LP

Reissue of this rare soundtrack. Stunning composition.. Salvanini at his best.

Listening to the music of Al Doum & Faryds is always like staying in the pristine nature of an exotic desert island, in the sacred harmony of a New Organic Society; imaging all brothers and sisters singing and dancing in the unity of the brotherhood. This is the message of love and joy that seems to pervade the fourth album of the Milanese band.Compared to previous works, the substantial characteristics of the sound remain a powerful rhythmic basis and the prestigious skill in the poly-rhythmic dynamics; everything is however moved towards accents of more markedly jazzy ancestry. Basically the Faryds absorb and re-elaborate with remarkable insights disparate elements and influences of certain Electric Jazz or Rock- Jazz-Blues of the ’70 (Miles David, Dr.John, Graham Bond, Jeremy Steig) and Spiritual Jazz (Sun Ra, Pharoah Sanders, Don Cherry, Brother Ah), marrying them with the forceful instances of certain Afro-Free (Pyramids, Alkebu-Lan) and the more Freak-Jam plots typical of Space Rock. The sense of complete unity is also rooted in the balanced synergy and chorality of the instruments, which enjoy a perfect osmotic reciprocity and complementarity. A very important role is played by the entry of Fender Rhodes that chromatically emphasizes the parts as counterpoints and hypnotics ostinatos chased by the dense timbral mixtures of alto-sax and flute (Light Up) and roaring wah-wah guitars with flowing acid trajectories. The Holy Magic of the Faryds can lead to states of hypnotic trance in the inner abyss of infinite echoes (Drums Odyssey), open spaces of whirling freepsychedelia with unbridled and hyper-vibrating dilatations (Satieva), give moments of intense ritual concentration with accurate inserts of choral-religious invocation (Unity Is Brotherhood and Weed And Love) or more solemn orchestral sections with precious brass arrangements (Solchi). A pure joy scented with warm oriental radiance is reached with a touching final Raga-Folk (the titletrack) for sitar, acoustic guitar, percussions and rattles, chant and clapping hands. It’s the ideal evocation of music for the heart, mind and body in a journey of total pranic breath. Spirit Rejoin is the celebration of a new collective soul, a great cathartic ritual and an endless party with birds, plants and all the animals in the circle of devotion.

Debut album by dutch act Altin Gün, offering an exciting mix of Turkish folk, psychedelia, funk and rock.Altin Gün was found ed by Dutch bass player Jasper Verhulst (a.o. Jacco Gardner's band), who is fascinated by Turkish '70s artists such as Selda, Baris Manço and Erkin Koray. Together with Ben Rider (guitar), Nic Mauskovic (drums), Jungle By Night's energetic percussionist Gino Groeneveld and Turkish musicians Merve Dasdemir and Erdinc Yildiz Ecevit, he revives the spirit of the Turkish '70s scene and also includes influences from western rock.

With our Africa Airways series flying high we felt it is time to introduce a new compilation focusing on the unique contribution from some of Africa's most recognised female artists and some lesser known ones for good measure. We are excited to be launching this on Women's Day 2018 as our way to highlight the incredible, yet under-acknowledged musical contribution that African women have given to the funky sounds of Africa. Taking our cue from the Alice Walker essay "In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens", the creative sparks that inspired this collection of songs were formed in their Mothers' Gardens by Mothers who paved the way for their daughters to keep the creativity of black women alive through their strength and resilience. Whilst we have a bit more of a message with this one, we wouldn't be Africa Seven if it wasn't damn funky at the same time!We kick things off with the infectious sound of South-African Letta Mbulu. Letta started her career playing alongside fellow heavyweights Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela as cast members of King Kong in the 1950's and has since gone on to become one of the most influential south-African artists, even featuring on Michael Jackson songs, as well as being recognised for her contribution both musically and to that of the country's liberation struggles. With a crate-digger, secret weapon version of her classic Kilimanjiro single, "Kilimanjiro, Take Us Higher" is longer and has all the disco groove and delight you need and desire from such a star.Uta Bella takes over from Letta, with a powerful Africa Seven return. "Enyin" is a glamorous disco scorcher heightened by glittering keys and irresistible West African vocals. One of Nigeria's unsung pioneers, and first female pop bandleader, Mona Finnih continues the flow with an effortless boogie number "Ani Kewa Jo" which just keeps on giving for nearly 7 glorious minutes. This devastating 80's number "Nou Ke Sa Inmew" from Cida Desvarieux follows up Uta and is dealt in two halves. Firstly a hit of beautiful vocals and slap bass controls the floor before handing over to the powerful guitar riffs and horns which groove out for the rest of this number. Wrapping up the first side with a classy reggae inspired number "Time Waits For No One" is Christy Essien, the grand dame of Nigerian pop, who was never far away from the issues affecting women in the Nigerian music industry.Side two, enter Togolese singer Akofa Akoussah causing a storm with "Tango", delicate at times yet with a ferocious, unforgiving energy. Next a more obscure offering from Carmen Ezumah with vintage afro goodness in the form of "Tala Tala". Moving on, we have the Nigerian Lijadu sisters (dubbed "the West African Pointer Sisters") with one of their most notable hits "Danger". Our penultimate offering is another dose of obscurity, sandwiched between two greats, with Kenyan Bakambi N'Kela's uncompromising "Kilimanjoro".Mothers' Garden finishes the way we started. With another one of Africa's leading ladies and music royalty, Miriam Makeba. Nicknamed Mother Africa, Miriam is famed for her huge musical contributions, her role in fighting the apartheid and for becoming a UN Ambassador. "Xica Da Silva" is a cover of Jorge Ben and the slow, hypnotic rhythm allows for the power of Miriam's voice to shine through.

David Axelrod delivered one of the great psychedelic albums with 1968’s Song of Innocence, based around the poetry of William Blake. It is considered by many his masterpiece.Song of Innocence is this weird hybrid that no one, not even Axelrod himself, could ever really describe. The listener is pulled in by his melodies, simplistic at first blush, but colored by odd chord progressions and turn arounds, grounded by the drummer Earl Palmer and Carol Kaye’s funk, torn between the juxtaposition of musical elements – a jazz vibraphone solo here, a fuzz guitar tear here, a nod to the baroque in Don Randi’s clavichord comps – and put at ease, always, by Axe’s arrangements, which utilize brass and strings in a way that no 1960s arranger did.It’s worth noting that there are really count-on-your-hand examples of anything that might even be compared to Song of Innocence. Perhaps Arthur Verocai’s self-titled and only artist album, issued on the Brasilian Continental label in 1972, or the collaborations between Serge Gainsbourg and Jean Claude Vannier, which found their epitome in 1971’s Histoire de Melody Nelson. But even these albums, superb, in any thinking music fan’s canon of the best from this era, perhaps in their lives - and perhaps in line with Song of Innocence - are one-offs. Axelrod’s Song of Innocence set in path a series of artist albums on Capitol and other labels and influenced the world countless times over, from The Verve to DJ Shadow to Madlib to J.Dilla.Remastered from the original tapes in a new transfer, with extensive liner notes and unpublished photos.