MUSIC | Records – Jazz & World ALSO RELEASED
DAVID THOMAS BROUGHTON & JUICE VOCAL ENSEMBLE Sliding The Same Way (Song, By Toad) ●●●●●
The mannered Scott Walkeresque baritone of folk improviser David Thomas Broughton is partnered here with a siren chorus of female singers, cooing exquisitely to bewitching layered effect. Sliding The Same Way draws deep from tradition on the choral delta blues of ‘Oh Nurse Of Mine’ and languorous gospel of ‘Been A While’ yet, like the kindred work of Dirty Projectors, sounds utterly modern and heady. (Fiona Shepherd) ■ davidthomasbroughton.co.uk, soundcloud.com/songbytoad/ david-thomas-broughton-juice-9 SKERRYVORE Chasing The Sun (Tyree Records) ●●●●● The fifth album from this slick Tiree seven-piece explores the transatlantic travels of their folk tradition via the commercial country pop of ‘We Can Run’, breezy Americana inflections of ‘You Don’t Know’ and lonesome ballad ‘You Were My Friend’, on which singer Alec Dalglish can well showcase his soulful tone, before the music ultimately comes to rest back in the smooth Celt pop-rock territory of Runrig and Capercaillie. (FS) ■ skerryvore.com, see list.co.uk for Scottish tour dates in September- October.
70 THE LIST 18 Sep–16 Oct 2014
THURSTON MOORE The Best Day (Matador) ●●●●● Following the disarming folky songwriting of his 2010 acoustic album Demolished Thoughts and his ongoing adventures in experimental noise, Thurston Moore returns to more familiar alternative rock territory. The Best Day is almost comforting in its closeness to the melodic, insistent and low-slung side of Sonic Youth with Moore’s yearning voice as engaging as his hypnotic, extended instrumental passages on 12-string acoustic and electric guitar. (FS) ■ facebook.com/ ThurstonMooreOfficial, matadorrecords.com/thurston_ moore
SBTRKT Wonder Where We Land (Young Turks / XL) ●●●●●
Masked dubstep producer Aaron Jerome helms a second album of comedown electro ballads, tasteful trip hop vibes and modern soul slow jams in the company of guest vocalists Jessie Ware and Ezra Koenig, plus regular collaborator Sampha. The spare bass funk of ‘NEW DORP. NEW YORK’ and woozy jazzy hip hop atmosphere of ‘Voices In My Head’ stand out in an otherwise predictable serving of hipster electronica. (FS) ■ SBTRKT plays the 02 ABC, Glasgow, Sat 2 Sep, sbtrkt.com
JAZZ & WORLD JAZZ SUN RA AND HIS ARKESTRA In The Orbit of Ra (Strut) ●●●●●
To listen to Sun Ra’s music is to travel the spaceways, spending Plutonian nights dancing with cosmo-aliens, and tuning into the latest news from Neptune. Sun Ra’s astro-black mythology is science fiction at its most potent, challenging racist American society with the idea of black people reaching for the stars. This vision animates music so innovative it still sounds like the future. Selected by current Arkestra leader Marshall
Allen for Sun Ra’s centenary, this magnificent compilation runs the gamut from eccentric big band jazz and space-age exotica to cosmic grooves and astonishing electronic freakouts. Take ‘Astro Black’, where squalling horns, solar flare electronics and thunderous timpani thrust June Tyson’s imperious vocals into the stratosphere. Or the unreleased ‘Trying To Put The Blame On Me’, where Sun Ra sings a poignant Saturnian blues at the piano. There are worlds they have not told you of: Sun Ra takes you there. (Stewart Smith)
JAZZ THE GRIP Celebrate (Slowfoot) ●●●●●
The symbiotic relationship between the bird and the elephant is one of nature’s sweetest. Listening to Celebrate, one can readily imagine Finn Peters’ alto sax as an egret, fluttering around Oren Marshall’s waddling elephant tuba. In this little ecosystem, Tom Skinner’s drums are a thousand chittering insects, dancing micro-rhythms across the great mammal’s leathery hide. Marshall and Skinner are one half of dancehall jazzers
Sons of Kemet, and while there are no Caribbean flavours here, the tubaist brings the same agile mix of low-end wobble and melodic flair. Skinner’s lack of showiness belies a subtle inventiveness. On ‘The Grip’ he marches a company of clockwork soldiers around a see-sawing alto theme, while on ‘199 Blues’ he maps lateral paths around Marshall’s gutbucket riff. From the knotty free-bop of ‘Compost Fly’ to the arabesque drones of ‘Saladin’, Celebrate adds further momentum to London’s vibrant contemporary jazz scene. (Stewart Smith)
WORLD FUMAÇA PRETA Fumaça Preta (Soundway) ●●●●●
Hot on the stacked heels of Meridian Brothers, Soundway delivers another cracked vision of South American psychedelia. Fumaça Preta (‘black smoke’) is the studio project of Alex Figueira, a Portuguese- Venezuelan producer based in Amsterdam. Stirring a range of Latin American and Afro-Caribbean influences into his psychedelic gumbo, Figueira creates something akin to the wiggier end of Tropicalia without descending into retro pastiche. While determinedly hi-fi, the album has something of the demented pop nous of Ariel Pink’s early releases, with Figueira yelling and cackling through a prism of reverb and echo. Sounds drift in and out of the hallucinatory mix, from tripped-out percussion effects to meaty rock guitars and distorted saxophone. There are nods to psychedelic touchstones like Hendrix and Funkadelic, but ‘Tire sua mascara’ is more acid house than acid rock, with live percussion grooving around a glutinous synth line. (Stewart Smith)
WORLD KING AYISOBA Wicked Leaders (Makkum Records) ●●●●●
You might have caught King Ayisoba on his spring tour, whipping Glasgow’s Platform into a frenzy. He’s a magnificent performer, charging traditional north Ghanian styles with the energy of modern hip-life. Wicked Leaders captures him with the band he was unable to bring to the UK. Less stark than his solo performances, the full acoustic band sound is still plenty fierce, adding colour and weight, without sacrificing vitality. Ayisoba is a compelling vocalist, switching from reflective tones to angry nasal chatter, rising to a full-throated roar as he accompanies himself on the kologo, a traditional stringed instrument. Arnold De Boer of Zea and the Ex appears on ‘Akolbire’, adding punky vocals and guitar jabs to a burning groove. (Stewart Smith) ■ King Ayisoba plays Old St Paul’s Church Hall, Edinburgh, Thu 9 Oct; The Art School, Glasgow, Fri 10 Oct.