Category: Music

Akiyo – Excursions in Gwoka Vol. 2

For the sixth BATB release, we pursued the ‘Excursions in Gwoka’ series with a second volume putting focus on the legendary carnival outfit from Guadeloupe, Akiyo. The EP contains two original tracks which were originally released in 1993 on Akiyo’s seminal second LP, 𝘔𝘰𝘶𝘷𝘮𝘢𝘯: ‘Déboulé’ and ‘Blo’. The aforementioned album has become increasingly hard to […]

Jaminaround vs Beauty & the Beat – 2024 edition

“Something’s about to come your wayExtend your arms embrace the love(…)Breathe the winds of space and timeLet your senses take controlListen to the rhythm of the cosmic danceGlance far away into the futureLet your mind run through the fields that fill your heart with joyMeanwhile, let your soul inside touch the stars” (from Kuniyuki’s sublime […]

2023 – A Year In Review (Part II – Albums & Reissues)

Following on to the singles in part I, here’s my round up of the best albums and reissues which I had the pleasure to listen to in 2023. As always there’s a good mix of familiar artists and labels who constantly deliver the goods alongside some new names amongst the movers and shakers in our niche […]

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 […]

Lèspri ka a la Gwadloup, printemps 2022

In late March ’22, following two cancelled trips in the past two years due to the pandemic, we were finally back in Guadeloupe. Once we’d navigated all the bureaucratic nonsense involved in being able to travel (mainland France’s frontiers were fully opened but not Guadeloupe’s), it was as always a special feeling to set foot […]

2021 – A Year In Music, Part 2 (Albums & Reissues)

Despite the ongoing pressing plant chaos and ever increasing costs of making records, 2021 saw more than a healthy amount (!) of exceptional releases, on every genre and format imaginable. My previous blog post focused on the singles and here I will put my attention to my favourite albums and reissues. Early in the year […]