Akinmusire has yet to follow his work on TPAB with an album of his own,
his last effort released on Blue Note Records, ‘The Imagined Savior is far Easier
to Paint’, held many highlights so warranted a mention in this article as
well. Trumpeter Akinmusire only appears
on one song on TPAB – sharing trumpet duties with Leimberg on ‘Mortal Man’ –
but the song acts as such a strong focal point for the whole album that again,
it’s a contribution worthy of mention. Akinmusire’s
at times understated playing works beautifully in the aforementioned ‘Savior...’
album, a style captured most elegantly with vocalist Becca Stevens in the
beautiful collaboration, ‘Our Basement (Ed)’.
Robert ‘Sput’
Searight (drums)
Drummer for
the fantastic Texan jazz-fusion band, Snarky Puppy, Robert Searight contributes
drumming work on Kendrick’s ‘For Free’ and ‘Hood Politics’. While Snarky Puppy have steadily built on
their burgeoning reputation with two
album releases last year (‘Family Dinner, Vol.2’ and ‘Culcha Vulcha’), Searight
still found time to hook up with Terrace Martin and release ‘King’s List’
through Ropeadope Records in February 2016.
‘King’s List’ acts as a poignant and inspiring tribute to the life and
message of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and is backed by contributions from Corey
Henry, Terrance Blanchard and Kim Burrell.
