Podcast 19 – The Best of 2017

Apologies for the lack of posts over recent weeks, life has been extremely busy recently and what with one thing another and putting a lot of time in to promote my own album (The Dust Man Stirs), I have not had the time needed to update the blog as I usually would. So as a final post of 2017 I have put together a podcast of music that I have enjoyed this year. I have called it the best of, which it is but there are many other songs and tracks that I have enjoyed that do not feature on this podcast. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you in 2018 – LongDistanceDan

Welcome To Zamrock Vol 1 & 2

Now Again records are at it again. Yes we have not one, but two new excellent compilations of the best vintage Zamrock music out there.
By the mid-1970s, the Southern African nation known as the Republic of Zambia had fallen on hard times. Though the country’s first president Kenneth Kaunda had thrown off the yoke of British colonialism, the new federation found itself under his self-imposed, autocratic rule. Conflict loomed on all sides of this landlocked nation. Kaunda protected Zambia from war, but his country descended into isolation and poverty.
This is the environment in which the ’70s rock revolution that has come to be known as Zamrock flourished. Fuzz guitars were commonplace, as were driving rhythms as influenced by James Brown’s funk as
Jimi Hendrix’s rock predominated. Musical themes, mainly sung in the country’s constitutional language, English, were often bleak.
In present day Zambia, Zamrock markers were few. Only a small number of the original Zamrock godfathers that remained in the country survived through the late ’90s. AIDS decimated this country, and uncontrollable inflation forced the Zambian rockers that could afford to flee into something resembling exile. This was not a likely scene to survive – but it did.
‘Welcome To Zamrock!’, presented in two volumes, is an overview of its most beloved ensembles, and a trace of its arc from its ascension, to its fall, to its resurgence.
Out now on LP, digital and 103-page hard cover book with CD from Now Again.

Podcast No.17 – Torb The Roach

For our 17th podcast we have a very special mix courtesy of Torb The Roach. Earlier this year Torb The Roach and Floppy McSpace released the excellent instrumental hip hop album, “Tape Echo – Golden Floppies”. A lo-fi, beat crunching, bugged out album that pushes the musical boundaries while keeping its feet firmly in the realm of hip hop. The promotion for the album gave us one of the best and most bizarre short films we’ve seen in a long time, if you’ve not seen check out here.
The mix Torb has provided shows the influences on his production, gathering funky breaks and beats from all over the world and from all spectrum’s of music. Torb had this to say about the mix and making music in general –

“I started making music and collecting records shortly after I started breakin in 1999/2000. The last 8 years I got more heavy into producing music and also started to dig deeper for rarer and lesser known stuff. This is a mix of tunes that inspires me on my work on the tape echo gold floppies release. I love weird and obscure stuff, and always try to find something that is new to my ears. I don’t care about the genre or style to much, I look for a certain vibe and feeling in the music. This is mostly 60’s and 70’s records, from all over the planet including Japan, Korea, China, Singabpore, US, Jamaica, Belgium, Sweden etc. When I dj I normally play more dance related stuff for bboy jams or clubs, it iss the same kind of vibe but more uptempo.”

Sit back, relax and enjoy this awesome mix!

Function Underground: The Black and Brown American Rock Sound 1969-1974

The Great Divide between R&B and rock n’ roll came after the Beatles and the British Invasion decimated the Top 40 chart in 1964. Simultaneously, R&B entered a new phase, soon to be labelled “soul,” which upped the music’s gospel quotient and turned its frantic twang. So somewhere in the mid to late-1960s, rock n’ roll became perceived as something for the Caucasian kids. When Jimi Hendrix and Arthur Lee made the scene, they were said to be black musicians entering into a white world. While that couldn’t be farther from the truth, that false dichotomy has existed in America’s popular conscious ever since, to the point where the idea of a black rock musician is on the level with the idea of a black cowboy.
This anthology presents earnest questions as to why we know so little about these bands and the movement of which they were a part. While we don’t anticipate that we’ll ever find a definitive answer as to what these ensembles’ true goals were, then, we do know that they took their charges seriously. And they knew they were onto something different, something that, though only they and their immediate kin might recognise it, was more interesting than the status quo. Function Underground shines light on an important and overlooked part of rock n’ roll’s history and talented ensembles that toiled in the shadows, derided by their peers.
Available to buy on CD, LP and digital now from Now Again Records.

Yuri Morozov – Strange Angels

“Strange Angels” is a compilation of 1970’s experimental & electronic music recorded in soviet Russia by Yuri Morozov. Banned by the KGB for its esoteric content and references to forbidden spiritual texts, Yuri recorded over 46 albums between the 1970s until his death in 2006. Only available on cassettes passed around in secret within the Russian music underground until now.
The music on offer here ranges from the beat driven “Shall Come Forth The Demons”and “Inexplicable (pt 4)” to the more ambient sounds of “Return To Atlantis” and the prog experiments such as “Gita Shakti”. Regardless of where Morozov takes you, the heavily experimental and early electronic sound is the overwhelming theme, creating music that is very much of it’s time yet it still sounds fresh today.
If you have any interest in early electronics, prog rock, psychedelic rock, experimental music the suggest you pick this album up, you won’t regret it!
Pre-order your copy now from Buried Treasure Records bandcamp site.

Kaleidoscope – Kaleidoscope

Now Again Records do it once again! One of the great psychedelic rock albums is finally back in print on vinyl in a band-licensed reissue.
It’s roots are in Puerto Rican teenage garage rockers; it was recorded in the Dominican Republic at the high-point of the flower power era; it was only ever pressed in a minuscule run in Mexico.
Now one of the most sought after rock artifacts on the planet, Kaleidoscope is remastered and reissued with an extensive, photo-filled booklet with the story of the band and their album by historian Enrique Rivas Viniegra. Every psychedelic rock fan needs to get a copy of this album, you know it makes sense!

Available now on digital and LP direct from Now Again or for those in the UK you can get your copy from Rap and Soul Mail Order.

 

The Shacks – Orchids

Here is the latest video from The Shacks. “Orchids” is produced by Leon Michels of El Michels Affair and taken from The Shacks self titled EP out now on Big Crown Records.

Madeleine Chartrand “Ani Kuni” (2nd Class Citizen edit)

For those that do not know, Madeleine Chartland’s “Ani Kuni” is an awesome psych, pop hit from the early 70’s. Chartland took a Native American song or chant and give it the psych, glam rock treatment.
Now in 2016 Brighton producer 2econd Class Citizen has given the track a new re-edit, but I would call this more of a remix. It’s not just taken elements and extended them, he has added a whole new feel to the track and it sounds fantastic! It’s up for download now and all yours for free, check it out and the rest of Mr Citizens back catalogue while you’re at it.

Paul & The Tall Trees – Our Love In The Light

Staten Island is both close enough to New York City and far enough away to make it easily the most exotic of the 5 boroughs. Rza from WuTang Clan attributes the uniqueness of the Wu to it’s Hip Hop contemporaries at the time to just that dynamic. Growing up on an island that is neighbours with the capital of the world, but has no bridges to it, no trains or tunnels, only a ferry, turns out to be the perfect recipe to give a New York band a unique take on the energy of the city.
Paul Schalda, the bandleader, singer and songwriter of is from Staten Island. One part of a crazily talented musical family, Paul’s music seems to embody the unexpected overlap of The Band’s Americana, Ian MacKaye’s unhinged emotion, Otis Redding’s raw, warm soul, and the doo-wop melodies his father, Bill Schalda Sr. (a member of Brooklyn vocal group, The Montereys) raised him on.
On Paul & The Tall Trees’ debut album “Our Love In The Light” you hear the sum of his experiences. This singular sound is helped by the fact that his father, William Schalda, Sr., and brother, Will Schalda Jr., play on and inspire the record. The album was written entirely by Paul, and produced by another Staten Island native, Thomas Brenneck of Charles Bradley, Menahan Street Band, and Budos Band fame. The combination of the two gives the record an amazing sonic range, from the powerhouse rocker Crack Of Down to the ethereal western vibes of She Comes Around . Paul pens a tune about the forever changing conviction of a man in love on Once In A While , and ironically The Little Bit Of Sunshine, is a story about Paul giving up on a career in music. One thing you hear in Schalda s music, no matter which song, is that the road hasn t been easy. His voice can be hauntingly harsh, yet hopeful and tender, raucous and gravelly one moment, smooth and intimate the next. Even though he is being compared to the famous groups and musicians mentioned above, he can only call it Rock and Roll and be humbled. ‘I’m very lucky to be able to do this,’ Schalda says. ‘And I’m extremely happy. Especially for my father. He worked hard for his sons and this record.’
“Our Love In The Light” is out now on Big Crown Records and it is awesome! Have a listen, you won’t be disappointed.

Chew – The 3D EP

We are always interested in hearing something new, experimental, raw and psychedelic, Atlanta band Chew do not disappoint.
This three piece band mix alternative rock, psychedelia, elements of jazz, shoe gazer, electronics, avant-garde experimentation, creating a real jumble of sound that is all over the place, but in the best possible way. Chew use a sampler and analogue synth mashed with live instrumentation to pull influences from all things psychedelic.  The result is a hypnotic, electronic, spacewave experience.
The band, who have been extensively touring in the US with no signs of slowing down, know how to absolutely kill it live, check out the youtube clips. All fans of experimental music that hits hard, need to check out “The 3D EP”, all yours for name your price via their bandcamp page.