On The Turntable

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    Seke Molenga & Kalo Kawongolo

    Seke Molenga & Kalo Kawongolo :: Lee Perry Presents... African Roots

    Recorded in 1977 at the hand of Lee “Scratch” Perry in the legendary Black Ark lies one of its most beguiling and misunderstood creations. While blending roots reggae with African rhythms seems like a natural recipe for success, Island Records wouldn’t touch it. The project was deemed a failure at the outset, and only years later did various iterations of the project come to light.

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    Lightheaded

    Lightheaded :: Thinking, Dreaming, Scheming!

    Dedicated students of the pop underground, Lightheaded inhibits a wide-eyed coexistence with formative heroes from the Glasgow indie school, sixties sunshine pop and plenty of like minded stalwarts from their Slumberland label. Don’t call it naivety, but the band’s shambolic guitar pop dreams up their own hypothetical, optimistic world: lyrical themes of umbrellas, gardens and sunsets take center stage.

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    Boards of Canada

    Boards of Canada :: The Campfire Headphase

    Released twenty years ago in 2005, The Campfire Headphase places a premium on self-exploration and reflection to recognize what has made the rest worthwhile–to marvel at the minute when the macro is just too damn much.

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    Various Artists

    Various Artists :: A Selection Of Music From Libyan Tapes

    Habibi Funk’s latest compilation is a trip into the Libyan cassette scene of the 1990s. While the collected songs were crafted for clear commercial appeal, designed to soundtrack romantic singalongs during late-night ballads in pre-war Tripoli, the end result achieves something way more complex, accidentally or not, by folding African music back unto itself through a process of re-diasporization.

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    Richard Wright

    Richard Wright :: Wet Dream

    Amid Pink Floyd’s inevitable implosion initiated by Dark Side of the Moon’s monumental success, the groundwork was laid out for the eventual collapse of the prog-gone-hitmaker behemoth. Buffered in chaos, Richard Wright quietly put to tape what can credibly be argued the best Floyd-adjacent solo record, Wet Dream.

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    Prince Far I

    Prince Far I :: Under Heavy Manners

    Ital and vital. Produced by Joe Gibbs and engineered by Errol Thompson, Prince Far I, aka the Voice Of Thunder, dropped this slab of essential roots reggae in 1976. His grizzled ropeadope delivery scorching the LP’s ten tracks, Far I’s epic toasting (or chanting, as he preferred) is on full display riding a wave of rumbling bass, subtle dub effects, percussion and organ.

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    Hiroki Tamaki

    Hiroki Tamaki :: Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

    Originally released in 1980, before the Bhagwan even ventured to America to begin the now infamous Oregon ashram and it’s ill-fated demise, his spiritual teachings reached Tamaki in Japan. Compelled to reach far outside his classical training for a full length tribute to the guru, Tamaki lays out a mind altering trip into some confounding musical spaces.

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     Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus

    Ras Michael & The Sons Of Negus :: Love Thy Neighbour

    Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus’ Love Thy Neighbour is perhaps the last great masterwork produced by Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry within the hallowed walls of his Black Ark studio. It is a testament to the uncompromising spiritual clarity of Ras Michael’s Nyabinghi mysticism, and to the dubwise delirium of the Upsetter’s sonic palette.

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Hiroki Tamaki :: Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh

Originally released in 1980, before the Bhagwan had ventured to America to begin the now infamous Oregon ashram and its ill-fated demise, his spiritual teachings reached Hiroki Tamaki in Japan. Compelled to reach far outside his classical training for a full length tribute to the guru, Tamaki lays out a mind altering trip into some confounding musical spaces. An all-you-can-eat buffet of prog-ladened synths, ethereal vocals, spoken word meditations, and pedal to the floor jamming shouldn’t work this well – but damn if it doesn’t.

Charles Tolliver’s Music Inc. :: Live at Slugs’ Vol. 1 & 2

The resurrection of Strata-East is nothing short of monumental, and that’s a fact. While each album on the legendary jazz label is a masterpiece in its own right, there is perhaps no clearer line to the heart of the Strata-East psyche than Charles Tolliver and Music Inc.’s Live at Slugs’ Vol. 1 & 2. Originally issued in 1972 as two separate albums, Live at Slugs’ is finally presented in all its majesty as a proper double album, transferring the full impact of this tour-de-force scorcher that occupies the intersection of heady post-bop, modal elegance, and spiritual fervor.

Seke Molenga & Kalo Kawongolo

Recorded in 1977 at the hand of Lee “Scratch” Perry in the legendary Black Ark lies one of its most beguiling and misunderstood creations. Two talented Congolese musicians were brought to Jamaica to record an album only to be unceremoniously dumped by their promoter and fend for themselves. Found begging on the streets of Kingston by Perry himself, as the story is told, The Upsetter took it as a sign from Jah to take them in, and a serendipitous musical collaboration followed. 

Dubwise Summer: An Aquarium Drunkard Mixtape

Summer equals dub. It is the elemental music of the season. And not simply because it comes from a tropical island. Everything in dub feels suspended in the heat and humidity: a little slower, a little hazier—all the elements delayed in the muggy atmosphere. There is something about the laid back languor of dub that feels especially appropriate this time of year, when the sun is high and the stakes are low. In that spirit, we’re serving up a couple hours of some of our favorite cuts from the golden age of dub.

Nate Mercereau, Josh Johnson, Carlos Niño :: Openness Trio

Openness Trio marks the first major release for the small group of L.A. musicians Nate Mercereau, Josh Johnson and Carlos Niño, as well as a significant milepost for the drifty, electronics-infused style of jazz they favor, appearing on the storied Blue Note label, once a haven of the old guard. Meditative, vibrant and lush, Openness Trio reenvisions the crystalline perfume of West Coast New Age not as daffy escapism but as the transcendental successor to avant-garde spiritual jazz. Equal parts incense and neon, it’s a testament to a place and a sound that sees the geographic and sonic realms as eternally impermanent and always incomplete.

Mark Stewart :: The Fateful Symmetry

The incendiary artist Mark Stewart, the main creative force behind the Pop Group, died suddenly and unexpectedly in April 2023, shortly after completing this eighth solo album. It’s a fitting cap to a career that spanned more than four decades and brought together the most uncompromising threads of post-punk, dub, funk, dance and agit-punk. 

Brightblack Morning Light :: BBC Maida Vale Session (October, 2006)

Before its candle was extinguished, Brightblack Morning Light burned languid, hot and, indeed, bright. Formed in northern California by Alabama natives Nathan Shineywater and Rachael Hughes, the group released several long-players and a pair of 7″s before ultimately disbanding in 2009. The following session finds the pair at Maida Vale studios in west London, augmented by additional players in the autumn of 2006. Cut several months following the release of their now-classic s/t debut, the set works up and elongates four of the album’s tracks. Slip in, ease back and listen for the green flash as “Friend of Time” stretches out far beyond the horizon.

Barry Walker Jr. :: The Aquarium Drunkard Interview

The Barry Walker Unit’s At the 13th Moon Gravity Well is very much a band effort, with Rose City bandmates Ripley Johnson (guitar) and John Jeffrey (drums) and Mouth Painter bassist Jason Wilmon joining Walker for a loose-limbed, thoroughly exploratory collection of live recordings taped last year at a local pub. With four instrumental tracks clocking in at over 40 minutes, this is deep, transportive stuff, giving Walker and co. a chance to stretch out and get loose, regularly finding moments of collective ecstasy. There’s groove mixed with freedom, melody crashing into dissonance. A total thrill from start to finish. To get a little more background on this magnificent record, we chatted with Barry a few weeks back from his home in Portland. 

Habibi Funk 031: A Selection Of Music From Libyan Tapes

Habibi Funk’s latest compilation is a trip into the Libyan cassette scene of the 1990s. While the collected songs were crafted for clear commercial appeal, designed to soundtrack romantic singalongs during late-night ballads in pre-war Tripoli, the end result achieves something way more complex, accidentally or not, by folding African music back unto itself through a process of re-diasporization.

All One Song :: Jeff Parker on “The Needle and the Damage Done”

Our guest this week is Jeff Parker, best known as the guitarist for the long-running Chicago post-rock group Tortoise. Now Jeff might not seem like the most obvious All One Song guest — his and Neil’s styles feel miles apart. At least at first! But as we get into in our conversation, Jeff has found some serious inspiration in Young’s unique approach to the acoustic guitar. And the acoustic guitar is central to the song he selected to talk about: “The Needle and the Damage Done.” This haunting solo number from 1972’s Harvest remains one of Neil’s signature tunes. It’s a song that even the most casual of fans knows by heart. But Jeff’s perspective on this warhorse opened it back up — and hopefully it’ll do the same for you. 

The Reds, Pinks & Purples :: The Past Is A Garden I Never Fed

It has become a futile exercise to attempt using any other synonyms for “prolific” when it comes to the output of songwriter Glenn Donaldson. From the DIY outset of excellent Reds, Pinks & Purples debut Anxiety Art in 2019, we have been gifted a dizzying number of proper albums, EPs and various assorted outtakes (for those counting, that’s over 200 songs in the six year stretch). With The Past Is A Garden I Never Fed, Fire Records collects fourteen rarities and previously unreleased tracks from the sprawling RPP archival vault.

Yesternow: Editor’s Note Volume Two

Greetings from Todos Santos, Mexico. I’m back down here for a few days having first visited during the pandemic era in August of 2021. We’ve been listening to this massive, humid, playlist that I compiled just prior to that trip on repeat via the bluetooth speaker on the beach: Lust For Listening. All heaters, summer crate style. Think: 88°F, salt water, Mexican lagers and mezcal. In my bag I’ve been re-reading a tattered copy of Graham Greene’s prophetic 1955 expatriate novel, The Quiet American. The more things change, the more they remain the same …