Excuse as as we tweak the format of Mundovibe to better serve you!

Seasonal storms sweep in at sunset. Vines interweave like arpeggios. Rains sigh and pelt the tin roof. Night falls, melancholy and magical, over crumbling colonial facades and humble villages, over the tropical nexus of two continents.

Genre-defying guitarist Jorge Strunz, one half of the acclaimed global guitar duo Strunz & Farah, evokes this luxuriant and haunting world, taking his virtuosity in a new and subtle direction on his solo album, Neotropical Nocturnes (Selva Records; March 16, 2010). A meditation on his Costa Rican roots and transnational travels with his diplomat family, these instrumental pieces reflect the multitude of voices that resonate in the guitar when played by a master, and that speak to the heart of the Americas.

In this recording, the exuberance of tropical nature is a reflection of my earliest inspirations in music,” Strunz reflects. “The lush plant life, the smell of the rains, all that was part of my very early childhood memories in Costa Rica. They form a backdrop to my life experience and music.”

The sounds the young Strunz heard while visiting his relatives’ fincas (farms) seemed to connect directly to the music he encountered growing up in the Costa Rican capital of San José. The rain on the tin roof reminded him of timbales beating out time, and the seasonal cycle of storms had its own lilting time signature. A sonic sense of his tropical home became part of the budding artist’s musical instincts.

This innate Neotropical sensibility, intimate yet intense, was given total focus years later as he began to work with several orphan tracks in his home studio. These sketches didn’t seem to fit his project with Ardeshir Farah, yet he couldn’t seem to leave them alone. They began to take on new musical shape, silently powered by stories and sensations from his tropical childhood and by rhythms from Peru to New York, yet always expressed in Strunz’s unique, technically impeccable improvisational approach to his instrument.

They also called for a new approach to arrangement. “To keep the purity of mood and resonance, I worked with minimal accompaniment,” Strunz notes. “I used a lot of arpeggio passages, which I don’t usually do with the duo.” They demanded a different technique—playing without a pick. “I have a good technique with my fingers, though I’m better known for my pick prowess with Strunz & Farah,” he recounts. “For these pieces, I needed classical arpeggios for accompaniment, but played the melodies with pick. This made for a different mood, sometimes vigorous, sometimes pensive, but always highly textured.”

Part of this vigor stems from the Latin American rhythms that lie behind the guitar parts. “Tocar la Noche”—a title with a double meaning in Spanish of both touching the night and playing it like an instrument—is “a rumba without percussion,” Strunz smiles, “with a rhythmic sway locked in the guitar and bass parts.” “Cielo Playero” draws on the Afro-Peruvian landó beat that was popular across Latin America when Strunz was growing up. “Zambriya,” an evocative engagement with the music of medieval Spain, subtly suggests the rhythm of one of Strunz’s first loves, flamenco.

After Strunz’s uncle bought him his first guitar when he was just six, Strunz dug into his mother’s extensive flamenco record collection. Her favorite players were greats like Sabicas and Mario Escudero, Paco de Lucia’s dazzling gypsy predecessors. Strunz was enthralled and began to pick out the melodies he loved. Later, as a teenager, he performed flamenco professionally, accompanying Spanish artists.

Growing up the son of a diplomat in countries like Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Britain and the US had a curious, wonderful effect on Strunz the artist, as he absorbed a plethora of cultures and music without feeling he had to stick to one strict genre. “Having an international background helps this kind of more global vision,” Strunz explains. “It forces you into originality. You have to define your own language. There’s a certain freedom because you’re not going into a pre-established format.”

Yet before Strunz was able to translate his unique experiences into his own expressive musical language, he experimented with everything from classical guitar to rock and jazz. As the fusion movement burst onto the jazz scene, Strunz founded the group Caldera, which drew on Latin music, jazz, and funk, and soon signed with a major label. However, after a while, Strunz felt something was missing: The group had so much equipment, “we needed a roadie just to rehearse,” he chuckles. There had to be an more direct way to make music.

This longing for simplicity led Strunz deeper into his own roots, to the remembered impact of the nylon-string guitar, alone or in a duo. He wondered what he could do with just two chairs, two guitars. The answer came when he met and began collaborating with Iranian- born guitarist Ardeshir Farah, in a fruitful musical friendship that led to Grammy nominations and an ardent following among lovers of creative instrumental music.

Over the next decades, Strunz continued to push the envelope of Latin guitar. His vision embraces the contrasting sophistication and rawness of the Americas, encapsulated in compositions like “La Finca.” “This piece is very rustic. There are only two chords, and it’s based on a cumbia, yet it has baroque-influenced passages,” explains Strunz. “It’s a surreal combination, in a sense: something very rustic and something sophisticated, juxtaposed. Moodwise, it’s like being in the countryside in Costa Rica, listening to the sounds of nature and thinking back over the emotions of the day.”

This mix of sentiment and technical finesse, simplicity and complexity lies at the heart of Latin American culture for Strunz, and echoes in the nighttime melodies of his solo work. It all flows from his native country, and, though filtered through years of travel, audiences there still revel in Strunz’s Costa Rican connections. He has received awards from two Costa Rican Presidents for his cultural contributions and the Ministry of Culture has named him a cultural ambassador.

Yet beyond capturing this cultural essence and honoring his past, Strunz weaves something novel, through exquisite technique and lively improvisational instincts honed by his engagement with jazz. This sonic forest can be thought of as a “deep Macondo,” of the mind, echoing the fictional town of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude. There, acoustic guitar sorcery flourishes among the rippling chronicles of tropical days past and present.

Written by FlipSwitch

Mundovibe Webcast March 2010 by mundovibe

A jazzy, spring ready selection of recent releases by Mundovibe Editor, John C. Tripp. Be sure to support these artists!
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Tracks

Edward Castillo ‘Casaradio’ (Sol EP 10)

PIR Allstars ‘Let’s Clean Up the Ghetto’ (Kudos) Masque Edits is the first course in a banquet of platters, prepared by a select crew of re-edit alchemists. Volume one kicks off with a stunning rework of the Philly classic, ‘Let’s Clean Up The Ghetto’ by veteran producer Richard E.

Deela ‘All There Is (Kid Loco’s Classic Goodtime Remix)’ (Switchstance) “Everything Counts” is the title of the newest EP by Deela, one of the most consistent acts in the fine artist roster of Switchstance Recordings. Everything Counts highlights the various shades of Deela as well as showcasing some other great artists’ contributions to Deela’s tracks. (Soul Seduction)

Barrio Jazz Gang ‘Sunday Show’ In 2002, Barrio Jazz Gang released its first CD Spectrum, venturing into Nu Jazz territory with an electronic flair. Their new project 2 is a work born from the union of producer/composer Roby Colella (founder of Funky Juice Records) and co-producer/composer and guitarist Steve Micarelli. Sunday Show (Remix)” features Elvin Jones-style cymbal work and a four on the floor bass drum beat support veteran trumpet jazzer Eddie Henderson’s flights of fantasy. The Benson-flavored guitar and repetitive, mantra-like vocal phrasing seals the deal on this groovin’ track.

Si*Sé – “This Love” Si*Sé enters the new decade with their independently-produced third release, the five-song Gold EP, featuring Carol C’s gorgeous bilingual vocal stylings.  Be sure to check out Gold for more sultry melodies and electronic textures with dub and understated hip hop beats.

DJ Cam – ‘Love’ featuring Nicolette French abstract hip hop extraordinaire DJ Cam returns this August with Seven, his first album since Soulshine in 2002. A prelude to the full-length, which promises to be the link between Radiohead and Massive Attack. Watch out for Seven dropping this summer.

DJ Sabo – ‘Artistiya’ edit Amadou & Mariam’s ‘Artistiya’ gets special treatment by New York City-based DJ Sabo. From the forthcoming EP #10 on Sol Selectas.

The Spy From Cairo “Jennaty” feat Ghalia Benali The Spy From Cairo is secretly Moreno Visini, the artist formerly known as Zeb, who’s reimerged with a new album, Secretly Famous. An effort by The Spy From Cairo to consolidate as much Middle Eastern music as possible, every track focuses on a particular style of music from the Arab countries – all with his signature Oud playing & dubbed out electronic stylings.

Son Lux – ‘Weapons’ EP The Weapons EP is Lott’s self-issued challenge to do just that – to use Mazes standout “Weapons,” whose primary melody haunts various points of that record, as a launch pad for a complete EP of material derived from a single source. To this end, Lott built three new compositions around the original’s essential kernel and enlisted three trusted collaborators – Anticon artists Alias and Polyphonic, plus Muhly himself – to do the rest. The result is not only six unique reincarnations of “Weapons,” but a fractal work where melody becomes song becomes cycle, with one essence woven throughout.

Eprom – ‘Never’ Brand new label Surefire Productions launches with a debut from US based Eprom with a Falty DL remix on the flip.

Gil Scott-Heron – “Me And The Devil” Without a doubt one of the most important voices in 20th century music, proto-rap pioneer and – offensively but not inaccurately – the black Bob Dylan, Gil Scott-Heron steps into the next decade with his first album in thirteen years, I’m New Here. Recorded in New York over the past eighteen months, I’m New Here reveals the huge, banged-up heart that shows the only genuine motivation any activist or artist should have, a bone-deep, unsentimental love for humanity. (Giant Step)

Silhouette Brown – ‘Leave a Note’ + ‘Constant Questions’ After half a decade, Silhouette Brown – the original production and songwriting team of Bembe Segue, Kaidi Tatham and Dego – return with their sophomore album aptly titled, two. This time they are joined by Philadelphia’s Lady Alma and delve into an array of subject matters.  “Constant Questions” ponders on the notion of truth, while “Leave A Note” touches on suicide.

Earthrise Soundsystem – ‘Daylight as Sunlight’ feat. Lucy Woodward When EarthRise SoundSystem’s Derek Beres and David “Duke Mushroom” Schommer first joined together to remix a song by popular mantra singer Deva Premal, they set out to create a new paradigm as to what ‘yoga music’ meant. The result was a percussively rich, organically spacious and dubby soundscape. This approach laid the foundation for their full length album, The Yoga Sessions (Yoga Organix: January 1, 2010), a collection of 21st century electronically inspired yet organically grown original music that will redefine one’s notions of “yoga music.”

Rahel – ‘Hope’ (Mark de Clive Lowe presents) RAHEL has collaborated with Dudley Perkins, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Eric Lau. One of the UK’s next generation of soul artists, here’s the result of hitting studio with MdCL for some piano-laden head-nod… Gilles Peterson BBC Radio 1 – “damn that’s a killer track!”

A Mundovibe exclusive interview with Silhouette Brown vocalist Lady Alma

Listen to the full interview here. Full transcript below:

After half a decade, Silhouette Brown – the original production and songwriting team of vocalist Bembe Segue, Kaidi Tatham (Agent K / Bugz In The Attic) and Dego (2000black / 4hero / dkd) – return with their aptly titled sophomore album, two. Silhouette Brown’s second LP two features the unmistakable vocal sounds of Philadelphia’s Lady Alma who has appeared on countless club classics from Sylk130’s “When the Funk Hits The Fan” to Soul Dahmma’s “Happy” and 4hero’s “Hold it Down”. Soaring with a distinctive soulful voice from start to finish, showing all her versatility and warm spirit, Lady Alma delivers two into a relaxed head-nod-soul experience.

Alma’s distinctive soulful voice brings a vivacious energy to the various sounds introduced in the album.  With two, Silhouette Brown guides us toward a new dimension of modern soul music with a distinctively London-esque flair. It conveys a touch of melancholy in tone through contemplative yet hopeful lyrics and just enough groove for those looking for that “je ne sais quoi” in their regular dosage of Jazz and Nu soul.

“Get With It” is a hip-hop song featuring Brand Nubian’s Sadat X, which talks about uniting and progressing. “Leave A Note” talks about suicide, while “Hear Them Often Say” is about having faith. Another instant hit is the collaboration with M.D Akwasi on “Strawberries in Vinegar,” which is a guaranteed boogie anthem. Silhouette Brown’s extremely skillful production team pushes a warm, sumptuous melody, which delivers groove in a way only they know how. This group of extra-ordinary artists created two, which is the musical product of their skills and talents.

Mundovibe Editor John C. Tripp spoke with Lady Alma from her Philly base just before the release of “two”.

Mundovibe: It’s an honor to speak to you, I give you big respect. I’ve been a fan of y0ur contributions going way back to, of course, King Britt and I’m a big fan of the EP you did with Mark de Clive-Lowe and your work with 4 Hero. Big respect.

Lady Alma: Thank you very much.

MV: So, let’s go right into this new Silhouette Brown and my first question is, how you became the vocalist on this recording.

LA: Well, I’m friends with all three of the creators of Silhouette Brown, which is  “Dego” McFarlane, Kaidi Tatham and Bembe Segue and I knew about the first Silhouette Brown. I’m a fan of those three cats so I was already in on it, but I did not know that I was going to be a part of Silhouette Brown until the later part of 2008 when Dego started talking about it. We stated recording in February of 2009 and now here we go.

MV: Yeah, well it’s exciting because you’ve got a history with those guys and, of course, ‘Hold It Down’ was such a phenomenal track so this is kind of a bearing the full fruit of that collaboration I would say.

LA: Yeah, I think so. I’ve had the opportunity of performing with Kaidi and Bembe on stage and working with Dego in the studio. So, for me it was an honor for it to happen. That they even considered me as pulling it off: it’s five years in the making so I’m very honored to be the one on the next installment.

MV: So, how do you describe Silhouette Brown?

LA: Definitely different from the first installment. Dego is now living here in the States, so it’s a little more States friendly. He and Kaidi are very complex with their drum patterns and what they lay down and I think him being here kind of Americanized the sound of Silhouette Brown to make it more American friendly. More boombap beats and more just laid-back, grown folk &B tracks with some heavy contemporary gospel influence chords played by both Dego and Kaidi. So, it’s definitely different from the first installment.

MV: And, of course, five years ago was kind of the peak of the “broken beat” sound, so they’ve clearly evolved and matured and I’m sure you have to.

LA: Oh, yes. It was such a challenge doing this album. But I appreciate the growth of my craft from it.

MV: Well, you come from a long, long background — I watched the documentary on your career, which stretches all the way to being a child. That’s phenomenal. I know that you came up with the church choir but wow did you end up with your style that you have now?

LA: I would like to say how it evolved to where it is now: it definitely has to do with the church but more, even more that my mom had me in music school, going for music/academics with GAP, which was my day school. And she also had me in after school activities at Settlement so, even though my background was classical it kind of helped me to mesh so many different genres of music that I was learning to develop the style that I have now. I’ve always sang, from age 3 all the way up to now. So, I think just being around different entertainers, my friends that are also in the music business. Being influenced by all of this different music that I’ve been exposed to, whether it’s been personal or professional I just think that everybody has had a part in making my sound what it is now.

MV: And how much of that is part of the whole “Philly Soul” kind of thing?

LA: Oh, I would say it has to be at least 60 percent. I have a lot of friends in the business like my cousin is Jaguar Wright and I’ve watched her perform. And Asia from Kindred and even Jazmine Sullivan. Marsha Ambrosius from Floetry and all these ladies and even some guys and even the old classics like
Diana Reeves and Dinah Washington and Martha Reeves: all of those cats are what has brought my sound to the forefront as Lady Alma. I’ve been influenced by a lot of vocalists and I try to take a little piece of something from each one, and not try to copy. They’re successful in their own right so noone wants another one. If anything you should be able to take something and evolve it and I think that’s what has happened. But I thank all of those people, even the producers that I’ve worked with, I’ve noticed that the notes that I choose become more complex because they’re complex. Everybody influences me.

MV: You hooked up with King Britt and you attribute him to launching your career to some degree.

LA: I’m very proud of King, King is like my brother number one. And it started out as an admirer to the admiree. You know, he was a DJ at Silk City. I just used to enjoy the music with the live element they had. My and my girlfriend, who was actually my partner in the early Sylk 130 recordings, used to go out on those Monday and Saturday nights and I would get so moved by the music that was spinning because it was at a time where top 40 music was really taking over and you wished you could get a little bit of the grown folk music that you were brought up on. So, that’s what these cats used to spin — not only that but I’m a lover of house music. So, that’s how it came to be, just kept going out and one day me and Tandy was just in the middle of the club singing and they couldn’t believe it.King heard us over the top of all this stuff and was like, ‘Oh my God I’ve gotta work with those girls.’ And Tandy knew King already prior to us working so I was introduced to him and from there it’s where it is now. And I do attribute and I have to say if it wasn’t for God first, bringing me to Tandy and her bringing me to the club to meet King I probably would be at my regular 9-5 helping doctors fit patients for lenses.

MV: You definitely like to collaborate with people: how did that process work with Silhouette Brown?

LA: Well, I was only working with one person as far as the music production part of it. But I had worked before I worked with all of those cats prior to this project, in some form. So, it wasn’t too difficult.

MV: Were the lyrics your collaboration?

LA: Nooo, the only thing you are getting from me is vocal arrangement. A lot of the lyrial content was written by Bembe or Dego. That’s why I said earlier that it was a challenge, because I didn’t write any of the lyrics and to bring what they heard, as far as to them what they’re interpretation of their songs would be for me to give them what they want, that was a big challenge. Good thing I personally do know them and know how they like things and what they would do as the artist. Like, when Dego was being Dego the artist I know what he wants. When Kaidi, as madd as he is with all that talent, I know what he likes to hear from just working with him in the studio. And then being onstage with Bembe, I know where she goes. She’s so uninhibited, she can take a song with no lyrics and you’ll think it’s lyrics the way she does things. So, I tried to like put myself in those positions and then bring Alma, the sound that they want. That was such a challenge but I grew so because I allowed myself to just rest in my vocals and let someone do something else.

MV: That would be very challenging I would imagine. Especially, there’s some pretty heavy — it’s kind of emotional, some of the lyrics. Some heavy, adult topics in there.

LA: Yeah, it is. And it’s funny actually, I’m not ashamed, there’s a few songs where you’d have thought I wrote them because they really were personal tunes. Actually two of the songs, and I’m getting a little choked up right now, but ‘Casualties of Honey’. Well, I broke up with my boyfriend about the time that we started recording and ‘Leave a Note’. I had contemplated last year of leaving a note, and that can be on record I’m not ashamed, I’m doing much better right now. I think the mere fact of just finishing this group of work has helped me to heal a whole a lot. And I also seek through my pastor at church for spiritual guidance now. A couple of songs there are verrry personal so if they sound as if I wrote them or some sort or I’ve experienced them it’s because I have.

MV: Well, you definitely did put that into the songs because you interpreted them very well and I listen very closely to the lyrics, one which grabbed me was ‘I want to dream forever and rest my head in a pool of red’. That’s heavy stuff and we all go through these moments where were just wondering, especially these days. But I don’t want to get all heavy here because it’s really uplifting music.

LA: Oh, yeah. Because on the flip side, I got my healing from this album. The good part is that I was healed through this body of music and lyrical content that has substance. And it really caused me to just reflect on my life and if I had, even going through all my down stuff, if I had a chance to live my life differently or do it again I’d do it the same way.

MV: I listened to all of the tracks, I didn’t get to listen to the full length of them because it’s not out yet, but it was really resonating, it really sounded great. Now I understand why it has a different flavor to it because as you said, it’s more accessible to American ears. Now, how are you going to interpret this live?

LA: Oh yeah, we’re getting ready to start rehearsals and I’m so, so excited. My personal keyboard player who plays in my band has been pulled into the Silhouette Brown family and I know that Dego is going to get Kaidi over for some of the shows so he’ll be playing as well. So, I’m really excited because all three of those cats are sick, madd musicians and I know just those three right there is enoght that it will be mind blowing. It will be new and different because as a collective group we haven’t worked together in that sense. So, the first couple of shows might be rough but after that please. Actually I think from the first show to the last show it’s going to be something new every time.

MV: And you’re know for just taking over and giving everybody that uplift and your live show is supposed to be phenomenal. Tell me about some of the recent live work you’ve done.

LA: Actually, I just got back from LA. A girlfriend of mine, Felicia (the Poetess) Morris, her dad has been in radio for 45 years and that is a milestone because if you last 45 minutes you’re doing well. But they had a benefit concert for him at the Congo Room, which is Sheila E’s club, and my girlfriend works for Jamie Fox on his radio station the Foxhole. I was performing last Monday at the Congo Room and Jamie Fox came up and sang with me. I got to meet and see Mr. Stevie Wonder, Lenny Williams, some great, great talent. It was really a good event. Before then I would have to say, I did something local and I did a gig at S.O.B.’s in New York for my friend Manchild Black, he has a party called Soul Ascension and I did it with DJ Mr. V and it was dope because it ended my whole trip, I’d been in Atlanta with DJ Kemit. I don’t know if  a lot of people know who he is but he’s the DJ for Arrested Development and who went on to work with a lot of great people who also was the resident DJ of this big party in Atlanta that happens every three months called the Fall Jazz. And he brings in some heavy cats, the whole idea of this even is you never know — people fly into Atlanta from all over for this event. Me and Kemit did a track for his album called ‘You Don’t Know’ and that’s dope. So it started in Atlanta and then I went to LA and made some connects out there and came home and then headed up to New York. And it was freezing, but the hottest night ever.

MV: SOB’s a nice room too.

LA: Oh, yes it is. People in New York came out and showed their love. It was freezing cold but I’m serious, there was a lot of people that came out and showed their love. In those nine days I had I would have loved to stay out in LA and attend some Grammy parties but I had work to do.

MV: It’s good to hear that you’re playing out in different cities. A final question: do you see Silhouette Brown blowing up the spot in the States and worldwide.

LA: I see Silhouette Brown really impacting people who have not been impacted by grown folk music. I see people being introduced to it and I see it breaking some gaps that we have. I’d like to see Silhouette Brown for a while, for a long time. I feel that it’s going to catapult me for the other things that I have in the works. And I’m forever grateful to those three for even considering and then choosing me. I see longevity for Silhouette Brown, here and worldwide.

Free Silhouette Brown song

Constant Questions (right click to download to computer)

			two Silhouette Brown CD Released: Feb 8, 2010 Released By 2000black BUY NOW

Soil & Pimp Sessions, Krishna Das

ZUCO 103 – RETOUCHED!

On Retouched!, Brazilian Electro pioneers Zuco 103’s latest album, After the Carnaval
gets the deluxe remix treatment from a global gang of producers. Among the many musical flavors featured on this collection, chemicalbeats collective Nobody Beats The Drum surprises with a banging breakbeat remix, Spanish DJ duo Wagon Cookin’ mix it up house style and Kraak & Smaak bring the disco goodness . Also on the menu are an electro-bossa mix from Bossacucanova, tribal disco from San Proper and two previously unreleased tracks from Zuco 103 themselves.

Be sure to download the Kraak & Smaak remix of “Back Home” Download Here

Japanese punk-jazz renegades SOIL& PIMP SESSIONS bust back in 2010 with their sixth studio album on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings imprint. The sextet’s roof-raising, festival-conquering live show has earned them new fans at every stop on their annual trailblazing European tours. The cunningly titled ‘6’ is – yep, you guessed it – the sixth album by the sextet and alongside monstrous good time grooves like ‘Pop Korn’ and ‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag’, the band incorporate two vocal-featured tracks for the first time. ‘MY FOOLISH HEART’ features acclaimed Japanese alternative female singer Ringo Sheena on vocals whilst a cover of the club classic ‘Stolen Moments’ features Top UK jazzer Jamie Cullum. Taking things into the electronic arena, renowned Japanese turntablist, DJ KENTARO contributes the opening sound collage too. ‘6’ finds SOIL & “PIMP” SESSIONS in blazing hot form.

Krishna Das to Release “Heart As Wide As The World” — His First Studio Album in Ten Years

Called the “Chant Master of American Yoga” by the New York Times, Krishna Das will release Heart As Wide As The World, his first studio album in ten years, March 2010. The album is a collaboration with David Nichtern (“Midnight at the Oasis”) who produced and played guitar. Jerry Marotta (Hall & Oates, Peter Gabriel) on drums, percussion. As well as, world musicians Steve Gorn on bansuri flute and Benjy Wertheimer on esraj, amongst an array of other instruments.

Eprom on Surefire — Free track

Brand new label Surefire Productions launches with a debut from US based Eprom with a Falty DL remix on the flip. Download a free track from Eprom (‘Never’) HERE

Si*Se Gold EP To Be Released March 9th

On the upcoming Si*Sé Gold EP, singer/DJ Carol C’s voice evokes a sophisticated sensuality, singing in English and Spanish over producer Cliff Cristofaro’s post-trip-hop grooves. The band also includes drummer Ryan Farley, bassist Morgan Phillips, percussionist Neil Ochoa and violinist Nicole Arena. For the single “This Love,” Carol turned to Cristofaro for a “Motown-ish track.” He was ready for the request, pulling out a sweetly spaced rhythm with plenty of room for Carol’s dream-like vocals to fly over: her heartfelt convictions, one which has caused innumerable fans to connect to her with, is in full force here. “I was talking to many different people around the same time,” she says, “and they all seemed to be in search of the perfect love. This song came out of those conversations.” The producer Cliff, also known as The Crystal Pharoah, provides a divine slice of disco cut with trilling string trimmings.

Ilhan Ersahin’s Istanbul Sessions with Erik Truffaz The four-piece band featured on Istanbul Sessions started off as a hand-picked group for a one time show Ilhan Ersahin, the noted saxophonist/composer did in Istanbul three years ago. “We didn’t play a “Turkish” sound, but a more open sound true to who we are, but of course the spirit of Istanbul is in there when we play,” says Ersahin. The group is regularly joined by European jazz star, French trumpeter Erik Truffaz, who performs on nearly all tracks on the this great fresh jazz record.

Bullion Mix for Benji B (BBC 1Xtra)

Long a fan of 70s disco and afro funk, Bullion has garnered worldwide recognition with twisting samples into layers of melodic clarity paired with brash percussion. Pure gold.

Afro Funk / Beats / Soul

Black Acre Mix for Knowledge Mag

Avus – We Fear Silence Mix

James Holden’s label Border Community reaches into their stable and procures a mix from Avus to support the next We Fear Silence: Border Community at Corsica Studios 5th March.

5. BLOC Make Music Competition Winner

Following a series of sold-out live performances in 2009 that culminated at the London Jazz Festival, Amit Chaudhuri releases his first album ‘This Is Not Fusion’ on the Babel Label on February 22nd 2010.

Amit Chaudhuri is a trained and critically acclaimed singer in the North Indian classical tradition; he has received high praise for his singing from various newspapers and journals, including the Times of India, the Hindustan Times, Ananda Bazar Patrika and India Today. He learned singing from his mother, the well-known exponent of Tagore songs and devotionals, Bijoya Chaudhuri, and, extensively, from the late Pandit Govind Prasad Jaipurwale of the Kunwar Shyam gharana. He was then guided in Hindustani music by Pandit A. Kanan.

‘This Is Not Fusion’ brings together the major threads of twentieth-century western popular music: blues, jazz, rock, techno and disco with Indian classical music in an original and eclectic way that explores the many similarities between the genres to produce a wholly uncontrived, natural musical language. The music on ‘This Is Not Fusion’ emerges from Chaudhuri’s multiple lineages: as a trained and recorded singer in the Indian classical tradition; his experience as a guitarist and singer in the American singer/songwriter mould; and as an internationally acclaimed, award-winning novelist and critic.

Amit Chaudhuri writes: ‘At the age of sixteen when my immersion in Indian vocal music grew more intense there came a gradual but seemingly irrevocable rejection of the western music I had grown up with and it would take me seventeen years to start listening again to my old record collection. When I did I began to hear doubly; to hear the raga in the blues and the blues in the raga. What brought the two together was the pentatonic scale and the bent notes used in both traditions, which now struck my ears anew. It was in this receptive mood that I heard one morning as I was practising raga Todi, the riff to Clapton’s ‘Layla’ in a handful of notes I was singing. Soon after, I thought I heard, in a hotel lobby, a santoor playing Auld Lang Syne, although it was actually a phrase from raga Bhupali. Those moments of ‘mishearing’ also contained within them both my past and moments in the history of Bombay converging with the present. From these convergences began the musical project I have been working on and travelling with for the last four years which has resulted in this album.’

myspace.com/amitchaudhuri

Sample the music:

The ‘Layla’ Riff to Todi – click here for audio clip

Dotara – click here for audio clip

Summertime – click here for audio clip

Shree in Two Keys – click here for audio clip

Moral Education – click here for audio clip

Freewheeling Jog – click here for audio clip
Trucker – click here for audio clip

All India Radio – click here for audio clip

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Free MP3s from Rahel, Silhouette Brown,Omar Sosa, Mark Weinstein, Mark Farina, John Brown’s Body, Dub Gabriel

Mark de Clive-Lowe presents Rahel — HOPE

RAHEL has collaborated with Dudley Perkins, Georgia Anne Muldrow and Eric Lau. One of the UK’s next generation of soul artists, here’s the result of hitting studio with MdCL for some piano-laden head-nod. Download here

Silhouette Brown — Constant Questions

After half a decade, Silhouette Brown – the original production and songwriting team of broken beat/nu jazz vocalist Bembe Segue, Kaidi Tatham (Agent K / Bugz In The Attic) and Dego (2000black / 4hero / dkd) – return with their aptly titled sophomore album, two. This time they are joined by Philadelphia’s Lady Alma (of 4hero’s “Hold It Down” fame) and delve into an array of subject matters. (Mundovibe will post its in-depth interview with Lady Alma soon). Download here.

Omar Sosa, Mark Weinstein
“Forest Journey” (mp3)
from “Tales From The Earth”
(Otá Records)

More On This Album

Mark Farina
“That’s How” (mp3)
from “Geograffiti EP”
(Great Lakes Audio)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

John Brown’s Body
“The Gold (Dubmatix Runnin’ Remix)” (mp3)
from “Re-Amplify”
(Easy Star Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
More On This Album

John Brown’s Body
“Give Yourself Over (GoldieLocks Vs. Synth Girl Remix)” (mp3)
from “Re-Amplify”
(Easy Star Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store

John Brown’s Body
“Conquering Heart Dub (Blue King Brown’s Be At Peace Remix)” (mp3)
from “Re-Amplify”
(Easy Star Records)

Buy at iTunes Music Store

Dub Gabriel feat. U Roy — Luv n’ Liv ( Ming vs. Subatomic Sound System Remix)
Destroy All Concepts

Brooklyn’s Subatomic Sound System teams up with Ming, of Ming + FS to remix the Dub Gabriel track “Luv n’ Liv” featuring U Roy on vocals and David J on bass.
DOWNLOAD HERE

The Spy From Cairo

Middle Eastern music often gets the short shrift when it combined with contemporary music, often appearing as a sample — a moaning wail, the strumming of an oud or darbouka – laid over some formulaic beats (often filed under “new age”). The Spy From Cairo has dispersed of this malignment on “Secretly Famous”, creating a music that truly integrates traditional Arabic music with dub and rhythmic production. Purists might not approve but this is some seriously dope interpretation of traditional Middle Eastern music. Think Thievery Corporation with Arab influence and you’ve got an idea of what the Spy From Cairo has accomplished on these 13 tracks, representing the full breadth of sounds from the region. For the uninitiated, The Spy From Cairo is Moreno Visini, a low profile but extremely accomplished musician, producer and remixer who has been a major contributor to New York City’s underground globalist scene. The man is to Arabic music what Bob Baer is to spying, you might not know him but he’s left his imprint on dozens of recordings including DJ Sabo, Organic Grooves, Turntables on the Hudson as well as the Buddha Bar compilations.

With its 13 songs, there’s a lot of turf to cover on “Secretly Famous” and The Spy From Cairo runs the full breadth of Arabic sounds, opening with a rush of nay and mizmar flutes and Darbouka rhythms on ‘Nayphony’, based on traditional wedding music from Jordan. ‘Kurdish Delight’ is a bass- and dub-driven twist on traditional Kurdish mountain music with clarinet, darbouka and frame drum. After these two instrumental songs we’re seduced by several songs featuring guest vocalist Ghalia Benali who grew up in an artistic family in the south of Tunisia. Benali is a well regarded Arabic singer and leaves her scintillating and exotic mark on “Secretly Famous”. One such song is  ‘Blood and Honey’, a varied and transfixing dedication to the Balkans, a region filled with flowers and fertile land as well as a long history of wars.

A standout track on “Secretly Famous” is ‘Kembe”, an infectious blending of vocals by Alladin,  Oud ( arabic guitar ), darbouka and a synthesized Mizmar along with TSFC’s trade mark beat and bass line. Things get funky on ‘Jennaty’ with its disco-ish guitar riffing and beats and Benali’s voice, which perfectly blends with the music. Both are great songs for heating up the dancefloor. Continuing past the half-way mark of “Secretly Famous” is ‘Oud Funk’, a blend of  a “Rai” type of melody and a twisted “afrofunk’ beat.  It starts with a peaceful Oud taksim ( Oud improvisation ) and it kicks in with Darbouka, beat and string arrangements. As one can detect by now, there is some serious instrumentation and arrangement happening on “Secretly Famous”. This is not some patched together project, each song is a careful amalgamation of traditional and modern and you’d be hard pressed to detect the separation between the two.

Continuing on the trans-Arabic journey is the deep and hypnotic ‘Sufi Disco’ with a brooding Nay riff and some wicked Oud riffs backed by some tripped out Moog sounds and a house groove. ‘Reggada’ is a bhangra-fied twist on this traditional style of Moroccon music with male vocals and a seriously heavy dub vibe that kicks in about half way into the song. Love the part where the vocals do a sort of tongue roll. ‘Ala Shan’ is a dubified remix of a very famous song by the (late) one and only Farid Al Atrache, the Egyptian “Father of the Oud”. The final track blends Benali’s soaring vocals with sitar and tabla, a calming end to a Nat Geo soundclash of old meeting new. The Spy from Cairo has masterfully infiltrated the inner sanctum of middle eastern sounds on “Secretly Famous”, seducing an unsuspecting audience with his adroit musicianship and production methods. And in the process, he’s blown his cover: the Spy From Cairo is no longer a best kept secret.  - J.C. Tripp

THE SPY FROM CAIRO “SECRETLY FAMOUS”

Singer Carlos Bertonatti in prison after killing bicyclist in drunken hit and run accident. Let’s hope he rots there.

Carlos Bertonatti is a real lady’s man, a Miami player and now a killer.
We at Mundovibe think that people who kill bicyclists deserve maximum penalties.
Especially when they’re drunk and drive off from the scene with the bike under their car.
Let’s make sure Carlos Bertonatti doesn’t get off easy for killing an innocent man. And to the legions of swooning “fans” of Mr. Bertonatti, now’s the time to remove yourself as his Myspace friend.

More info here.

Christophe Le Canne Memorial Ride from rydel high on Vimeo.