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.
If you've been fortunate enough to have your ear to the ground, then the name Jason McGuiness may well already be familiar to you. Through his Analog Burners Bandcamp page, McGuiness has released a stunning collection of singles and EPs over the years - his 'Masterpiece: A Whitfield-Strong Tribute' (2014) consisting of three songs celebrating the music of legendary songwriters Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong garnered strong acclaim with its re-interpretations of 'Papa Was A Rolling Stone', 'Smiling Faces Sometimes' and 'Cloud Nine'. The funk of the ConSoul project (2017) paired McGuiness with some excellent musicians including vocalist Herb Larkins from Sly, Slick & Wicked; then of course there's the two-track project that proved to be the precursor to his debut full-length, 'Empyrean Tones'/'We Could Be'.
McGuiness's diverse and innovative productions through Analog Burners has proved a real treasure trove of gems over the years, but now signed to the excellent Common Good Records, McGuiness has just delivered what is surely now his magnum opus. 'Empyrean Tones' sees the producer build upon the blueprint set out by the aforementioned singles delivering an ethereal cosmic jazz journey that genuinely ranks among the year's best releases.
Joining McGuiness on this adventure are an A-list class of musicians and artists all perfectly poised to help propel the compositions on 'Empyrean Tones' to staggering heights: saxophonist Kamasi Washington, an artist revered for sharing a similar spiritual and boundless vision of jazz, guests on the strong album highlight 'Titans'; pianist Mark de Clive-Lowe, another whose straddling of the lines between jazz and electronica (as perfectly evidenced from his current 'CHURCH Sessions' release) make him a fascinating inclusion on 'Cosmos - Fire 3'. And thankfully the album's title track, as originally created with guest trumpeter Keyon Harrold, makes the cut as another wonderful standout.
Contributions from additional artists like Phil Ranelin, Randal Fisher, Tim Felton, Seb Zillner and not forgetting the sterling work of long-time McGuiness collaborators, drummer Te'amir Sweeney and bassist Brandon Owens, all deserve to be heralded for bringing their distinctive magic to a project that succeeds as an extraordinary achievement for Jason McGuiness and Common Good Records.
While our world continues to come to terms with its ever-changing socio and political climate, including continued threat of international conflict, divisive and dishonest politics that divide countries like the US and UK, a failed response to the real threat that climate change has on our lives... A fire has been lit in the hearts of protesters but also within artists and musicians resulting in some truly stunning pieces of art being created, in many cases, out of anger and in revolt to these endless series of injustices that continue to unfold.
In October 2019, the Anbessa Orchestra release 'Tch'elema' (which in Amharic, translates to 'Darkness') and although it serves as their own response to events in the US, it isn't a piece of music born of anger, but one born of the belief that things will get better. Conversely, 'Tch'elema' is that all important glimmer of light at the bottom of Pandora's Box. It is hope.
Based in Brooklyn, New York - the home to talents including Antibalas, The Budos Band and The Dap-Kings - the 7-piece Anbessa Orchestra have presented their blend of Ethiopian musical culture for years: their debut 'EP' having been released in 2015 and subsequent follow-up 'Negestat' in 2018; the ensemble have proved a mainstay on the feverent New York live scene delivering their distinctive take on 60s/70s Ethiopian-inspired styles and compositions.
'Tch'elema' not only boasts the boundless skill, chemistry and dynamic of the Anbessa Orchestra musicians, but also the limitless talents of Dala Records' Billy Aukstik who, along with band leader and guitarist, Nadav Peled, handles the recording and mixing processes.
Perhaps an unlikely source to quote for this review but Baptist Preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, once said "Hope itself is like a star - not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only discovered in the night of adversity". Shine on, Anbessa Orchestra.
In 2017, 'Embers' marked the welcome return of North London duo Flyt following a nine year absence after their 'Soul Mentality' debut. Flyt's skill in marrying Mary Mycroft's exquisite and dreamy vocals with Josh Mycroft's beautifully lush soundscape led to the same excitement in 2017 as it did in 2008.
Now releasing music through their own Space Between Records, Flyt have released 'Select' - an exciting compilation of EPs and singles released between 2017-2019 boasting some excellent bonus material as well.
'Select' serves as an exemplary project to display Flyt's unique chillout, nu-soul and R&B aesthetic with highlights including 'Call My Name', 'Anything, Everything' and 'Freefalling' amongst others. The album concludes with two guest remixes as US remixer/producer Kebomusic revisits the disco-lite 'Can't Come Down' smoothly reimagining it with a more contemporary R&B/club approach, while 'Shadows' is tackled by the incredible Soul Sound Collective whose own versatile styles of incorporating 70s jazz-funk and effervescent soul receives a makeover in its own right with a house-tinged perspective of the track.
Mary Mycroft's ethereal voice continues to sound tailor-made for Josh's sublime production making their ever-expanding discography an ongoing pleasure.
Robert Glasper will surely go down as one of the most prolific musicians and artists of his generation. Just looking at his output since the crossover success of the Robert Glasper Experiment's 'Black Radio' in 2011, the years since have been filled with two further albums by the Experiment ('Black Radio 2' and 'ArtScience'), two solo albums ('Covered' and 'Everything's Beautiful'), a couple of remix EPs, collaborative projects (August Greene, R+R=Now)... throw in a clutch of Grammies and countless collaborations with singers/rappers/musicians including Terrace Martin, Seun Kuti and Keyon Harrold.
This year sees the release of 'F__k Yo Feelings' - the "mixtape" comprising of 19 songs seeing Glasper paired with Derrick Hodge on bass and original RG Experiment member, Chris Dave, on drums. As a core trio, 'F__k Yo Feelings' plays host to a slew of other artists as diverse as rapper Mick Jenkins to the legendary Herbie Hancock. There's a heavy slant on hip-hop throughout, perhaps where his concept for this project being presented as a mixtape originated from: the free-flowing nature of songs and collaborations being what the inspiration actually rests in as opposed to the middle fingers in the air concept of the title. Exploring that latter notion a little further, it's hard to really even ascertain who or what this vitriol is aimed at - there are songs where it perhaps seems relevant (as in 'Endangered Black Woman') but excessive swearing and F bombs can sometimes be a little misplaced and a little jarring at times. [I really remember being young and cool once but clearly those days are gone!]
Even though Glasper and Chris Dave have continued to make music together post Dave's Experiment days (whose exit led the way for Mark Colenburg to enter the fold), hearing the results of the two of them together again for a full project is all the selling points this reviewer really needs for this album and, sonically, there's a lot here that bring me back to 'Black Radio' and how much I loved that project. Some of the unmissable highs include the tracks 'All I Do' (featuring SiR, Bridget Kelly and Songbird), 'Treal' (with Yasiin Bey), 'Gone' (featuring YBN Cordae, Bilal and Herbie Hancock) and perhaps the slightly too short title track (featuring Yebba).
As exemplified in the opening of this review, Glasper's eclecticism always leaves the question "what's he going to do next?", and while history would prove we certainly won't have to wait long, we have this excellent release to listen to while we bow our heads and hope muchly for 'Collagically Speaking 2'.
Welcome to Episode #29 of the Blue-in-Green:PODCAST which sees Imran secure time with Robert Fleming of the brilliant British funk & soul band, Crowd Company. Crowd Company have become firm staples within the UK's funk & soul lineage with two incredible albums already under their belt in 'Now or Never' (2014) and 'Stone & Sky' (2017) and a third on the way in early-2020.
As a part of Vintage League Music, Crowd Company along with the Alan Evans Trio and Joe Tatton Band will be performing at London's The 100 Club, 25th October 2019, so we discuss the gig with Rob as well as Crowd Company's music - how the band got started, hooked up with Alan Evans and Vintage League and what's next for the 8-piece in the coming months.
Crowd Company are one the shining lights in contemporary funk & soul so this episode is a real treat and we hope you'll enjoy it!
The Blue-in-Green:PODCAST unveils new episodes on the first, second and third Mondays of the month. This podcast series runs in conjunction with the online radio station, Blue-in-Green:RADIO which celebrates 21st century soul, jazz, funk, Latin & hip-hop music. These shows are designed to give you some insight into the incredible range of talented presenters we're so lucky to host from all over the world and to geek out musically with us.
'Revolutions' is the third album from UK jazz-funk quartet, Resolution 88, who release their new project on new label home, Légère Recordings.
Comprised of Tom O'Grady on keyboards, Ric Elsworth on drums, Alex Hitchcock on saxophone and Tiago Coimbra on electric bass, expectations for the new project will undoubtedly be high following the immense praise the band's sophomore album, 'Afterglow', received when released in 2016.
Released via Jean-Paul "Bluey" Maunick's Splash Music record label, and with mixing duties by Dan 'JD73' Goldman and mastering by the revered Bob Power, the band's jazz-funk fusion proved to be a real breakout project for the collective. While 'Afterglow' deftly demonstrated Resolution 88's unrivalled skill when walking the tightrope of these two genres - and still confidently introducing subtle twinges of electronica and broken beat into the pot - 'Revolutions' again sees the quartet raising the stakes. Far from resting on their laurels, the end-result is arguably even more dynamic, boasting an even more encompassing sound than its predecessor: the spaced-out nature of 'Matrix' is a real treat, as are tracks 'Out of Sync', 'Runout Groove' and 'Warped Memories', and then there's the inclusion of 'Dig Deep' which sees US trumpeter Marcus Tenney (of Butcher Brown) put down the trumpet to indulge in his rap alter-ego, marking him as the first guest vocalist to appear on a Resolution 88 record.
I'll apologise here as it's become almost passé to continually note the wave of rising young talent within the UK's jazz scene but it's something that brings a lot of pride to people like myself - young UK artists making jazz accessible to young UK fans. I still pinch myself. But within those discussions, Resolution 88's efforts deserve as much praise as any other act - theirs is a forward-thinking and progressive take on the genre beaming with an inimitable and infectious personality.
Blue-in-Green:RADIO is proud to have secured time with Resolution 88 bandleader Tom O'Grady to discuss their new project...
Congratulations on the release of 'Revolutions': you must be thrilled with how the album is being received thus far?
Thank you - yes, we’re very pleased with how it’s been received so far. We really tried to do something different with this album but obviously the last thing we want to do is alienate our existing fans. It’s been great to receive complimentary messages from fans as we’ve posted copies out - catching up with fans and exchanging news is actually one of the most enjoyable things about releasing a new album.
How does this album differ to the group's last two projects?
Whilst we’re very proud of our first two albums, we also wanted to try something different with this record. First of all, we wanted to explore different song structures - we didn’t want it to be a traditional jazz format of head-solo-head. We wanted it to be more of a journey with twists and turns that kept it exciting. We also wanted to record to tape and to put the album on vinyl - this is something we’ve always wanted to do but this was the first time where it was financially viable for us. Ever since I heard Herbie Hancock’s ‘Sun Touch’ (on his Manchild album) I’ve really wanted to compose songs with similar orchestral flourishes - for ‘Revolutions’ we overdubbed live strings, trumpet, flugel horn - and I even played a bit of trombone! Finally, it’s the first album where we’ve had special guests or vocals!
How did Resolution 88 come to sign with Legere Recordings?
I’ve know Helmut (at Légère) for quite a few years now, because of my work with Myles Sanko. I’ve played with Myles Sanko since the very beginning of his solo project and since he signed with Légère for his second album ‘Forever Dreaming’, we’ve often met Helmut at gigs in London and Germany. It’s a very well-run label with many other bands that I’m a fan of (Young Gun, Silver Fox, for instance!) - and they specialise in music on vinyl, which was perfect for us with this new album. It felt like a very good match when Helmut and I first discussed working together and I know that he understands our music, which is obviously the most important thing to start with.
Can you tell us a little about what went into the making of the 'Revolutions’?
I composed the songs, creating demos in Logic - everything from drum beats, fills, bass lines, melodies to keys parts. We then learned the songs and rehearsed them together, before recording them at Rimshot Studios in Kent (a fantastic studio). The album was recorded over several sessions (3 or 4 songs at a time). Once we’d got the live takes done, I edited them and overdubbed all the keyboard parts that I couldn’t cover during the band take. I arranged string and brass parts over those takes and then we had a studio session at Press Play in Bermondsey with the strings and brass. After that, we delivered everything to Rob Mullarkey (bass player for Jacob Collier) who then did a fantastic job of mixing the music - and then we mastered the music (to tape) and cut the lacquer with Caspar Sutton-Jones at Gearbox Records.
What led to the decision to include outside collaborators like Marcus Tenney?
Ever since I started this band as an instrumental group, I’ve constantly fielded suggestions that we work with a vocalist. I always listen to this advice but I never wanted to do it unless we were unanimous as a band that it was the right guest for the right song at the right time. I composed ‘Dig Deep’ as a sparse, hip-hop track - and when we rehearsed it we felt there was definitely something about it but that it would be great with a focal point, whether it was a singer or a rapper. We spent a while thinking about who we could ask, before suddenly realising that Marcus was definitely the man for the job - it was just a question of whether he was up for it. I contacted him and it turned out that he’d just been thinking about the experience of digging for records and listening to music on vinyl - that was exactly what I wanted him to write about. We love what he did - hopefully there’s room for further collaborations in the future. For those people reading this interview who don’t recognise his name - go check out Marcus Tenney, his solo projects as ‘tennishu’ and his band ‘Butcher Brown’!
Which song from the Resolution 88 catalogue would you play to win over a prospective new fan?
That’s a really tough one! As far as I’m concerned, the tracks I’m proudest of are the ones that sound closest to how I imagined them when I first composed them. I’m actually really proud of the whole of ‘Revolutions’, the new album - it’s definitely a step up for us. ‘Pitching Up’, ‘Sample Hunter’ and ‘Runout Groove’ are probably highlights - and then from our back catalogue, I’m very happy with ‘Phantom of the Oberheim’, ‘Caughtus Interrupts’ and ‘Broken Beat’.
Who would be a dream guest to either record or perform with?
Good question! I suppose an obvious answer would be - Herbie Hancock! That’s perhaps not even about him guesting on a recording or a gig - it’s more the time that it would buy with him so we could hang out and chat!
