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The SA-RA
Creative Partners
Nuclear Evolution, The Age Of Love
Ubiquity (UR248)
Release Date: June 24, 2009
Barcodes: URCD248:
780661124825 x
URLP248:
780661124818
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The SA-RA Creative Partners™ is a trio of
accomplished musicians, producers and trendsetters, comprised of
Om'Mas Keith, Taz Arnold and Shafiq Husayn. On their musical quest
they have dazzled with amazing productions, collections, mixes and
remixes. But now, for the first time, with Nuclear Evolution: The
Age of Love, they deliver a completely new and original album.
Built from scratch, it’s a truly coherent and innovative body of
work. Musical, adventurous, and even more evolved than anything
they’ve done before, Nuclear Evolution also shows a
controlled, polished, and in-the-pocket side to their work. It is an
album on which SRCP™ shine as the innovative musical force they
promised to be, ever since the cult hit “Glorious” first shattered
bass bins and minds worldwide.
Whether on the otherworldly opus “Love Czars,” the bombastic soul
of “I Swear,” or twisted tales of drug-fueled-freaks on “Traffika,”
Nuclear Evolution: The Age of Love blends next-level
production with a unique and unconstrained blend of street wit,
dirty-sex talk, tall stories, and intergalactic future sounds, and
is set to become essential listening for the summer of 2009.
It’s an over-used phrase that a band has a unique sound. But The
SA-RA Creative Partners use their three minds to combine and make
something that is always new, something twisted, a sound not heard
before. Their music is soulful, but not limited by the neo soul tag.
They make hip hop, but of the bugged-out and other-worldly kind.
Tracks are instantly catchy, but edgy and not commercial. According
to the list of high-profile artists requesting their production
services their sound has an infectious global spread and appeal.
Most recently SRCP have been making their mystical magical soulful
productions for Erykah Badu. Serving as her associate producers,
they wrote, appeared, and produced on seven of the tracks from her
critically acclaimed 2008
New Amerykah
album. She returns the favor with a guest appearance on “Dirty
Beauty” on Nuclear Evolution. Other collaborators that SRCP
have worked with include Pharoahe Monche (on the massive “Agent
Orange” track), John Legend, Black Eyed Peas, Talib Kweli, J Dilla,
Fonzworth Bentley, Heavy D, Common, Iggy Pop, Herbie Hancock, Dr.
Dre, Jill Scott, and Jurassic 5.
Balancing the call to make music for other people with working as
the SRCP unit (and working their solo projects,) has been quite a
feat. “We find time because we love doing this,” explains Husayn.
“We are drawn closer to Nirvana, with each release and creative
statement. As for our own stuff, it is all an extension of our will
to create things from out of the mind,” he adds.
Helping SRCP realize their potential on Nuclear Evolution is
a crew of friends and co-conspirators that includes legends like
soul chanteuse Erykah Badu, and saxophonist Gary Bartz with his
quartet. The album also features up-and-coming talent like Debi
Nova, Rozzie Daime, Noni Lamar, Erika Rose, Brook D’leau of J*Davey,
Joseph Liemberg, Fenetta Lowe & Jimetta Rose. Easy to like, but
difficult to pigeon hole, the album oozes equal parts jazz, soul,
pop, funk, and hip-hop. The eclectic collection of productions
bounces from the sticky and bubbly soul of “Gemini’s Rising”, to the
string laden bump of “He Say She Say,” and the outer-worldly bossa
nova of “Spacefruit.”
Sticking together through more than their fair share of highs and
lows, the group channeled their collective energies to create what
is arguably their best work to date. “There is something powerful
about the Number 3. A triangle is architectures most structurally
sound shape,” explains Keith. “And there is a sense of brotherhood
among us, the strong sense of purpose we all share in our will to
cleanse the proverbial palette of music!” he adds. Having won the
BBC Radio 1s’ “John Peel Play More Jazz Award” at the end of 2004,
the band embarked on a fruitful relationship with mega star Kanye
West. They signed a major recording deal with his GOOD Music Label,
then distributed by Sony. Their plan was to release their Black
Fuzz album through Sony Urban and follow-up with the Ubiquity
album. However, as with the best made plans (especially those
involving major labels,) Black Fuzz has yet to be released.
After much pressure from fans and executives at Babygrande records,
SRCP opted to release a one-off project entitled The Hollywood
Recordings, an album of new and previously released material. In
2006 rumors floated on the internet that the group had disbanded. An
exclusive interview with Shafiq Husayn, on okayplayer.com, squashed
that rumor. The band is alive and well, and they still maintain a
strong relationship with West, recently appearing in a video with
him, Andre 3000, and Fonzworth Bentley.
Outside of SRCP, the members are all working on multiple projects.
Arnold has a fashion company called ti$a consulting, and is working
on collections and collaborations with Kanye West and his Pastelle
Clothing line. He is also preparing to launch the ti$a x mcm and
ti$a x phenomenon lines this summer.
Husayn is working on a
full-length album called
Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka,
(already garnering causing a buzz), plus the new Erykah Badu album
and a few songs on Bilal’s new album, and the new Sleepy Brown album
(featuring George Clinton.) Keith is currently producing and writing
for P. Diddy’s upcoming album (Last Train to Paris), and will
co-star in a major network reality television show. He’s also been
serving as MD for rapper Jim Jones, lecturing with the Red Bull
Music Academy, managing fresh musical talent, and pursuing his
acting/voice-over career. “As always, overseeing The SA-RA family of
companies continues to be a top priority!” he says.
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Disc 1:
01.
Spacefruit
Feat. Debi Nova
02.
Dirty Beauty
Feat. Erykah Badu
03.
I Swear
Feat. Noni Limar
04.
Melodee N'mynor
05.
He Say She Say
06.
Traffika
07.
Souls Brother
08.
Bitch Baby
09.
Love Czars
10.
Gemini's Rising
Feat. Rozzi Daime
11.
The Bone Song
12.
White Cloud
Feat. Rozzie Daime & Lil' Kenny
13.
Move Your Ass
14.
Love Today
15.
Can I Get You Hi
16.
My Star
Feat. Erika Rose
17.
Cosmic Ball
Feat. The Gary Bartz Quartet
Disc 2:
01. Spaceways Theme
02.
Just Like A Baby
03.
Double Dutch (Co Co Pops)
04.
Death Of A Star (Supernova)
05.
Powder Bump
06.
Hangin By A String |
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The Clonious
Adroit Adventures EP
Ubiquity (UR253)
Release Date: June 9, 2009
Barcodes: UREP253:
780661125310
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Somewhere between
the past and the distant future, sparked by dusty old jazz records
and beat generation hip hop, at the audio cross-roads of Detroit and
Vienna, lies a series of sound stories steeping in the head of 23
year old beat navigator Paul Movahedi, also known as The Clonious.
The Adroit Adventures EP is the first of those tales to exit his
dome and hit wax. The EP includes a version of “Fogged Spacesuit,”
available only on this release, and an exclusive Dorian Concept
remix or “Emora.”
“Searching in the past always felt like looking in the future for
me. The past and the future have the unknown in common, but I hope I
also captured the jazz that makes it timeless,” says Movahedi.
Check the cosmic vibes on the bouncy “Fogged Spacesuit,” the ideal
tune for astronauts on a spacewalk. The equally outerworldly
vocalist Muhsinah sings on “One At A Time,” which swells and bumps
in a soulful electronic-shoegazer style. Hailing from DC, Muhsinah
is fresh off tour with Common. And since the hype of her “Daybreak
2.0.” and “The Oscillations: Sine” releases has collaborated with a
resume-busting list of producers that include DJ Spinna, Flying
Lotus, Nicolay & Phonte (The Foreign Exchange), Om'mas Keith and
many more. The angular and mechanical “Emora” appears in steeley
original mix and is also remixed courtesy of uber-hot Kindred
Spirits artist, Dorian Concept, who gets glitch-happy adding a
cheeky bump to the proceedings. Movahedi and Dorian Concept are
long-time collaborators, they’re in the Austrian bands JSBL and
Teeming Palliation alongside Cid Rim.
The beat generation scene is on fire worldwide, with artists
smashing the boundaries of connections between electronic music and
hip hop, taking what they know and creating something new. “With
every record I have listened to I inhaled a piece of the world,”
says Movahedi. “I come from a musical background that is heavily
influenced by the jazz era of the late 1950s and 1960s. But a big
part of my sound is sampling. Everything I record or produce
eventually ends up in a sampler. As I see it the art of sampling
comes close to a cloning process. So add my love for sampling with
my love for old jazz records and the name The Clonious makes
sense...I guess!” he adds.
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A1.
Fogged Spacesuit
A2.
One At A Time Feat. Muhsinah
B1.
Emora
B2.
Emora (Dorian Concept Remix) |
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Betty
Padgett VS. Arthur Foy 12''
Sugar Daddy
Luv N' Haight (LH12057)
Release Date: March 10, 2009
Barcodes: LH12057:
780661005711
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South
Florida has produced some great female singers over the years from
Betty Wright to Gloria Estefan. But have you ever heard of Betty
Padgett? Despite a relatively successful local career the answer is
probably not. You’re even less likely to have seen or heard her
hard-to-come-by self-titled debut album. Released in 1975 it
includes “Sugar Daddy”, a gem of a track that sounds like it could
be a Quantic or Mr Scruff production of late. The album will receive
a full-length re-issue later in the year, but fr now this 12”
includes both the original vocal version and an extended “Sugar
Daddy” dub, previously only available on a super-rare12”. This tune
alone would normally set you back a few hundred bucks. And Bettys
dynamite soul, over such a tasty percussive mid-tempo groove makes
it worth every penny.
On the
flip-side is an even rarer track by Arthur Foy. Despite coming out
of New Orleans “Get Up And Dance” does not sound like your typical
Meters, Eddie Bo, etc inspired funk. Instead think deep chocolate
soul ala Uno Melodic, Roy Ayers, 80s Ladies, RAMP etc. Down and
dirty, and boasting a dance-floor-winning- hook, “Get Up And Dance”
is an amazing cosmic soul discovery that came our way via Cool Chris
at the Groove Merchant in San Francisco. Copies of the original are
rarer than hens teeth and the very few we know about have exchanged
hands for $400+.
Limited
Edition Pressing: 1000 pieces only.
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A1.
Betty
Padgett - Sugar Daddy (Vocal)
A2.
Betty Padgett - Sugar Daddy (Extended Instrumental Mix)
B1. Arthur Foy - Get Up And Dance |
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Betty
Padgett
Betty Padgett
Luv N' Haight (LH058)
Release Date: April 7, 2009
Barcodes: LHCD058:
780661005827 x
LHLP058:
780661005810
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Ahhh, the
unmistakable Florida funk sound. There have been so many great
labels: TK, Drive, Cat, Alston, Glades, Sound Triangle, Konduko,
Blue Candle and Marlin just to name a few. Blistering tropical
grooves heard around the world and made famous by artists such as:
Timmy Thomas, King Sporty, Clarence ‘Blowfly’ Reid, T-Connection,
Beginning Of The End, Freak, Oceanliners, James Knight, Chocolate
Clay, the 13th Floor, Herman Kelly & Life, Philip Wright, Ray & His
Court, All The People, K.C. & The Sunshine Band, Vanessa Kendrick,
Miami, Coke, Antique, Lew Kirton, Pearly Queen and so on…The shear
amount of talent that emerged from the Sunshine State in the 1970’s
is mind-boggling.
But Betty Padgett? Who is Betty Padgett? This is the question record
collector and DJ Shane Hunt (aka DJ Sureshot) kept asking himself
when he recently discovered the Betty Padgett self-titled 1975 debut
LP while browsing through a dusty back room at a Los Angeles record
store. “There is a certain feeling that a beat digger gets when
stumbling across what may be a Holy Grail, it’s what keeps you going
on the quest to unearth lost musical treasure,” said Hunt. “The
record simply looked too good to be true. I didn’t know if it was
going to be Sweet Soul? Disco? Dirty Funk, or possibly even Reggae?
When I got back to my crib and gave it a listen, I discovered it was
all of the above and more,” he added. Few records encompass all of
these musical genres in one package, but this one captures the
essence of Miami in the mid-70s with a sampling of all the sounds
that made the region a musical hotbed.
Betty Padgett was born in Newport, New Jersey and her family moved
to Florida when she was in the 6th grade. She sang in her church
choir and began to take performing seriously after graduating from
high school. While checking out the bubbling local music scene at
venues like The Double Decker and Tedie Green, Padgett became
particularly keen with the group called Joey Gilmore and the T.C. B.
(Taking Care of Business) Express. In 1971 she auditioned with
Gilmore and ended up, not only securing the position, but singing
with the band for the next 17 years.
After a gig at the Elks Club in Ft. Lauderdale, Padgett was
approached by soul legend Milton Wright (responsible for the rare
groove classics “Keep It Up” and “You Don’t Even Know Me.”) Blown
away by her vocal skills and stage presence Wright wasted no time.
Within a month she was co-writing and arranging with Wright (check
his unmistakable influence on “Gypsy of Love”), Wally Joest, and a
cast of musicians she had just met. The entire album was recorded in
one evening at Criteria Studios in Miami. Padgett vividly remembers
listening to the demo on the drive home from the studio around 3am.
It was pouring down rain and she was so excited from having recorded
her first record at age 21 that she lost control of her car on the
slick streets and nearly crashed!
A 12” disco single of “Sugar Daddy” was pressed up in support of the
LP and it created quite a buzz (despite her name being misspelled on
the cover and labels.) Padgett remembers a local Pepsi Cola TV &
radio advert featured the music. The commercial was apparently
filmed on the Ft Lauderdale beachfront and included Navy Sailors in
uniform that just happened to be docked nearby. Padgett danced up to
a vending machine that was parked in the sand, slapped it, and
received a glass bottle of soda. After the success of “Sugar Daddy,”
Padgett and her band were whisked off to Belize for live dates.
After landing at the Belize airport, she was picked up in a taxi and
the commercial played on the radio in the cab.
While Padgett never quite topped the heights of “Sugar Daddy,” she
boasts a great musical resume and continues to perform and record.
She has performed and shared the stage with Little Beaver, Gwen &
George McCrae, K.C. & The Sunshine Band, Latimore, Jimmy Bo Horne,
Jackie Moore, Joe Tex, Denise LaSalle, The Impressions, Bobby Bland,
Joe Simon and ZZ Hill.
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01.
It Would
Be A Shame
02.
My Eyes
Adore You
03.
Sugar
Daddy (Part 1)
04.
Tonight
Is The Night
05.
Never
Never Never
06.
Gypsy Of
Love
07.
Sugar
Daddy (Part 2)
08.
Rocking
Chair
09.
Love Me
Forever |
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Blank Blue
Dive EP
Ubiquity (UR237)
Release Date: September 23, 2008
Barcodes: UR237:
78066112371
One-Sheet:
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As we launch the beautiful video for
“All The Shallow Deep” Blank Blue drop an EP that includes brand new
mixes and music, including folked-out versions of “Sonic What!?” and
“Up”, a Flying Lotus remix of “Blank Blue” (in both vocal and
instrumental formats) and an exclusive unreleased tune.
The video for “All The Shallow Deep” is influenced by psychedelic
classics like Easy Rider and Nicholas Roeg's The Man Who Fell to
Earth and was put together by noted video producer Dean Fernando. It
was shot on locations in Long Beach and Palm Springs and is enhanced
by visual art by Kime Buzzelli.
The Dive EP is available in strictly limited vinyl and as a digital
download. The album versions of “Sonic What?!” and “Up” have been
stripped down and had new life injected into them by way of breezy
acoustic guitars, vibes and strings. Elvin Estella and Niki Randa
(collectively known as Blank Blue) were so happy with these
re-workings that they see this sound as theirs for future
recordings. Flying Lotus, on the other end of the sonic spectrum,
takes the album version of “Blank Blue” and drags it through cosmic
grit and dirt, before spitting out an extra-terrestrial banger.
“Finer Grains” is an instrumental exclusive made just for this EP.
“All The Shallow Deep” will be available only on the digital-version
of this EP.
The Blank Blue album is a concept record built around the fictional
and futuristic account of a massive earthquake that separates the
West coast off from the rest of the United States.
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A1.
Sonic What?! (Alt. Acoustic Take)
A2.
Up (Alt. Acoustic Take)
A3.
Finer Grains
B1.
Blank Blue (Flying Lotus Remix)
B2.
Blank Blue (Flying Lotus Remix Instrumental) |
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Nobody Presents
Blank Blue
Western Water Music Vol. II
Ubiquity (UR229)
Release Date: May 6, 2008
Barcodes: URCD229: 780661122920
x
URLP229:
780661122913
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Blank Blue are
still a very young group, but the songs they’ve completed so far
possess a beatific, rococo lushness—as well as an understated
funkiness.
- OC Weekly
Sounds like Os Mutantes with an 808 kick sample.
- LA Record
Delicately straddles the fence between 60s psychedelia and the
Bristol sound of the 90s.
- Friction NYC
Elvin Estela, aka
Nobody, met Niki Randa at Fingerprints, an indie record store in
Long Beach, California, where they have worked together since 2001.
Estela was mulling over ideas for a sequel to Pacific Drift,
his 2003 release on Ubiquity, and realized that the album he wanted
to make needed only one vocalist. He had often heard that "Niki can
sing!" and eventually would give Randa a CD-R of beats and tracks
that he was considering for his new album to see if she was
interested in being the one. In December 2006 the first of their
collaborations was finished and given the working title "Sonic
What?!" Excited with the results, Estela immediately told Randa
about the concept for an album which had come to him in a series of
nightmares. Shortly after the two ventured to a book store during
their lunch break, grabbed a book blindly, opened randomly, and put
Randa's finger to a page which read “Blank Blue.” The god’s had
christened their project (it’s both the album's namesake and the
name given to the collaboration between Estela and Randa) and for
the next twelve months, Estela and Randa would eat, sleep, drink and
smoke Blank Blue.
Blank Blue
is the surreal story of an Armageddon born out of a massive
earthquake off the west coast of the United States and set sometime
in the future. The quake triggers a separation of the west from the
rest of the country, creating a whirlpool of devastation in its
wake. Millions die. Thousands survive. Those that survive
eventually sink and drown from the buckling lands, only to have
scores of poison mushrooms waiting for them underneath the earth's
masses, loosened from centuries old trees. The poisoned water gives
them their first gasp, and miraculously they are able to and breathe
and live underwater. The album tells the story from various points
of views, from an all-knowing narrator, to a psychic fish that warns
people via their dreams, to random characters who watch their loved
ones drown or ask the others underwater how to find the ability to
breathe. The confusion and sadness is balanced by the fascination
of having to start everything all over again; learning how to
breathe and swim etc.
“I started to
think about making an album that I would want to listen to, that
reflected the music that I love to put on and space out to. I loved
albums where one vocalist takes you through a journey through
different sounds and styles. Niki was the first person I trusted
with my idea of Blank Blue and her voice matched the music
perfectly. It also helped that we have worked together at a record
store for 7 years so we were official record store geeks,” says
Estela ...
more
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01.
A New
Design
02. Eyes
Closed
03. Sonic
What?!
04. All
The Shallow Deep
05. Blank
Blue
06.
Circles in Circles
07. Faces
08. The
Spectral Company
09.
Ignite
10. In
The Swim
11. Sea
Roars Lead
12. Up |
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Bobby Matos
Best Of
Cubop (CB043)
Release Date: August 21, 2007
Barcodes: CBCD043: 780661504320
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"Retains a trance-inducing effect
that could last for hours."
- OC Weekly
Favorite selections from his Cubop
releases, plus previously unreleased material (including a
re-invented “My Latin Soul”), and some of his collaborations are
featured on this overdue “Best Of”. Guest musicians include Jerry
Gonzalez, John Santos, Dave Pike, and Jack
Costanzo.
Bronx born Bobby Matos made his percussive musical debut
beating on pots and pans in his Grandma’s apartment before going to
backstage informal lessons with conga drum masters Patato Valdez
and Mongo Santamaria. His first gigs were in the early 1960’s
in bohemian Greenwich Village Cafes amongst the beatniks. Matos soon
found himself playing in every type of venue; from Bronx dance halls
to Carnegie Hall, elegant supper clubs, Central Park Concerts, Off
Broadway theaters, and after hours clubs in El Barrio.
Encouraged to play timbales by Willie Bobo and Tito Puente
he attended the New School and Manhattan School of Music in the late
1960s, studying composition and arranging. Latin Music was red hot
in New York at the time and an inspired Matos recorded “My Latin
Soul” for Philips Records. This album is a much prized cult classic
perennially high on many collector wants lists, DJ sets, and has
been inspiration for musicians and music fans alike ...
more
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01.
Naima
02. Philadelphia
03. Kimbisia
04. Chango's Dance
05. Oferere
06. Back
To The Roots
07. Mi
Alma Latina
08. I
Don't Speak Spanish But
09. Guiro
Elegua
10. The
Creator Has A Master Plan
11. God
Of The Crossroads
12. So
What / Impressions
13. La
Charanga
14. Trompeta Y Bongo
15.
Crisis
16.
Footprints |
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Clutchy Hopkins
Walking Backwards
Ubiquity Records (UR221)
Release Date: February 5, 2008
Barcodes: URCD221 + DVD: 780661122128
x URLP221:
780661122111
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"If I
were an emcee, I would want Clutchy on my squad. Much like MF Doom he
has the unique ability to make the inanimate articulate, as if his
instruments could speak. Not only is Clutchy 'next up', but he's also on
some next shit."
-
Thick Magaine
"Is Hopkins a creation of this label's in-house roster of acts or a
mysterious master of the groove arts? In the end, who cares? The 12
tracks here are slick, slow funkin' instrumentals (mostly) that will
bring smiles to baristas faces everywhere that it gets spun."
- The Province (Canada)
"Slow-burning arrangements smolder with exotic instrumentation and ear-bendingly
effective playing..."
- OC Weekly
"Forged of modern soul, downtempo, hip-hop, blues and electronica, this
is one pimp-ass record of atmospheric beat music that throbs with mood,
mystery and humor. Add in a clever, hilariously crafted persona that
makes truth and fiction impossible to separate as a mascot and you’ve
got a winner."
- Orlando Weekly
"Dope beats evoke the work of the RZA, or Madlib's 'Yesterday's New
Quintet', and the raw drums crackle with immediacy. The moody album
evokes dark, smokey rooms humming with vintage grooves inspired by old
records from swap meet dollar bins. Initially underwhelming, Hopkins'
style infects the brain."
- SF Weekly
"Simple but not simplistic, Walking Backwards is a
fascinating peek under a rock—whether or not the rock exists."
- Dallas Observer
"There's a spare, spacious approach here that almost reminds us of the
energy that we first felt in DJ Shadow's groundbreaking work of a decade
before -- a similar love of gritty, organic source material -- and an
ear for putting it together with lots of dark twists and turns that
balance nicely between classic funk and current hip hop production
sensibilities. The flavor of each tune changes nicely -- making the
album way more than just a clichéd collection of beats..."
- Dustygroove
"Walking Backwards' dense, drifting instrumentals were built on dry
snare thwacks, woodwinds and gloomy, dim-lounge organs...Hopkins is a
creepy one. Whoever he is."
- Remix
"The tempos are suitably
slow and the rhythms nicely woozy...It makes for pleasantly laid-back
head-nodding fodder."
- Now Magazine (Canada)
"The disc is chock full of slick jazz/funk fusion hip-hop beats that
plays out like a soundtrack to the life of the Clutchster
himself...Walking Backwards is nice change of pace from the norm as far
as instrumental discs goes, with many using more samples and
synthesizers than actual live instrumentation, with Hopkins apparently
manning nearly all of the instrumentation. As a result, Clutchy proves
that he's hipper than your average bum off the street, and he can play a
mean flute...and drums, and organ, and harp..."
- URB
"Instead of sleuthing for the man's true identity, we're better off
simply enjoying his music - which is moodier than your ex-girlfriend and
more deliciously layered than the cake she eats."
- Snowboard Canada
"The beats are so sticky-icky the record should come complete with
rolling papers. 'Love Of A Woman' wins 'Best Song To Make Babies To' in
2008."
- Slug Magazine
"Walking Backwards succeeds in its ability to act as a musical
vacation. It takes you on an international near-50-minute journey
without the cost of air fare and having to deal with pesky airport
security."
- Okayplayer
Dear Press Friend,
Don’t ask me who Clutchy Hopkins is; I don’t know. There’s a line
of people waiting to learn his whereabouts. If you find out, perhaps
you will be kind enough to hand over the contact info for the mysterious
trickster, folklore guru, and marvelous musician. Because of his
anonymity, this won’t be your average press release. I don’t have any of
the usual stuff: no insight into his background, no list of influences
or interesting anecdotes about his musical upbringing. Instead, what
follows is the abbreviated version of how this album came to be by way
of thrift store finds, red herrings, a pizza parlor, and a list of
characters long enough to cast a b-movie ...
more
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01.
Sound Of
The Ghost
02. Song
For Wolfie
03. Love
Of A Woman Feat. Darondo
04. 3rd
Element
05. Para
Los Ninos
06. Horny
Tickle
07. Percy
On The One
08. Rocktober
09. Alla
Oscar
10. Good
Omen
11. Swap
Meet Me At The Corner
12. Last
Time For Your Mind |
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Clutchy
Hopkins Meets Lord Kenjamin
Music Is My Medicine
Ubiquity (UR244)
Release Date: April 21, 2009
Barcodes: URCD244:
780661124429 x URCD244: 780661124412
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Late last year
Ubiquity was approached by the mysterious Misled Children about
another project from Clutchy Hopkins, the man they claim to
represent. A vintage Caribbean tracksuit jacket was found in the
office fridge, and written in permanent marker on the inside right
arm was a request for a meeting where we would “get another piece of
the Clutchy Hopkins puzzle.”
Despite the goose chase involved in putting out the last album we
could not pass up the opportunity to hear some more Clutchy Hopkins
music. We agreed to meet the Misled Children in Joshua Tree, CA.
Sweating from the 110 degree heat and skeptical about the
possibility of a no-show we went to the Joshua Tree Tavern for a
cool beer. The bar tender spotted us as we walked in. When we
ordered a couple of drinks he looked us straight in the eye and
whispered, “Follow me.”
Taking us to a messy back room, filled with empty glass bottles, a
collection of stuffed owls, and strewn with old newspapers, he
handed over a plastic bag and said, “I think this is what you came
for.” Despite the lack of liquid refreshment we decided to leave
quickly, the local eyes were glued on us and we were itching to get
at the contents of the bag which by now we knew had to have been
planted by the Misled Children.
Inside was a short stack off Apex 2-inch reel-to-reel tapes and a
small journal. The journal contained stories of Clutchy Hopkins, and
his move to Barbados. The dates of the stories were vague but seemed
to span the late 1970s through the early 1980's. Hopkins had moved
there in search for a medicine man, who also hand-made percussion
instruments, named Lord Kenjamin. Over the years Hopkins had heard
stories about this simple man and as the notes read “his mission to
help people come to a place of peace and humbleness through music.”
Hopkins searched for several weeks, tricked on several occasions
into dead ends by the local children. At times it seemed that the
village people wanted nothing to do with Hopkins, “The children
enjoy confusing me with directions that lead me back to where I
started. It is like a daily joke,” he wrote, “One day they tell me
to head east, the next day west, and all with a suspicious smile.”
Hopkins was about to give up his search and go home when he was
bitten by a poisonous Lionfish. He passed out from the pain while in
a side street on his way back to his hotel room. He was dehydrated
and in bad shape after laying there for nearly 2 whole days. A group
of the local children found him close to death when their soccer
ball bounced down the street and rolled into his listless body.
Feeling guilty that they had misled him on his quest, the children
carried Hopkins on a stretcher made of sugar cane to Lord Kenjamin.
For the next 3 months Hopkins was in and out of consciousness.
At this point in the journal the notes in the book have been
ripped-out, we don’t know why. But the next page that is legible
reads “With faint memories of a 4 track, deep-rooted beats, and a
melodica, I have been brought back to health by the help of Lord
Kenjamin and the music we made together. As a token of my
appreciation I have promised the good Lord Kenjamin that the world
would one day hear these recordings. The music has made a huge
impact on our spirits and health during this time. We will call this
record Music Is My Medicine.”
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01.
The Old
Spot
02.
Brother
John
03.
Cold and
Wet
04.
Riff Raff
Rollin
05.
Lord
Kenji
06.
Dotsy's
Leslie
07.
Tune
Traveler
08.
Shadowfish
09.
Gourds of
the Desert
10.
Turtle
Rock
11.
Heavy
Hands |
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Connie Price and
The Keystones
Tell Me Something
Ubiquity Records (UR217)
Release Date: March 4, 2008
Barcodes: URCD217: 78066112172
x URLP217:
78066112171
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"Connie Price and the Keystones are
to be praised for their originality and brilliance."
- Lalo Schifrin (Grammy Award Winning, Oscar Nominated
Composer -
Mission: Impossible,
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich,
Cool Hand Luke,
Bullitt,
Enter the Dragon,
THX 1138)
"Connie Price has the 'Key' to success and a sound that's
solid as 'Stone'"
- Big Daddy Kane
"Connie Price and the Keystones live sounded just like our
records..."
- Lord Jamal (Brand Nubian)
"...the cast of top-notch, mostly West Coast guests thrives,
rhyming atop the rich, cinematic productions of CPK’s Dan Ubick and
Co. No doubt, these beats can be enjoyed vocal-free on the
accompanying instrumental version of this album...Tell Me Something
is the rare live hip-hop project where neither the MCs nor the band
gets outshone."
- XLR8R
"West Coast hip-hop has ventured into the urban and the suburban
communities, taking with it a flavor that is undeniably its own.
Connie Price & The Keystones have reached this level of
authenticity...offering a unique mixture of live instrumentation,
hip-hop heads can appreciate the relationship between MCs and the
beats that inspire them..."
- Vapors
"...the ultimate formula for a hit record has been
found..."
- Slug Magazine
On the follow-up to their
Now-Again/Stones Throw album, Connie Price and the Keystones step-up
with a heavyweight dynamic soundtrack-inspired hip hop album.
While their debut was instrumental, Tell Me Something is the
opposite, featuring a marquee-filling list of quality MCs. The
legendary Percee P, Wildchild
from the Lootpack, Ubiquity-labelmate Ohmega Watts, Soup
from Jurassic 5, Blood Of Abraham, Mykah 9 from the
Freestyle Fellowship and Project Blowed, plus vocalist Aloe Blacc
provide lyrics n’rhymes.
Having recently recorded an EP for Scion with Big Daddy Kane, and
backing-up Slick Rick, Brand Nubian and Too $hort
live, CPK decided to take their live hip hop exploits into the
studio. Channeling Wu-Tang and Madlib in equal parts to
Schiffrin and Morricone the album bobs and weaves through the
head-nodding mellower bpms of “Put Your Weight On It” and “Pirates of The
Mediterranean” to the more frantic chase-scene tunes like “Hoagies
Revenge” and “Master At Work.” “Funk revivalist” and “retro” were
apt tags for the music of CPK when they started out five years ago,
fleshing-out raw funk 45s that rivaled the old-school collectible
nuggets they were inspired by. But “Tell Me Something”
incorporates much broader influences and is a product of a deeper
vision.
“We have thrown all our influences into the mix, not just funk.
We love funky music but to us that could mean Jorge Ben, Can, Dennis
Coffey, or the Upsetters. I see us more as Hip-Hop influenced
cinematic soul music,” explains Dan Ubick, one half of the main duo
behind CPK. “Also, the MC’s and vocalists just make it all that much
more dimensional and interesting.”
To achieve the desired fuller sound, fat bottom end and hard-hitting
drums all the music was played live, then sampled, looped-up and
processed to be gritty as possible. Dramatic strings, brassy horns,
and a driving percussion section pack a musical punch and leave a
bigger impression often missing from “live” rap records. “I
approached this project as a Hip-Hop record, it was more about
sounds recorded rather than full performances from the musicians.
I got to use instruments that were new to me on this album, like
tympani, an old ‘60’s organ with fuzz, acoustic piano, and most
importantly real strings,” says Ubick. “Todd wrote some funky
string arrangements for four of the tracks which our good friend
Steve Kaye played to perfection. We also had some really
unique percussion instruments that make each track really stand out.
Most of my equipment was made 30+ years ago, but instruments just
sound better to me with a little age on them. Sounds that have
been good for 30+ years don’t have to be “retro”, used the right way
they’re really just invincible,” he adds ...
more
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Disc 1:
01.
International Hustler Feat. Percee P
02. Put
Your Weight On It Feat. Soup of Jurassic 5
03. High
Life Feat. Mykah 9
04. Tell
Me Something Feat. Aloe Blacc
05.
Hoagies Revenge
06.
Pirates of the Mediterranean Feat. Blood of Abraham
07.
Master At Work Feat. Ohmega Watts
08.
Thundersounds Feat. Percee P
09.
Catatonia / Across The Board Again Feat. Percee P and Wildchild
Disc 2 (Instrumentals):
01.
International Hustler
02. Put
Your Weight On It
03. High
Life
04. Tell
Me Something
05.
Hoagies Revenge
06.
Pirates of the Mediterranean
07.
Master At Work
08. Thundersounds
09.
Catatonia / Across The Board Again |
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Damon Aaron
Highlands
Ubiquity (UR236)
Release Date: October 7, 2008
Barcodes: URCD236:
78066112362 x URLP236:
780661123613
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Highlands
is an album of bittersweet cosmic campfire
electronics and melancholic dreams. Song-writer, producer, and
multi-instrumentalist, Damon Aaron, pens love songs and personal
anecdotes that float over spacey hip hop beats and polished
bass-lines. He cuts and pastes-in swirling strings and acoustic
guitars that decorate his minimal sound-scapes and cast light on
traditional folk and songwriting roots.
Aaron is
an eclectic musician who equally embodies California craftsman,
Renaissance man, and soul boy. His late-night collection of stories
directs nods to Massive Attack, Flying Lotus, Nick Drake and Sam
Cooke. However, Aaron’s musical path towards Highlands began a long
ago, at home, with a unique mix of family influences. He learned his
finger-picking style from a banjo-wielding Scots-Irish grandfather.
He grew-up singing folk and bluegrass with his Mom. And his
step-Dad, an-early 1980’s KROQ DJ, showed him how to program
synthesizers. Such an eclectic mix of musical habits is evident in
the opening tracks “Matinee” and “Fire” where dubby finger snaps and
keyboard washes are building blocks for songs eventually heightened
by walls of violins and breathy-flutes. Later, on “Fall”, the
acoustics take center stage but glitchy-clicks sneak in to add just
a sniff of electronic atmospherics, while on “Better” Aaron’s vocals
emerge from a heavy sheen of synthesizer to ride a shuffling beat.
“It's idiosyncratic, sometimes dense, and takes some slightly
unexpected turns. It's a record that probably takes a couple listens
to take in,” explains Aaron. “Like Tom
Waits said, "it's an emotional weather report" with bluesy love
songs, laments, and conversations.”
Helping
Aaron edit together the right balance of organics and electronics
are Los Angeles-based peers Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (arranger and
session player to the likes of Dr. Dre, Rihanna, Gnarls Barkley,
Blank Blue, Lifeforce Trio), percussionist Andres Renteria, and horn
players Matt Demerritt and Michael McDaniel who have played
alongside Macy Gray and Nate Morgan respectively.
Throughout
the 1990’s, Aaron led soul and hip-hop bands in Los Angeles singing
and MC-ing, and played guitar for others like the Breakestra, The
Rebirth and seminal hip-hop artist Divine Styler. He's been
nominated for a Gilles Peterson's Worldwide winners and LA Weekly
music awards. He's also been featured on several influential
compilations including: Rewind!3 (Ubiquity), Dublab Presents:
Freeways (Emperor Norton), Impeach The Precedent (Kajmere) and
Broadcasting (Sonar Kolectiv). Outside of solo work he has worked
with groups like Build An Ark, Najite and the Olokun Prophecy, and
has collaborated with critically acclaimed electronic artists like
Telefon Tel Aviv and Barbara Morgenstern. Watch for shows this Fall
to celebrate the release of the album. Just as Highlands is a hybrid
of styles Aaron expects the live performances to balance live
musicianship with electronics and visual elements.
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01.
Matinee
02.
Fire
03.
Floating
04.
Clouds
05.
Fall
06.
Rainy Day
07.
Firstlove
08.
Better
09.
Giving
10.
Where Are You Now
11.
It Reveals |
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Eric Lau
New Territories
Ubiquity Records (UR227)
Release Date: March 18, 2008
Barcodes: URCD227: 780661122722
x
URLP227:
780661122715
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"New Territories reduces the
more energetic, dancefloor-oriented aspects of London broken beat,
retains the deceptive abstractions of left-field hip-hop and R&B,
and places equal emphasis on mood and songwriting...Tawiah, Sarina
Leah, Rahel, Meshach Brown, Tosin, and Annabel are all lively yet
not showy vocalists and, as with Lau, a healthy balance between love
for the ’70s/’80s and ’90s/’00s is evident, their voices hinting at
Donnie Hathaway and Deniece Williams as often as Aaliyah and Amel
Larrieux."
- All Music Guide
"...it’s not US super producers Sa-Ra
at the controls. Nor is Detroit bumpmaster Waajeed (of Platinum Pied
Pipers fame) anywhere to be found. The man behind the superlative
swing here is none other than Eric Lau – one of London’s best kept
secrets."
- One Week To Live
"...probably what it would sound like if the late, great J Dilla
decided to make an album of love songs...Gorgeous soul chords,
gentle keys and an abundance of flutes fill out just about every
track, along with a roster of singers that put a sweet cherry on top
of these already beautiful productions..."
- BPM
"Future funk, nu-soul, beathead jazz -- none of these really
captures Lau’s confident, cool essence...Sure, artists like Jay Dee,
Waajeed and SA-RA are Lau’s creative cousins, but the 26-year-old
beatmaker blazes his own trails via rich, song-based vocal numbers
and sweet, spacious instrumentals...Lau has produced beats for Lupe
Fiasco, Georgia Anne Mudlrow and Wildchild, but refreshingly it’s UK
locals, Tawiah, Rahel and Sariah whose vocals light up the crisp,
no-nonsense soul beats."
- XLR8R
"Unlike most cats who just shop around beat CDs, Lau is one of
the fading breed of producers who stays true to the art of
production...14 tracks of pure soul that is a Mona Lisa of tweaked
piano keys and old school drum patterns...the production values and
smooth vocals make the release seem like a big budget
blockbuster...Under the radar, but undeniable skill, Lau is a force
to be reckoned with."
- Vapors
"Better than goosed down feathers to keep a brotha
warm...demanded my attention and will comfort my dancefloor, seat
and ears."
- Bobbito Garcia
"New Territories
represents the arrival of a talented artist and perceptive one-man
production house."
- Straight No Chaser
"Real dope!"
- James Poyser (Soulquarians)
Eric
Lau is a London-based producer who has been busy making musical
waves for others. He may well be a producer you’ve heard, but not
heard of, by way of his productions for the likes of Lupe Fiasco,
Dudley Perkins, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Guilty
Simpson, Wildchild, Tanya Morgan, Hil St Soul,
and a family of up n’coming artists who are featured on New
Territories, his debut solo album.
His slick and edgy
productions have turned the ears of Gilles Peterson (Lau appeared on
his Brownswood Bubblers release of October 2006) and Fat City
Records who released Eric Lau presents Dudley & Friends in
January 2007. Tastemakers and peers like Benji B (BBC Radio 1Xtra)
called Lau’s soulful street sounds “Heavy!”, Phonte (of Little
Brother) added that Lau is “One of the illest beatmakers”, Dudley
Perkins (Stones Throw) said “His music did something to me,” and
Dego (of 4Hero) asked “Who the f$%k is Eric Lau!?”
New
Territories
has a double meaning. It’s the area in Hong Kong that the Lau family
are from and regularly visit. “People have a vision of Hong Kong
being sky scrappers and high rises everywhere,” says Lau. “However,
the area known as New Territories is full of mountain ranges, sea,
villages and farm land. It’s very peaceful and pure there, and these
are qualities I try to incorporate into my production.” Also, the
title refers to the album and the global musical connections it
made. “There are many young artists on the record and our roots are
from around the world,” explains Lau. “Even though we are from
different backgrounds we approached the album with the same mindset
and all want to help each other get to where we want to be. This
record is a new territory for us as a group of artists, and I hope
that it is, in turn, a refreshing listen.”
...
more
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01.
Welcome
02. I
Don't Do It To Feat. Tawiah
03. Right
Side Feat. Sarina Leah
04.
Confession Lounge Feat. Rahel
05. Final
Chance Feat. Meshach Brown & Rahel
06. Time
Will Tell Feat. Sarina Leah
07. Don't
Let Them Feat. Tosin
08. Free
It Out Feat. Sarina Leah
09. Show
Me Feat. Rahel
10. Let
It Out Feat. Rahel
11. Begin
Feat. Annabel, Rahel & Sarina Leah
12. How
Far Feat. Rahel
13. Hope
Feat. Meshach Brown
14. Outro |
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Eugene Blacknell
We Can't Take Life For Granted
Luv N' Haight (LH055)
Release Date: September 11, 2007
Barcodes: LHCD055: 780661005520
x
LHLP055:
780661005513
One-Sheet:
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Liner Notes / CD Booklet:
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"Blacknell was
a funk guitarist, band leader and singer from the Bay Area. He was
so much more than that though...the worlds of Black music and civil
rights owe him an honorable mention, if not a debt of gratitude as
he was also an activist on the music scene ... This is Rare Groove
at its rarest. It's also the sort of collection that you can't help
feeling sentimental listening to, perhaps, wondering and hoping
whether there's an after-life where the departed are capable of
consciousness and pride. This is a legacy to be proud of Mr.
Blacknell. Funk in peace."
- Ground Lift Magazine
"A great introduction to the
artist and an interesting listen because it spans generational
influences; from early ’60s rock and roll to ’70s funk ...
We Can’t Take Life For Granted is an excellent example of
how artistry matures and morphs over time. It’s unfortunate that
Blacknell is not given the accolades that many great guitarists of
his time are awarded, especially considering that he accomplished
what he did in a life that lasted only 44 years."
- Okayplayer
"As fresh and
alive today as it ever was."
- XLR8R
"A revelatory
elegy to the unsung Californian R&B giant."
- Record Collector
""Gettin'
Down" single-handedly opened my mind (and record collection) to a
new format for learning about new music, and it raised a high
standard for subsequent indie-funk excursions...What we learn is that Blacknell's life mirrored his music.
A talented guitarist with a long career spanning from the early '60s
to late '80s, his music constantly reflected the changing styles and
times. From the rhythm 'n' blues hustle of "Jump Back" to the pimpy
title track, he proves to be an adroit artist with an ear for solid
hooks and disciplined musicians."
- Prefix Magazine
"'We Can't
Take Life for Granted' compiles the bulk of Blacknell's output, from
the hard-shuffling instrumental blues of "Jump Back" to the wildly
syncopated, lyrically optimistic funk number "I'm So Thankful," all
of it fueled by his staccato, rhythmically propulsive guitar
attack."
- San Francisco Chronicle
"For a long
time, all that most people knew about the late Eugene Blacknell was
this retarded open break in the intro to his “Gettin’ Down” single.
Thanks to Ubiquity, however, it’s time for the Oakland guitar master
to be known to the world. I can’t say enough about Blacknell
and his work ... 'We Can’t Take
Life For Granted' is Blacknell’s painfully overdue official
debut. And remember, I don’t like anything. But this album hit me
like a Joe Louis left hook..."
- Audiversity.com
Oakland guitar ace Eugene Blacknell released
multiple singles that ranged in style from raw R&B to power house
funk. His musical career stretched from the early 1960s when
as a talented and sharp dressed kid, he would become the youngest
musician from the Bay Area to play the Apollo in New York, to the
end of the 1980s when he died too young.
During that time he established himself as an East Bay original, an
entrepreneur, and an activist. His ability to cross-over from
R&B to blues, funk and soul put him at head of the Bay Area scene
and he was often compared to the likes of Albert and BB King.
His business dealings were inspirational. His band were able
to break into new scenes and live circuits, and he helped improve
standards of pay for African American musicians in the Bay Area.
With so many accomplishments it’s an irony of fate that he died
before releasing an album despite having recorded enough material
for several.
Ubiquity’s re-issue arm, Luv N'Haight Records, worked with Gino
Blacknell (Eugene's son, himself a producer and a young member
of Eugene Blacknell and the New Breed at the tail-end of their
existence) to compile information, images and music to release this
first official album by Eugene Blacknell. Gino has always
promised his Mom that he would make sure his father’s music was
eventually released. Digging up hours of old master tapes he
found unreleased material, radio advertisements, demos, live
recordings, and he even improved mixes on several tracks. He
also found footage of his father riding choppers with Sly Stone,
checking out drag car races, and playing live at San Francisco music
festivals. During the process of putting this album together
Gino suffered chest pains that turned out to be a series of minor
heart attacks. At time of writing he is in good shape and recovering
well and was able to help finish out this project, which in the
meantime we had coincidentally titled “You Can’t Take Life For
Granted” after one of the unreleased cuts.
Without an album release, which would have cemented
his recordings in the most accessible format back in the day, the
legacy of Eugene Blacknell has been kept alive by way of the stories
past on from musicians lucky enough to work with him. In
addition his handful of tracks released on 7" singles have been
sampled by many, most notably Beck (“We Know We Have Got to Live
Together” was used on “Black Tambourine”). His singles
have become DJ-favorites with the rarest fetching top dollars on the
collectors market.
This compilation is made up of his super rare early
releases as Eugene Blacknell and the Savonics, the highly sought
after raw instrumental funk as Eugene Blacknell and the New Breed,
his big band party-style vocal tracks, and a host of unreleased
material including the radio advertisements, live recordings, and
both vocal and instrumental studio cuts. Fans of Bay Area Funk
will recognize the different musical periods that Blacknell goes
through with comparisons ranging from acts like Johnny Talbot
and Tower of Power to Sly Stone and Graham Central
Station.
The CD and LP booklet (plus downloadable pdf)
include rare pictures and a complete history by way of interviews
with his widow, band members, and Bay Area notables.
Interviews with Lillie Blacknell, and drummer Curtis Moore,
will be made available as a stream and podcast in the weeks leading
up to the album release. Rare band footage may well surface
via youtube or myspace.
With 25 tracks in total this is the official Eugene
Blacknell debut album, and the story of a musical prodigy and a Bay
Area soul, funk and blues legend who finally gets to release an
album.
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01.
Welcome Dudes And Dollies (Intro)
02. Jump
Back
03. Mo
Self
04. Cousin
John
05.
Gettin' Down
06. The
Trip
07. I'm So Thankful (Radio Spot)
08. Get
In A Hurry
09. I'm
So Thankful
10. Dance
To The Rhythm
11. We
Know We Have To Live Together
12. We Know We Have To Live Together (Radio Spot)
13. For
The Sake Of Love
14. Jive
Kinda Friends
15. Hard
Times
16.
Holdin' On
17.
We Can't
Take Life For Granted
18. Welcome Brothers And Sisters (Interlude)
19.
Wah Wah
Funk (Unreleased)
20.
Echo Reply (Interlude)
21.
Space
Funk (Unreleased)
22.
Live
(Unreleased)
23.
Early Jam
Session (Unreleased)
24.
Don't
Stop Now
25.
Grov-ve
Mon-Key (Bonus Track) |
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Greyboy
15 Years Of West Coast Cool
Ubiquity (UR243)
Release Date: October 21, 2008
Barcodes: URCD243:
780661124320 x URLP243:
780661124313
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15
years, 5 albums, and many singles after his debut release, Ubiquity
is delighted to release a “best of” which includes previously
unreleased materials, hard to find mixes, and the tracks which made
Greyboy famous as the originator of a new laid back, sunny, jazz and
soul-inflicted West Coast sound. 15 Years of West Coast Cool
includes appearances from Sharon Jones, Quantic, AG (of Showbiz and
AG), Bart Davenport (of Honeycut), Shawn Lee, Nino Moschella, Jeremy
Ellis and others.
Andreas Stevens, aka Greyboy, born 1970, was the first artist to
sign to Ubiquity. Freestylin’, his first full-length album, holds
cult-status and is up-there with the label's all-time best sellers.
Not bad for a record that cost less than $4000 to make, and sold on
an advertising budget of $0! He was a man in the right place at the
right time. While the acid jazz phenomenon was brewing in Europe in
the early 1990s, Greyboy became the first American producer to mix
instrumental hip-hop with jazz. His chunky beat-making sensibilities
earned him praise from the European crowd, and his tracks were heard
by crowds checking out DJs like UK-based Gilles Peterson, Marcus
Wyatt (LA), and DJ Smash (NYC).
"When I first started making beats, I was
making hip-hop. Since I couldn't find MC's to work
with, I
decided to try the jazz thing and lace my tracks with
live
instruments instead. That's where
Karl Denson and the Greyboy Allstars
came into the picture",
explains Greyboy. Beyond recognition from the DJ crowd, music by
Greyboy also ended up in movies like Get Shorty and Celtic Pride,
The Kelly Slater Surf Pro video game, Budweiser commercials, and he
was picked to provide a mix CD for DC shoes. Since the release of
Freestylin’ he has released the equally jazz-based instrumental Land
of the Lost and the soundtrack and hip hop inspired Mastered The
Art, which featured musicians and MCs in a prelude to the
vocal-heavy Soul Mosaic album.
Greyboy has recorded with AG (Showbiz and AG), Sharon Jones, and the
Greyboy All-Stars (whom he helped put together and produce). Over
the years Greyboy has DJ'd in Japan, Europe, and across the USA. He
has played to 5000 people in the countryside outside of Rome, and
over 20,000 people a night on tour with Ben Harper and Jack Johnson.
back to the top |
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01.
Unwind
Your Mind
02.
Ruffneck
Jazz
03.
Grey's
Groove
04.
Panacea
05.
Whirlwind
06.
Mastered
The Art
07.
Hold Your
Weight
08.
Hold It
Down
09.
Got To Be
A Love
10.
Genevieve
11.
To Know
You Is To Love You
12.
Love
13.
Color In
Between The Lines
14.
Missin'
Something
15.
Help Is
On The Way (Digital Only) |
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James
Hardway
L.A. Instrumental
Ubiquity (UR240)
Release Date: October 7, 2008
Barcodes: URCD240:
780661124023
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James Hardway works most often with
cool textures cutting his own path on a genre-defying jazz funk
excursion that echoes the punk-soul of James Blood Ulmer, evokes the
spirit of Fela Kuti's epic jams and is infused with a Cali bounce.
Hardway has worked with an impressive cast of British producers,
from Genesis P-Orridge to Adrian Sherwood and Jah Wobble to Andrew
Weatherall. During the early '80s, Hardway lived in Germany and
acted in films before getting into the Berlin music scene. He
recorded an album in 1983 (as David Harrow), and was the main force
behind European electro-pop star Anne Clark . Hardway also appeared
with Jah Wobble on the continent, but relocated to London by 1986,
where he was swept up by the acid-house phenomenon.
Hardway divided his time during the late '80s and early '90s between
dub units (Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound System, Lee Perry) and the
burgeoning electronic community, working as a producer with Psychic
TV and many others. This one time drum'n'bass fusionary, now
following a more eclectic path, previously went by the name David
Harrow, is and reportedly related to Al Capone.
The name change and new directions started in the 1990s, after a
night of jungle music in darkest South London. David Harrow was back
at the studio at 4 in the morning, dropping Charlie Parker over
double timed hip-hop beats, discovering a brand new sound - thus
James Hardway was born. He revealed his James Hardway guise with the
impressive Deeper, Wider, Smoother, Shit in 1996. The album was all
the more noteworthy considering he played all live instruments
(except for flute) and covered programming as well. " Hardway also
displayed a talent for writing songs, with a credit for Billie Ray
Martin's 1996 million selling hit "Your Loving Arms."
After the release of his second, 1997's Welcome to the Neon Lounge,
Hardway earned an American contract through Shadow. The label
collected tracks from his two albums to date for the 1998
compilation Easy Is a Four Letter Word. A remix collection,
Reshuffle and Spin Again, followed and Hardway returned with his
third proper album, A Positive Sweat. For the recording of 2000's
Moors + Christians, he assembled a virtual studio band by gathering
recordings together from a journey to Cuba and Jamaica. In 2001 he
released Straight From The Fridge which, after the tragic death of
his close friend and reggae singer Bim Sherman, was the last he’d
release in the UK before moving to America.
“I have always been influenced by the atmosphere of Los Angeles ,
says Hardway. “James Ellroy, my favorite writer , was a great
inspiration for early albums . But I began imagining a whole later
period of LA music from the early 70s and with LA Instrumental. It’s
like a journey to the downtown LA of the 70s using a classic musical
pallet of real drums, silken strings , pulsing wurlitzers and
Theremins.”
back to the top |
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01.
Criminal
Conversation
02.
Some Kind
of Treasure
03.
Felix
Waves Goodbye
04.
On My
Street
05.
Easy Way
Out
06.
Driving
In The Rain
07.
High
Class Tripper
08.
Monofunk
09.
Say Hello
To Leon
10.
Coffee at
Changos
11.
Up Front |
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Johnny Blas
Indestructible Spirit
Cubop (CB044)
Release Date: October 23, 2007
Barcodes: CBCD044: 780661504429
One-Sheet:
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Indestructible Spirit
sees Johnny Blas make a return to performing on saxophone
alongside his trademark percussion playing. It’s not the only
change for Blas, Indestructible Spirit also features a new
band including: Jeff Hawley (bass, cuatro), Mike Bennet
(drums), Ryan Prior (piano), Steve Johnson (trombone)
and Leonard Luna (trombone). The album is also graced
by several special guests: Terry Delgado (coro), Isaac
Guerrero (percussion), Paul Clark (tenor sax), and
Raymond Sepeda (soprano sax).
“Indestructible Spirit signifies that no matter what
struggles I go through in life, or what people think or say about me
or my music, I cannot be broken,” says Blas. “This album
differs in style, it has more of a funky jazz beat with a twist of
Latin. Kind of a throw back to the 70's sound.”
back to the top |
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01.
Oaklands Mambo
02. Puerto Rico Rico
03. Lubi
04. Barry Rogers
05. Afro Rican
06. Indestructible Spirit
07. Boogaloo Blas
08. A Song for Rose
09. Cha Cha Para Ti |
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Lanu
This Is My Home
Ubiquity Records x Tru Thoughts (CD)
Release Date: March 6, 2007
Barcodes: 78066112082
One-Sheet:
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This Is My Home
is the stunning solo debut from New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based
producer Lanu (aka Lance
Ferguson). Brimming with future soul and broken beat flavors, forward-thinking
production and intuitive jazz sensibility, this album marks a
distinct departure from the raw, deep funk sound of Ferguson’s other
project, The Bamboos.
“The Lanu project embraces a wider spectrum of styles
that have influenced me including Jazz, Soul, Fusion, Latin, Hip
Hop, Broken Beat.
It’s all soulful
music, soul is the thread running through all these genres,” says
Ferguson.
With his Antipodean deep funk outfit The Bamboos,
Ferguson has recorded for such respected independent labels as
Freestyle, Soul Force, Kay
Dee
and released an album on Tru Thoughts/Ubiquity. And his passion for DJing has taken him all over Europe and Asia. Ferguson drew on these
global experiences for the new album, assimilating and incorporating
sights, sounds, themes and friends into an hour-long Australasian
future soul opus. “Dis-Information” is built around a punchy Moog bassline, angular Rhodes chords and an insistent break. “Mother
Earth” teams up UK-based
Quantic
and California-based Stones Throw vocalist
Aloe Blacc
for a broken-meets-Afro-beat workout that calls
out to people to respect the planet or face the consequences.
While the Bamboos blast
raw, hard
dancefloor Funk, Lanu blends Jazz, Soul, Fusion, Latin, Hip Hop,
broken beat and house into something that is inspired by the past,
but is also looking fast forward.
Don
Blackman, Roy Ayers, George Duke and the Mizells are big influences
for Lanu but the album is even more
informed
and inspired by the digital rhythms of West London and Detroit and
Ferguson’s infectious contemporary hybrid sounds are buoyed by
expertly programmed beats. This effortless eclecticism is partly due
to an interesting and varied musical heritage and career. Grandson
of New Zealand’s first ever recording artist (Bill
Wolfgramm played lap steel guitar and helped to popularise Hawaiian
music in New Zealand’s dance halls in the 1950s),
he has also toured as a session guitarist for Latin legend
Joe Bataan,
future funksters Mark de
Clive-Lowe
and Bembe Segue,
and the UKs tightest funk outfit the
Quantic Soul Orchestra.
Lanu
was Ferguson’s nickname as a child, and is also the Tongan word for
‘color’ ...
more
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01. Conversations
02. Dis-Information
03. Mother Earth
Feat. Aloe Blacc & Quantic
04. Runaway
Feat. Cherie Mathieson & No Comply
05. Rise
Feat. Abby Joyce & Simon Grey
06. It's
Time
Feat. Kero One
07. Aow
Leuk
08. Don't
Sleep (Pts 1&2)
09. Shine
Feat. Christin Deralas
10. Conversations
11. Don't
Sleep
12. Let
You Glow
13. Beachcomber
14. Beijo
do Sol |
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Shawn Lee
vs. Nino Moschella
Kiss The Sky EP
Ubiquity Records (UREP205)
Release Date: November 7, 2006
Barcodes:
780661120513
One-Sheet:
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Collaborations, remixes, exclusive tracks, album
previews - it's all here on this new EP featuring producer
extraordinaire Shawn Lee and crooner Nino Moschella.
"Kiss The Sky" is
from the forthcoming Shawn Lee album,
Voices and Choices,
due out in early 2007 and features Nino Moschella's vocals riding a
vintage Lee moody down tempo track. As an exclusive bonus to this EP
Warp Records producer Mark Pritchard (aka Harmonic 33, Troubleman
etc) turns in a suitably soundtrack-inspired remix. "Song For David"
is also from Voices and Choices and sees Shawn Lee in David top
Axelrod-like form with a stunning instrumental track complete with
big dramatic strings and fat drums.
Shawn Lee remixes
Nino Moschella's "Holding On" taken from the Moschella debut album
The Fix,
and also included is the breezy acoustic soul vibe of "You Never
Came", yet another exclusive to this EP that's
completely unavailable anywhere else.
Nino Moschella's
debut has been called an "absolute classic" (Gilles Peterson),
"essential" (CMJ), and "the record Stevie Wonder should have made
after Songs In The Key Of Life" (See Magazine). Since
it's release he
has played alongside James Brown and Dr John and opened for the
Greyboy Allstars. Shawn Lee has recently
completed his forth Ping Pong Orchestra album for Ubiquity which is
set for release in January 2006. Called
Voices and Choices
Lee steps out
with guest vocals in addition to the customary instrumental tracks. Lee's music has recently been featured in TV campaigns for BMW and
Jaguar plus many TV shows and films. Mutual admirers of each others
work the Lee/Moschella collaborations came about organically and
these tracks will not be the last we hear of the two working
together.
back to the top |
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A1. Kiss
The Sky
A2. Kiss
The Sky (Harmonic 33 Mix)
A3. Song
For David
B1.
Holding On (Shawn Lee Mix)
B2. You
Never Came |
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Shawn Lee & Clutchy Hopkins
Clutch Of The Tiger
Ubiquity (UR235)
Release Date: October 21, 2008
Barcodes: URCD235:
780661123521 x URLP235:
7780661123514
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Clutch of the Tiger sounds like a
collection of film-noir tracks run through the Clutchy Hopkins and
Shawn Lee magical music machine. It’s dusty and mysterious junkyard
jazz that’s powered by sly beats and other-worldly funk. Famous
comic book creator Jim Mahood (who has worked on Spiderman/Marvel,
Clerks, Grrl Scouts, Stupid Comics, etc etc) liked the tunes so much
he provided the killer artwork for the package! FYI - Inside the
album is a hidden code that gives customers a deal on limited
edition prints of the Mahfood artwork, available exclusively from
the Ubiquity website.
But how did this record come to be? Does Shawn Lee know the identity
of the mysterious Mr Hopkins? Read on brothers and sisters ...
A few years back our man Shawn Lee flew from London to Phoenix, AZ,
to visit his Mom for Christmas. While out there, the opportunity
arose for a last minute recording session in Los Angeles. Renting a
car he decided to make the drive by way of the Mojave Desert.
Passing though the Desert he was low on gas, and so pulled over to
fill up. He could not resist dropping into the thrift store next
door. "I love second hand and vintage stuff, I had to go in see if I
could find some cool clothes, or a little funky instrument," he
explains.
After a quick scour of the merchandise Lee headed back out towards
the door only to be met by a bushy-haired man carrying a tiger mask.
They exchanged greetings, shared stories about vintage instruments,
and then Lee asked about the mask. "He said it was a gift, from a
group of gypsies who make costumes for performing art centers in the
Los Angeles area.” The man said he'd made the gypsies some
instruments and that they gave him the mask in return. Lee
immediately fell in love with the mask. This became obvious to the
man who gave it to Lee with two requests. Lee was to keep the mask
forever, and to wear it every full moon. He agreed and headed out
West to Los Angeles.
Back in London, at the onset of the first full moon, Lee donned the
mask and felt a lump pushing into the side of his head. He pulled
back a cloth on the inside of the mask and found a cassette marked
"C. H." on Side A, and "Full Moon Breaks, Vol. 1" on the other.
Excitedly Lee put the cassette into a tape deck and pressed play. "I
put the mask back on and, I’m not really a dancer or anything, but
my feet were all over the place, this seriously moved me...the music
was dope.” Fast forward year or so and Lee hears about Ubiquity
releasing music from a mysterious, but talented, artist out of the
Mojave Desert called Clutchy Hopkins. Putting “C.H.” and “Clutchy
Hopkins” together he pulled out the cassette and knocked out a few
ideas inspired by what he heard. The ideas were delivered to the
Misled Children, the somewhat secretive agents of Mr. Hopkins that
had befriended Ubiquity (coincidentally by way of a chance purchase
at a thrift store.) Two weeks later a purple CD-r was mailed to
Lee’s house back in London and it included the tracks he started,
with new music added to them, and also some other ideas meant for
Shawn to play with. There was also a message, in Native American,
which Lee was able to transcribe. It was a request from Clutchy
Hopkins to send more music. This exchange of ideas, by way of the
mail and the Misled Children, went on for 3 months. Then everything
went quiet. We could not find the Misled Children, no more packages
arrived, and no more messages were received.
A month or so later Lee picked up the mask to honor his full moon
request, and once again was surprised by a bump to his head. Inside
the cloth lining was a CD. He swears he has no idea of how it got
there. You're now holding in your hands the recording found on that
CD. It’s the result of long distance collaboration between two
talented musicians. They met only briefly, but instantly saw eye to
eye by way of a mask and a full moon. Behold, the Clutch of The
Tiger …
back to the top |
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01.
Full Moon
02.
Two Steps
Back
03.
Things
Change
04.
Bill
Blows It
05.
So
Easily, So Naturally
06.
Leon Me
07.
Dollar
Short
08.
When I
Was Young
09.
Across
The Pond
10.
Bad
Infulence
11.
Till Next
Time
12.
Indian
Burn |
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Shawn Lee's
Ping Pong Orchestra
Voices and Choices
Ubiquity Records (UR207)
Release Date: January 30, 2007
Barcodes: URLP186: 780661120711
x URCD186: 780661120728
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"Eccentric soundtrack space melodies which are catchy and stay in
your ear for a long time."
- Streetwear Today
In Shawn Lee’s world Ennio Morricone dances with
Esquivel and Serge Gainsbourg as spaghetti western guitars and
harmonicas ride fat drum breaks accompanied by vibes, lush strings,
and piano. On Voices and Choices Lee's signature style moody
instrumentals are accompanied by vocals for the first time in the
four albums he has recorded for Ubiquity. In addition to a handful
of full songs, instrumental tracks are decorated with vocal textures
in a nod to classic producers David Axelrod and Charles Stepney who
used choir-like walls of vocal to create their big productions.
Ubiquity label mate Nino Moschella joins Lee on the
rock n’soul epic “Kiss The Sky”, while Ohmega Watts waxes positive
lyrical on “The Glass Hour Effect.” Instrumentals “JW” and “Song For
David” are just begging for an accompanying movie to match the
cinematic sounds, while “Tense Bossa” and “Glass Act” feature subtle
vocal parts to heighten the spy-theme tension.
Releases by Shawn Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra started
off as an experiment. Multi-instrumentalist and record collector Lee
was obsessed by vintage library records and wanted to see if he
could recreate their soundtrack-worthy sounds in his curio-shop-like
London studio. Library records were originally produced to provide
instrumental musical backing for TV, film, radio and advertising. Specific library records have become highly collectable, and are
favored by DJs and producers for the occasional drum break, sample,
or funk track.
Lee’s idea was to make full-length library albums
that were good from start to finish and equally listenable at home
as they might also be DJ friendly. Lee’s studio is insanely
overpopulated, instruments at hand include a 1940's early proto-synth
called a Clavioline, a 100 year old Marxophone zither, a 1950's
Virginal Harpsichord, a 1950's Xylophone, a rare 1967 Vox guitar
that has Fuzz, Tremelo and wah-wah built in, a 1930's Double Bass
and an early 1900's keyboard called a Dulcetone. So finding the
right instruments and noises to create a specific sound was not
going to be a problem
...
more
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01. Intro
02. Song
For David
03. Tense
Bossa
04. Kiss
The Sky Feat. Nino Moschella
05.
Fiendish Fifth
06.
Francoise Hardy
07. Glass
Act
08.
Perculator
09. Nod
Your Head
10. The
Hour Glass Effect Feat. Ohmega Watts
11. JW
12.
Changing Times
13.
Bobulski
14. Mondo
Mondo
15. Tired
16.
Jawbreaker |
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Shawn Lee's
Ping Pong Orchestra
Hits The Hits
Ubiquity Records (UR220)
Release Date: October 9, 2007
Barcodes: 780661122029
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"Uk-producer and multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lee's
latest effort hits the mark ... applying a sophisticatedly vintage
vibe to a slew of current pop hits. Perpetually fueled by a sunny,
feel-good groove, the tunes on Hits the Hits are commendable for Mr.
Lee's arrangements and embellishments that often improve upon the
original sources."
- Okayplayer
"He even manages to make a Britney Spears record listenable..."
- Prefix Magazine
"This cover of Outkast’s “Hey Ya!” is a must-hear
collaboration with renowned pianist Mick Talbot (Style Council,
Dexy’s Midnight Runners) that “sounds like vintage Ramsey Lewis,”
according to the label. It’s an accurate description, but what
Ubiquity fails to mention is the harmonica that colors the track in
place of the chorus vocals, which makes this an off- but still
on-beat rendition and a rave-up of the highest order. Somewhere,
Magic Dick is smiling."
- Audiversity.com
Shawn Lee is back with his Ping Pong
Orchestra in tow, and goes completely pop!
On Hits The
Hits he does tunes by
Gwen Stefani,
Amy Winehouse,
Britney Spears,
Blur,
Badly Drawn Boy,
Justin Timberlake,
Outkast and
many more in his own unique style. The album opens with a
collaborative joint featuring piano-master
Mick Talbot
(Style Council, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, etc.)
on a version of Outkast's “Hey Ya!” that sounds like vintage
Ramsey Lewis.
Putting his over-stuffed studio to the test Lee pulls
out all the stops on an album that includes a surf guitar-driven
cover of Missy Elliot's “Get Ur Freak On” (already selected
by taste-maker producer/DJ Tom Middleton for one his compilations),
a full-on psychedelic sitar flavored take on Britney’s “Toxic”, and
stripped-down super funky versions of the Kelis hit “Trick
Me” and Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body.”
Following on the success of Voices and Choices (from which
“Kiss The Sky” was picked as an iTunes “Song Of The Day”) and
his previous albums (three tunes from which were recently used in
each of the three trailers for the Oceans 13 movie) is
the second album from Lee this year, but not his last. A Ping
Pong Orchestra take on a Christmas album will follow in November.
Lee’s sound, which started as a take on old-school library albums
and has grown into a sound of his own, it's made possible by his
inability to stop making music in an insanely overpopulated studio.
A 1940's early proto-synth called a Clavioline, a 100 year old
Marxophone zither, a 1950's Virginal Harpsichord, a 1950's
Xylophone, a rare 1967 Vox guitar that has Fuzz, Tremelo and wah-wah
built in, a 1930's Double Bass and an early 1900's keyboard called a
Dulcetone all reside within the walls of Lee’s facilities.
As a multi-instrumentalist and singer Shawn Lee has played and
recorded with a diverse range of artists including Psapp,
Coldcut, Leeann Rhimes, Martina Mcbride, UNKLE,
Tony Joe White, Chateau Flight, The Dust Brothers,
St. Etienne, Jeff Buckley, Bomb The Bass,
The Spice Girls, and Natasha Atlas - not to mention solo
records for Talkin' Loud, Wall of Sound imprint We
Love You and BBE. He is also known to breaks
n'beats collectors as the man behind "The Ape Breaks" and "Planet
of the Breaks" series which were sampled by everyone from
Guru to The Gorillaz. Music by Lee has been used in
commercials for BMW and Jaguar, in multiple TV shows,
and in addition to the Oceans 13 movie, he has had music in
The Break Up and Save Angel Hope.
He was also asked to score the entire soundtrack to the highly
controversial Rock Star video game Bully for
which he was nominated Best Original Video Game Score by Spike TV.
back to the top |
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01.
Hey Ya
02. Out
Of Time
03. Trick
Me
04. Rock
Your Body
05. One
Around The Block
06. One
Thing
07.
Millionare
08. Clint
Eastwood
09. Let
Me Blow Your Mind
10. Get
UR Freak On
11. Toxic
12. By
The Way
13.
Rehab
14.
Can't Get
You Out Of My Head |
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Shawn Lee's
Ping Pong Orchestra
A Very Ping Pong Christmas
Ubiquity Records (UR224)
Release Date: November 6, 2007
Barcodes: 780661122425
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Late one cold
winter night, our Little Drummer Boy found himself alone in his
chilly recording studio. Busting out the Jingle Bells he
decided to break the unseasonably eerie Silent Night and play
himself a song or two. “Some of My Favorite Things,” he
muttered to himself as he stared at his vast collection of musical
instruments strewn throughout the room. “O Come All Ye
Faithful” he sung to his horn section as he mustered the musical
muscle to Deck The Halls. Old Saint Mick joined him on the
black and whites and the two of them knew that as long as they had
tunes, they would not be alone this Holiday season.
Across the street and Away In A Manger, a baby stirred and it’s
mother and father said “Do You Hear What I Hear?” Curious as
to the origin of the festive musical mayhem the father trudged his
slippered feet through the snow and knocked on the studio door.
As it creaked open, the father extended a cold but firm handshake
“We’ve never met, have you always been here? Where are you from?
What A Wonderful World of music I hear!” he said. “O, (a)
Little Town of Bethlehem,” chuckled the drummer boy and Old Saint
Mick. “Of course, where else!” said the father. “Sorry
am I keeping you up?” apologized the drummer boy. “No, it’s no
bother,” said the father. As they were speaking the local
police officer happened to stroll by and enquired “Everything ok
here fella’s?” “Oh no problems here,” they replied. “Well, God
Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, then,” said the police officer. After
a few more pleasantries the father decided to ditch the mother and
child and join the Little Drummer Boy and Old Saint Mick for an all
night sherry-fueled funked-up jam session. They left the tapes
rolling and the CD in your hands might be the result of this
session. It might equally just be the latest album from Shawn
Lee’s Ping Pong Orchestra, done psychedelic Santa style.
Either way, Christmas has never been so funky!
back to the top |
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01.
Punjabi
Lullaby
02.
Brazilian Bubble
03. Great
Russell Street
04. Lagos
Calling
05. Mela
D
06.
Bathtub Dub
07.
Prague Rock
08.
Parisian Glam Slam
09. Italy
73
10. Ciao
Bruno
11. God
Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
12. Away
In A Manger |
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Shawn Lee's
Ping Pong Orchestra
Miles Of Styles
Ubiquity Records (UR228)
Release Date: May 5, 2008
Barcodes: URCD228: 780661122821
x
URLP228: 780661122814
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The seventh in
the Ping Pong Orchestra album series see’s multi-instrumentalist
Shawn Lee go global. This is the soundtrack to places Lee has been,
and would like to visit, and was made using instruments he’s
picked-up along the way. Miles of Styles is inspired by the
multi-cultural mix of people in his hometown of London, the awe
inspiring metropolis that is New York City, and by the mysterious
uber-stylish vibe of Tokyo. Not to mention Jamaica, Finland, Greece,
China, France and beyond…
While Lee likes to visit new places he admits that it’s not always
possible or even enjoyable, “I like to be in other countries - it's
just the getting there that's a drag!” he says. So as with his
previous cinematic-style albums Miles of Styles is intended to take
the listener on a journey, even if they’re just riding the bus home
after work, iPod on. In addition to incorporating a multitude of
styles, Lee also made Miles of Styles a family affair. His Indian
wife, Kirin, sings on the opening “Punjabi Lullaby,” and is also
responsible for Lee owning so many Indian instruments. In addition
his daughter hummed the melody for the song that would become “Mela
D”, and makes a cameo appearance on “My Daddy’s Funky.”
To put some “world” into his music Lee managed to play the Gu-zheng
(a Chinese zither), a Steel Drum (from the Caribbean), a Balafone
(from Africa), a Harmonium and Tablas (India), Hurdy Gurdy and
Harpsichord (European), a Guitarron (Mexico), a Churango (Bolivia)
and a Waterphone (from the USA.) “I've always collected traditional
folk instruments from around the world. I love taking them out of
their traditional element and putting them into a different context.
Mixing and creating interesting doubles such as steel drum with
Balafone or Sitar with Banjo,” explains Lee. “I love when sounds
become mysterious and are hard to decipher. Sometimes people laugh
at me when I buy certain instruments. Steel drum was one that a lot
of musicians scoffed at. I ended up using it prominently in a
various ways on the album,” he adds.
Following on the success of Voices and Choices (from which “Kiss The
Sky” was picked as an iTunes “Song Of The Day”, and was used on the
TV show Damages) and his previous albums (three tunes from which
were recently used in each of the three trailers for the Oceans 13
movie) Lee also released two other albums in 2007 (the covers album
Hits The Hits, and the Christmas Album A Very Ping Pong Christmas.)
Lee’s music is used in the upcoming movie The Bank Job and he’s had
tunes appear in ads for Jaguar cars.
Lee’s sound, which started as a take on old-school library albums
and has grown into a sound of his own, is made possible by his
inability to stop making music in an insanely overpopulated studio.
A 1940's early proto-synth called a Clavioline, a 100 year old
Marxophone zither, a 1950's Virginal Harpsichord, a 1950's
Xylophone, a rare 1967 Vox guitar that has Fuzz, Tremelo and wah-wah
built in, a 1930's Double Bass and an early 1900's keyboard called a
Dulcetone all reside within the walls of Lee’s facilities. As a
multi-instrumentalist and singer Shawn Lee has played and recorded
with a diverse range of artists including Psapp, Coldcut, Leeann
Rhimes, Martina Mcbride, UNKLE, Tony Joe White, Chateau Flight, The
Dust Brothers, St. Etienne, Jeff Buckley, Bomb the Bass, The Spice
Girls, and Natasha Atlas not to mention solo records for Talkin
Loud, Wall of Sound imprint We Love You and BBE.
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01.
Punjabi
Lullaby
02.
Brazilian Bubble
03. Great
Russell Street
04. Lagos
Calling
05. Mela
D
06.
Bathtub Dub
07.
Prague Rock
08.
Parisian Glam Slam
09. Italy
73
10. Ciao
Bruno
11.
Dinosaur Island
12. Heist
in Helsinki
13.
Tokyo
Dancer
14.
Mystery
Train
15.
Phoenix
Firebird
16.
San Diego
17.
Daddy
Funky
18.
Chinese
Chillin
19.
Fly First
20.
Greekout |
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Shawn Lee &
Band of Frequencies
Under The Sun OST
Ubiquity (UR238)
Release Date: September 9, 2008
Barcodes: URCD238:
780661123828 x URLP238:
780661123811
One-Sheet:
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Under the Sun is a documentary film
made by filmmaker Cyrus Sutton and West Coast Record and clothing
label Ubiquity Records.
The film features an original soundtrack by Ubiquity Recording
artist Shawn Lee and alongside Australian acts Band of Frequencies
(a collective of musicians hailing from Byron Bay), Low Pressure
Sound System and Afro Dizzi Act. On this double disc, Ubiquity
multi-instrumentalist, Lee turns out a sunny, surf inspired mix of
tracks that will make you want to pack up that board and head to the
beach, or at least close your eyes and dream about it. Lee’s
signature funky breaks and beats are backed by twangy guitars and
harmonicas creating a hazy breeze of blissful tunes.
On the second disc are three Australian bands with close ties to the
surf community. Afro Dizzi Act play rootsy Afro-beat tinged jams and
have built a reputation as being one of the most flexible and
adventurous acts in Australia. Their track 'The Drop Off' is
inspired by the euphoria of elevated consciousness and spiritual
inner strength that follows after taking off on a big wave while
surfing, or launching into an outer reef while snorkeling. Low
Pressure Sound System is a collective of musicians who record
soundtracks and perform live jams, and much of their material on
this record is based on two weeks of recording non-stop spontaneous
tracks. Their “Spoonbender” tune is named after eccentric surf icon
and creator of the flexible spoon surf craft George Greenough. Band
Of Frequencies is a side project featuring members of Afro Dizzi
Act, and noted surfer Dave Rastovich, delving into heavier guitar
sounds blending psychedelia, roots, rock and soul.
Under the Sun has already won Best Action Sports Film at the Newport
Beach Film Festival, and is set to air at other American festivals
this Fall. Shot in Byron Bay and the Gold Coast, on the Pacific
Shore of Eastern Australia, the film explores the commercialization
of surfing subcultures through two opposing surf towns. While the
two locations are geographically close their populations have
completely different outlooks on life, and this clash is magnified
in their respective surf scenes.
These opposing forces offer a microcosmic view of the surf industry,
and raise fascinating questions facing the surf world in general.
With rising populations and dwindling resources where do these two
towns go from here? While the industry promotes imagery of pristine
waves, coastlines of the world are quickly becoming more crowded and
polluted. Where does surfing go from here? Can the industry and
culture sustain?
“For years the surfing subculture has blazed a rebellious trail with
the industry following close behind turning scenes and ideas into
dollars signs. With swelling crowds and deteriorating water quality
surfing is reaching critical mass,” explains film maker Cyrus
Sutton. “But whether you're a beach bum or a CEO, we're all surfers
and in a world were money talks, embracing the surf industry may be
the only way to preserve the lifestyles we have grown to love,” he
adds.
Filmed in 2006 and 2007, the film was finished in April 2008, with
Sutton returning from Australia to edit at Ubiquity HQ in Southern
California. The lush landscape he had captured provided amazing
footage to which Sutton also added mixed media animation. The films
features cameos from Dave Rastovich (A Gold Coast/Byron Bay hybrid
raised in the competitive surfing arena who opted for the Byron Bay
lifestyle in his early twenties), and many other surfers including
Rabbit Bartholomew, Nat Young, Beau Young, and Dean Morrison. For
more information and future screenings check
www.underthesunsurfmovie.com for updates.
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Disc 1 : Shawn Lee's Ping Pong
Orchestra
01.
Under The Sun
02.
Afro Surf
03.
Capricorn
04.
Hollisday
05.
Below
The Surface
06.
Murf The Surf
07.
1994
08.
Corvette
09.
Rabbits Revenge
10.
Great White Harp
11.
Porpoise Song
12.
Lava
13.
Erotic Drums
14.
Sweet Sixteen
15.
New Era
16.
Wichita Heights
17.
Wave Song
18.
Clock Song
19.
Nice Dream
20.
Rabbit
21.
Psych Drums
22.
Oom Pa Pah
23.
Very Bari
24.
Southern Surfer
25.
Totally Tubular
26.
Nino Nino
27.
Under The Sun (Instrumental)
28.
Under The Sun (Reprise)
Disc 2 : Band Of Frequencies
01.
The Drop Off
02.
Dylan's Wings
03.
Sol Train
04.
Spoonbender
05.
The Pass
06.
Open Water
07.
Forever
08.
Bark
09.
Quantum Pod
10.
Storm Front
11.
Deep Dish |
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Shawn Lee
Soul In The Hole
Ubiquity (UR242)
Release Date: March 24, 2009
Barcodes: URCD242:
780661124221 x URLP242:
780661124214
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Soul In The Hole
is a tribute to multi-instrumentalist Shawn Lees favorite soul
sounds through the eras. Featuring guest-appearances from Paul
Butler (The Bees), Nicole Willis, Darondo, Karime Kendra, Fanny
Franklin, and Kirin Lee, the album is an homage to styles from the
late 1960s to the 1980s. “Writing and recording this project felt so
natural. It was like coming home,” says Lee. “The great Richie
Havens famously once said "I'm going back to my roots." That's
exactly what I've done,” he adds.
He hand-picked his global selection of guests like the amazing Paul
Butler (of The Bees, and currently working with Devendra Banhart)
from the Isle of Wight, who appears on a track that is part Shuggie
Otis, part Style Council mod. Northern Cali’s old school man of
soul, Darondo is featured on two tracks, and the super-talented
Nicole Willis, hailing from Finland, drops a Northern Soul shaker.
The title track features Lee on vocals and has a late 1960's Detroit
stepper vibe. Two crackly-southern-ballads feature Fanny Franklin
and Karime Kendra, the latter pulling off a deep version of a
little-known Al Green/Willie Mitchell ballad. Lee teams up with his
wife on the cosmic funk of “The Stuff,” “ I was thinking of the late
70's jazzy sophisticated productions of Roy Ayers. It reminds me of
the UK rare groove scene of the late 80's early 90's,” he says. And
there are even funk-rock and sunny Miami disco styled sounds to
complete the chronological nod to the past that is mixed with just a
touch of the present.
Recording tracks over a period of a year or two, Lee edited the
final album to just a handful of his favorites that best moved
through the eras. He liked the idea that having 4 or 5 tracks per
side was just like the old LPs that had inspired him, “All killer,
no filler!” he jokes.
“Soul music has always been a strong part of my musical identity. It
resonates deep within and never fails to inspire me. So many great
artists, singers, musicians and producers. An endless well of
essential music,” says Lee. “Cue Soul in the hole...for the masters
who've come before and touched the world with their soul.“
This is Lee’s first all-vocal album for Ubiquity. Previous releases
have featured some vocal collaborations, but have mostly been
instrumental, library-record style releases. The unstoppable Mr. Lee
has more collaborations on the horizon, including a funky-harp
record and putting the finishing touches to an album recorded with
Money Mark and Tommy Guerrero under the name Lord Newborn & The
Sugar Skulls.
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01.
Soul In
The Hole
02.
Jigsaw
03.
Land Of
Soul
04.
Too Tired
To Sleep
05.
Something
06.
Whatever
Side You're On
07.
Cruel
Woman
08.
Stay Away
From Me
09.
Playboy
Bunny
10.
Time To
Say Goodbye
11.
The Stuff |
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The
Lions
Jungle Struttin' b/w Ethio-Steppers (Wilderstyle
Dub) 7''
Ubiquity Records (UR7223)
Release Date: January 22, 2008
Barcodes: UR7223: 780661122371
One-Sheet:
PDF
Jungle Struttin'
Ubiquity Records (UR222)
Release Date: February 19, 2007
Barcodes: URCD222: 780661122227
x
URLP222: 780661122210
One-Sheet:
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"... lean and crunchy old-school
grooves that sound like they could have been recorded and mixed at
Dynamic Studios or the Black Ark in the early 1970s."
- All Music Guide
"One
of the best blends of global funky elements we've ever heard...Great
stuff all around, and a record that's almost more funkily exciting
than all those old Jamaican platters you've sorted through trying to
get a sound like this!"
- Dustygroove
"Get ready to get your skank on with
the Lions' new LP...With an admirable cast of musicians, the Lions
are sure to make an impression on reggae enthusiasts."
- Vapors
"The L.A. collective emerges with an outstandingly distilled, urban
sound that mines dub reggae in a vintage yet completely fresh way by
tastefully blending it with soul and funk."
- Orlando Weekly
"...cohesive, rhythmic, and
cinematic–hardly cheesy modern reggae, and definitely worth a
listen."
- XLR8R
The
LIONS is a unique Jamaican-inspired outfit, the result of an
impromptu recording session by members of Breakestra,
Connie Price and the Keystones, Rhythm Roots All-Stars,
Orgone, Sound Directions, Plant Life,
Poetics and Macy Gray (to name a few). Gathering at
Orgone's Killion Studios, in Los Angeles during the Fall of 2006,
they created grooves that went beyond the Reggae spectrum by
combining new and traditional rhythms, and dub mixing mastery with
the global sounds of Ethiopia, Colombia and Africa. The Lions
also added a healthy dose of American-style soul, jazz, and funk to
create an album that’s both a nod to the funky exploits of reggae
acts like Byron Lee and the Dragonaires and Boris Gardner, and a
mash of contemporary sound stylings.
The
Lions are an example of the ever-growing musical family found in Los
Angeles. There is a heavyweight positive-vibe to be found in
the expansive, sometimes artificial, Hollywood-flavored land of Los
Angeles. Many of the members of the Lions met through the LA
staple rare groove outfit Breakestra and have played in many
projects together over the past decade. It was through
discussions about The Lions taking place between band conductor Todd
Simon and Ubiquity that recent releases by Orgone and Connie Price
came to be
... more
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7''
01.
Jungle
Struttin'
02. Ethio-Steppers
(Wilderstyle Dub)
---
Jungle Struttin' CD/LP
01.
Thin Man
Skank
02.
Ethio-Steppers
03.
Jungle Struttin'
04. Sweet
Soul Music
05. Hot
No Ho
06.
Cumbia Del Leon
07.
Lankershim Dub
08.
Tuesday Roots
09.
Fluglin' at Dave's
10. Think
(About It)
11. Givin
Up Food For Jah |
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Malone & Barnes
And Spontaneous Simplicity
Freedom Serenade
Luv N'Haight (LH052)
Release Date: February 20, 2006
Barcodes: LHLP052: 80661 00521
x LHCD052: 80661
00522
One-Sheet:
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Singer and
songwriter Johnny Malone met saxophonist and flautist
Allan Barnes while they were students at Howard University in
Washington DC in the 1960's. In addition to being under the tutelage
of Donald Byrd who was head of Jazz Studies, they were
classmates with future stars like Donny Hathaway, Leroy
Hutson, and Angela Winbush. Barnes was already a member
of the hugely popular soul jazz pioneers The Blackbyrds.
“We were at crest of the wave of early jazz fusion, plus the culture
at Howard was a little outside of the box. We had great teachers –
it was an ideal place to study and learn,” explains Barnes.
When the two friends formed Malone Barnes and Spontaneous Simplicity
(named after the tune by Sun-Ra, whose band Barnes regularly
appeared with when in Washington, DC) the collaboration yielded
Freedom Serenade, an album of super spacey and spiritual jazz
funk
... more
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01.
Workin' Plan
02. Warp
Ten
03. Up 'N
Comin'
04.
Moonstruck
05.
Galactic Interlude
06. Road
Man
07.
Freedom Serenade
08.
Journey To The Stars
09.
Galactic Interlude |
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Nino
Moschella
Boom Shadow
Ubiquity (UR251)
Release Date: May 19, 2009
Barcodes: URCD251:
780661125129 x
URLP251:
780661125112
One-Sheet:
PDF
Hypepack:
PDF
Tour History:
WORD
DOC.
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What
is Boomshadow? The made-up word is a fictional character Nino
Moschella and some friends concocted nearly a decade ago. “He was a
super hero. It was kind of ridiculous. He didn’t really have a
specific power, he would just come onto the scene and save
everybody,” he explains. Boomshadow came back to Moschella,
with a different meaning, as an idea for the title of his sophomore
album for Ubiquity. It is a warm cloak of sound emanating from your
stereo. It envelopes and protects all who listen. It feels good to
be in the warm pulse of the Boomshadow. Moschella likens it
to listening from inside the womb. The feeling of being safe and
being able to trust was key to the development of this album. With
the practice and feedback from an extensive set of gigs under his
belt, a new live band to back him, and a close-knit crew of
collaborators to work with, Moschella has a deepened trust in his
own musical ability. As a result Boomshadow reflects the
continued refinement of Nino Moschella’s sound. His songs are more
personal, and his production definitely has more boom.
The
album launches with a frenetic flying kick to the eardrums, on an
intro that reflects Moschellas' East Bay funk-inflicted home-base.
It doesn’t let off the gas with the raw angular funk rock of
“Sleep.” Fans of The Fix, his first album with Ubiquity, will
recognize the progression from tracks like “Are You For Real” to the
new, even more soulful sounds of “We Fight” (featuring Fanny
Franklin), and on the disjointed head bumping “Around the World” and
“Stella,” the tribute to his daughter. On the stripped down “What U
Do 2 Me” he sings a twisted anti-ballad over horns and acoustic
guitar, while the music on “Time of Day” and “I Love Myself” moves
with a cosmic bounce that nods to all the funk elders and ancestors.
Moschella’s unique homemade beats and unexpected embellishments are
now backed with a fuller orchestration, and his arrangements are
more dynamic.
“The
identity of this album was clear early on and the songs came more
easily. It was less about sculpting something and more about
trusting that the process would lead me in the right direction,”
says Moschella. “I’ve become more comfortable with who I am as a
person in this world and naturally that informs the music,” he adds.
Moschella began three tracks at the Roundhouse in rural O’Neals,
California (near Yosemite), where The Fix was recorded. A
family-move back to the Bay Area meant Moschella had to studio-hop
from an Oakland sublet, to a temporary set-up in Richmond, before
finally settling in at a home studio in West Oakland. The nomadic
nature of the recordings provided its own set of fruits and
challenges. Rural O’Neals allowed for middle-of-the-night,
as-loud-as-you-like sessions, while the more urban setting of
Oakland meant that recording had to be planned around the schedule
of downstairs neighbors and his daughter’s naptime. Moschella had
begun to find O’Neills too isolated and the draw of a more intense
social and music scene in Oakland more inspiring. It was this
drawn-out moving process that allowed for Moschella to play a
massive amount of live shows between recording sessions, and to
forge the new musical friendships that ultimately helped shape
Boomshadow.
While Moschella and his family moved back to Oakland, Derek Taylor,
drummer for the Bay Area band The Park, contacted Nino on MySpace,
as a fan. The Park had a weekly residency at the Royale in North
Beach, San Francisco, and also performed regularly across the Street
at Mojitos. Interested in seeing them live, Moschella turned up to
one of their gigs (August 7th, 2007, the night when Barry
Bonds hit his record setting 756th homerun, the place was
on-fire), and when the band jumped into a Moschella instrumental he
joined them on stage. The Park—which also includes Ben Schwier on
keys and Josh Lippi on bass—quickly became his backing band and they
discovered they shared similar musical inspirations and geographical
backgrounds. “Recording has always been a very private experience
for me, and it’s testament to how much I trust, respect, and feel
comfortable around them to have this level of collaboration,” says
Moschella. “Playing live with them opened me to the idea of working
together in the studio.” Ben and Josh co-wrote a couple of songs.
The Park, plus conga player Michael Aguilar, all play on the record.
Moschella and band also forged a new friendship with label mate
Darondo. Together they played at the Bumbershoot festival, were
picked by NPR as one of three acts to see at SXSW in 2008, and
opened for Morris Day and The Time in San Francisco.
Since the release of The Fix, Moschella
has
appeared on records by Galactic, Peder, DJ Greyboy, and Keeley &
Zaire. He also co-wrote and sings on “Kiss
the Sky,” a collaboration with Shawn Lee which has appeared in the
FX show Damages, and will be in the new Muhammad Ali
documentary, Facing Ali. Moschella was selected as a guest at
the 2008 Red Bull Music Academy in Barcelona and has opened for
James Brown and played several festivals including the Toronto
Harbourfront Festival, the San Francisco Funk Festival, and
Bonnaroo.
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01. Begin
02.
Sleep
03.
Time Of
Day
04.
We Fight
05.
Looking
At Your Face
06.
Continue
To Call
07.
Running
08.
New
Orleans
09.
Stella
10.
Something
Like?
11.
What U Do
2 Me
12.
All
Around The World
13.
I Love
Myself
14.
Shining
Through The Trees
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NOMO
Invisible Cities
Ubiquity (UR250)
Release Date: May 5, 2009
Barcodes: URCD250:
780661125020 x
URLP250:
780661125013
One-Sheet:
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Less than a year
after the acclaimed Ghost Rock, NOMO have completed its spirited
sister album—recorded during the Ghost Rock sessions and tours.
Invisible Cities is informed by their ceaseless travelling, and
visits to places both real and unreal. The sonic empire of NOMO is
expanding; busting up genres and musical borders with astonishing
results. With a theme stolen from Italian novelist Italo Calvino,
each tune on Invisible Cities is a little world of it’s own, dense
with rhythm and timbre. Hot horns blaze through intersecting lines,
heavy percussion drives the band down winding streets, the bass
rumbles in some subterranean corridor. The sounds come from far
reaching points, not from a fixed place on a globe, but from an area
of the human spirit; One that is joyous, open and in motion.
Like Ghost Rock, Invisible Cities reaches into new places both
sonically and emotionally, and pulls up some real bangers: The title
track’s horns are drenched in Echoplex and its driving beat is
straight from the swamp. Bumbo, Moondog’s best tune, gets a NOMO
island makeover, with a set of antique fire extinguishers clanging
away in a 21st century steel drum style. Crescent is a shimmering
silver stream of electric kalimbas, with handclaps and bamboo flutes
giving the tune a more delicate feel than NOMO has offered up on
previous albums. Giving Elijah a listen, it’s immediately apparent
that this is stirring spiritual jazz of a higher order; the tune was
written as a lament for one of bandleader Elliot Bergman’s childhood
friends. Warren Defever’s immaculate production work creates a space
where the music can grow, develop, layer on top of itself, and
reveal this band in artful new ways.
Defever convinced the band to come into his UFO Factory studio in
Detroit’s Eastern Market the morning after their long tour ended.
The surrounding market streets were littered with rotting produce
and street sweeper tines, which Bergman (who has a propensity for
spotting, collecting and repurposing musical junk) quickly gathered
and converted into electric kalimbas-with the help of a now-defunct
lumber mill, which generously donated piles of beautiful hardwood
scraps. This new set of instruments created the foundation for many
of these new tracks, and has spawned a very popular side business.
These inspired sessions yielded hours of new material and the band
quickly realized that what was originally intended as an EP of
material from the Ghost Rock sessions, had blossomed into something
far more cohesive and substantial than what they had originally
imagined.
But NOMO is not just a band of thieves, garbage pickers, drifters,
jammers, and players. In their soul, NOMO truly is a party band.
From their roots, rocking sweaty basement shows in Ann Arbor and
Detroit, to their current gig, rocking sweaty basement shows and the
occasional jazz festival in Brooklyn, Chicago, New Orleans, London,
Sevilla, or Montreal, the band has developed its own form of
celebratory dance music. They’ve upped the energy level on recent
jaunts and it’s impossible to find a stationary body in the house.
This music moves people, and it’s refreshing to see teen hipsters
get down with crate diggers, jazz heads nod along with the noise
kids at a NOMO show. The band crams three drum sets into the silver
Ford Econoline, along with enough electric kalimbas to pull-off all
of the two hour marathon sets, plus a few extra to sell to the
audience. Horns and guitars fit on top of the amps, and it’s a
touring eight-piece-sonic-arsenal that packs a pretty heavy punch.
back to the top |
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01.
Invisible
Cities
02.
Bumbo
03.
Waiting
04.
Crescent
05.
Patterns
06.
Ma
07.
Banners
On High
08.
Elijah
09.
Nocturne |
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NOMO
Ghost Rock
Ubiquity (UR230)
Release Date: June 17, 2008
Barcodes: URCD230:
780661123026
x
URLP230:
780661123019
One-Sheet:
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"Ghost Rock
is a giant leap forward. This is the instrumental band to watch.
Period."
- All Music Guide
"The result of the band's experimenting with rhythm,
percussion, and amplification is an exciting, kinetic sound that
takes a band that started out looking to the past and re-orients
it firmly toward the future. There have been a lot of attempts
to take funk into the cosmos, and this one succeeds using
decidedly earthbound means: metal, electricity, and a
willingness to use one's hands to make something that realizes a
goal. 8.3"
- Pitchfork Media
"Their follow-up, Ghost Rock, doesn’t just push
that future-primitive envelope further, it punches holes right
through it ... Guerrilla groove merchants, third-ear fakirs, lo-fi
sci-fi square-root-of-pi pipers—call ’em whatcha want, this
Ghost Rock shit fucking rocks."
- Montreal Mirror
"...One of the year's most enjoyable albums."
- OC Weekly
"...the band pushes the envelope
to include elements of electronica and comes up with something
truly special ... This one conjures up trailblazers Brian Eno
(circa "Before and After Science") and Miles Davis (circa "On
the Corner") and is utterly astonishing. Still driven by horns
and percussion, Nomo is in formidable form on "Ghost Rock," one
of the most audacious and spirited albums so far this year."
- Detroit Free Press
"While American spins on African music have proliferated of
late, few genre-crossing groups deliver the Tortoise-sized
fusion of NOMO."
- Earplug
"Really a nice mix - the album is
excellent!"
- Gilles Peterson (BBC
Radio 1 / Worldwide)
Ghost Rock
is the new album from the Michigan-based collective NOMO.
The album, produced by Warn Defever,
sheds light on the way forward for a band that has been forging its
own vital sound. This is not the Afrobeat of Fela, nor the
revivalist funk of a forgotten decade. This record owes as much to
Can, Eno, and MIA as it does Kuti, Francis Bebey, and Funkadelic.
On Ghost Rock, NOMO arrives in a new place. There’s no loss
of steam as they incorporate new influences, instead NOMO breaks
through with a matured and developed sound that is fully its own.
“World music, jazz, electronica, Afrobeat…I hope that
we don't get marginalized by any of these terms. We are an American
band, and in our hearts I think we're more of a rock band than
anything else, but we do love so many different types of music,”
says band leader Elliot Bergman. “We have a set of musicians, and we
are trying to organize our sounds in a way that represents
ourselves. We're not trying to make a record that sounds like it was
recorded in the 70's and we're not trying to make anybody think that
this was recorded in Nigeria. We're not trying to fool anybody, and
especially not ourselves! This is our music. It is full of life,
full of emotion. It’s funky, danceable, weird, heavy, exuberant,
angry, joyous and raucous,” he adds.
The band’s perpetual grooves are deeper than ever.
The horns are set ablaze and analog synths beam an electrified
energy into the music. The homemade percussion arsenal is ramped up
a notch, and the electric sawblade gamelan brings gong-like
overtones into the tangled vine of synthetic and organic strands.
The band taps into its full orchestral potential—the arrangements
are filled with timbral variety, as the bubbling textures of the
percussion meld with the soaring sounds of the horn section. Bergman
describes how NOMO evolved to incorporate the wild looped sounds
that can be heard throughout the album (nowhere more noticeably than
on the screaming electric tone at the top of the introductory track
“Brainwave”), “We toured non-stop for a while, and on down time, I
would spend every night in my basement recording hours of loops and
synth textures. I was fascinated with early Morton Subotnick
records, the percussive parts, and when I ran out of records to buy,
I just started making my own Subotnick-like loops. I didn't want the
end product to sound like early synth music, but I loved the
textures and gong-like tones of Silver Apples, Wild Bull, 4
Butterflies, etc,” he says. “Most of the loops were created with the
instruments that I've been making, and have amazing variety, perhaps
due to my inconsistency as an instrument manufacturer. Some sound
amazingly bassy and others have a chime-like ethereal tone. Eno
talks about generative music, and creating a system that produces
music with little interference. I like that idea, and every night I
would try to create as many loops as possible on these instruments
without editing. Then I would go back a few weeks later and listen
to these bubbling textures that can be heard in so many different
ways. Trying to get the band to learn them always sparked heated
arguments about where "the one” is!”
With the loops on Ghost Rock serving as the framework for the
compositions the band were freed up to experiment with different
ideas and a bigger, more orchestral, sound was born. Helping NOMO
achieve this new direction were some heavy rhythmic contributors.
Hamid Drake and Adam Rudolph lend their percussive mastery to
several tracks with Drake’s fiery drumming propelling “All the
Stars” to new heights. Josh Abrams fills out the low end on “Rings.”
What once was a
rotating collective is now a tightly knit eight piece band. This is
no longer a loose assembly of great players, but a band that relies
heavily upon each other, each member playing a distinct role, with a
vibrant personality. Dan Bennett's fiery baritone saxophone anchors
the horn section. Justin Walter and Ingrid Racine hold down the
brass section with contrasting approaches to the trumpet--Walter's
lyricism provides a cool counterpart to Racine's raw and brassy
punch--dig her wah trumpet solo on "all the stars." This record
finds the percussion section deeper than ever, with percussionist
rotating chairs-Dan Piccolo and Erik Hall play the kit, and Jason
Murdy and Quin Kirchner fill in on the Congas. Erik's main role is
on guitar, and he and Jamie Register seem to have a deep kinship.
Her elegant, but muscular basslines tie in with the guitar work
seamlessly.
The album seems to move in many directions at once.
It is more electronic, and more natural, it is more exuberant, but
darker. More spiritual and hymn like, but also more visceral. The
songs are sweet, but they are dirty and distorted. It is as
primitive as it is futuristic. While these seemingly divergent
themes might sound like some post-modern musical meltdown, it’s
clear that this is the sound of a band growing into its own
collective voice. NOMO pulls from the past, but also points towards
a hopeful future. Fans of the band will know that they like to start
and end their live shows in the audience,
and the opening and closing tracks on Ghost Rock echo this
aspect of their performances. “I think that it's really
important to participate--as an audience, as a band member, etc. and
joining the audience for a song at the beginning or end of a show
invites participation,” explains Bergman. “On a good night, it feels
like everybody is working together. Having a few great dancers in
the audience can really drive the band to new levels, and we love to
sing together at the end of show. It ends up solidifying the bond
between the player and the listener--and it starts to dissolve those
typical divisions between active and passive. It helps to make
people feel that music is an event; social, spiritual and communal
rather than a commodity to be consumed.”
The band has toured incessantly since the 2006
release New Tones. That album garnered much critical acclaim
and ended up on top 10 lists from NPR, Gilles Peterson, and Global
Rhythm. The band has performed over 150 live concerts since the
album, touring North America, and Europe including stops at
Bumbershoot, Pitchfork Festival, the Montreal Jazz Festival, SXSW,
and WOMEX. Able to fit anywhere (literally and figuratively)—their
sizable lineup hasn’t kept them from sharing a stage with everyone
from Earth Wind and Fire, to Konono No.1, to Sharon Jones, to Dan
Deacon.
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01.
Brainwave
02. All
The Stars
03. Round
The Way
04. Rings
05. My
Dear
06. Ghost
Rock
07. Last
Beat
08. Three
Shades
09. Nova |
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Nostalgia 77
Everything Under The Sun
Ubiquity x Tru Thoughts
(UR209)
Release Date: April 10, 2007
Barcodes: 780661120926
One-Sheet:
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“The Nostalgia
77 Octet make the music sound and, more importantly, feel good”
- The Guardian
“The sound is
rich and lush…”
- One Week to Live
“He delivers the
finest piece of jazz since Pulsinger invited some old Vienna lads
for a jam-session”
- Lowdown Magazine
“An ongoing
collective vision of a funk-jazz utopia.”
- Jazzwise
“Really nice
forward thinking Jazz album. Perfect for home listening and Jazz
clubs alike."
- Boca 45
“I think a lot people find jazz intimidating and inaccessible and
this hasn't been helped by certain musicians trying to rarify jazz,
canonize it, and turn it in to high culture. Before jazz was a
technical music it was an emotional music. For me then the
challenge isn't about making jazz music relevant it’s just making
relevant music. Music with emotion that speaks honestly to the
listener will always be relevant.”
- Benedic Lamdin, Nostalgia 77.
The band won the “Jazz Album of the
Year” award from BBC Radio 1 in 2006 and were also nominated for
last years John Peel Play More Jazz award. UK-based Fat
City Records have said that Nostalgia 77 is “keeping jazz music
both current and relevant.” Their cover of The White Stripes
“Seven Nation Army” was used extensively throughout coverage of the
World Cup this past summer. It would appear that once again jazz, at
least of the Nostalgia 77 flavor, is not dead.
On “Everything
Under The Sun” Lamdin, the driving force behind Nostalgia 77, teams
up with vocalists to create a beautiful cosmic-tinged jazz album
that sounds as much classic, spiritual, Impulse-influenced music as
it does Cinematic Orchestra and Koop. “It’s music with
roots in jazz but with hands reaching out to anyone who wants to
take them... "Imagine if Portishead did a jazz record?” Says Lamdin ...
more
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01.
Wildflower
02. Stop
To Make A Change
03. Dreamers Dance
04. Little Steps
05. Eastwind
06. Everything Under
The Sun
07. Quiet
Dawn
08. Arora
09. Steps
Of The Sun |
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Ohmega Watts
Eyes and Ears
Ubiquity (UR232 - Digital Only Single)
Release Date: October 7, 2008
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This digital-only single features
Ohmega Watts teaming up with Lex Records recording artist Jneiro
Jarel (Shape Of Broad Minds) and see’s their “Eyes and Ears” collab
get an exclusive remix by Clutchy Hopkins. Also included is an
instrumental version of the mix, and a 10+ minute live performance
with Ohmega Watts and DJ Bombay ripping things up for WUAG in North
Carolina.
The release of this digi-single is timed with the release of a video
for “Eyes and Ears” which features Watts in back to school mode!
Clutchy Hopkins completely switches up the track to his style – it’s
laid back but nasty, with live keys and a koto adding a nice twist
to the original vibe. The instrumental sounds like pure Clutchy! On
the live medley Watts rapidly makes his way though many tracks from
his back catalog, assisted by the manic turntablism of DJ Bombay.
This improvised live session was recorded on the spot at WUAG radio
in North Carolina.
back to the top |
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01.
Eyes And
Ears Feat. Jneiro Jarel (Clutchy Hopkins Mix)
02.
Eyes And Ears (Clutchy Hopkins Mix Instrumental)
03.
Live From
North Carolina |
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Ohmega
Watts
Watts Happening
Ubiquity (UR218)
Release Date: October 10, 2007
Barcodes: URCD218: 780661121312
x
URLP218: 780661121312
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"In
Hip-Hop, you have great MCs and you have great
producers...Ohmega Watts is one of the fortunate few who can
bless microphones and drum pads alike..."
- Impose Magazine
Best Albums Of 2007
- Impose Magazine
"Ohmega Watts makes the kind of progressive, next-level hip-hop
usually associated with London or Paris...'I ignite change with
a stroke of my pen,' he rhymes, yet he also does it musically,
with some of the phattest, most vibrantly soulful beats heard in
quite a while. Whether flipping funky flavors with R&B legend
Sugar Pie DeSanto or enlisting Brazilian vocalist Tita Lima for
a tropical throw-down, Ohmega gives you plenty of reasons to
turn him up even louder."
- XLR8R
"Watts Happening seamlessly blends Furious Five-inspired
routines and chants with Native Tongue-influenced beats, for
some most interesting results...Watts creates a brand new sound
that he can proudly call his own."
- Scratch
"In a struggling indie hip-hop market, Watts is a breath of
fresh air, dropping enough thoughtful rhymes and quality
productions to keep heads satiated until the next go-round."
- eMUSIC
"Watts Happening is hip-hop through and through, from the
fat-bottomed shout-out hook in “What’s It Worth” and
static-dagger DJ scratches in “Triple Douple” to the LL Cool J
allusion of “Roc the Bells”, but it’s hip-hop that’s not afraid
to plumb the depths of its own existence, to completely morph
into its own influences instead of merely citing them."
- PopMatters
"Party-heavy...Ohmega
Watts is half-Madlib, half-Eliot Lipp..."
- Remix
"It's b-boy to the very grain, with an unforced party-rocking
throwbackedness, quickly pulsing with a bright Sunday-morning
funk that's eminently listenable to non-rap listeners and
diehards alike."
- Portland Mercury /
Full Article (Link)
"Watts reaches deeper into his crate of varied influences to
come up with an expansive mix of sounds and styles that spins
off into slow-strutting funk decrees, a batch of meaty Brazilian
grooves and a healthy base of global percussive rhythms ...
Simply put, these are the musings of an artist that finds
diversity as natural as the morning sunrise."
- Exclaim! (Canada) /
Full Article (Link)
"Ohmega Watts isn't an angry or bitter man, and this is evident
in his music, it makes Watts Happening just as intelligent,
well-crafted, and interesting as its creator."
- All Music /
Full Article (Link)
"This album has the power to change the minds of any Eminem-style
rap fans with its real beats and meaningful lyrics."
- The Uniter (Canada) /
Full Article
(Link)
While the eclecticism of his debut album The
Find won him many fans, Watts Happening pushes the
envelope to reveal even more about MC/producer Ohmega Watts
and continues to challenge the expectations of what a rap album
could be. The record includes collaborations with lauded
Philly-based MC/producer Jneiro Jarel and up n’coming
Brazilian vocalist Tita Lima who appears on the
DJ-friendly Brazilian-tinged excursion “Adaptacao.” Watts
wrote “Are You Satisfied” for Bay Area blues n’funkstress, and
one of James Brown’s favorite female vocalists
Sugarpie Desanto, inspired by recent losses she suffered in
a tragic fire at her Oakland home. London instrumentalist,
and label mate, Shawn Lee also provides some key sounds
from his over-stocked studio. The album includes features
from favorite Watts cohorts like the Lightheaded crew,
Triple Grip and Theory Hazit.
Ohmega Watts has a wide-eyed, all-encompassing, set of musical
influences that range from the more obvious soul and funk tunes,
to being a big fan of Stereolab and Broadcast,
psychedelic Brazilian sounds, to music by UK producers like
Quantic and Mr Scruff. As such Watts
Happening follows on from his debut album, The Find,
exploring and presenting a multitude of beats, rhythms, and
styles. With The Find he threaded these sounds
together for the first time and his popularity grew organically
from a virtually-unknown MC to one who has performed all over
the USA including dates like Lollapalooza and Bumbershoot with
Lyrics Born and The Greyboy Allstars. He has
headlined the MusicFest NW show, and played dates with
Breakestra, The Coup, Lifesavas, De
La Soul, Blackalicious, RJD2, Michael
Franti and Spearhead, Masta Killa, and
Count Bass D. In addition he has toured throughout
Europe and Japan.
Rolling Stone described his album as being full of “Funky
soul and razor-sharp dance-floor cuts,” and continued, “this is
hip-hop that everyone - not just fans of the genre - can enjoy".
Cutting edge UK mag Dazed & Confused described him as
“One of the freshest talents to have emerged out of hip-hop's
leftfield in the last five years.” And The Source
added, “Ohmega takes it back to when it was only about beats and
rhymes, when Jam Master Jay was more than a memory and the
culture had harmony."
Since recording The Find he has appeared on records by
Galactic, Shawn Lee, Quantic, Connie Price
and the Keystones, and Australian act The Bamboos.
On Watts Happening there’s a handful of party-pleasing
dance-floor fillers in all different shapes and sizes including
the hard-hitting Afrobeat drum-powered “The Platypus Strut”
which was made with a cast of musicians from the red-hot LA funk
and soul scene like Miles Tackett on guitar (Breakestra)
and Todd Simon on horns and flute (The Lions,
Connie Price, Antibalas etc). The space-funk of
“Work For Wealth” featuring fellow-Portland-based musicians
Ragen and Barry of Triple Grip, and rap cuts like “Eyes and
Ears” and “Triple Double” will also keep the DJs happy.
There are also mellow or thought-provoking tunes like “No
Delay,” inspired by the movies Born Into Brothels and
Boys of Baraka, “Found” addressing a Watts’ religious
transformations and “Gone With The Wind” which opens with a
tasty jazz drum lick.
+ CD includes a vocal AND an instrumental disc.
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Orgone
The Killion Floor
Ubiquity (UR219)
Release Date: October 23, 2007
Barcodes: URLP219: 780661121923
x URCD219:
780661121916
One-Sheet:
PDF
I Get Lifted b/w It's What You Do 12''
Ubiquity (UR12213)
Release Date: May 8, 2007
Barcodes: UR12213: 780661121312
One-Sheet:
PDF
The Duck Gravy 7''
Ubiquity (UR7214)
Release Date: May 8, 2007
Barcodes: UR7214: 780661121411
One-Sheet:
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"Sounding much like a
cross between The Dap-Kings and Breakestra (with whom they share
several members), L.A.’s Orgone keeps the hotness of the recent
retro-soul revival coming; lead singer Fanny Franklin fits in
very nicely between Sharon Jones and Amy Winehouse. As befits
the band’s name, Orgone’s sound is quite organic, rooted in
soul, funk, boogaloo, and jazz, with a classic appeal that’s
nevertheless contemporary...the entire album is one non-stop
groove. If smooth, soulful funk with jazzy arrangements makes
you sweat, you just found your new favorite band."
- XLR8R
"By the time the listener gets to the nasty, distorted,
finger-popping, ass waggling "Crabby Ali" -- where the deep
brewed, second-line New Orleans old-school funk goes head to
head with the gloss of L.A.'s Tower of Power styled horn charts
-- it feels like the party's just getting started."
- All Music
"Orgone recalls acts like Fela Kuti, Trouble Funk, and War,
but with a heavy dose of disco, as on Killion's "Dialed Up,"
where the deep groove and diva vocals are so authentic, they
could be samples."
- The Onion / A.V. Club
"Their music is terrifically unfussy, big slabs of grizzled
R&B, greasy as fatback and thick as a very particular kind of
smoke. At their best, they recall the majesty of Sly & the
Family Stone; opening track "Who Knows Who" is all bleary horns
and broken-heart vocals, "It's What You Do" is a tight, itchy
jam. There's still a riot goin' on, and Orgone is at the front
of the crowd."
- eMusic
"It’s easy to
imagine The Killion Floor both igniting mass
partying and stoking libidos for more intimate gatherings."
- OC Weekly
"One of the funkiest singles we've heard on Ubiquity Records
in years..."
- Dusty Groove
"A real force to be reckoned with on the funk
scene..."
- Jazzman
"If
this is any indication of how good their album will be we're in
for a treat."
- Fat City Records
"These guys are on a roll."
- Turntable Lab
"If you thought disco–real soulful
disco–could never come back, think again."
- XLR8R
"Chalk up another hit in
Ubiquity’s long line of worthy releases. Just in time for
your backyard barbeques and drives to the beach."
- Groundlift Magazine
Orgone first
appeared on Ubiquity with their cover of “Funky Nassau” (on Rewind
Volume 4), which became a ubiquitous DJ fave worldwide. We're now proud
to present their first full-length album called The Killion Floor.
The Los-Angeles-based band’s reputation amongst the
funk and soul fraternity is backed-up by an impressive and quickly
growing resume that is expanding their reach. This includes
landing a spot in an Adidas campaign, touring with
major-label crew Little Brother, and going out as backing
band for The Pharcyde, Plantlife (including a BBC
performance for Jools Holland), Tone Loc, and New
Orleans funk legend Eddie Bo at the Hurricane Katrina
benefit. Members of Orgone also feature in the make-up of
Ubiquity acts Connie Price and Breakestra and perform
regularly at the Root Down in LA.
At the core of the band is a rhythm section comprised
of close friends who have played together for over 15 years.
Growing artistically as a unit they function as one organic and
intuitive whole and, while they enjoy the comparisons to hot acts of
the moment like Amy Winehouse, or funk staples like Sharon
Jones or Breakestra, they’re quick to point out that
Orgone is unique, “We draw from a wider musical and production
palette than a lot of the ‘60’s inspired music that’s making a
resurgence,” explains band-member Sean O’Shea. “It's
not intentional; it's simply a reflection of the music and
production aesthetics that we love.” The Killion Floor
backs this up by taking the listener on a musical journey from the
sound of Los Angeles to horn and percussion driven Lagos, and from a
New York club to the raw sounds of New Orleans.
Lead singer Fanny Franklin joined the groups’
recordings after they saw her perform with Dakah, the
30-piece hip hop orchestra. “We felt she was the best soul
singer in town,” says O’Shea. “We asked her to record “Funky Nassau”
and that led to us working together regularly.” Franklin delivers
monster performances that will surely put an end to her relative
obscurity on tracks like the Memphis-drenched “Who Knows Who,” the
laid-back and cosmic “Said and Done,” and the apocalyptic sound of
“Do Your Thing.” ... more
---
“I Get Lifted” is a version of the track Harry
Wayne Casey (K.C.) and Richard Finch (later known in life
as KC and the Sunshine Band) produced for George McCrae.
Los Angeles vocalist Fanny Franklin shines on vocals riding
an irresistible cosmic-flavored tune that settles nicely somewhere
between live disco and spacey soul. Franklin has appeared on
recordings by Dakah and sang alongside Macy Gray.
She is the de-facto Orgone vocalist to appear on tours and as the
main vocalist on the upcoming album.
On the flip is an instrumental inspired as much by
Roy Ayers as Fela Kuti. “It’s What You Do” will appeal to fans of
the bands previous recordings like “Hambone” and “Funky Nassau.”
---
"Duck and Cover" is the hard hitting 7” from Los Angeles hot
property Orgone. This funk fiends platter will be available in
limited quantity in stores and on European tour dates this May.
back to the top |
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01.
Easin
(Introlude)
02. Who
Knows Who
03.
Sophisticated Honky
04. Do
Your Thing
05. A WOT
06. It's
What You Do
07. I Get
Lifted
08.
Hambone
09.
Dialed Up
10.
Justice League
11. Funky
Nassau
12. Lone
Ranger
13. Prism
Break
14. Said
And Done
15.
Duck And Cover
16.
Crabby Ali
17. Easin
(Outrolude)
Digital Bonus:
Watch It
12''
A1.
I Get
Lifted Feat. Fanny Franklin
B1. It's
What You Do7''
A1.
Duck And
Cover
B1. No
More Gravy |
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PPP
Abundance
Ubiquity (UR239)
Release Date: January 20, 2009
Barcodes: URCD239:
780661123927 x URLP239:
780661123910
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"A celebratory anthem for a time
when America is breaking down barriers, Platinum Pied Pipers'
"Abundance" nicely reflects an era marked by both unease and
opportunity."
- NPR
"On A Cloud is Motown
2009 with just enough throwback appeal to make your parents step
in approval, but not without losing a present-day knock that
makes this one head-nod essential."
- Impose Magazine
"This hook-laden collection flows
seamlessly"
- Time Out
"Today is the dawn of a new
day, and this is your soundtrack. Enjoy it."
- OkayPlayer
"An immediate connection to
the pleasure receptors...a multi-dimensional album with no
misfires."
- All Music Guide
"Platinum Pied Pipers are
apparently not interested in safety. And we should all thank
the Hip Hop gods or whatever musical deity you deem
appropriate for their abandon."
- HipHopDX.com
Their debut album,
Triple P, brought worldwide notoriety to the Detroit-based
production crew and their global collective of like-minded edgy-beat
makers and soulful collaborators. Abundance marks the arrival
of PPP as a band. They have developed a new sound that's even
bigger, and an album that’s more dynamic and organic than their
first.
"Abundance
sums up everything; our growth since Triple P, the love and
encouragement to make this record that we’ve gotten from our fans,
it means a lot of things," explains band-leader and producer Waajeed.
"It picks up where the first left- off. Triple P was a great
start, but this sophomore album is on another level. It's more
involved and focused…it's Electro Soul!"
The first
single from the album features new vocalist Karma Stewart on an
infectious horn-driven Motown-flavored joint called "On a Cloud."
The super-soulful gospel-tinged mix is an energetic starting point
that exemplifies the new PPP. This first single will feature another
cut from the forthcoming album along with a remix by San Francisco
Bay Area producer Trackademicks, a member of the Honor Roll
production crew who have been moving heads and dance floors with
mixes and music for the likes of J*Davey, Phonte, and Josie
Stingray.
While Triple P had a helping hand from an eclectic selection
of peers like Dilla (R.I.P.), Steve Spacek, SRCP, and Invincible, it
also launched the solo careers of previously-unknown vocalists
Georgia Anne Muldrow and Tiombe Lockhart. Abundance has a
much slimmer guest list and shines the spotlight on amazing new
talents Coultrain, Karma, and Jamila Raegan. Rather than repeat the
successful formula of Triple P, PPP would prefer to progress
and develop with new conspirators to keep proceedings fresh. "Coultrain
brings the substance and ‘the cool’; it's rare to find a talented
male vocalist who actually has something to say. Karma brings the
power and fire; it's amazing she's not been discovered before.
Jamila brings style with her unique tone. Together it’s a winning
combo. It’s like Marvin, Aretha, and Diana!" jokes Waajeed.
Since the release of Triple P, Waajeed and production partner
Saadiq moved from Detroit to Brooklyn. And while Brooklyn-life may
have changed their sound, it's also made them appreciate their Motor
City roots which are audible throughout the album, the majority of
which was mixed in Detroit by Grammy award winning engineer Todd
Fairall. From the Motown vibe of “On a Cloud,” to the
techno-influenced “Rocket Science," Detroit is evident throughout.
Another big change for the group was the shortening of their name
from Platinum Pied Pipers to PPP. This was a result of legal
pressure from a singing-group
established in the 1930s called the Pied Pipers.
“We took the lawsuit almost as a compliment because it represents
our growth from underground status to notoriety,” remarks Waajeed.
During their first album campaign, PPP sold-out tours worldwide,
playing high profile performances at the likes of Coachella and
Central Park Summer Stage sharing billing with acts like Roy Ayers,
Brazilian Girls, and Mark Ronson.
Vibe Magazine said the album "Wears it's Detroit badge proudly
on a funk-stewed debut that echoes 70s era Steve Wonder,"
Time Out added that
Triple P boasted “Delicious flows and fudge thick
beats”, while Entertainment Weekly called the album a “cult
soul classic.” PPP’s cover of “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” was
voted one of the songs of the year by listeners to the BBC Radio 1
show Worldwide, hosted by influential tastemaker DJ Gilles Peterson.
Waajeed has remixed artists such as Radiohead, Roy
Ayers, and Tony Allen-to name a few. More recently, he’s been
working with Cee-Lo, Mark Ronson protégé Daniel Merriweather,
Pharoahe Monch, and John Legend protégé Estelle.
Waajeed is no stranger to those who know their
hip-hop. Teaming up with his friend, production guru Jay Dee, in the
early 1990s, he helped form Slum Village contributing tracks to
their Dirty District compilation on Sequence/Kinetic as well
as their critically acclaimed Trinity (Past, Present, and Future)
album released on Capitol. He also worked with Jay Dee co-producing
on the instant classic, Welcome 2 Detroit (BBE) as well as
co-producing songs with Grammy award-wining singer and producer
Dwele. Waajeed’s Bling47 label provided the launching pad for The
Official Jay Dee Instrumental Series and the first installment
of his own BPM instrumental series. Partner Saadiq is a
master keyboard, guitar, and bass player, taught by world-renowned
songwriter Barrett Strong (who worked with Marvin Gaye).
back to the top |
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01.
Angel
02.
Smoking
Mirrors
03.
On A
Cloud
04.
Luv
Affair
05.
Go, Go,
Go
06.
Sanctuary
07.
Ain't No
Ifs Or Maybes
08.
Pigeon
Hole
09.
Lovers
And Haters
10.
The Ghost
Of Aveiro
11.
Countless
Excuses
12.
American
Pimp
13.
Dirty
Secrets
14.
Rocket
Science
15.
Goodbye |
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PPP
On A Cloud 12''
Ubiquity (UR234)
Release Date: July 8, 2008
Barcodes: UR12234:
780661123415
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The first single
from the upcoming PPP album features new vocalist Karma Stewart
on an infectious horn-driven Motown-flavored joint called "On a
Cloud." The super-soulful gospel-tinged mix is an energetic starting
point that represents the new and bigger sound of PPP. As a bonus,
that track is remixed by San Francisco Bay Area producer
Trackademicks, a member of the Honor Roll production crew who
have been moving heads and dance floors with mixes and music for the
likes of J*Davey, Phonte, and Josie Stingray that blur the lines
between hip hop, soul, electro and techno. On the flip is “Angel,”
featuring vocalist Coultrain, that also draws on PPPs Detroit
roots, but this time it’s the cosmic-rock of Funkadelic that
provides inspiration.
PPP recently announced a round of live dates during the summer of
2008 at which they will perform brand new music from their
forthcoming album, Abundance. Expect new tracks, and new faces, and
most of all, a celebration. To be released on Ubiquity Records in
October 2008, the Abundance album will be preempted by singles
through the summer. Their debut album, Triple P, brought worldwide
notoriety to the Detroit-based production crew and their global
collective of like-minded edgy-beat makers and soulful
collaborators. Abundance marks the arrival of PPP as a band. They
have developed a new sound that's even bigger, and an album that’s
more dynamic and organic than their first.
"Abundance sums up everything; our growth since Triple P, the love
and encouragement to make this record that we’ve gotten from our
fans, it means a lot of things," explains band-leader and producer
Waajeed. "It picks up where the first left- off. Triple P was a
great start, but this sophomore album is on another level. It's more
involved and focused … it's Electro Soul!"
Since the release of Triple P, Waajeed and production partner Saadiq
moved from Detroit to Brooklyn. And while Brooklyn-life may have
changed their sound, it's also made them appreciate their Motor City
roots which
are audible throughout the album, the majority of which was mixed in
Detroit by Grammy award winning engineer Todd Fairall.
back to the top |
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A1.
On A
Cloud Feat. Karma
A2. On A Cloud (Instrumental)
B1. On A
Cloud (Trackademicks Remix)
B2. Angel
Feat. Coultrain
B3. Angel (Instrumental) |
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Peder
And He Just Pointed To The Sky...
Ubiquity Records (UR211)
Release Date: April 24, 2007
Barcodes: URCD211: 780661121121
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"Many of the disc's tracks are instrumental: They're ghosts waiting to
inhabit the plotlines of a movie by David Lynch or Alan Ball.
It's a lullaby of an album that helps affirm just how bizarre
and beautiful life is."
- NPR, National Public Radio
“Peder has found time to make one of the most engrossing
cinematic albums of recent memory. Kicking off with the sinister
Amon Tobin-esque "Ache", it proceeds to spend the rest of its 56
minutes moving from melancholic death jazz to haunting Delta
gospel. Astounding. ”
- Dazed & Confused
“He's created a dark and brooding
beast full of horror-movie pianos and stabbing percussive
thrusts...within this quest he managed to create one of the
greatest singles of the past decade. 'The Sour'...is a
jazz gospel gem proving that a part can equal, and indeed
surpass, the sum of the whole.”
- XLR8R
“Give it a good listen and prepare to be amazed. Crate
diggers, soundtrack collectors and just lovers of great quality
music take note – Peder’s pulled out all the stops to bring you
something beautiful...”
- Boomkat.com
"Extremely charming, abundant with subtleness and grace in
the sounds and stillness...an album to purchase if you
appreciate music with depth."
- Fly, Global Music Culture
Peder
has spent too much time in front of his computer screen. Despite
working multiple careers that include acting (he has acted in an
Emmy Award winning TV show and has appeared in Dogme films),
childrens radio show host, DJ (nominated for best Danish hip hop
DJ), professional photographer, producer of a Platinum-selling
comedy album, and recently becoming a father, he knew it was
time to record an album with a new perspective.
As an award
winning producer and member of the hip hop production team The
Prunes, he has produced, remixed and released a long list of
somebodys including the Beastie Boys, DJ Krush,
The Roots, and DJ Vadim for labels like Mo’ Wax
and Grand Royal. The computer has served him well. But
after reading an interview with Rick Rubin, Peder decided to
follow the super producer’s lead, and close his eyes and listen
instead of looking at the screen. “When you produce music using
a computer there’s a risk that your work methods become visual,
meaning you look at a screen and try whatever usually works
instead of listening," says Peder, "and that’s not what music is
about.”
The Rubin
intervention led to the album “And He Just Pointed To The Sky.”
It’s a very different piece of music for both artist and label.
It’s slow, dark, cinematic, soulful and it demands your
attention. This is party music for ghosts, Twin Peaks tunes for
cold winter nights, and disturbingly eerie and creaky sounds for
your iPod. Imagine subtle Hip Hop production on Tom Waits or
Nina Simone with Nordic Psalms for extra flavor and you’re
getting a little closer to what this album is about. Partly an
instrumental record (including a collaboration with Shawn Lee),
“And He Just Pointed To The Sky” also features vocalists like
Bay Area soul man Nino Moschella, New York based gospel
singer Dean Bowman, Danish singers Ane Trolle and
Joy Morgan.
Has Peder,
the man who was a catalyst at the beginning of the trip hop era
and has since produced a massive amount of Hip Hop, grown up,
gone mad, or simply lost the plot?
“Producers of
hip hop music or any type of music that involves looking at a
computer screen will empathize with me!” says Peder. “The album
is not a reflection of my mental status, I feel absolutely
great. I just love when music, film and art in general takes you
and your imagination somewhere else.”
So please,
sit back and crank up the gothic, crackly, theatrical, beaten
up, and slightly grown-up sound of Peder. back to the top |
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01.
Ache
02. The
Sour Feat. Dean Bowman
03. Botan
04. Would
You Feat. Nino Moschella
05. Void
06.
Timetakesthetimetimetakes
07. White
Lilies Feat. Ane Trolle
08. Ploy
Sexy
09. With
A Great Feeling...
10. Numb
Cinema
11. Klart
12.
Nothing Feat.
Joy Morgan
13.
Conserva |
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RAMP
The Old One, Two 12''
Luv N' Haight (LH12054)
Release Date: September 11, 2007
Barcodes: 780661005414
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"Top 10 ///
August 2007"
- Spine Magazine
"The Roy
Ayers produced group see the light of day again as two previously
undiscovered gems rise to the surface. Punchy soul jazz at its
best, as you would expect from the Ubiquity camp."
- DJ Magazine
"When things
git too damn fonky over at Ubiquity, thier sister label, Luv N'
Haight, is all to glad to take up the throwback slack ... RAMP is
set to give yall a taste of what's really good ..."
- XLR8R
Ubiquity Records is delighted to be able to release two previously
unreleased tracks by legendary 1970s soul act RAMP!
Both produced by vibes-master Roy Ayers post-release of their 1977
classic 'Come Into Knowledge' album. These are not new
recordings, these are vintage RAMP. Two tracks previously
unheard but rescued recently from a demo the band recorded on
cassette. Newly mastered, eq'd and now ready to rumble.
This single will be available on limited vinyl and as a digital
download only.
"The Old One, Two" is a cover of a Roy Ayers track (written
by Ayers, William Allen and Edwin Birdsong and originally released
on the Roy Ayers album 'A Tear To A Smile'.) The RAMP version
is punchier than the Roy Ayers release. Powered by a nasty
bass line the tune transcends music eras sounding just as
contemporary as it did in 1977 and is destined to be a DJ favorite.
On the flipside is the boogie tune "Paint Me Any Color," also
written and produced by Roy Ayers but never recorded by anyone else.
These Roy Ayers productions foreshadowed his classic releases to
come on the Uno Melodic label from acts like The Eighties
Ladies and Ethel Beatty.
For a long time RAMP were one of modern soul music’s biggest
mysteries. What did RAMP mean? (FYI - Roy Ayers Master
Production is the answer), How come their album is so damn hard
to find? Why no second album? What was the relationship
with Roy Ayers? But heavily sampled (most notably on A
Tribe Called Quest’s “Bonita Applebum”) and much adored for
their sublime version of "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" RAMP
maintained a musical presence despite a lack of music and info.
Ubiquity will spill the beans for all online, close to the release
date.
Finally RAMP fans are enjoying a long overdue year of revival.
The 1977 RAMP album 'Come Into Knowledge' was recently re-issued in
Japan, Wax Poetics magazine have an awesome 5-page piece on
the band in their current issue and by way of inclusion on the
forthcoming Gilles Peterson Digs America II, this upcoming
single, Ubiquity Records will unleash two previously unreleased Ramp
tracks this Fall!
Due to renewed RAMP fever the re-united band have scored new shows
including an appearance at Central Park SummerStage, New York City
w/DJ Spinna.
Watch a recent performance of "Daylight," live in London, at
YouTube.
back to the top |
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A1.
The Old One, Two
B1. Paint Me Any Color |
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Jimi
Tenor & Kabu Kabu
Joystone
Ubiquity Records x
Sähkö Recordings (UR210)
Release Date: April 24, 2007
Barcodes: URLP186: 780661121012
x URCD186:
780661121025
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"This
laid-back LP, a collaboration between the Finnish jazzman and a trio
of West African musicians, will warm even the coldest heart with the
prospect of summer. Similar in tone to Sun Ra at his spaciest and
Fela at his funkiest, it's amazing how they managed to create such a
sizzline platter in the icy environs of Helsinki."
- Dazed & Confused
"Tenor and Kabu Kabu's unlikely conflation
of tropical and cool aesthetics results in a distinctive party-centric
disc that could be equally effective at a United Nations soiree or a
swinging bachelor-pad seduction scene."
- XLR8R
Joystone
is the latest musical excursion by the ever-inventive arranger,
composer and musician Jimi Tenor. On Joystone the
super-eccentric Finn teams up with Kabu Kabu, a trio of West-African
musicians and ex-Fela Kuti sidemen lead by Nicholas Addo Nettey. The result is an exceptionally unique and inspired album that joins
the dots between dance music, Afro-beat, funk, and pop.
Despite it’s
cosmic overtones, Joystone was conceived in Tenor's tiny
garage in the city of Lahti in Finland and recorded, mixed and
produced entirely by Didier Selin in Helsinki. Selin
is the mastermind behind the award winning 2006 album Keep
Reachin' Up by Tenor’s wife Nicole Willis And The Soul
Investigators. Adding spice are the leading players in the
budding Finnish jazz scene including trumpeter Jukka Eskola
and saxophonist Timo Lassy. The resulting mash of
Scandinavian jazz and polyrhythmic Afro-Beat and Funk is reminiscent
of legendary Euro-eccentrics Marc Moulin and Placebo. However, it is
Tenor’s captivating melodies, quirky humor, and genre-defying
playfulness that are at the forefront of Joystone.
On “Sunrise”, for
which there is a video of Tenor and band running around a forest, he
murmurs his sources of inspiration: “Sunrise oh sunrise, my favorite
time of the day. I wake up, make some coffee. Look at the garden and
start making some music. Everyday pretty much the same, and yet so
different.” “Hermetic Man” is classic Tenor with loping melodic
passages and subtle hints of 1970’s prog jazz. The sly spacey funk
of “Smoking” contrasts the playful uptempo “I Wanna Hook Up With
You”, and the album closes with “Dede”, a cinematic 7-minute opus
showcasing the halkofon, a one-of-a-kind instrument invented and
built by Tenor from sticks of wood used to heat up the Finnish
sauna.
Jimi Tenor,
was born as Lassi Lehto. His band Jimi Tenor & His Shamans
released it’s first album in
1988, with
Tenor’s first solo album dropping in
1994 and
delivering "Take Me Baby," his first big hit. He has released albums
on
Sähkö Recordings,
Warp Records and the
Kitty-Yo label. He has recorded with a 55-piece Polish
Orchestra and most recently appeared on the “Keep Reachin’ Up”
album for his wife Nicole Willis. Curiously he has been called the
“Elton John of jazz” and the “Barry White of Finland,” but we like
to think of this mad musical genius, having fun while searching for
the missing link between Sun Ra and Fela Kuti. Joystone
finds Jimi Tenor reuniting with the legendary Sähkö Recordings, the
label that kickstarted his career back in 1994, and releasing
through Ubiquity in North America, the UK, Australia and New
Zealand.
back to the top |
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01.
Anywhere,
Anytime
02. Green
Grass
03. I
Wanna Hook Up With You
04. Hot
Baby
05.
Bedroom Eyes
06.
Hermetic Man
07. Love
Is The Only God
08.
Ariane
09.
Smoking
10.
Horror Water
11.
Sunrise
12. Dede |
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Various
Artists
White Label (Digital Only)
Ubiquity (UR241)
Release Date: October 21, 2008
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Includes all exclusive previously unreleased tracks, and some mixes
that will ONLY be found on this compilation.
We’re releasing these sneaky peeks to highlight upcoming releases
and it’s also in conjunction with the forthcoming launch of our new
limited edition/high end clothing line called Ubiquity White Label.
Just as the Ubiquity White Label clothing line features high-end
limited edition clothing and accessories, the White Label
compilation will include unreleased and exclusive tracks and mixes.
The term
White Label
refers back to the days when VIP DJs were given “white label” 12”s
prior to the official release of a record, to test-out, spread the
word, and hype-up new music.
Heavyweight soulsters SA-RA Creative Partners and PPP drop brand new
exclusives from their highly-anticipated upcoming albums penciled in
for release in early 2009. Nino Moschella presents a brand new lo-fi
funky song from his awesome upcoming album, while the unstoppable
Shawn Lee collaborates with both European soul star Nicole Willis
(from his forthcoming “Soul In The Hole” soul-tribute album) and
Desert-dwelling mad-genius Clutchy Hopkins (from their collaboration
album called Clutch of The Tiger). LA-based soul-boy Damon Aaron is
set to release his debut Ubiquity album this Fall, and his call for
peace, “Better”, is remixed exclusively for this comp by our own
Eric Lau.
Our last release of 2009 will be a “best of” Greyboy called 15 Years
of West Coast Cool. Featured in the comp are 3 previously unreleased
tracks, including a collaboration with Detroit soulcrooner Jeremy
Ellis which is included here. Lastly The Lions drop a nasty dubbed
out version of “Cumbia Del Leon” from their Jungle Struttin’ album.
THIS RELEASE IS DIGITAL ONLY!!!
back to the top |
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01.
Blank
Blue - Sonic What?! (Alt. Take)
02.
Nino
Moshcella - Lookin' At Your Face
03.
PPP -
Pigeon Hole
04.
SA-RA -
Spacefruit
05.
Shawn Lee
and Clutchy Hopkins - Indian Burn
06.
Ohmega
Watts - Eyes And Ears (Clutchy Hopkins Remix)
07.
Damon
Aaron - Better (Eric Lau Remix)
08.
Shawn Lee
Feat. Nicole Willis - Jigsaw
09.
Greyboy
Feat. Jeremy Ellis - Color In Between The Lines
10.
The Lions
- Cumbia Del Leon (Freeformer Toddy T's Psycho Dub) |
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Various Artists
Choices EP 1
Ubiquity (UREP212)
Release Date: April 10, 2007
Barcodes: UREP212: 780661121213
One-Sheet:
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Various Artists
Choices EP 2
Ubiquity (UREP216)
Release Date: September 11, 2007
Barcodes: UREP216: 780661121619
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"Featuring yet
more one off’s and exclusives, this latest installment picks up from
where the last one left off - in stunning form. Pitching the BPMs
right down, 4Lux man Miles Benjamin kicks things off in style with a
bubbling, bass heavy piece of slo-mo hip hop. Taking it right back
up Ohmega Watts, delivers a direct dancefloor hit with the rowdy
Afro-funk of ‘Platypus Strut’. There’s even a Hudson Mohawke remix
of Radio City’s ‘The Hop’ to contend with too. Brilliant. 4/5"
- DJ Mag
"Crazy future music from the one the call Hudson Mohawke...the
world is coming round to this beat...nuts!"
- Benji B (1XTRA, Deviation)
"If you want a bit more funk in your life, be on the lookout
for Choices Volume 2...Milez Benjiman sounds like what Mos Def would
sound like if he grew up in Minneapolis, and there's even a slide
nod to Omar in the way he sings in "All The People"...Ohmega
Watts appears here with an incredible hard funk dance jazzy deal
called "The Platypus Strut (After School Edit)", which would be
suitable in any mix that is flavored with equally funky tracks from
Breakin' Bread, Ninja Tune, Jazzman, or Stones Throw..."
-
Music For America
The
Ubiquity Choices EP series features multiple artists, all exclusive
tracks - all killer no filler. Tunes are one-off
collaborations, exclusive mixes, sneak peaks at future Ubiquity
albums and new joints collected from artists around the world.
All 100% DJ friendly. This first EP sold out quickly on 12”
single. Volume II will appear in the new Ubiquity 12” jacket,
and will also be simultaneously available for download
... more
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A1.
Milez Benjiman - All The People (Vocal)
A2. Milez Benjiman - All The People (Instrumental)
B1.
Ohmega Watts - Platypus Strut (Extended Strut)
B2. Radio Citizen - The Hop (Hudson Mohawke Mix) |
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Various Artists
California Soul II
Luv N' Haight (LH053)
Release Date: May 22, 2007
Barcodes: LHCD053: 780661005322
x
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Carmelita and Jerry Pittman
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"A
golden state's worth of funky soul from the 60s and 70s - pulled
together in a collection that's arguably even better than the first
volume in the series! The tracks here are all incredibly solid -
tunes that aren't just great because they're rare, but because they
perfectly illustrate the hard-hitting groove going on in the
California underground...”
- Dusty Groove America
"In
this era of Internet omnipotence, where immortality means little and
scarcity less, it's both comforting and quaint to imagine there's
still great music hidden in dusty basements and lost in record store
bins...Compilations such as this one democratize the soul obsessives'
sport, and for that we should all be grateful.”
-
SF Weekly
“This excellent comp of lesser-known goodies is great
from start to finish...10/10 ”
- Montreal Mirror
“Ubiquity Record’s mission to shine some light on all
the unsung heroes of soul and funk continued with the release of
Super Cool, California Soul II...There’s a taste of just about every
side of soul on this comp. ”
- URB
“Nothing less than a treasure trove of sunshine-soaked soul.”
- Urban Junkies, London
“(Tracks) so funky that that they will inspire even the
whitest man to stand up and shake his ass. ”
- Slug Magazine
“This
compilation is subtitled 'raw and rare soul from the West Coast' and
that's just what you get.”
- Signal To Noise
“The then-sound of a regional underground, and a soundtrack for
subcultures that birthed our leaders of today.”
- East Bay Express
“Super Cool California Soul 2 delves deep for its riches...These
songs have aged remarkably well while still retaining their period
charms.”
- OC Weekly
"What
makes Super Cool California Soul 2 so compelling is not the
obscurity of these tracks but the organic cohesiveness that holds
them together."
- Exclaim! Canada
“The subtle, unmistakable flutter in your chest and overwhelming
urge to soul clap will make you feel right at home in a place
you may never have been before... Grade: A-”
- Campus Circle
“Providing us with another batch of (highly) sought after
underground Cali goodies...it doesn’t get more soulful than this...”
- Beyondjazz
"The real delights are not the rarity of the songs but the
uplifting outstanding music which brilliantly chronicles the work of
skilled musicians who have not reserved all the plaudits they
deserve."
- Fly, Global Music Culture
Super Cool is
the second volume in our California Soul series and features music
recorded between 1966 and 1982. Spanning eclectic genres from
soul jazz, blues, heavy funk, modern soul, Northern soul, and disco,
there’s even a ballad (previously unavailable on CD) from Luv
N'Haight favorite Darondo.
Despite a number of tracks being incredibly rare and
highly sought-after, Super Cool was not compiled because
of the rare-factor or value of the
original releases alone. More importantly this is a treasure trove
of music that connects the dots between artists and scenes, eras and
genres, and none of the acts or tracks should not be lost to
obscurity.
This is music by artists who may not be household
names, but were session musicians, players, and characters who kept
the scenes from San Francisco to Los Angeles and beyond alive.
They were the sound of the underground and, far from being a cast of
nobodies, artists included on Super Cool have played
alongside Fela Kuti and George Clinton. Members of the bands
featured were also integral players in acts like Funkadelic,
War,
and Sam Cooke's band, there’s even a second cousin to Martin Luther
King amidst the line-up!
Rather than concentrate on one sound or scene, the California Soul
series is an all-encompassing overview reflecting the eclectic range
of soul music to come from the state. These tracks were pulled
from a couple of decades which saw the social and political status
quo undergo huge change in America. The wildly inclusive
racial make-up of the population meant that California was an
epicenter for that change. The art and music of the times
obviously reflects such influences and it was easy to fill Super
Cool with super-fly love songs, righteous shouts for freedom and
cosmic flower-powered funk. While wide in scope the tunes
included on this compilation (and Volume 1) can obviously only
represent a tiny fraction of the multitude of soulful styles, tunes
and artists from California, so enjoy now and hold tight for volume
3!
back to the top |
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01.
Gow Do
Experience – Compared To What (Main Version)
02. Buddy
Conner – Halfway Loving
03. Pat
Hunt – Supercool
04. Cal
Green – Revolution Rap
05. Mokie
JJ & ROB – Beverly
06.
Carmelita – Isn’t It Lonely
07. Sy
Hightower – I Know You’re Leaving Me
08.
Spanky Wilson – Fancy
09. LAPD
– Big Herm
10.
Johnny Morrisette – I’m Hungry
11. David
Glover – We Got To Get It Together
12. HP
Riot – I Have Changed
13. Gow
Do Experience – Psychedelic Sally
14.
Rodney Trotter – Space Nigga’
15.
Darondo – Such A Night
16. Gow
Do Experience – Compared To What (Bonus Version)
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Various Artists
Gilles Peterson Digs America II
Luv N' Haight (LH056)
Release Date: September 25, 2007
Barcodes: LHCD056: 780661005629
x
LHLP056: 780661005612
One-Sheets:
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"Top 10 /// September 2007"
- Spine Magazine
"Killer Comp!"
- Michael Rütten (Soulsearching, Compost)
This is the
second in the Digs series of compilations and, like Volume I, this
album was curated by DJ Gilles Peterson. We’d initially
thought Digs would be a series involving different collectors but by
popular demand (and because he has more than his fair share of wax)
volume two is another collection from the world renowned tastemaker,
DJ, and BBC radio host.
Digs America II was compiled with tracks from the famous
Brownswood Basement (a version of his radio show dedicated to
rare and old tunes, and also the name of the house where his
collection is kept) and also includes music bought on a recent visit
to the USA and Canada. Between DJ dates Peterson squeezed in
trips to local record stores and while he found plenty of goodies he
was also reminded of the demise of the record store. The best
specialty vinyl shops, typically run by a knowledgeable owner,
promising a selection of rare, curious, and classic tunes, are sadly
vanishing fast. Village Music, the Mill Valley,
California-based record store that provided the backdrop for front
and back of this album, will be closed by the time this album is
released. Fingers have been pointed at all kind of reasons for
store closures including a lack of new vinyl to keep stores ticking
over, Ebay, iTunes, sharing of files, poorly run stores, raised rent
etc. Whatever the reason, the casual trip to your favorite
vinyl emporium is quickly becoming much more difficult as stores
disappear like endangered species. So here is Gilles Peterson
digging and sharing (legally!) to keep quality rarities alive, but
searching perhaps at the end of an era…
Included on this compilation are tracks like the ultra rare Mary
Lou Williams 45'' “You Know Baby” (and her previously unreleased
“Pussy’s In The Well”) alongside other well known artists
like a version of “My Favorite Things” from Al Jarreau’s
first ever album, a spiritual Jazz piece from piano-great James
Tatum and a moody Soul Jazz ballad from Lorez Alexandria.
Soul favorites RAMP are on-board with an unreleased gem that
rivals any of the tracks on their much loved “Come Into Knowledge”
album, Detroit’s Dee Edwards and little-known Bay Area singer
Carrie Cleveland mix a little Northern Soul with a touch of
Funk while The Diddys get cosmic and Ray Camacho drops
a Latin version of a Brass Construction classic.
Liner notes will include info on all the artists, pictures, scans
and words from Mr Peterson. Gilles Peterson Podcast about this
compilation available on iTunes, etc.
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01.
Lorez
Alexandria - I’m Wishin’
02.
Bethlehem Progressive Ensemble - Make Way (Call To Worship)
03. Irene
Kral - Goin To California
04. Mary
Lou Williams - You Know Baby
05.
Carrie Cleveland - Make Love To Me
06. Dee
Edwards - Why Can’t There Be Love?
07. RAMP
- The Old One, Two
08. The
Diddys Feat. Paige Douglas - Intergalactic Love Song
09. Ray
Camacho - Movin' On
10. Steve
Parks - Sadness In My Samba
11. Gap
Mangione - Boys With Toys
12.
Reverie - In Every Way
13. DB
Shrier - East
14. James
Tatum - Introduction/Lord Have Mercy
15. Al
Jarreau - My Favorite Things
16. The
Love Affair - Never In My Life
17. Mary
Lou Williams - Pussy’s In The Well
18.
Musicians from the Summer Program for Youthful Musicians - Brougham
LP x Digital Bonus:
The
Pyramids - Nsorama
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