2023 – A Year in Review (Part I: 12″s, 10″s, 7″s, album cuts)

“War, huh (God y’all)
What is it good for? You tell me (nothing)
Say it, say it, say it, say it”

As good as any in terms of musical highlights and dance-floor epiphanies, 2023 was a year that will forever be marked by new scales of horror in the Israel/Palestine war. Darker times have fallen upon us and one can’t help but feel powerless in front of the escalation of atrocities in a 75 (or rather 100s) years old “conflict” which seems to have split the world, music community included, into two seemingly irreconcilable halves. A world in which uneducated online discussions have driven us to further political entrenchment , with barely any room for nuances. 

Back in the summer of 2019, as part of the SILA Festival, a musical exchange between brilliant corners, Beauty & the Beat and various crews from the Palestinian scene organised by our good friend Mazen Zoabi, we visited (and played) in Haifa and the occupied West Bank (the legendary Sabreen venue in East Jerusalem, the first Palestinian music studio and a pillar of the art scene, as well as in Ramallah), and experienced first hand how vibrant the artistic community in Palestine was despite the relentless colonisers’ oppression.

 

 

 

 

 

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As we were welcomed with open arms and enjoying the most incredible evening and daytime parties, one could almost forget, even if just for a fleeting moment, the repression that takes place outside of these walls for people born with the wrong passport.

Fast forward two years to May 2021 and Sheikh Jarrah (the neighbourhood where Sabreen is) was at the heart of global news as settlers backed by the Israeli state tried (as they succeeded in the past) to wrongfully evict Palestinian families out of their homes, with the respected elders of Sabreen taking once again the role as leaders of the rebellion. “Those awaiting”, the name chosen by Sabreen rings sadly as relevant today as it was over 40 years ago.

We have seen the denial of basic human rights and plain apartheid imposed on Palestinians on a daily basis. The current destruction of Gaza by a blood thirsty extreme right Israeli government is sadly the logical extension of all this. While I mourn the terrible loss of civilians on both sides of the conflict and while I despise everything about Hamas, from their ideology to their barbarism, I am all too aware of the imbalance of power relations, and of the fact that the war didn’t start on the 7th of October, nor did it with Hamas.

The least I/we can do is to keep on calling for peace and an immediate #ceasefireingazanow

“Music is the healing force of the Universe”

…wailed Albert Ayler, a feeling which has always been at the core of what Beauty and the Beat and All Our Friends is about. 

The oh so powerful groove and lyrics of Edwin Starr’s deep funk anti war anthem resonated deeply on NYE this year, followed by Mike Anthony’s equally anthemic cover of Timmy Thomas.

“No more war, no more war, no more war,
Mmm just a little peace
No more war, no more war
All we want is some peace in this world
Everybody wants to live together
Why can’t we be together?”

🎶❤️🎶

Music has the power to unite people and promote love, peace and equality – seems so simple and yet is so unbelievably hard to achieve.

 

 

 

 

 

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These fleeting moments of collective joy and unity we experience on the dance floors of AOF and BATB, tracing back to the utopian dance floor of David Mancuso’s Loft, will always be a vital necessity as they bring us some much needed – if only temporary – light of hope and universal freedom.

Love to the world ☮️

After this long but necessary intro, I can now go back to the actual music.

Starting with BATB of course, as we celebrated our 18th anniversary with an exceptional party back in June, and experienced yet another legendary Jaminaround edition. The place, the people, the sound… the whole experience is pure magic, as close to utopia as can be. Read here the mini essay written by our good friend, fellow cosmonaut, deep selector, and one of Rude Movements’ operators Josh Beauchamp in the days following the last party 🥰✨

We’ll be back on the 20th of July this year – do save the date as it really does not get any better than this.

 

 

 

 

 

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The All Our Friends posse has found the perfect spot at the Limehouse Town Hall, a grandiose venue where every party in 2023 felt extra special. We (AOF and BATB) also acquired new pairs of vintage KHorns,which  meant we could for the first time experiment with a seven Klipschorn set up (!). The never ending quest for audio nirvana  🙂

On a less glorious tip there was some movement within the Lucky Cloud community, torn up by inflated ego and longstanding differences. A rather sad state of affairs for such a seminal and life affirming party whose very foundations are based on love, freedom, inclusivity and on the removal of the ego (!).

“Smiling faces, sometimes… “

Shortly after celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Lucky Cloud Sound System has entered a new chapter – onwards and upwards. The collective will continue to throw regular events following (and expanding) on the set of principles laid out by David Mancuso – next one falls on the 17th of February to celebrate Valentine’s.

Love, ultimately, will save the day.

☆:**:. ♪ .:**:.☆

Other big highlights for me last year included:

• a cosmic sunrise set at Houghton, surrounded by the fam, during which I managed to sneak in Rodriguez (!), Sinead O’ Conor (!!) and Vangelis (!!!) amongst some funkier jams for the bendy shenanigans, on a glorious morning inna the Giant Steps yourt (read more about it in the “Revivals” section below). This was topped up later that day by a mighty b2b with brother Belle Bete on the closing night; 

• another b2b with Cyril for an open air Sweet Apricots edition in a spectacular park/art venue in Montreuil (the energy was just insane), 

• last but not least a double trip to Lisbon for Beija Flor, one of the parties born out of the rhizomic roots of BATB and which has already built a strong community in a bijou of a venue. Captain Pol Valls led the mothership back in February, and I did the same in January this year for a magical magic hour set (sic) between 3am and 6am – big up Sofia, Silvio and all the crew for what you have already managed to create in such a short time ✊🏽❤️

On a side note, with January being so busy this year (AOF! Beija Flor! BATB!) I wasn’t sure I would find the time and energy to write my traditional long form music review, but in a year which saw:

• the ugly Spotify platform confirming its harmful action for the music sector by withdrawing from French partner festivals to protest against the new streaming tax (sic), in between investing in military weapons, pursuing its dramatic demonetisation of artists and no less than three layoff plans in 2023 (totalling 1500+ employees) (it remains a mystery to me why anyone would continue to use the platform and feed the evil, let alone the legion of so called progressive artists and labels) (!),
• the beloved and potential independent artists saviour Bandcamp laying off half of its staff after being bought up by music licensing startup Songtradr (!!), 
• long form music criticism platform Pitchfork being bought up and swallowed by fuckin’ GQ (!!!),

 I thought it was important to keep some sort of music journalism alive, even in its bedroom form  ❤️🎶

As always I’ll start with the singles, and will address the albums and reissues in a second post to follow shortly.

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12”s, 10”s & 7”s (and a few album cuts)

Listed in an order that would make sense as a DJ set.

• Yasushi Ide – A Place In The Sun (Dub version) (Love Injection)

Horizontal Balearic action by ways of Japan and Jamaica, featuring the guitar licks of reggae/jazz royalty Ernest Ranglin. Both versions are equally appealing on this lovely 7” from the Love Injection crew. Going nowhere fast, just as it should be.

• Kulture Blak & Ras Asha – On My Path (Vocal Accompaniment) (Studiostarline)

A majestic and all too rare acapella reggae tune (bare some beautifully restrained minimal synth accompaniment), reminiscing of Barrington Levy’s seminal masterpiece Vibes Is Right, on a 12” which also features a killer Balearic stepper (yep) mix of the same tune by Aba Shanti’s son Ashanti Selah.

“The universe is my guide”

• CW – NZimbab (Duca Bianco)

Balearic Afro-dub mash up edit/remix of sorts, possibly the one I am most proud of. It’s from a track I found on a mysterious (and so far unidentified) white label 12” misplaced in a wrong cover. ‘NZimbab’ came about through countless hours of deconstructing and rearranging the tune, adding various bits and tings and handpans and field recordings of children on a beach. When I was finally happy enough with the result I quietly sneaked it in to the trusted ears of Pol Valls and Kay Suzuki during an after party at mine, and to my surprise it seemed to pass the test.

That was years ago, sometime around 2017, and since then I was just happy to have it on my soundcloud and usb and to be able play it occasionally in festivals, until Duca Bianco asked if they could release an EP of some of my edits. ‘course I said, and flash forward to Beauty & the Beat in November 2023 and a last minute change of mind which led me to drop it as the last tune of the night. Just wow! I won’t expand much on how it felt, but I surely will remember this ‘moment’ for a long while. I subsequently played it during Beija Flor’s magic hour and the whole room was equally transported on a far away celestial beach – the one where the children play.

• The Docksides Boy – The Docksides Boy (Roggtrax)

All four tracks on this EP by the mysterious mattrog are a lovely mix of Balearic nu disco with subtle yet lovely tropical nods. Laidback unpretentious summer vibes all the way, with my favourite leaning towards the breezy mid tempo groove of Mustang. Thanks Dizonord for the tip!

• Yaşar Akpençe – Desert Wind (Hot Casa)

Heavy drum workout from Turkey, a highlight from master darbouka player Yasar Akpence‘s 2004 album Passion Percussion reissued for the first time on vinyl on a lovely 7”. Tight darbouka trills and phrases over a pulsing, almost dembow-esque core, this really takes no prisoner. As played by Jem Gilbert on NYE – huge!

• Alfredo Linares – La Musica Por Dentro (Mushroom Pillow)

Percussive salsa banger originally recorded by Peruvian pianist, composer, orchestra leader, Alfredo “Sabor” Linares y su Salsa Star, given a new lease of life with this superb rework by Brooklyn based contemporary artist José Parlá and the NYC group The Phenomenal Handclap Band as part of their RE@LATIN series. Deep, and majestic psychedelic Latin groove for the hips and soul – la musica por dentro, verdaderamente. Big drop from Tim Lawrence at AOF!

• Tonino Balsamo – Sta Guagliona Mo Ddà (Futuribile)

Killer reissue from the always on point Futuribile label out of Naples (same team as Periodica), a previously impossible to find pure Napolitan electro funk swagger (the original budget that should have gone into the production was apparently blown on women, lavish food and drugs, so we learn, meaning only a few cassettes were produced and a couple of promo vinyl copies). Irresistible groove and vocals, for a tune which makes a lot of sense alongside the new productions from that label (see Mystic Jungle and Space Garage) which keeps the cosmic funk legacy well alive.

• Daniel Monaco feat. Mame N’Diack Seck Thiam – Medicine (Rush Hour/Utopia)

Modern Afro-Italo disco banger from Daniel Monaco (who plays bass for the three seminal modern Napolitan bands Nu Genea, Mystic Jungle & Capinera), an irresistible modern take of Cerrone’s Supernature template.

You

Blow up

My Mind

•  Obiang Okane – Mind zouk (CW edit)

Peak time 130+ bpm Afro zouk banger from Gabon, on this extended edit of mine which was also released on vinyl last year on Duca Bianco.

• Manabu Nagayama – Light And Shadow (Masalo Version)

Deep and dreamy euphoric house from the Rush Hour camp, with this huge Masalo remix of a 2015 tune by Manabu Nagayama. Spacious cinematic synth pads, bouncy piano riff and a slow building masterful arrangement make this an epic hands in the air anthem. Weirdly enough the only proper deep house record in this list, but what a tune! 

• Hanini – Maghreb K7 Club – Disco Singles Vol. 2 (Sofa/Bongo Joe)

The recent rai revival kept on going strong last year with the main initiators Sofa and Bongo Joe digging the cassettes and unearthing the goods once again. Both tracks featured on this 12” by late 90s/early 00s band Hanini are pure dance-floor material, the percussion heavy Allaoui and cosmic disco rai banger Mel’ha Marghbouna working amazingly well together.

• Toumba  – Istibtan (Hessle Audio)

Deep UK bass with an oriental twist on Ben UFO’s Hessle Audio label from newcomer Jordanian producer Toumba. Heavy!

• Semtek – Denny Island (Rubadub)

When the hauntingly abyssal soundscapes of late 90s drum & bass meet the sparser fringes of UK Garage, from the veteran UK producer Semtek on the resurrected Rubabdub label. I find this plays best at minus 3 for maximum wobble effect. Sounded huge at Beija Flor!

• Likwid Continual Space Motion – The Score (Super-Sonic Jazz)

Late night future jazz cosmic beauty from the original broken beat don I.G. Culture, featuring an all star cast of the UK jazz scene: Dwayne ‘Wonky Logic’ Kilvington on keys, Luke Wynter on bass, Benjamin Appiah on drums, Deji Ijishakan on tenor sax and Nathaniel Cross on trombone.

• N-Gynn – Alistera (Mysticisms)

3am crooked house psychedelic wonkiness, from an outstanding EP released on Piers Harrison and Stuart Leath’s Mysticisms label.

• ddwy – Naini’s Call (Public Possession)

Late night dreamy atmospheric wobbly kraut UFO from a mysterious UK duo. This comes from one of my favourite EP/mini LP of year with all tracks sounding fresh and personal and presenting different moods and moves, on a very prolific and exciting label which I’ve been following from day one and has just celebrated its 10 year anniversary (Wolfram’ s Automatic Dub Samo DJ Automatic Remix for instance is a devastating tune I pulled out a few times this past year). Big tip.

• 7Fo – ヒーリング剣 = Healing Sword (EM Records)

“Surf synth acid dancehall rock!!” is how Jackson Bailey aka Tapes describes this slice of forward thinking psychedelic dub mashup from Japan, and who am I to disagree. Like nothing you’ve heard or danced to before. Suitably bonkers.

• Lamin Fofana – Niary Ngorong (Itinerant Mix)

Still hovering deep inna dub land as we embark to Senegal to be taken on a phantasmagorical excursion which sees Lamin Fofana taking the fourth world aesthetics into the club. This comes from the Labour double LP, a project initiated by Honest Jon on which modern producers were given free reins to experiment with the mbalax rhythms and recordings of master percussionist Doudou Ndiaye Rose (a key drummer in the musical history of the world who developed a system of five hundred original drumming patterns, ancient and new). Apparently the project has been brewing since 2020, but sadly the vinyl comes with no context or liner notes so I can’t expand much more. All I know is that I heard about it in Zakia’s NTS show when she invited Beatrice Dillon. Both were in Senegal during the genesis of these tracks, with Dillon providing the other killer track of the album, ‘2020’, a radical cut in which she marries the mbalax rhythms with the trademark crafty conceptual energy of her Workaround album (a personal favourite from 2020, released the same year she went to Dakar, which makes sense).

• Michal Turtle – Phantoms Of Dreamland (Live At Café Oto) (Invisible, Inc)

Michal Turtle is one of those artists who were given a new lease of life by the taste makers at MFM label following a compilation of their often ultra niche and impossible to find creations to a modern audience. In a similar way to Gigi Masin, Turtle’s career was somewhat resurrected and the great Invisible, Inc label has just released a reinterpretation of Turtle’s first LP Music From The Living Room. All tracks sound great but the highlight is a live recording at Café Oto of the cult ‘Phantoms Of Dreamland’ featuring original album vocalist Lucianne Lasalle and regular collaborator HOVE on electronics. A unique and pulsing cosmic electronic odyssey with a post punk attitude – 100% ‘la danse cosmique’ material.

• Mr Beatnick & Richard Greenan – Superb Crafty Garden (Kit Records)

Dreamy organic beatdown beauty from the NTS cohorts, the highlight of their collaborative album Coasty. After buying the LP on Bandcamp, Richard sent me his own Rehearsing Heat solo LP from 2021, an absolute delight of floaty ambient soundscapes which I had missed at the time – full points!

• Hoodie x James K – Scorpio (AD 93)

Incredible soundscape on this lovely 10”, a breathtaking piece of dreamy ethereal beatdown bliss for an unexpected throwback to early Massive Attack.

• Antone & The Underworld – Windows of My Mind (AOTN)

Haunting late night cosmic digi soul private press magic from San Diego, California, 1985, unearthed and reissued by the ever fantastic Athens of the North. Played as the penultimate tune at Beija Flor.

• Hieroglyphic Being – An Astronomical Object (Yellow Jackets)

Astral ascension with Hieroglyphic Being aka Jamal R. Moss, Chicago’s modern answer to Sun Ra on a cosmic techno tip.

• Cumbaya – Tools For Progress (Wake Dream)

We’re diving deep in cosmic ambient mode and analog Atlantic tubular waves on this mysterious new collab between Gilb’r and Cosmic Neman (of Zombie Zombie fame).

• Kuniyuki Takahashi – When We Are All Truly Free (The Cosmic Arts Ambient Suite) (SORA)

Deep space levitation aboard the mothership with the master Kuniyuki as the pilot.

• Calm – Moon Shower / Oyasumi, Ohayo (Mukatsuku)

Double A side of celestial bliss under the moon with yet another Japanese master, Calm. The Quiet Music Under the Moon LP it’s extracted from was near impossible to find as never released in the UK, so big up Mukatsuku for this lovely sampler 7”.

• Cinnamon Soulettes – I’ll Show You How (Melodies)

Heavenly, otherworldly love vibrations for this perfect end-of-the-night closer. Released as a private press in the 1970s by the mysterious Cinnamon Soulettes (apparently still unidentified) and brought back to life by the Melodies International crew, with Matt Colton on a masterful remastering.

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REVIVALS

(In no particular order)

• Abdel Ali Slimani – Mraya dub (Jah Wobble remix)

A record I’ve had for a while but had never quite realised how good it was. When I was packing my bag for Houghton I wanted to pay tribute to the incredible Sinead O’ Connor who had tragically just passed away. This record and title jumped at me when I looked up Sinead O Connor in my discogs collection (discogs is such a blessing for this particular kind of research – when you’re looking for all the records in your collection that feature Sinead for instance). Not only it features Sinead, but also Jah Wobble and Algerian rai singer Abdel Ali Slimani (all were part of Jah Wobble‘s Anglo-Arabic groundbreaking unit Invaders of the Heart in the 1990s). Rai, dub and Sinead – what more can you ask?

Sadly I couldn’t locate the record in time for Houghton (I played I Am Stretched On Your Grave instead, on a tip from Chuggy, which circa 6am in the Giant Steps turned a few heads upside down), but once located I played it pretty much at every party afterwards – this record is IMMENSE. RIP Sinead O’Connor. I have only but respect for this incredible woman, for walking the walk and being true to her beliefs against all the odds. If you haven’t seen the Nothing Compares doc I highly recommend looking out for it.

• Michel Laurent – Gaston

Devastating gwoka action with the master Michel Laurent at the height of his powers, on a similar tip to his delivery on ‘A Ka Titine’. I’ve been playing this for a while but somehow last year it stayed in my bag and I rinsed it everywhere from Houghton to Sweet Apricots to AOF to BATB’s NYE. The reactions on the floor are just insane, this track really takes no prisoners, it’s so powerful. This comes from an album of covers from the gwoka repertoire recorded by Gaoulé Mizik (though their name is not credited here). The “Gaston” of the title is for Gaston “Chaben” Calixte, a grand maître gwoka singer whose caustic lyrics about everyday life in Guadeloupe have made him a legend on the island (for the French readers, Marie-Line Dahomay’s biography about Chaben is a fascinating insight into gwoka and rural Guadeloupe in the post war decades). ‘Bébé’ is one of those people’s favourites, a song about a scène de ménage between Chaben and his partner (Bébé) which is often heard covered on the street or in concerts across the island.

“Gaston ola’w kalé

An ka woulé mwen kité Bébé”

(“Où vas-tu Gaston ?

Je m’en vais quitter Bébé)

• Bim Sherman – Melting Pot (part 2)

I’ve always had a soft spot for Bim Sherman since the days of having his A Rub-A-Dub Style LP with Horace Andy and U.Black on heavy rotation a la casa (usually played b2b with Johnny Clarke’s seminal Dreader Dread comp on Blood & Fire). I was reminded of this lesser known but equally good Got to Move 2 LP by hearing John Gomez play a track off it in one of his ever great NTS shows. The whole LP is great from start to finish, in a unique warehouse dig dub style, and nowhere it is more evident than on the relentless groove of Melting Pot part 2, which I opened my set with on NYE. I could dance to this on repeat for days.

• Rodriguez – Sugarman

Perhaps one of the most unexpected drops at Houghton this year (or any year for that matter), and one I really hoped I could pull off despite not really having a plan on how to lead up to it. I somehow found an opening towards the end of my set, circa 7am in a Giant Steps tent filled up with ravers in every kind of state (some of these dilated faces you only see in Houghton!). Rodriguez had died only one or two days before and I’m not sure many people knew it, though whether one did or didn’t I’m guessing it was a surprise for pretty much everyone when Sixto’s voice came in through the Scalas. I had actually forgotten how cosmic the arrangement of this song is, and it seemed to slide perfectly into what I was trying to achieve that morning. Memory for life!

 

 

 

 

 

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• Gérard Lockel – Mendé Nº1

Gwan nonm la
Monté en filao

The immense Gérard Lockel, master of the guitar ka and creator of the gwoka modenn (GKM) style has sadly passed away last year. I wrote at length about his legacy and about being invited to his house in Baie-Mahault on a couple of occasions and so won’t repeat myself here, but suffice to say that my discovery of Lockel’s music was an important milestone in my life, as not only it led me to the Lèspri Ka project, but also to realise that yes, given the right conditions, you can play free jazz in a dance party settings and people will go nuts. It’s always an immense satisfaction to play tracks like Mendé Nº1, Woulé Nº1 and Graj Nº1 and see them work so well on an unsuspecting dance-floor. Rest in power Mr Lockel.

 

 

 

 

 

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• War – City Country City

Playing this at Jaminaround and witnessing the reactions was one of the year’s biggest highlights. Scenes I will never forget. ‘City Country City’ is of course one of the ultimate Loft classics, a song forever associated with David Mancuso, which he adored and played at almost every party (to the point that I once asked him why and his reply was “do you know a better record than this?” Of course I probably don’t as it is also one of my favourite records of all time…). I’ve listened to that song hundreds of times, more often than not at the height of an acid trip, but haven’t played it that often in a party – some Loft records have this sacred feel attached to them which means you don’t pull them out too often. The earthy yet otherworldly settings of Jaminaround seemed to me the perfect place to play it though, for similar reasons David loved this record so much (he made a habit of escaping to the country upstate during the week to recoup in between parties). It sounded immense. BATB @ Jaminaround. City, country, city. Made all the sense in the world.

 

 

 

 

 

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• Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek

As a huge fan of Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek since their very first EP in 2017 (Nem Kaldı), and many of their tracks have become big favourites at BATB over the years. It was a real treat to finally get to see them live, in Dalston qui plus est, the heart of London’s Turkish community – which probably made up a good half of the audience. Their unique blend of groovy psychedelic funk workouts and contemporary takes on traditional Anatolian folk ballads is such a ferocious and uplifting live performance to witness- the whole gig was a huge explosion of contagious joy. 

✨🎶

 

 

 

 

 

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• Amp Fiddler

The Detroit legend, who sadly departed last year, was a bona fide motor city royalty, the natural link between Georges Clinton (he played keys in Parliament/Funkadelic), Jay Dilla, Moodymann, Theo and Carl Craig. He enjoyed a well deserved renaissance in the early 00s, his trademark cosmic Detroit soul groove gracing so many classic records, from Hieroglyphics to Detroit Experiment to Tribe, as well as his own of course. He toured a lot around that time as well, and I was lucky enough to catch him live a few times at the Jazz Cafe. He was such a humble and infectious presence on stage. On NYE just after midnight (right after Marc Anthony’s ‘Why Can’t We Live Together’) I played Only Child – ‘U Bring Me Vibes’, a fantastic and uplifting nu disco tune he did with Mark Rae back in 2003.

Other favourites from him are Jazzanova’s remix of ‘Faith’, The Detroit Experiment’s Stevie cover ‘Too High’, and his own ‘Freakin’’ and ‘Eye to Eye’ of course, a staple at Plastic People which takes me back to that fabled basement every time I listen to it. RIP legend, thank you for the music.

• Aba Shanti I

For the first time in 25 years of attending carnival I didn’t follow the trusted circuit from Aba Shanti early doors into Channel One for the last couple of hours on the Monday. Though we did arrive to Shanti as planned, we actually never made it out and ended up staying there for the whole afternoon. The legendary selecta was just on absolute fire, behind the decks, on the mic and on the EQs. Sometimes he would just leave the subs on for a minute or so and everyone would just have no idea of what is actually going on; often he would just cut the bass for the first minute and just slam it in for 10 seconds, and then rewind. Classic sound system selecta ting, and always oh so efficient. Some of his dub plates sound like pure techno, raw and rough and with the heaviest physical bass I have ever witnessed. It seems to me they have now bettered Channel One in terms of physicality of the sound, which I didn’t think was possible! For a few days afterwards however I was worried I’d lost half of the hearing on my left ear, so I think I might have to reluctantly reach for the earplugs next year…

More 🔥!

While we’re on the topic of UK dub sound system operators legends, rest in power to the mighty zulu warrior Jah Shaka, king of all kings, who sadly departed in 2023. 

• Tenor Saw – Lots of Sign

In the summer Silvia and I moved to a new flat, only a few minutes away to the previous one we lived in for eight years, but slightly bigger. The move was pretty overwhelming, especially realising the amount of records and books accumulated. 12K+ of records is no fun to move, even with a big team of friends to help out, and having these in boxes occupying the whole flat ain’t fun either…how did I get here?! It took me months to empty the boxes and some are still unopened to this day… The home system was however plugged in within a few days, and even if it took a while to get there, we had our first after party in December. More often than not when it’s just us two in those wee hours we revert to some all time favourite reggae classics, from JJunior Byles to Jacob Miller, Steel Pulse, Johnny Clarlke, Lee Perry,…and of course the one and only Tenor Saw. Our happy place.

“I said, Lord, let me have joy
Never let me have sorrow
I said, Lord, let me have joy
Oh Lord, never let me have no sorrow
Life is one big road, with a lot of signs
Signs and more signs
I’m gonna make up my mind to face
Reality all the time, whoa”

• Shabaka Hutchings

As far as I’m concerned, any project involving Shabaka, from his own as a bandleader to his many appearances on other artists’s albums (be it with Carlos Niño, Sibusile Xaba or any of the tentacular UK jazz pool of talents) will always draw me in. Having seen and heard Shabaka live multiple times over the last decade, from the handful of legendary Played Twice events at brilliant corners or the more recent fiery live explosions of his Sons Of Kemet and Comet is Coming projects, it has been an absolute privilege to witness part of Shabaka’s journey in real time, one of the most important artist of our generation without a doubt.

After deciding to put an end to playing saxophone at the end 2023, Shabaka had announced that he had allowed himself “the indulgence of playing what I want to my home crowd” for his final London appearance on the instrument. This indulgence turned out to be performing his own interpretation of ‘A Love Supreme’, arguably one of the greatest and most spiritual pieces of music ever written, as a commemoration of the spirits of John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders and of the influence they had on Shabaka. A sort of conclusion of his relationship with the saxophone, complete with a line up of no less than four (4) drummers, Tom Skinner, Eddie Hick, Jas Keyser and Moses Boyd, two bass players (Tom Herbert and Neil Charles), and Dave Okumu on guitar. 

What a line up, what a (wall of) sound, and what a way to bow out and transition away from the self proclaimed “loud party music” he became known for into a decidedly more meditative flute kingdom, – a deeply thought and long prepared move away from western instruments into a life dedicated to the exploration of what he describes as the fundamental instrument (again, listen to that aforementioned podcast, it really offers a fascinating insight into Shabaka’s thought process as an artist. I could listen to him for days). Thanks and praises for the music, and very much looking forward to the next chapter.

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Cedric Woo (@cedwoo)

🎶❤️🎶