Author Archives for Kelvin Andrews

Galt MacDermot – Shapes Of Rhythm

4 years ago 20356 Views Leave your thoughts

March 1998 and I'm over in Dublin for a DJ gig. My flight arrived from Heathrow and I'd spent the last couple of days (between DJ gigs) in serious record buying mode having spent many hours in some of London's finest vinyl boutiques. There used to be a jazz and blues store near to Covent Garden and I wandered in at the end of the mission to be told they were closing and if I knew what I wanted they could serve me but 'it's too late for browsing" The music playing in the shop as I entered was a…

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Palmbomen II – Palmbomen II

4 years ago 219 Views Leave your thoughts

Kai Hugo in his collective project Palmbomen blends cosmic disco and tripped out, psychedelic synth pop. It's very cool stuff. Palmbomen II is his solo work. Hugo has taken the idea of giving the titles names of people he may (or may not) know. An idea used by Elgar and more recently Thomas Brinkmann. Instrumental music given human character by simply naming it after folk. I wonder whether these tracks were built in tribute to these names or titled after? I'm of the theory it helps to humanise the music, especially when it's made by machines. The sound is a vintage…

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Lonelady – Hinterland

4 years ago 3535 Views Leave your thoughts

My favourite celebrated dance floor eras are always where experimentation took place. Larry Levan's Paradise Garage wasn't ever just about disco. Larry was famous for playing The Clash next to D-Train, art-funk from Grace J the Who's Eminence Front (ever since my favourite track from them), Ron Hardy at The Muzic Box would champion Italo disco and tape loop edits of funk and disco which was the spark which created the very first House records out of Chicago. Daniele Baldelli's Cosmic in northern Italy took an even more radical approach by slowing hi energy pop records from bands like Kissing…

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Serge Gainsbourg – Histoire De Melody Nelson

4 years ago 3152 Views Leave your thoughts

Often touted as one of the greatest albums ever, yet amazingly so many people don't know of it's existence or have never listened to it! At only 28 minutes it's also one of the shortest essential albums ever. I first heard it in the early nineties at an early morning afterparty where it completely blew me away. Whenever I'm asked about my favourite all-time albums it always makes the list and it remains a turning point in the way I listen to music. It also sparked a curious obsession with Gainsbourg. He remains for me, the absolute essence of gallic…

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D’Angelo and The Vanguard – Black Messiah

4 years ago 201 Views Leave your thoughts

As only a casual observer of D'Angelo's music he always struck me as a huge talent but he seemed firmly a part of contemporary R&B, an area where I rarely venture as a DJ. I can enjoy much of it but it's not my world. I've since discovered that there has been a 14 year wait for this new album. Most artists would have been written off, but not so this one. Even stories of drugs and psychological problems rearing their less than pretty heads don't seem to have tainted the enthusiasm for this record in any way. Seemingly, his…

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Lewis – L’Amour (Light In The Attic Records)

4 years ago 1647 Views Leave your thoughts

Mystery in music always sparks a deeper listen, and the unanswered questions surrounding this record have almost certainly added to it's magic. A private pressing via the unknown R.A.W. label in 1983 seemingly disappeared forever, like many others, into a mountainous pile of forgotten vinyl heading for a thousand skips. Then, freakishly, 31 years later it shows up and becomes one of the most discussed vinyl rarities in existence. I'm hearing stories about original copies fetching $500-$600 on ebay. What we do know about Lewis -L'Amour is very little. Randall Wulff may have been his name, he may have been…

Compilation

SCI-FI-LO-FI vol 1

4 years ago 2672 Views Leave your thoughts

Compiled By Andrew Weatherall It's been over seven whole years since Soma launched their Sci-Fi Lof-fi series with this foray into the rebel heart of DJ, Producer and leftfield rennaisance man Andrew Weatherall. I for one bought this on release and it seems to have been on rotation in my car ever since (maybe I should change my car). I can clearly remember my first listen and I immediately had my favourites. In fact the first ten songs effectively transported me to a mid 50s to mid 60s mind-movie where teddy boys, bikers and sexual deviants danced with and fought over wild…

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Cymande – Cymande

4 years ago 3144 Views Leave your thoughts

An album I've been playing and loving since I first discovered it (rather late I might add) in the mid eighties. I bought it from a tiny record shop in Soho W1 which has long since disappeared. That particular buying trip also wielded albums from Chuck Brown And The Soul Searchers and Blue Magic if I remember correctly. I was particularly in love with Cymande though and reading recently that they were playing a comeback show at The Barbican in 2015 prompted me to revisit this hugely influential British classic once more. Formed in 1971 in and around Brixton by…

Brazilian

José Prates – Tam . . . Tam . . . Tam . . .!

4 years ago 3174 Views Leave your thoughts

Trunk is a label unlike very few. It focusses on old forgotten music magic and re-issues born from a serious dusty crate digging obsession. Unheard library music , children's TV themes, gypsy synth , sound effects, you get the vibe. It's a place for the strange and wonderful to be (re)discovered. To give you an idea of the kind of music they release, check out Basil Kirchen's music for the 1968 film Negatives. Or the album Classroom Projects - Incredible Music Made By Children In Schools for an idea of the wonderful eclecticism and open mindedness on display here. A…

Compilation

SUPAFUNKANOVA Vol 2

4 years ago 3121 Views Leave your thoughts

SUPAFUNKANOVA Vol.2 Badass funk classics from the disco boogie era Compiled by Joey Negro & Sean P Z Records is an imprint you can rely on as far as compilations go. Label boss Dave Lee as alias Joey Negro sets the quality bar higher than the pack so you can purchase any comp on this label with quiet confidence. On this occasion he teams up again with long-time, super-knowledge cohort Sean P for volume 2 in this series. The result? A stack of 'off the beaten track' boogie, funk, early rap and disco SO fresh you'll question the power of…

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