KWES – Orange Blue [Warp]I consider one-time Lewisham resident Kwes a singer-songwriter at the root, because that’s how I first met him in 2009 with the track ‘Tissues’. On more recent Warp releases he’s been experimenting with an ever-widening palette of noises, creating these little idiosyncratic universes of sound, tuff but sweet. ‘LGOYH’, last heard on his Rye Lane Soundtrack a few years ago, showed his earnest lyricism could still tug on the heartstrings in a very British way. But instrumental snippets like ‘Wave at Boats’ hinted at where he might go next – ambience with a featherlight touch. Latest album Kinds offers nine colour-coded variations on a theme, for all the synesthesiasts out there.
DUVAL TIMOTHY & CJ MIRRA – Passing On [Carrying Colour] 4m 50sThe kind of score that has you rushing to the cinema for full audio-visual immersion, this is Duval Timothy and CJ Mirra with ‘Passing On’ from Akinola Davis Jr’s debut feature film My Father’s Shadow, which was written by his brother Wale. I’ve yet to watch it but it’ll happen. Always interested in complex father-son stories. Aren’t they always? Set over a single day in Lagos during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, Akin’s debut follows an estranged father guiding his two young sons across the city as political unrest threatens their journey home.
SULAH JORDAN – Leaves in the Trees [Test Pressing Arts] 11m 00sHappy to see that Oakland artist Sulah Jordan’s EP Lady Bug from 2023 is getting the vinyl treatment on Test Pressing’s offshoot label Test Pressing Arts. I included ‘Musee Melancolique’ in a previous edition of Moonbeam Levels after being seduced by the iridescent beauty of that debut, which transported me to some cove shaded by tropical leaves. So why not this track next?
FABIANO DO NASCIMENTO & VITTOR SANTOS ORQUESTRA – Trenzinho Imaginário [Far Out] 15m 05sVILA is the very classy collaboration between guitarist Fabiano Do Nascimento and trombonist/arranger Vittor Santos, who leads a 16-piece orchestra here to breathtaking heights. It’s inspired by the former’s upbringing in a Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood called Catete and exudes a beguiling mix of grandeur and homeliness. The swirling strings of melody, to me, represent the best of big band Brazil.
TILAYE GEBRE & THE DAHLAK BAND – Tizita [Muzikawi/Mr Bongo] 18m 00sThe product of one-take live sessions that Tilaye would conduct with his band at the Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa in the 70s, ‘Tizita’ is the saxophonist, composer and arranger at his most winsome and romantic. The lo-fi haziness of the recording lends a little eeriness to proceedings. Check the extensive liner notes for more about his path in music.
BRENT FAIYAZ – Butterflies [ISO Supremacy/UnitedMasters] 27m 35sBrent is one of those artists from the post-MySpace era that I would discover almost daily on blogs and YouTube. I think it was the Black Child EP that hipped me to his use of heavy atmospherics in the pleasure centre of R&B and rap. He’s now ascended to the realm of pop superstar (man’s got more than five million IG followers), making tracks such as ‘Pure Fantasy’, which, as one commenter wrote, has him “fully in his MJ bag”. Others are in disbelief that the same guy who wrote ‘Wish You Well’ is now falling in love with superwomen on ‘Butterflies’, which I had to include for that audacious intro alone. There’s a whole team that produced this track, but the project is executive produced by Mr Instant Vintage, Raphael Saadiq.
CHARLOTTE DAY WILSON – Selfish [XL] 31m 30sLet’s stay in song mode with something from Patchwork, the latest self-produced album from Charlotte Day Wilson, who just has this undeniable gift for aching melodies. All it took was one guest spot on a BADBADNOTGOOD record in 2016 to know she’s a ride-or-die artist. An old soul with an alluring tone. Remember, she made Van and Earn catch feelings again in Atlanta. Tempos shift across this project but the writing is rock-solid, from the refined slow jam ‘If Only’ to the doo-doodoo two-step that propels ‘Selfish’ and then evaporates.
GENA – Douwannabwithastar [Lex] 35m 10sThe Pleasure is Yours, the full-length remote collab between Liv.e and Karriem Riggins, is out now. As satisfying and uplifting a collection of boomin’ ditties as you will hear this year. There are styles for miles, so it’s almost impossible to pin down. All I will add is that it’s soul-deep top to bottom and sounds like Karriem’s workin’ the kit right next to you. God Energy, Naturally Amazing, uh huh. Fun fact: the project name is inspired by Tisha Campbell’s character in the TV show Martin. “Specifically how Martin Lawrence would say Gina [Payne’s] name”, Liv.e told Hearing Things. “That’s how these songs make me feel.”
** Tribute to Bob Power **
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST – Rhythm (Devoted to the Art of Moving Butts instrumental) [Not on Label] 38m 00sWe recently lost one of the great mixing engineers of the past 30 years plus. You may not know the name but you will definitely have savoured Bob Power’s work if you were raised on a similar diet to me. First up, A Tribe Called Quest’s Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders. On the back of the former, he’s given the nickname “LOCKED”. No doubt, a nod to his powers of precision, focus and the ability to get sh*t with finesse.
Then there was De La Soul’s Bulhoone Mindstate and De La Soul is Dead, The Roots’ Illadelph Half Life and Things Fall Apart, Baduizm, Brown Sugar, Dee-lite, Meshell Ndegeocello’s Comfort Woman and Peace Beyond Passion, Common’s Like Water For Chocolate, Ozomatli’s Embrace The Chaos, India Arie’s Acoustic Soul…
His mastery of dynamic range, pitch, timbre, clarity and frequency balance ensured the artist’s sonic vision was coming through just as clearly as their musical one. And he also knew when to get out of the way. Let’s hear from man himself and then run through a few underappreciated moments of his greatness. Plug in your best phones or speakers and listen closely.
For more on Bob, check this interview where he gives a very telling anecdote about recording Chaka Khan. Chip Fu, who worked with Bob on Fu-schnickens’s first Jive album, breaks down what made him so good in the studio here.
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST – The Chase Pt 2 [Jive] 42m 40s“Bob Power, you there? Adjust the bass and treble, make my s**t sound clear!”
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST – Same Ol’ Thing [Jive] 46m 01s
THE ROOTS – Distortion to Static [Geffen] 50m 05s“Redder than pork, comin’ to New York to mix, It’s Bob Power with the snares and kicks to fix.”
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO – Andromedia & The Milky Way [Maverick] 53m 58s
** tribute ends **
BRIAN AUGER’S OBLIVION EXPRESS – Total Eclipse [Strut] 75m 55sIt’s been a while since I’ve listened to anything Brian Auger-related. In my early loop-digging days I would stumble on some of his 60’s releases with Julie Driscoll and Trinity. In the next decade, the British organist and composer strode confidently into the age of jazz rock, forming the Oblivion Express. Strut has reissued their self-titled offering and on there is one of the group’s finest grooves (‘Total Eclipse’), which we’re gonna ride for the full 11 minutes to appreciate the rhythm section of bassist Barry Dean and drummer Robbie McIntosh. Though guitarist Jim Mullen is all up in this track, saying don’t forget about me.
ROLAND BRIVAL – Créole Gypsy [Soundway] 1h 09 20sOsunlade introduced me to the resonant timbre of Roland Brival with his Yoruba Soul remix of ‘Sakitayo’ in 2004. The Martinique poet and painter’s Jon Lucien x Leon Thomas incantations instantly put me in a trance and hinted at a rich musical heritage. And so it was that in 1980 he made a spiritual jazz opus about his Créole identity, love and colonial injustices that became a private press obscurity. Until now…
HUNEE – The World [Rush Hour] 1h 17m 05sI think it was Rush Hour who served me this flashback to 2015 Hunee. I knew of his reputation as a marathon DJ and selector at the time, but I skipped over his album Hunch Music. Listening more than ten years after its release, there is a nagging sense of unease or introspection in tracks like ‘Bruises’ and this one, which samples June Tyson on Sun Ra’s ‘After The End of The World’, beckoning us into whatever comes next. A track for precarious times, right.
SHACKLETON – The Dream in Fragments [AD93] 1h 23m 00sAfter dropping one of Shackleton’s many versions of Saagara in the last show, I couldn’t resist giving the trance master a little more airtime with this, ‘The Soul of Everything’, taken from AD93 album Euphoria Bound. The PR blurb for it chooses some very apt words to describe its mood … or should that be mode? Dissolution, erasure, disintegration… Yes, something is being shed or cast off in this set and it all feels necessary. To make way for renewal.
NONDI – Tree Festival [Planet Mu] 1h 27m 15sComing out of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Nondi makes these very raw but melodic rhythm trax that draw from juke, footwork and IDM among other sources. Think Aphex, Actress, Rashad… Ringing, rumbling, clattering into your ears and down the spine, it’s a full-body experience. ‘Tree Festival’ is my eargasm of choice. Check out Nondi’s first Planet Mu releaseFlood City Trax as well.
DJ FOOD – Peace (Harvey’s 30 Something Mix [Mr Bongo] 1h 30m 25sA standout track from Luke Una’s third volume of É Soul Cultura. A psychedelic coolout track that I haven’t heard since picking up Harvey’sLate Night Sessions mix years ago. Always open to some gratuitous shredding, especially when it pops up in unexpected places. Luke’s been playing some proper parties around the world recently, restoring my faith in the floor. Go dance with him.
WILLIE COLÓN – Set Fire To Me (Inferno Dub) [A&M] 1h 38m 25sPure Afro-Cuban sounds rarely make an appearance on Moonbeam Levels. We should rectify that because I do love heavy brass sections and tuff percussion. When it comes to 70’s Nuyorican artists, the Fania All-Stars still wear the crown because watchingOur Latin Thing was my initiation. Chief among them was the late trombonist, producer and singer-songwriter Willie Colón, a fierce proponent of the Puerto Rican community, who wasn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. I could have chosen something from his Rubén Blades collaborationSiembra, the biggest salsa record of all time. Or barrio badboy groove ‘Calle Luna Calle Sol’. But the first track I associate with him is the outlier ‘Set Fire To Me’ – an NYC Loft classic from 1986. An eyes-closed, deep-in-the-dance masterpiece.
** Tribute to Ebo Taylor ** 1h 48m 15s
Where to begin with someone who has been a standard bearer of Ghanaian music for more than half a century? The late Ebo Taylor took the music of ‘King of Highlife’ ET Mensah and traditional Fante rhythms into dynamic new territory with his jazz-informed conception of afrobeat and funk.
Miles Davis and John Coltrane were big influences on those horn lines that became hallmarks of his arrangements for the Essiebons label. But then so was the propulsive sound of James Brown who was making intense, emphatic statements in black music using the minor mode. (This Afropop Worldwide radio special on the deep funk connection in Ghana is very informative and entertaining.)
Taylor attended Eric Gilder School of Music in 60’s London, where a certain Fela Kuti, studying at Trinity College, would reason with him on harmony. At the same time, he would be studying Dvorak’s “From the New World” Symphony No 9 in detail. Taylor wanted to both honour the past and stride ahead, drawing inspiration from warrior songs, nursery rhymes and political events… To do it his way, like Fela insisted they should as West Africans.
As recently as 2024, he was in the studio recording his 16th album with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammed. This tribute, published by their management company Art Don’t Sleep, paints a tender portrait of “Uncle Ebo” – a warm, humble, dignified elder who was still “commanding stages at 89”. ‘Love & Death’ is foundational music and often the first pick from his catalogue. Here are some other favourites to close the show.
EBO TAYLOR – Amponsah [Strut] 1h 49 43sI always get swept up by the brassy fanfare on this closing cut from Taylor’s self-titled debut album in 1977. A more muscular and full-blooded incarnation of highlife, bolstered by a resounding chant. I wish I knew who was in the band.
EBO TAYLOR & THE PELIKANS – Egya Edu [Strut] 1h 56m 35sAn all-too-brief collaboration with a 12-piece band from the Cape Coast region of Ghana. It’s one of the first to feature Taylor on vocals (in a mixture of English and Fante) but it’s his guitar playing that adds a little extra electricity to this number.
GYEDU-BLAY AMBOLLEY – Fa No Dem Ara [Strut] 2h 03m 45sAnother Essiebons classic with Ambolley purveying his James Brown-inflected Simigwa sound with Taylor on co-writing and producing duties. The horn arrangements, in particular, are infectious and life-giving.
EBO TAYLOR & THE SWEET BEANS – Odofo Nyi Akyiri Biara [Analog Africa] 2h 08m 20sTaylor was Essiebions in-house arranger and producer for several years, hooking up here with one of the label’s deadliest backing bands for a fiery 10 minutes of afro-funk. I think that’s Pat Thomas on vocals.
EBO TAYLOR – Peace on Earth [Strut] 2h 18m 55sThere’s something both ominous and reassuring about this simmering standout from Twer Nyame in 1978, with its undulating bassline and pitter-pattering percussion. Taylor meandering all over the session as the chorus repeats in come-what-may fashion, “Don’t know where we’re going…”
