Paris DJs Playlist - June 2013
Paris DJs' first playlist of the summer is an international and temporal journey through 60/70s Guinean music, 70s Nigerian Funk, 70s/80s Kenyan recordings, 21st century Afrofunk from all over the globe, more sounds of today with some UK Funk & Soul, Brazilian Hip Hop, Afrobeat and New Baile Funk, concluding with some American or Jamaican Reggae made in France. Thanks to Simon @ Accent-Presse, Miles @ Soundway, Stuart @ The Grits, Rosie @ Tru-Thoughts Recordings, Steve @ Jungle Fire, Big Shot @ Bam Salute, Quench Aid, John Wayne, AFRODYETE and Grant Phabao!!
The June 2013 Paris DJs Playlist :
AFRO / TROPICAL
01. Keletigui Et Ses Tambourins - The Syliphone Years (2CD, Sterns Music) info
02. Sory Kandia Kouyaté - La Voix de la Révolution (2CD, Sterns Music) info
03. Peter King - Miliki Sound (LP/CD, Mr Bongo) info | buy
04. Various - Kenya Special - Selected East African Recordings From The 1970s & '80s (3LP/2CD, Soundway) info | buy
05. Various - Rise Of The Troubadour Warriors - Tropical Grooves & Afrofunk International Vol.3 (Digital Compilation, Paris DJs) info | buy
This month' selection of new music releases starts its journey in Guinea, in the post-independance era of the 60s & 70s, when the government of President Sékou Touré launched a revolutionnary cultural policy called 'authenticité', supporting musicians searching for inspiration within Guinea's traditional musical styles. Two orchestras were pioneer of that movement, Balla et ses Baladins and Keletigui et ses Tambourins. The latter, called Orchestre de la Paillotte until the mid-60s, were the first Guinean group to introduce the electric organ into an orchestra, often coupled with a Balafon, playing music both traditional and modern, purely African while also rooted in Jazz, Blues and Cuban music. 'The Syliphone Years' covers the 1968-1976 period and brings some really fresh & classy retro vibes to the hot summer that's finally happening in Paris. Also from Guinea, Sory Kandia Kouyaté was one of the great and powerful West African voices, who sang the great African epics, so that from generation to generation, the history of his homeland may stay in people's memories. 'La Voix de la Révolution' is a 2CD set covering the early 70s years of this exceptional troubadour of traditional music of West Africa. Mesmerizing horizontal stuff, mostly.
Now let's head off to Nigeria in the mid-70s, and the 'Miliki Sound' album from saxophonistt/composer/arranger Peter King. With hard-hitting psychedelic Afrojazz, immersed in Highlife, Funk, Afrobeat and Jazz, this joyous, uplifting and infectiously catchy new reissue in Mr Bongo's 'Classic African Recordings' series is available on heavyweight vinyl. Don't say we didn't warn you. Our ride then takes us to Kenya in the 70s & 80s, thanks to archeologists of the groove Soundway Records who, following up on the previous boxsets 'Nigeria Special' (2008), 'Nigeria Special Vol.2' (2008) and 'Ghana Special' (2009), have released a new essential and exhaustive compilation of rare African vinyl, 'Kenya Special', this time focusing on some East African vibes previously only released on small-run, 45-rpm, seven inch singles. As usual with Soundway, the selection is killer, gathering raw, catchy, funky & wild Benga, Rumba, Afrobeat and Afrofunk you've probably never heard before. Available on beautifully packaged 2CD or 3LP set, we can't nearly enough recommend this new compilation! Now let's fast forward to the 21st century and Paris DJs third selection of 'Tropical Grooves & Afrofunk International', which sees the French International Music Bureau at the top of its game. Curated with the help of Les Frères Smith' guitar player Elvis Martinez Smith, this new compilation of fully-licensed Afrofunk, Afrobeat, Latin or Brazilian Funk & Ethio-Jazz from the 21st century abounds with psychedelic influences and a heavy dose of soul, including a slew of brand new unreleased tracks from the best bands of the current 'Sono Mondiale'.
FUNK / LATIN
06. The Grits - Make It Sound (Like James Brown) (7", Hamhock Records) info | buy
07. Various - Daora - Undergound Sounds of Urban Brasil Hip Hop, Beats, Afro & Dub (2CD, Mais Um Discos) info | buy
08. Various - Funk Globo - The Sound of Neo Baile compiled by Funk Na Caixa & Club Popozuda (CD, Mr Bongo) info | buy
UK raw funk activists The Grits have a new 45 out and it's an irresistible one, with some heavy breaks, a funky groove, some typical JB shouts and a psychedelic finale! "Hey, make a sound, doesn't matter what sound it is, as long as it sounds like James Brown", does it say. You're gonna need this piece of novelty funk, and you might be curious of the reggae remix that Grant Phabao is cooking for a september digital release will sound like. James Scratch Perry, maybe? Let's now make a trip to Brazil, with a new double CD compilation from the Mais Um Discos label in London, compiled by Sao Paulo music expert Rodrigo Brandao, gathering modern urban Brazilian grooves, from Hip Hop to Afrobeat, from Dub to Leftfield Latin sounds. This is really hard work, with most music being government-sponsored now in Brazil, many artists are giving their music away as free downloads, they don't understand much to Europe's music contracts so assembling all those tracks is quite a feat. The first disc focuses on the beat culture, and we're admittedly more inclined towards the second disc, full of more Letfield, Dub and Afrofunk tracks from some of our favorite Brazilian acts: Iconili, Bixiga 70, Abayomy Afrobeat Orquestra and Lucas Santtana. Another compilation dealing with modern Brazilian sounds is the 'Funk Globo' one released by Mr Bongo. Joining forces here are Sao Paulo-based Renato Martins from the Funk Na Caixa website specializing in Neo Baile Funk (i.e. blends of Electronic music with the Funk Carioca), and Sean Casey aka Bumps from the Club Popozuda Global Bass parties in London. Their truly global selection is kicking some serious ass, with sample-heavy Tamborzão, Favela Trap beats, nearly-Moombahton synths, and more Baile Bass from DJs and producers from all around the world. Not one for the faint-hearted and definitively, the festival season is upon us!
HIP HOP / SOUL / ELECTRONIC
09. The Gene Dudley Group - Saturday Shifting (CD, Wah Wah 45s) info | buy
10. Harleighblu - Play Me (Digital Single, Tru Thoughts) info | buy
11. Natural Self - An Invisible Light (Digital Single, Tru Thoughts) info | buy
12. Quantic & Alice Russell with The Comb Barbaro - I'd Cry / Here Again (12"/Digital Single, Tru Thoughts) info | buy
It's gonna be hard not to evoke the influences of the New-York city Retro Soul and Deep Funk scene after listening to the first album of 27 year-old multi-instrumentalist Gene Dudley. The man comes from North London and plays trumpet, saxophone, drums, bass, guitar and piano, with just a few friends fitting in for a solo here and there…. A really impressive first opus, with favorites 'The New Lots Of Cooperstown', sounding just like a Truth & Soul production, or 'When The Gorilla Get Grip' or the utterly classy 'The Fawcett Negotiation', and their Daptone-esque arrangements. Let's hope that's just the beginning of a long series of deeply soulful offerings! Another newcomer on the UK scene is Harleighblu, a singer/songwriter who's first single 'Play Me will hit the racks late july, while her debut album 'Forget Me Not' will be released later on this autumn (both on the Tru Thoughts label in Brighton). A bit as if songstress Bajka was meeting with the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, this is pure Hip Hop-influenced Soul, with catchy piano lines, heavy heavy horn riffs, and a unique, sparkling, exciting new voice… Once and for all, A&R Rob Luis is one of the best artists diggers out there today! On the same label, Nathaniel Pearn, aka Natural Self has a second single out, 'An Invisible Light', extracted from his futuristic fourth LP, 'Neon Hurts My Eyes’. An intriguing wonky, synth-heavy, electronic pop piece, with deep textures and a muggy atmosphere. Finally, and also released by Try Thoughts Recordings, the third Quantic & Alice Russell single, taken from their majestic 'Look Around The Corner' album, is unadulterated 70s Latin Soul, available on a limited, teardrop-shaped, translucent blue vinyl 45. Delightful in all ways.
REGGAE / SKA
13. Taj Weekes & Adowa - Pariah In Transit (CD, Jatta Records) info
14. Jungle Fire - Firewalker (Grant Phabao Remix) (Digital Single, Paris DJs) info | buy
15. Grant Phabao presents Quench Aid and John Wayne - Don't Go Girls (Digital Single, Paris DJs) info/free download
16. Grant Phabao presents AFRODYETE - I Got To Be Free (Digital Single, Paris DJs) info | buy
Fitting for a reggae-rock-friendly audience, the fourth album by St Lucia's singer/guitarist Taj Weekes and his NYC band Adowa is conscious, soulful and organic, with bittersweet melodies and compassionate vocals. A Live album to listen to entirely while head-nodding and shoulder-swinging, it should easily appeal to all festival-goers. For something more oriented towards dancefloor action, the latest Grant Phabao remix for Califronian Afro-Latin Funksters Jungle Fire is a unique blend of Afro-Latin Disco Funk action and Jamaican Ska power, full of jumpin' skanks, dancin' breaks and funkin' horn licks. Listen, freak out, play it to the crowds, and watch them go nuts!! On the free download side, don't pass on original dancehall killah artists' Quench Aid & John Wayne's 'Don't Go Girls', a glorious and dynamic reggae combination all about the four-letter word L.O.V.E. and if you still got a a buck or two left to spare after reading this monthly playlist, French unstoppable producer Grant Phabao also put out a new single featuring the talents of Breakestra vocalist AFRODYETE, exploring this time the joyous worlds of Reggae Soul - and Funky Hip Hop thanks to an exclusive remix from French producer Lawkyz, main activist in the Versus project!
Contact us to be featured in this monthly playlist or send us records at :
Julien Lakshmanan / Paris DJs
240 rue de Belleville
(gardien au 55 rue du Telegraphe)
75020 Paris, France
Bonus !! The companion Soundcloud set for this month and last month's playlists :
The June 2013 Paris DJs Playlist :
AFRO / TROPICAL
01. Keletigui Et Ses Tambourins - The Syliphone Years (2CD, Sterns Music) info
02. Sory Kandia Kouyaté - La Voix de la Révolution (2CD, Sterns Music) info
03. Peter King - Miliki Sound (LP/CD, Mr Bongo) info | buy
04. Various - Kenya Special - Selected East African Recordings From The 1970s & '80s (3LP/2CD, Soundway) info | buy
05. Various - Rise Of The Troubadour Warriors - Tropical Grooves & Afrofunk International Vol.3 (Digital Compilation, Paris DJs) info | buy
This month' selection of new music releases starts its journey in Guinea, in the post-independance era of the 60s & 70s, when the government of President Sékou Touré launched a revolutionnary cultural policy called 'authenticité', supporting musicians searching for inspiration within Guinea's traditional musical styles. Two orchestras were pioneer of that movement, Balla et ses Baladins and Keletigui et ses Tambourins. The latter, called Orchestre de la Paillotte until the mid-60s, were the first Guinean group to introduce the electric organ into an orchestra, often coupled with a Balafon, playing music both traditional and modern, purely African while also rooted in Jazz, Blues and Cuban music. 'The Syliphone Years' covers the 1968-1976 period and brings some really fresh & classy retro vibes to the hot summer that's finally happening in Paris. Also from Guinea, Sory Kandia Kouyaté was one of the great and powerful West African voices, who sang the great African epics, so that from generation to generation, the history of his homeland may stay in people's memories. 'La Voix de la Révolution' is a 2CD set covering the early 70s years of this exceptional troubadour of traditional music of West Africa. Mesmerizing horizontal stuff, mostly.
Now let's head off to Nigeria in the mid-70s, and the 'Miliki Sound' album from saxophonistt/composer/arranger Peter King. With hard-hitting psychedelic Afrojazz, immersed in Highlife, Funk, Afrobeat and Jazz, this joyous, uplifting and infectiously catchy new reissue in Mr Bongo's 'Classic African Recordings' series is available on heavyweight vinyl. Don't say we didn't warn you. Our ride then takes us to Kenya in the 70s & 80s, thanks to archeologists of the groove Soundway Records who, following up on the previous boxsets 'Nigeria Special' (2008), 'Nigeria Special Vol.2' (2008) and 'Ghana Special' (2009), have released a new essential and exhaustive compilation of rare African vinyl, 'Kenya Special', this time focusing on some East African vibes previously only released on small-run, 45-rpm, seven inch singles. As usual with Soundway, the selection is killer, gathering raw, catchy, funky & wild Benga, Rumba, Afrobeat and Afrofunk you've probably never heard before. Available on beautifully packaged 2CD or 3LP set, we can't nearly enough recommend this new compilation! Now let's fast forward to the 21st century and Paris DJs third selection of 'Tropical Grooves & Afrofunk International', which sees the French International Music Bureau at the top of its game. Curated with the help of Les Frères Smith' guitar player Elvis Martinez Smith, this new compilation of fully-licensed Afrofunk, Afrobeat, Latin or Brazilian Funk & Ethio-Jazz from the 21st century abounds with psychedelic influences and a heavy dose of soul, including a slew of brand new unreleased tracks from the best bands of the current 'Sono Mondiale'.
FUNK / LATIN
06. The Grits - Make It Sound (Like James Brown) (7", Hamhock Records) info | buy
07. Various - Daora - Undergound Sounds of Urban Brasil Hip Hop, Beats, Afro & Dub (2CD, Mais Um Discos) info | buy
08. Various - Funk Globo - The Sound of Neo Baile compiled by Funk Na Caixa & Club Popozuda (CD, Mr Bongo) info | buy
UK raw funk activists The Grits have a new 45 out and it's an irresistible one, with some heavy breaks, a funky groove, some typical JB shouts and a psychedelic finale! "Hey, make a sound, doesn't matter what sound it is, as long as it sounds like James Brown", does it say. You're gonna need this piece of novelty funk, and you might be curious of the reggae remix that Grant Phabao is cooking for a september digital release will sound like. James Scratch Perry, maybe? Let's now make a trip to Brazil, with a new double CD compilation from the Mais Um Discos label in London, compiled by Sao Paulo music expert Rodrigo Brandao, gathering modern urban Brazilian grooves, from Hip Hop to Afrobeat, from Dub to Leftfield Latin sounds. This is really hard work, with most music being government-sponsored now in Brazil, many artists are giving their music away as free downloads, they don't understand much to Europe's music contracts so assembling all those tracks is quite a feat. The first disc focuses on the beat culture, and we're admittedly more inclined towards the second disc, full of more Letfield, Dub and Afrofunk tracks from some of our favorite Brazilian acts: Iconili, Bixiga 70, Abayomy Afrobeat Orquestra and Lucas Santtana. Another compilation dealing with modern Brazilian sounds is the 'Funk Globo' one released by Mr Bongo. Joining forces here are Sao Paulo-based Renato Martins from the Funk Na Caixa website specializing in Neo Baile Funk (i.e. blends of Electronic music with the Funk Carioca), and Sean Casey aka Bumps from the Club Popozuda Global Bass parties in London. Their truly global selection is kicking some serious ass, with sample-heavy Tamborzão, Favela Trap beats, nearly-Moombahton synths, and more Baile Bass from DJs and producers from all around the world. Not one for the faint-hearted and definitively, the festival season is upon us!
HIP HOP / SOUL / ELECTRONIC
09. The Gene Dudley Group - Saturday Shifting (CD, Wah Wah 45s) info | buy
10. Harleighblu - Play Me (Digital Single, Tru Thoughts) info | buy
11. Natural Self - An Invisible Light (Digital Single, Tru Thoughts) info | buy
12. Quantic & Alice Russell with The Comb Barbaro - I'd Cry / Here Again (12"/Digital Single, Tru Thoughts) info | buy
It's gonna be hard not to evoke the influences of the New-York city Retro Soul and Deep Funk scene after listening to the first album of 27 year-old multi-instrumentalist Gene Dudley. The man comes from North London and plays trumpet, saxophone, drums, bass, guitar and piano, with just a few friends fitting in for a solo here and there…. A really impressive first opus, with favorites 'The New Lots Of Cooperstown', sounding just like a Truth & Soul production, or 'When The Gorilla Get Grip' or the utterly classy 'The Fawcett Negotiation', and their Daptone-esque arrangements. Let's hope that's just the beginning of a long series of deeply soulful offerings! Another newcomer on the UK scene is Harleighblu, a singer/songwriter who's first single 'Play Me will hit the racks late july, while her debut album 'Forget Me Not' will be released later on this autumn (both on the Tru Thoughts label in Brighton). A bit as if songstress Bajka was meeting with the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, this is pure Hip Hop-influenced Soul, with catchy piano lines, heavy heavy horn riffs, and a unique, sparkling, exciting new voice… Once and for all, A&R Rob Luis is one of the best artists diggers out there today! On the same label, Nathaniel Pearn, aka Natural Self has a second single out, 'An Invisible Light', extracted from his futuristic fourth LP, 'Neon Hurts My Eyes’. An intriguing wonky, synth-heavy, electronic pop piece, with deep textures and a muggy atmosphere. Finally, and also released by Try Thoughts Recordings, the third Quantic & Alice Russell single, taken from their majestic 'Look Around The Corner' album, is unadulterated 70s Latin Soul, available on a limited, teardrop-shaped, translucent blue vinyl 45. Delightful in all ways.
REGGAE / SKA
13. Taj Weekes & Adowa - Pariah In Transit (CD, Jatta Records) info
14. Jungle Fire - Firewalker (Grant Phabao Remix) (Digital Single, Paris DJs) info | buy
15. Grant Phabao presents Quench Aid and John Wayne - Don't Go Girls (Digital Single, Paris DJs) info/free download
16. Grant Phabao presents AFRODYETE - I Got To Be Free (Digital Single, Paris DJs) info | buy
Fitting for a reggae-rock-friendly audience, the fourth album by St Lucia's singer/guitarist Taj Weekes and his NYC band Adowa is conscious, soulful and organic, with bittersweet melodies and compassionate vocals. A Live album to listen to entirely while head-nodding and shoulder-swinging, it should easily appeal to all festival-goers. For something more oriented towards dancefloor action, the latest Grant Phabao remix for Califronian Afro-Latin Funksters Jungle Fire is a unique blend of Afro-Latin Disco Funk action and Jamaican Ska power, full of jumpin' skanks, dancin' breaks and funkin' horn licks. Listen, freak out, play it to the crowds, and watch them go nuts!! On the free download side, don't pass on original dancehall killah artists' Quench Aid & John Wayne's 'Don't Go Girls', a glorious and dynamic reggae combination all about the four-letter word L.O.V.E. and if you still got a a buck or two left to spare after reading this monthly playlist, French unstoppable producer Grant Phabao also put out a new single featuring the talents of Breakestra vocalist AFRODYETE, exploring this time the joyous worlds of Reggae Soul - and Funky Hip Hop thanks to an exclusive remix from French producer Lawkyz, main activist in the Versus project!
Contact us to be featured in this monthly playlist or send us records at :
Julien Lakshmanan / Paris DJs
240 rue de Belleville
(gardien au 55 rue du Telegraphe)
75020 Paris, France
Bonus !! The companion Soundcloud set for this month and last month's playlists :
Original post on Paris DJs