Owiney Sigoma Band - Owiney Sigoma Band
(CD/2xLP/Digital) Brownswood Recordings BWOOD062CD/BWOOD 062LP/BWOOD 062DD, 2011-05-11

May 2011 will see release of the Owiny Sigoma Band's self-titled debut album on Gilles Peterson's label Brownswood Recordings. The record, which is being tagged as a "cross-cultural clash of London and traditional Kenyan music", is the result of a collective of London-based musicians travelling to Kenya in 2009 to collaborate with musicians from the region. The jam sessions that transpired form the basis of this forthcoming release on Brownswood Recordings. If you're expecting the now usual Afrofunk new band, you're in for a big suprise since this album is really a new crossover sound of traditional Kenyan melodies and vibes with UK Jazz!!

Owiney Sigoma Band - Wires
(12"/Digital Single) Brownswood Recordings BWOOD063, 2011-04-16

The traditional folkloric music of Kenya has not received the same global exposure as that of Nigeria, Ethiopia, South Africa or North Africa for example and one of the objectives of this project was to try and build on this. The Owiney Sigoma Band draw on a broad spectrum of African influences, from Fela Kuti and Tony Allen to the likes of Thomas Mapfumo and Oumou Sangare, but bar Jesse's participation with Damon Albarn's Africa Express, this was the first opportunity for Jesse Hackett (keys), Louis Hackett (bass), Sam Lewis (guitar), Chris Morphitis (bouzouki/guitar) and Tom Skinner (drums) to visit specifically for a musical project. The results are documented on the band's forthcoming album - a collection of gloriously hypnotic Afro grooves symbolic of the true culture clash between the Luo and London. The project will finally be released in May 2011, preceded by a 12" boasting a monstrous Theo Parrish remix available exclusively via Record Store Day on 16th April 2011. The Motor City legend stripped back the melodic content to the bare essentials and built one of his trademark twisted trips in a whirlwind session with Floating Points at Eglo Studios, London.

Owiney Sigoma Band - Doyoi Nyajo Nam / Jalako Onyoono Paka
(12"/Digital Single) Brownswood Recordings BWOOD046, 2010-08-22

In 2009, a handful of London-based musicians travelled to Nairobi in Kenya to collaborate with two local musicians: Joseph Nyamungo and Charles Okoko, who hail from a village up country called Owiny Sigoma. The workshop/rehearsals were a lot of fun and pretty fruitful so they set about finding a studio that could accomodate a 7-piece live band. The resulting four tracks made their way to Gilles Peterson who promptly signed the band to his Brownswood imprint and sent the boys back to Nairobi for another week-long recording session with Joseph, Charles and their extended musical family. The results are documented on the band's forthcoming album - a collection of gloriously hypnotic Afro grooves symbolic of the true culture clash between the Luo and London. A 12" featuring two tracks from the original session in Nairobi - 'Doyoi Nyajo Nam' b/w 'Jalako Onyoono Paka' - is out now (go bag it at the Brownswood Store and you get the MP3s for free!!!)

Elmore Judd - Unborn Again EP
(12") Honest Jon's HJP46, 2008-11-24

TM Juke - My World Is Empty Without You EP
(12") Tru Thoughts TRUEP154, 2008-04-07

Tracklisting & Review :

A1. My World Is Empty Without You feat. Alice Russell
It's simply amazing what this two can do together. This one's a classy slow gospel soul cracker for the heartbrokens. Alice is incredible - again. TM Juke's production steps to a new level - again.

A2. Electric Chair feat. Elmore Judd
A3. Electric Chair feat. Elmore Judd (instrumental)
I called this one "sensible electronic soul" in my review on the "Forward" album. I could have tipped it as "swinging electronic beats for trendy loundeheads" too... And it's also available in instrumental form for 21st century chillouts.

B1. Come Away (Zumen remix)
For something more dancefloor, there's a Zumen remix of "Come Away" - some kind of hybrid uptempo reggaeton synthetized soul - I'd love to know a club where you can hear this in Paris :/

B2. Pencils For Dolphins (Wyndham Earl remix)
To complete this EP, the Wyndham Earl (??) mix of "Pencils for Dolphins" is surprisingly fresh harmless hippie pop.

Links :
tmjuke.co.uk
myspace.com/tmjuke
alicerussell.com
myspace.com/alicerusselluk
myspace.com/elmorejudd
myspace.com/zumen

Elmore Judd - Insect Funk
(CD) Honest Jon's, 2007-09-10

Tracklisting :
01. Pirate Song
02. Disco In 4 Pieces
03. We Float In Time
04. Dead Man Walk In A Straight Nine
05. Insect Funk
06. Ultra Busy
07. Rats...
08. Funky Nerd
09. Evil Laughs
10. Samba Apocalypse 2000
11. Tron Song | MP3 sample
12. Don't Lie | MP3 sample
13. Happy Bass Caravan | MP3 sample
14. Outro

Credits :
Elmore Judd -lead vocals and keys
Iasta b - vocals
Enrique Joyette - vocals
Louis Slipperz - synth
Criszuki - electric guitar
Skinz - drums
Leon de Bretagne - bass

Links :
myspace.com/elmorejudd
honestjons.com
myspace.com/honestjonsrecords

TM Juke - Forward
(CD/LP) Tru Thoughts (UK) TRU110 / Ubiquity (US) UR204, 2006-10-16

Review :
They all love The Man Juke.

Kinny, the singer from the Kinny & Horne project with Espen Horne is here. TM Juke has crafted some "Damn" nice pop for the lady, she'd be stupid to refuse those kind of advances. Sinous Brighton vocalist Sophie Faricy, who toured as lead singer with TM Juke, but also sings for Bushy (Catskills), Bonobo (Ninja Tune) and many more, hasn't missed the party either, gracing the amazing broken latino groover "Come Away" with a counterpointing cool vocal part.

Danish singer Naim -a newcomer on the scene with a new 7 inch out on Today Records (if anyone's got info on that??)- is here too, with one of the hightlights of the album: "Skin", and its wonderful electronic pop harmonies on a classic hip hop beat. Don't miss the 12 inch featuring a rap from Rup (Zebra Traffic) out in March 2007... and not only for this track, but also for the following one on the album, "So Good", featuring the incredible vocals of Alice Russell, the explosive new UK soul singer! After TM Juke had produced such a beautiful album for her, she couldn't not be part of the game.

Elmore Judd (keyboard player and brother of Louis Slipperz), who now collaborate with Damon Albarn's Honest Jon's label, brings his electronic soul sensibility to "Electric Chair", a moody one right between the electronic hip hop of Lex Records and the soul of Jamie Lidell...

This record's just starting to sound like a collection of hit songs, when you get to "Life, Rain, Fall", sung by Jim Oxborrow, a masterpiece of anti-"Blade Runner" futuristic soul - a favorite played on the new "Block Party Vol.2" mix by Paris DJs.

TM Juke has clearly been digging for vocal parts, and he's been really good at it, considering this is already is second album of 2006 (with Alice Russell's one, the second in a row to appear in the djouls.com biannual selection), and with the new ones coming in 2007, we can already say the man's now became a complete scene by himself!
Djouls

Tracklisting :
01. Foreword
02. Damn feat. Kinny
03. Come Away feat. Sophie Faricy
04. Bees On Mars
05. Arrggh
06. Skin feat. Naim
07. So Good feat. Alice Russell
08. Ladygarden
09. Electric Chair feat. Elmore Judd
10. Grounded in Fargo
11. Life, Rain, Fall
12. Pencils For Dolphins

Links :
tmjuke.co.uk
myspace.com/tmjuke
myspace.com/sophiefaricy
myspace.com/elmorejudd
myspace.com/naimnafar
audio samples are available on UbiquityRecords.com

HardKandy - Three Days
(CDS/7") Catskills RID045, 2005-10-13

Featuring Will Holland (Quantic) on guitar and John Hughes (The Lodge) on vocals.

Tracklisting 7" :
A1. Three Days
B1. Three Days (Elmore Judd & Louis Slippers remix)
Tracklisting CDS :
01. Three Days (original)
02. Three Days (Elmore Judd & Louis Slippers remix)
03. Three Days (Jack Of Clubs featuring Sean Clarke)
04. Three Days (original instrumental)
05. Three Days (Elmore Judd & Louis Slippers remix instrumental)
...