I often like to have a mix session on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It’s usually just playing a bunch of tunes I like and messing about with a few things rather than a properly programmed set, but this time I thought I’d put a bit more effort in and record the results. It’s a mix of styles with an emphasis on soulful and funky sounds, going from jazz to boogie to house and electro starting out in Brazil and ending up in a Chicago warehouse with detours via Detroit, Paris and Lagos. I’ve included some all time favourites (the Gary Bartz track, Smiling Faces Sometimes, Shades Of Jae, Chip E), some newer tracks (Mike Huckaby, Keith Worthy) and some older stuff I picked up recently.
I’ll just say a few short words about some of the tunes I used;
The opening track is by legendary Brazilian vocalist Joyce. It was recorded for an album that was never released and as far as I know is only available on the EmArcy compilation “A Trip To Brazil: Bossa Nova & Beyond” from 1999.
The 4th track is a great boogie/disco number from Nigeria by Oby Onyioha and produced by Lemmy Jackson in the early ‘80s. I picked this up on a compilation called Rare Afro & Caribbean Funk Vol. 1, I doubt that it’s been properly licensed but getting a copy of the original Oby Onyioha album in nice condition would set you back at least $200 judging by some recent eBay auctions.
Next up is ISM favourite Reggie Dokes. This a remix by the Koomba Project (Reggie Dokes and Scott Ferguson) of Black Thoughts (the original is available on the Afromation CD and also on the first Psychostasia EP). They basically just add some afro percussion and what sound like children’s voices, but the results are great, deep shit!
The mid section of the mix is jazz-funk territory. Ice is an alias for the Lafayette Afro Rock Band, a hugely underrated funk band of the 70s. They were American but based themselves in Paris and were very prominent in the Parisian scene of the time and recorded under many different aliases and played with numerous other artists (some members also played on the Francois Nyombo track here).
Pieces of Peace were a short-lived jazz-funk band from Chicago who broke up soon after they recorded their first album but before it was released. Some of you may be familiar with them as the backing band on Syl Johnson’s Is It Because I’m Black album. Their self-titled album was only released for the first time this year on Cali-Tex Records, it’s well worth checking out if you’re into the sound of Tribe, Strata-East, Black Jazz and the likes.
Fela Kuti was more than just a musician, he was an icon like Bob Marley because he stood up to brutal military dictatorships. But, of course, nobody would’ve listened to him if he didn’t make such great music, and Confusion is one of his best tracks. It’s not as overtly confrontational and political as some of his later tracks, he sings about the chaos on the streets of Lagos, a city of millions with many different languages, currencies and poor infrastructure. I only used the 2nd part of the track with the vocals (the full version is nearly 26mins long). Listen out for Tony Allen on the drums!
I think Keith Worthy’s releases on his own Aesthetic Audio label have been some of the best deep house release of 2007, Emotional Content is from his first 12”. And I follow it up with some more Tony Allen, yet another new remix of a track from his Lagos No Shaking album, this time by Carl Craig.
You’ll notice I didn’t say much about the actual music but that’s for yourselves to judge.
1. Joyce - Feminina
2. Chocolate Clay - Free (I’ll Always Be)
3. Gary Bartz - Music Is My Sanctuary
4. Oby Onyioha - Enjoy Your Life
5. Reggie Dokes - Black Thoughts (Tribal Mix by the Koomba Project)
6. Mike Huckaby - Jupiter
7. Chez Damier & Stacey Pullen - Forever Monna
8. Mondee Oliver - Make Me Want You (Club Housapella)
9. Omar-S - Day
10. The Tamlins - Baltimore
11. The Undisputed Truth - Smiling Faces Sometimes
12. Ice - Ozan Koukle
13. Pieces Of Peace - Pollution
14. Fela Ransome Kuti & The Africa 70 - Confusion Part 2
15. Francois Nyombo - Funky Child
16. Moodymann - Shades Of Jae
17. Aurra - Who Are You (Larry Levan Remix)
18. Keith Worthy - Emotional Content
19. Tony Allen - Kilode (Carl Craig Remix)
20. Sound Stream - Makin’ Love
21. Chemise - She Can’t Love You
22. Aleem - Get Loose
23. Phantom Slasher - Lasagne For 10
24. Chip E. - Like This (Club Mix)
25. Jared Wilson - Drug Related Stories
26. Steve Poindexter - Short Circuit
27. Sexual Harrassment - I Need A Freak
Tracklist looks great, d/l now.. Btw, what’s up with the pipe on that picture? LOL.
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Tracklisting looks too good. Downloading!
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that syl johnson album is dope. cant wait to hear this mix.. good stuff G. really like the way you’ve gone about presenting this mix, i know you got some special records and hope this will be a regular thing!
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@ Sotek, that’s how they roll ‘em in Lagos I guess. I usually have something similar but smaller during my Sunday sessions
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@gmos: Fair enough
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Short time reader, first time listener. Thanks for the nice mix and the good reads.
Much appreciated from Canada.
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the track list looks great, i’m downloading to check it out.
I’m the last person to promote the drugs but…
i remembered stories of Fela smoking epic joints of his own concoction and then spending 3 days without sleep, locked into musical grooves hours long. Legendarily, this is how most of his albums were recorded.
so i did some googling & found this article
http://www.jaybabcock.com/fela.html
which includes this segment:
Fela had become a marijuana smoker of epic proportions. Besides smoking giant joints filled with igbo (Indian hemp), Fela had now developed his own marijuana recipe, which he called goro.
“He cooked a bag of grass about [two feet long], which cost just two pennies for like two weeks, soaking it with spices, honey and oils. cooked it right, right, right down til it was THICK,” says Fela’s son Femi. “Very thick! All that came out was about [an amount that would fit in a small coffee cup]. You’re only allowed to take about a spoon, and then, in maybe two or three hours, you are just so high, it’s unbelievable. It lasts the whole day, two days, three days. Fela trained a couple of people to
cook it, and for six years, man, I was the only one who had authorization (except for him), to serve it round the house, to give it to anybody who
wants it.
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The Joyce track is from her album of the same name, Feminina. It came out in 1980. Probably one of my favorites.
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kool + gang
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