Spring is finally upon us in Paris and with it an avalanche of new records reached our decks. From Japan, France, Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Portugal… as if every artist in the U.S. had gone digital, or maybe as if the recent rise in international postage costs overseas was ending the American vinyl and CD business here in Europe. Anyway lots of new music to talk about this month, and already many more for June… Thanks to Masamichi @ SoulGardenRecords, Simon @ Accent-Presse, Jaïs @ Ping Pong, Samy & Paula @ Analog Africa, Lawkyz @ Musicast, Jada @ WillWork4Funk, Tobias @ Tramp Records, Rosie @ Tru-Thoughts Recordings, Dale @ Kept Records, David @ Renegades Of Jazz, Adrian @ Brownout, Marcela @ Zephyrus Music, Sander @ Painted Dog Records, The Lone Ranger, Leroy Gibbon, Carlton Livingston and Grant Phabao!!
Paris DJs Playlist May 2013

The May 2013 Paris DJs Playlist :

AFRO / TROPICAL
01. Jaribu Afrobeat Arkestra - Legend of Yoruba (7", SoulGardenRecords, 2010) info | buy
02. Jaribu Afrobeat Arkestra - Tricky Liars (7", Tramp Records 45) info | buy
03. Jaribu Afrobeat Arkestra - Deeper (7", SoulGardenRecords, 2012) info | buy
04. Solo Hit - Imoikeme b/w Ododo (7", Analog Africa, 2013) info | buy
05. Femi Kuti - No Place For My Dream (CD, Naïve, 2013) info | buy
06. Paris DJs Soundsystem - We Are The Fire Inside Your Mind (Digital/Poster, Paris DJs, 2013) info | buy

Lots of stuff is always happening on the Afro front at Paris DJs, since we've been working on Afro/Tropical compilations for a full year, with 2 volumes already released and a third one in preparation. Japanese roots Afrobeat band Jaribu Afrobeat Arkestra has gently hit us with their 45 releases, including the groovy 'Legend Of Yoruba' (released on their own Soul Garden Records label in 2010), the killer uptempo frenzy of 'Tricky Liars' backed by the marvelous 'Afro Soul Knows' (released on German label Tramp Records in 2012 and played in our '21st Century Afro Spectacular' mix), and their latest one, 'Deeper feat. Coma-Chi b/w D.I.G. Deeper Dub Mix', extracted from their japan-only album 'No More Patient' (Soul Garden Records, 2012), blending afrobeat, soul, hip hop, jazz and rock on two excellent sides of wax. Another sure-fire winner is the first 45 released by the Analog Africa label. Coming from Benin City in Nigeria, Solo Hit an obscure artist with a vibrant and funky sound, discovered and produced by the legendary musician Victor Uwaifo. Solo Hit's real name is Ohieirme and he was born in 1954 in Avbiosi, Western Nigeria. The two tracks presented here were released on an earlier LP he did in 1981 when he was still a member of Victor Uwaifo And The Titibitis. Recorded at Uwaifo's Joromi studio, this unique sound was dubbed 'Oba Afro Funk', a mixture of Ekassa music and pop sung in the Ora dialect of the Edo language. The record comes in a beautiful cover made in Thailand, hand stamped and numbered, strictly limited to 1500 copies. It was released in february 2013 so go hunt down this beauty before it disappears from the racks! On the Fela family tip, Femi Kuti has a new album out, 'No Place For My Dream', produced by Sodi Marciszewer in Paris and released through Naïve, filled with afrocentric political lyrics, roots Afrobeat grooves and Femi's emotional and nearly raspy voice. "In the footsteps of"… as many will say. More into breaking boundaries, our Paris DJs Soundsystem second compilation 'We Are The Fire Inside Your Mind' is an absolute must-have, a new tour de force in gathering the many colors of psychedelic funk & jazz from all over the globe. Fire indeed!

FUNK / SOUL / JAZZ
06. Q.A.S.B. & Ryuhei The Man - The Mexican (7", SoulGardenRecords , 2012) info | buy
07. Laurent Doumont - Papa Soul Talkin' (CD, Orfena Music, 2013) info | buy
08. G's Way - Seventy Seven (2LP, Uptone Records, 2013) info | buy
09. WHY Cie - Fever (CD EP, self-released, 2013) info | buy
10. Kerbside Collection - Mind The Curb (CD, Légère Recordings, 2013) info | buy
11. Lonnie Lester - The Story Of (CD/2LP, Tramp Records, 2013) info | buy

From the same Japanese label and crew as the Jaribu Afrobeat Arkestra comes Q.A.S.B. and their marvelous cover of Babe Ruth's 'The Mexican', available on a limited and sold out seven inch that's gonna be repressed very soon. We played this gem in our 'Incredible & Out-There Covers' mix from our end of last year series of gifts… But let's go back to Europe, with a first stop in Belgium, and the acoustic quartet of saxophonist Laurent Dumont. His second album, 'Papa Soul Talkin', brings some swinging soul-jazz grooves to this month's selection. We then head to Paris, France, starting with G's Way, who's 2011 album 'Seventy Seven' finally gets the double vinyl LP treatment. Gérald Bonnegrace aka GG aka G's Way plays percussions, trumpet, trombone, keyboards, bamboo flute, he composed, arranged and produced the whole album himself with guest appearances from an international sampling of artists. The music is a loveable blend of jazz-funk and afro-latin grooves, an enchanting trip into 70s acid-jazz and fusion, and we got ourselves the sleeper album of the month! Singer and flutist Yann Cléry is also from the French capital (actually a few hundreds meters away from Paris DJs' HQ!) but his new EP 'Fever' and aims for originality first. His music is undeniably Jazz, but with big chunks of punk, soul and hip hop in it, so much like a Ben & Jerry record! There's great great talent in there that should explode on the scene in the coming years. Yann we definitively want you to come record some reggae with us!! Meanwhile, we're going to Australia and an album from the Kerbside Collection, produced by Jake Mason from Cookin' On 3 Burners. We closed our 'Block Party 2011' mix with their cover of Dizzie Gillespie's 'Night In Tunisia', a perfect exemple of the band's instrumental rare groove funkiness. The LP is heavily recommended if you're into New Mastersounds, Bamboos or Soulive… today's real blue notes! And with the LP you'll get a bonus CD with the full album and two bonus remixes, a psychedelic breaks one from our collaborator Renegades Of Jazz and a latin-jazz one from Paprika. Classy. And we'll close our voyage with some 60s raw funky grooves, R'n'B, blues and soul screamers from Lonnie Lester, one of the great underrated soul legends reissued by diggers' favorite label Tramp Records for an history lesson every real funkster should attend. Get on the bus.

REGGAE / HIP HOP
12. Grant Phabao presents The Lone Ranger - Take Her To Jamaica Weh The Reggae Come From feat. Carlton Livingston (Digital Single, Paris DJs, 2013) info | buy
13. Grant Phabao & Leroy Gibbon - Wipe The Tear From Your Eye (Digital single, Paris DJs, 2013) info | buy
14. Brownout - Grant Phabao & Renegades Of Jazz Remixes (Digital single, Kept Records/Paris DJs, 2013) info | buy
15. Ty - Kick Snare And An Idea Pt.2 (Digital Single, Tru Thoughts Recordings, 2013) info | buy

On the reggae front, French producer Grant Phabao is ruling the airwaves with new singles for Jamaican rub-a-dub deejay The Lone Ranger and singer Carlton Livingston, for Canada-based Jamaican singer Leroy Gibbon or remixing latin-funk superstars Brownout. 21st century roots music at its best! The Ben Hito artworks add to the majesty of the releases of course… Remarkable work! The brass & breaks edit by Renegades Of Jazz is just a monster of a track that's gonna put fire on the dancefloors this summer - don't miss this fantastic Brownout double a-sider, a collaboration between Canadian label Kept Records and French label Paris DJs!! Hip Hop-wise, we only received one single this month, but it's another teaser for UK MC an producer Ty's upcoming album on Tru Thoughts Recordings… the two new tracks on the 'Kick Snare And An Idea Pt.2' are pure hip hop groovers, with instrumentals and a capellas, announcing both some exciting remixes and a great album.

LATIN
16. Family Atlantica - Family Atlantica (CD, Soundway, 2013) info | buy
17. Nico Gomez and his Afro Percussion Inc. - Ritual (CD, Mr Bongo, 2013) info | buy
18. Maguaré - Cumbia Insomnia (CD, Zephyrus Music, 2013) info | buy
19. Subes - Thrill From The Pill (CD, 339 Records, 2013) info | buy

Blurring the frontiers between Latin music, African music and Jazz, Family Atlantica is mainly a collaborative effort from Heliocentrics member Jack Yglesias and his Venezuelan wife Luzmira Zerpa, with many guests such as Ethio-Jazz maestro Mulatu Astatke, half Nigerian half Ghanaian percussionist Kwame 'Natural Power' Crentsil and a host of collaborators. The album was recorded by legendary drummer/producer Malcolm Catto - check our 2008 mix focusing on Malcolm if don't get what that implies! Venturing into calypso, rumba, traiditonal Venezuelan folk, blues and ethio-jazz, adding layers of afro-latin percussions, flute and electric guitar, this is the psychedelic multicultural album of the month, hands down. Nico Gomez's 'Ritual' album from 1971, just reissued my Mr Bongo, falls into the 'classic afro-latin funk' category, and if you don't already own it, now's the chance. Recorded in Belgium by a band of Netherlanders, you'll be surprised by how vintage this latin funk/afro soul/chicano rock masterpiece sounds!! The Perez Prado cover 'Lupita' and the original title track 'Ritual' are dancefloor latin-funk devastators so don't hesitate any second more. Another remarkable groovy latin/fun project from Nico Gomez in the seventies was Les Chakachas, who's biggest hit, 'Jungle Fever', recently got covered by a new and current band from Belgium, Maguaré, whom we had the chance to discover recently at Le Studio de l'Ermitage (a venue in Paris with an amazing taste in music!). The Paris DJs Soundsystem played this superb cover in the 'Latino Funk & Hispanic Jerk Covers' mix published at the end of last year… Led by explosive singer Paola Marquez and saxophonist Jan Verstaen, Maguaré is a 60s dancehall cumbia big band who brings some of the hottest Afro-Colombian grooves back to the front in Europe. Their first album 'Cumbia Insomnia', only released in Belgium for the moment, should hit other European countries soon… It was mixed in Colombia by Mario Galeano from Frente Cumbiero and Ondatropica and the three Comlombian percussionists make the whole thing REAL! Don't miss the band this summer if they're playing in a club or at a festival near your place. The Renegades Of Jazz bonus remix at the end of the CD adds a nice 'cumbia, breaks & brass' touch to the whole shebang… Another fantastic groovy discovery coming from Europe is the band Subes, led by the Dutch team of producer Greg Wilmot and multi-instrumentalist Pieter Ubbels. Their second album 'Thrills From the Pills' is filled with bossa nova and afrobeat-tinged jazz funk with humorous winks towards the lounge/trip hop era and the psychedelic swinging 60s, funky as the best Hi-Fly Orchestra productions, one foot on the dancefloor and the other in a smokey afro-jazz club session. Recommended global rhythms!

ELECTRONIC
20. Bonobo - The North Borders (CD, Ninja Tune, 2013) info | buy
21. Oy - Kokokyinaka (CD, Creaked Records, 2103) info | buy
22. Chico Mann - Magical Thinking (CD, Soundway Records, 2013) info | buy

With the generational comeback of 1990s' downtempo/trip hop, one of the masters of the scene, British musician/producer Bonobo goes back to his roots, kinda leaving the jazz-oriented territories of this 2006 masterpiece 'Days To Come' for some more electronic/layered cinematic and melancholic soundscapes. Our chillout selection of the month! Next in this 'electronic' section we have half-Swiss, half-Ghanaian electro-songstress Joy Frempong aka Oy and her Africa-inflected electronica sounds, bringing some newness to our table of mostly roots music you don't hear on the radio. Her experimental blend of unusual samples from everyday life in the African continent with afrojazz drumming, textured melodies, Hip Hop, electro synths and West African pop is quite unique. A brave worldwide effort for sure. Another nonconformist artist hard to pigeonhole is Chico Mann, a member of the Antibalas collective featured on releases from Kokolo, Ocote Soul Sounds, Mexicans With Guns, Blundetto and many others. 'Magical Thinking' is his third solo album after 'Manifest Tone Vol. 1' (Kindred Spirits, 2007) and 'Analog Drift' (Wax Poetics, 2010), released on the famous Soundway Records label, aiming at the perfect mix between Fela's Afrobeat and early 80's electro/hip hop/latin sounds. A fresh, modern and majestic record if you're into this era's sounds of funk & boogie, a total failure if you hate those unfuturistic 80s synths.

FOLK ROCK
23. Dead Combo - Lisboa Mulata (CD, Pias, 2013) info | buy
24. Runaway Orchestra - Runaway Orchestra (CD, Mr Bongo, 2013) info | buy

Dead Combo is the brainchild of Portuguese musicians Tó Trips (guitar, voice) and Pedro Gonçalves (double bass, guitar, voice). 'Lisboa Mulata' is already their fourth album, but the first one we got our ears on at Paris DJs. Released in october 2011 in their own country, it's been made widely available through PIAS earlier in february this year, with the guitar genius of Marc Ribot on four tracks, and a few other guests including Jazz drummer Alexandre Frazão, Portuguese songwriter Sérgio Godinho and Fado singer Camané. A great folk/rock record feeding the souls with cinematic imagery, this is a great trip, connecting tradition Portuguese guitar rooted in fado with spaghetti western sounds. Don't know if we should call them the European Calexico, but they should definitively worht checking out on stage… And we'll conclude this big monthly selection with a candy, the self-titled album from the Runaway Orchestra featuring the vocal talents of Sophie Madeleine on a ten tracks covers project of uplifting orchestral pop. 'Molesting Laura' in fine style, the band's takes on classics from The Turtles, T. Rex, Daniel Johnson, Sonny & Cher, The Beatles (among others), are the perfect soundtrack to lazy sundays for lovers in 60s French guises.

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

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