Breaks, Beats, Hip Hop Rhythms and Grooves - 4
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Color Climax – Plug it in Color Climax – Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass Nneka – Africans Jahcoustix & Dubois – Neighbourhood Snax – Honeymoon’s over Dee Anderson – Black Skin Soldier Afro Reggae – Favela Uprising Exploited Presents : Shir Khan -
Maximise |
Natural Self – The Love Theme Wahoo - Don’t take it personal Prince Fatty – Survival of the
Fittest Mr J Medeiros –
of gods and girls Jose Conde y Ola fresco –
Revolucion Brazilian Beats & Pieces –
Phat Kev Domu presents Pete Simpson –
Look a little further |
These reviews are shorter than I would normally do, but a huge
amount to get through. I’ll add to
them if time allows, but there are sufficient links to find out more.
Natural
Self – The Love Theme www.breakinbread.org
“Natural Self is a
Despite being relatively new on the scene (he began making music in 2000), Mr.
Self has put out many quality releases, starting with a 7", 'Shake Down'
7" on Tru-Thoughts in 2001. More recently he released his debut full
length album 'Let Peace Be The Ruler' on Breakin Bread
in Feburary 2006, and it's a stonker. Although Natural self is generally
speaking, a solo venture he doesn't shy away from doing collabos with artists
such as Nostalgia 77 (together they are Keno-1 And The
Hermit) Alice Russell and John Styles of Quantic Soul Orchestra. Not to mention
a whole shed load of remixes ranging from Oscar Sulley and the Uhuru Dance Band
to Nicole Willis And The Soul Investigators.
Nat's music is soulful, wide-ranging, intricate and certified fresh. He loves
those big bad funky drum beats and bass lines but there's a whole lot more to
it than that. Nat has a knack for absorbing Hip Hop, Funk, Jazz, Brazilian and
African influences and creating a monstrously good new sound. He says
"Even though Hip Hop has been my primary influence, by the time I got
round to making music, somehow I didn't feel like I could do solely that and
make the music I wanted to make."
Listen to 'Let Peace Be The Ruler' and the drums and
percussion will be the first things that hits you. This album represents a
slight shift in the way Nat makes his music, veering more towards live
instruments rather than exclusively using samples. There's
live guitar, Latin percussion (congas and timbales), flute and vocals
all working together to build Nat's trademark rich sound. "It's a new
thing for all of us' says Nat '[Breakin Bread have] reached a point where
they're trying to expand, out of the first 7"s, which were really kind of
cut-up club gear. They started putting out hip hop 12"s, and now I think they've
broadened and want to try something new. It makes a lot of sense for all of
us,"
We could go on, but why not check it out for yourself
by visiting his various release pages on this site.
Natural Self's influences include Eddie Bo, Alice Coltrane, Large Proffesor,
Madlib, Pete Rock, Cut Chemist, Cedric 'Im' Brooks, Anti-Pop Consortium, Bosco
Mann and The Dap-Kings, DJ Krush, Anti-Con, Malcolm Catto, Beastie Boys, QSO,
Edan, Digable Planets, MF Doom, heavy Roots music, East European Gypsy Folk, and
a whole bunch of other stuff...
Mr. Self is also a prolific DJ who's sets bring together all the genres that
influence his own music. He says "Hip Hop and Funk are mainly what I play
when I DJ, exactly the Breakin' Bread style, and are arguably the two strongest
influences in the Natural Self stuff".
To get an idea of what a Natural Self DJ set is like (and its
certainly something to behold), check out his mix CD 'The Ritual'. Just over an
hour of excellent up tempo tunes, spanning multiple genres and time periods but
all rooted in that heavy groove.
Natural Self has recently joined forces with Nostalgia 77 to form 'The Broken
Keys', who's debut album 'Gravity' will be out now on Tru Thoughts. It
continues the huge drum sounds and wicked grooves, but adds a slightly more of
a rock element. A few twanging guitars and gruff vocals are thrown in the mix
to great effect.
Nat is planning to recruit members for his soon to be realized live band. The
Natural Self sound lends itself very well to being played live as it's based on
heavy drum and percussion sounds layered with rich horns and bass.”
Didn’t reall expect this from someone who I know better as Keno-1,
this is dirge slow, moody, atmospheric, still with an
underlying modest funkiness amongst the tinkly piano, bass, drums and chinese
like percussion. The Nostagia Remix is
even more percussive but the pace is still downbeat. And it all goes dubwise on
eth Prince Fatty Dub but whereas Dub usually strips back I found this one made
things a bit messy.
Lament has an Eastern vibe to it but broadly stays in the same
arena.
It’s kind of interesting but truth be old not sure that I’m
getting it.
Color
Climax – Plug it in www.breakinbread.org
“Color
Climax are Paul Toller and Steve Ashby who are based
in
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Paul Toller is
a producer and one time member of UK Hip Hop outfit Unanimous Decision. He
was also a member of B-Boy crew Floor Science and is a neurotic beats and
funk collector. He is also a resident Breakin' Bread DJ in |
They have played
at numerous Funk and Hip Hop nights throughout the country including Off The Hook in
While other Breakin' Bread artists concentrate mainly on hip hop, Color Climax
bring the funk and have been practising hard on their live sound. They have
received critical acclaim for their mixture of hard beats, heavy
Color Climax have now released three singles for Breakin' Bread and contributed
three tracks to "The Deadly 7-inch Sins" compilation (BNB008). Watch
for more funky 7"s and maybe even some hip hop flavours as they build
towards an LP. “
Album release date 29 October 2007 and
as you would expect from the consistent and fresh Breakin Bread Collective, and
Color Climax, an album that is hard, funky,
dirty, driven by the Hammond Organ, beats galore and sixties influence.
Despite being hard it is also catchy
especially the Latin influened tracks. Top track for me is the pure funk and
fatback driummed Power Pac but the whole thing is a melangue of funk, latin, boogaloo, popcorn, even disco. All
great fun.
Color
Climax –
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Side A Disque O
Heights Here the band party like it's 1979 with a slice of sublime space
boogie. It is a synth and string laden break-heavy ghetto disco groove with
plenty of appeal for B-Boys and seasoned clubbers alike. They've enlisted the
help of an ancient ARP Syntheseiser (recovered from a skip) and the talents
of the local school string quartet for this unique take on music intended for
todays modern discotheque. Side AA Pa Coco
Solo This track is more than deserving of the often over used description
'the perfect summer tune'. Its infectious Latin Funk rhythms and jazzy
guitar, combined with budget speaker blowing brass, create a dance floor
monster. Buena Vista Social Club this aint! Open minded Hip Hop and Funk, as
well as Latin and Brazilian DJ's should have no problem incorporating this
into their sets. Global dancefloor mayhem ensues... Both tracks come
with dope drum-a-pellas for the break heads and DJ's who like to push their
sets a little deeper |
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From the
Don’t forget their previous material like She took my love and the wonderful Jellyfish Popcorn.
Nneka
– Africans www.nnekaworld.com
I like Nneka and have raved over her album and
tried in my own little way to get it to crossover to the UK Soul Crowd, with
seemingly little success! Ha!
Not particularly my favourite track but at
least she grabs the track, imposes herself on it, still uses lots of copycat
bit but Jahcoustix could still take note!
Afro Reggae – Favela Uprising www.mrbongo.com
“AfroReggae is
the band from
Grupo Cultural
Afro Reggae (GCAR) was inspired after 21 innocent people died in the favela
Vigario Geral in 1993. It was the brain child of singer Anderson Sa and AfroReggae director Jose Junior. Together these two
set up the organization which has been working tirelessly in the favelas of Rio
offering an alternative way of life to young people seeking to escape drug
trafficking gangs. They are championed in
AfroReggae, the
first band of Grupo Cultural Afro Reggae (GCAR) to become professional,
appeared in 1995, as a result of dance and percussion workshops in the favela
of Vigário Geral.
Until 1998 the
history of the band is marked by rehearsals and concerts throughout
Live performances to date range from regular favela performances in
Rio to supporting the Rolling Stones at their
2006 sees the
Afroreggae’s
new album Nenhum Motivo Explica A Guerra (‘nothing justifies war’)
features Ty, Estelle and Manu Chao and will be released in the
Great album, and
soundtrack to Favela Uprising from this Brazilian outfit, a conceptual album as
it portrays the story of Anderson Sa. Like all good
sountracks it first of all sets out a vibe and a feel and on top of that there
are manygreta tracks from the Marley intonations of the reggae Quero so voce,
to the moody acoustic ballad Partida.
Exploited Presents : Shir Khan – Maximise – www.exploitedghetto.de www.dj-shirkhan.de
Didn’t exactly blow my mind, its
all very well produced clean and pretty soulless. I feel that there’s
more to just putting a series of samples and breaks together, its all very clever but it just has to have feeling. Not quite the same thing but at the same time
I have been listening to the rereleased Wild Stle soundrack and unreleased
bits, and you can just feel electricity.
Here sadly you can’t.
Wahoo
– Don’t take it personal – Moved to Soul reviews, great track, mashing up the UK Soul
Rooms right now.
Prince
Fatty – Survival of the Fittest www.mrbongo.com www.princefatty.com
A great album, lots of varied reggae in many
derivatives, ska, dub, toasting and straightforward good vocal cuts, all put
together with assistance from Little Roy, Hollie Cook, Winston Francis and
Mutant HiFi. Several tracks have already
been played out by me at SoulFreedom gigs add a lively piece of variety.
Top tracks are the excellent rockers Curious
with Little Roy. Also Don’t give up ( as I kind
of prefer the vocal cuts!), laid back harmonies, old skool Suger Minott groove.
Big Man Cry also good, stronger vocal from Winston francis. Heavy Toasty Dub version of Milk and Honey
But it is all good solid enjoayable stuff as
it weaves in and and of all the subgenres of Ja
Music. Great stuff indeed.
Mr J Medeiros – of gods and girls www.rawkus.com
www.myspace.com/mrjmedeiros
Now this is good, pretty solid, clear and
consistent, bringing in assistance where something can be added and not for the
sake of it. Fine samples and lyrical content Top track is the uncomplicated
structure and thoughtfulness of Silent Earth. Also the
haunting qualities and chilled vibe of
But as I said certain tracks are enhanced like
Change featuringStrange Fruit and Rez of The Procussions. Money featuring Pigeon John & DJ Vajra is
also good.
Comes complete with 3 strong
remixes.
Jose Conde y Ola fresco – Revolucion www.mrbongo.com
“Beyond the
‘R’ there is Evolution. Singer-songwriter, Jose Conde, harnesses
the old-school authentic-Cuban spirit of son and delivers it with a beautiful
unique voice and contemporary eclectic flavour. Jose was born in the
Recorded at the
vintage-gear all-analog Brooklyn Recording Studio, the record has already been
called a masterpiece by some music industry heavies,
however the band is even better live. As producer Aaron Levinson explains,
“although Jose can do a very typical Latin show,
he can also play a show with a group like Ozomatli or Ojos de Brujo.” The
new cd, (R)Evolucion, includes a powerhouse crew of
special guests including funk legend and original Meters drummer Joseph
‘Zigaboo’ Modeliste and Latin All Stars Jimmy Bosch on Trombone.
The lineup of the band includes guitarist Juancho Herrera (Nestor Torres),
bassist Jorge Bringas (Omara Portuondo, Albita) and multi-percussionist Carlos
‘GoGo’ Gomez (Arturo Sandoval).
Cubans have a
kind of stew called ajiaco, into which all kinds of meats and vegetables can be
incorporated. (R)Evolucion is definitely a musical ajiaco.
Mondomundo agency
is now booking tours and venues for JC y OF in Summer
(in US) and Autumn (US and
A joyous mix of all
things uban and Latin through Funk, Salsa, Mambo, Old School Cuban, Haitian,
Afro Cuban, Cha Cha, Soca Reggaeand more. All these styles recorded to
perfection – hard to sit still during this and there will be something
that particularly floats your boat. For
me my preferences is the catchy New Orleans Funk n
Mambo Oshiri Pan Pan, and the Afro Cuban Funk Ride Le Ola.
The most infectious and
summery carnival track isProbando Nuevos Sabores a vocal duet with Elin, a mix of
Cumbia, Soca and Reggae.
Absolutely great fun
Brazilian
Beats & Pieces – Phat Kev www.mrbongo.com
This is Ok but there is just too much, I would
have preferred less tracks, more played in full or near full, Ok it’s a
good mixtape, some interesting material but I’d rather hear the tracks,
particularly as a good proportion are interesting.
Domu presents Pete Simpson – Look
a little further – Great album, more info under the Soul reviews
Jahcoustix & Dubois – Neighbourhood www.jahcoustix.net www.dubiousneighbourhood.de
Sorry not getting this one at all, can’t
see anything remotely original or interesting about it, it’s all very
derivative, copycat stuff, right down to vocal nuances and lyrical
content. Ok have influences but hey do
something
Dee
Anderson – Black Skin Soldier www.deeanderson.co.uk
Think I prefer the light jazzy My man’s coming home.
Snax – Honeymoon’s over http://www.myspace.com/givemesnax
Qute like the way that there is an effort to bring some vocals on
to this kind of track but I still find the underlying thing a bit too clean and
clinical, much better when it gets a bit
messy on the Honeymoon Overdose with Jamie Liddell
Aesop Rock – None Shall Pass http://www.definitivejux.net/ads-splash/index.html
http://www.myspace.com/aesoprockwins
Aesop Rock burst onto the scene in 2002 with his hugely successful
album Labor Days. When the Daylight EP dropped six months later, his status as
one of NY's most inspired MC's was cemented. From that moment
on his music and his mystique have garnered Aesop Rock critical acclaim as well
as the adoration and devotion of his fans.
Review – There’s some stuff in here that when written
down makes this sound pretty awful, like an irritating little melody line, and
almost chipminky sounding harmonies, but..yes but with
a driving beat, and some great delivery, this ain’t at all bad, in fact,
I rather like it.
Now have the full album which is very interesting, there are
menacing bits, humourous bits, but all things considered is very entertaining Don’t
think it is particularly cutting edge but it does have a look and feel of its
own. Solid, Consisitent, no particular
standout, though I do like the backdrops of Fumes and Gaetaway Car, a purple
patch in the middle. Very
enjoyable.