About this Playlist
My first few years using streaming service were looking back into all the music I’d missed from the 60’s though to the 80’s, then 90’s up to current day, but not seriously focusing on the present and then in 2019 I decided to search out more new music, the start of this playlist features a selection of tracks from that year and some favourites from previous years when I discovered the exhaustive discography on Spotify of jazz, afrobeat, breaks and deeper jazz influenced dance music.
Starting with a remix from Weekend Sun coming from a quality album released in December 2019 ‘Caught in a Machine’ their third LP and the brilliant artwork was created Viz comic creator Chris Donald and this time the band combines soul, dub and jazz, ‘Le Train Rouge’ has been given a retouch from producer/remixer Mr Bird and with over 20 years experience in the industry, he knows just where to go with the track, taking us on an atmospheric twisted spy themed hypnotic trip, press play on your favourite streaming site above, sit back in your seat and enjoy the journey.
‘The Inside Man’ by Funky Destination from six years ago but got a digital re-release as the track has just had a 45 vinyl repress, I’m sharing the funked-up Soopasoul remix.
Cochemea Gastelum is the ex Dap Kings saxophonist, after touring with the band for the last 15 years he returned home last year to record a new LP, it’s an exploration of his ancestry and roots and the album itself is mainly a roots driven affair and in it’s own way interesting but most if it lacking the funk of Dap Kings, but one track ‘Mitote’ has got enough funk for two albums all jammed into three and half minutes.
‘Dem Say Ah’ (Ayoka Re-Rub) is a funky afrobeat workout by DJ Center and Akoya Afrobeat, then a track submitted to me over on the submit hub page ‘Tolembi’ by London Afrobeat Orchestra their name may include the UK’s capital but their sound goes far beyond the British Isles. A line up including members from as far flung as Nigeria and Iran makes for a unique, global sound sharpened through constant gigging and captured in a the latest album ‘Humans’. But it’s in the live arena where they’ve attracted the most attention – they’ve blown away festival audiences at Green Man, Secret Garden Party, Glastonbury and Shambala while connecting with indie stars Bombay Bicycle Club to lend their percussive beats and horns to the rising band’s performances at Latitude, Reading and Glastonbury’s Other Stage.
Ezra Collective were featured on my review of 2018 and they are back this year with ‘Shakara’, onto two more tracks from the ever expanding UK jazz scene, Joe Statton, Chip Wickham with ‘Stuffy’, the wonderful Ruby Rushton with ‘Yardely Suite’ and then onto Italy with Gerardo Frisina for over 20 years he has been sharing his vision of modern day latin jazz, ‘Marombo Pt2’ is his latest EP.
Going even deeper with a bassline that will rattle your bones from the Ancient Lights Mausoleum Compound remix of a ‘Kongo Dia Ntotila’ track ‘360’, their sound is described as Kongo jazz, pure Afro-joy.
The worldwide musical journey continues with Amsterdam producer Nicola Mauskovic and his dance band with a collaboration with Swiss band L’Eclair, it’s a deep chilled out groove named ‘Homo Sapiens’.
Onto a style I love to hear, that jazz musical workout that sounds like it should soundtrack a 1970’s spy show from a band who just keep getting better and better, on Soundway Records one of my go to labels for new music the title track ‘Batik’ from Gabriele Poso latest album, born in Sardinia, Italy but traveled the world for music inspiration from Berlin to Cuba, studying Afrocuban percussions.
Theo Parrish is the go-to artist if you want a more refined intelligent sound in dance music, this time teaming up with Melbourne jazz musicians from the band Hiatus Kaiyote for a laid back track that feels like a live workout that gives each player room to be breath as it comes in at over 10 minutes long, enjoy every minute, the ‘Dego’ mix of ‘What You Gonna Ask For’ pure bliss.
Onto another track submitted to me on submit hub, I reckon this track is probably the most on-point submission, exactly the type of track I am looking for to receive from artists on the musicto submission page below, Who Knows by ‘Plumm’ a laid back groove with dark and jazzy vocals from the south London multi-instrumentalist.
I’ve even got a bit of Dylan and ‘Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie’ after a fifty-year gap in the recording career of P.P Arnold she returned last year with a new album, produced by Steve Cradock of Ocean Colour Scene, I shared ‘Hold on to Your Dreams’ on the soulful review last week, now time to enjoy this 10-minute epic.
To round things off a sound away from the 4X4 beat, the broken beat sound, named after the broken or stuttered drum programming ‘No Fuss No Fight’ by Saul, inventive electronic music with a inspired semi rap style vocal reminiscent of Ghostdancers’ by Earl Zinger.
If that has wet your appetite, now give the full playlist a shuffle and see what part of the world you will land, what jazz influenced genre, classic or new artist, underground or established track, go head do the jazz shuffle and then see what he what music he discovered in 2020 here