Shawn Lee - World Of Funk
(CD/2xLP) Ubiquity Records, 2011-02-08

Here's the first listen to a new Shawn Lee record, set for release in Feb 2011. Lee says he lives in a World of Funk, and invited friends from around the globe to make his point; Brazilian singer-multi instrumentalist Curumin (Hailing from Sao Paulo, and of Japanese/Spanish Brazilian background,) British/Egyptian singer Natacha Atlas, Chhom Nimol - singer with the band Dengue Fever, Bardo of Chicano Batman and Cava, from LA, plus Truth and Soul Recording artist Michael Leonhart, NOMO bandleader Elliot Bergman, and Lee's mother-in-law (aka Nanny Jee)!

NOMO and Shawn Lee - Upside Down
(limited 7") Ubiquity Record UR7283, 2011-01-18

NOMO and Shawn Lee collaborate for this one-off 7" single which will be sold exclusively at upcoming NOMO gigs w/ Iron & Wine. This 7" tour exclusive is limited to 300 copies, it also features NOMO's Nocturne on the B-Side. This collaboration came about almost by accident. NOMO's Elliot Bergman had spent the better part of the summer building and recording electric kalimbas in Brooklyn, when label-mate Shawn Lee asked him to send over a kalimba track for his new album. Lee, based in London, added some funky drums, bass and a smattering of steel drums, and sent it back to Bergman. When Bergman's sister, Natalie, heard the instrumental track destined for Shawn's album, she decided that she had to add some vocals. She stayed up all night writing the tune and recorded the vocals in garage band. The happy result is a great groove, and NOMO's first vocal tune in ages.

Nomo - Invisible Cities
(CD/2xLP) Ubiquity Records UR250, 2009-05-05

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.

Grant Phabao and Djouls - 21st Century Afro Vol.3 (MP3 Podcast on www.ParisDJs.com) T.I.M.E.C., 2009-01-14 This 3rd volume of 21st Century African music begins in Asheville, North Carolina (USA) with The Afromotive, fusing Afrobeat, Funk and improvisation. Did someone say "jamband"? The trombone/trumpet player Brian Bender (from New England, USA) could easily fit in that category, since he's been playing with numerous bands across the globe, from latin jazz, to samba reggae, african, calypso, klezmer, celtic, arabic, turkish, middle eastern, jazz, blues, dixieland, afrobeat and...

Brad Barr - The Fall Apartment: Instrumental Guitar (Tompkins Square) parisdjs
Brownout - Homenaje parisdjs
Hint - Driven From Distraction (Tru Thoughts) parisdjs
JJ Grey & Mofro - Orange Blossoms (Alligator) parisdjs
John Zorn - The Dreamers (Tzadik) tzadik
Karl Hector & The Malcouns - Sahara Swing (Now-Again) parisdjs
Menahan Street Band - Make the Road By Walking (Dunham) parisdjs
Nomo - Ghost Rock (Ubiquity) parisdjs
Otis Taylor - Recapturing the Banjo (Telarc) concordmusicgroup
The Lions - Jungle Struttin' (Ubiquity) parisdjs

Various - We Love Afrobeat!
(CD) Comet, 2008-10-06

"I'm on several afrobeat projects these days, after a wicked UK tour with my Smith brothers, I'm proud to announce the release of a compilation on Comet Records, WE LOVE AFROBEAT! I have been selecting the tracklisting with Eric Trosset, a blend of afronewbeats!!! The new generation of afrobeat bands: We Love Afrobeat, due to release on Oct 6th 2008 on Comet Records"
(Source : Martin Smith's MySpace page)

Tracklisting :
01. The Souljazz Orchestra - Mista President
02. Nomo - Better Than That
03. Ramses Revolution - In Control
04. Cafe-Creme & les Freres Smith - La Marche Des Smith
05. Saravah Soul - Arroz Con Feijao
06. Ocote Soul Sounds & Adrian Quesada - La Reja
07. Tincan - Leave The Keys
08. Oghene Kologbo & Afrobeat Academy - Open Your Eye
09. The Afrorockerz feat. Ruth Tafebe - Corrupt
10. Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble - Pelotera
11. Kutiman - Losing It
12. Kaleta & Zozo Afrobeat - Bab Nla Iya
13. Minimoogli - A Funk For Fela (Afro Jam)

Links :
myspace.com/elvismartinez
myspace.com/cometrecords

Press Release (french) :
Depuis que l'immense Fela (& fils) et ce fantastique batteur qu'est Tony Allen ont créé le mouvement, celui-ci se répand largement hors du continent africain, de France aux Etats-Unis, d'Israël au Canada, allant même jusqu'à toucher des pays où un éléphant n'oserait même pas y poser sa trompe comme la Suède. Comet Records est surtout connu pour l'album culte de Tony Allen, "Black Voices", de son projet Psyco On Da Bus avec le bricoleur Doctor L. , ou pour ses rééditions de classiques des années 70. We Love Afrobeat ressemble curieusement à une compilation anniversaire masquée qui réunit les artistes afros modernes et underground.

Ceux qui pensent que la vraie musique black, c'est Magic System, je vous invite vivement à vous mettre ces treize morceaux entre les oreilles, ne serait-ce que pour votre culture. Ici, la technologie rejoint la tradition, les machines répondent aux djembés et il est surprenant de voir que ce son si roots qui commence à avoir de longues racines se mélange si aisément à d'autres styles.

Le jazz s'évapore à travers les cuivres de Nomo ou Ramses Revolution, les français Cafe-Crème et les Frères Smith font des figures downtempo, presqu'abstract hip-hop, les Ocote Soul Sounds tentent de passer la frontière mexicaine, Tincan pourrait être pressé sur un vieux 45 tours poussiéreux, les folles percus d'Akoya Afrobeat (récemment chroniqué dans ces pages) annoncent un grand soleil dans les cœurs, l'Israëlien Kutiman signe l'alien de la compilation avec sa rythmique radicale et ses délires expérimentaux, et on termine sur un excellent jazz enfumé de Moog avec le bien nommé Minimoogli.

Ces afro-beatmakers ne cherchent pas forcément à sonner nouveau, mais plutôt à créer une approche plus ou moins électronique qui tient à préserver la substance instrumentale originelle, dans une mouvance souvent accusatrice d'un système politique africain pourri mais toujours festive !
...

Nomo - Ghost Rock
(CD/2xLP) Ubiquity Records UR230, 2008-06-17

Nomo - New Tones
(CD/LP) Ubiquity Records UR194, 2006-05-09

Nomo - Nomo
(CD) Ypsilanti, 2004 / P-Vine (Japan), 2005-09-16