New compilation round up. Incoming new and recent releases from some favourite labels are here now or due to drop in the next few months so here’s a quick heads up in preparation.
As part of the indomitable record digging duo Psychemagik, Danny Mclewin (aka Skyrager) pulled together the almost peerless ‘Magik’ series of compilations in the mid 2010s. Each set of choices was a painstaking exercise in selection and curation, bringing together timeless music that you’d never heard before. After a short hiatus he returned solo with 2023’s Traces of Illusion on the Leng/Claremont56 adjacent label Space Talk. Again, wall to wall low slung bangers that were plucked from undeserved obscurity. These became record bag fixtures and benefited every listener with considerably less knowledge and patience to actually find these records themselves.
Three years on, and he’s back, this time in tandem with Mr Bongo, whose consistency in the comp game now is becoming a bit ridiculous. The Record Club series just keeps delivering , Luke’s e Soul Cultura is on vol.3, as is Miche’s With Love selections. The pedigree is high, going all the way back to the Brazilian Beats stuff from the Berwick Street early days and everything in between. So ‘Coconut Dreams’ comes with no little anticipation. Fortunately it doesn’t disappoint. The concept is quite straightforward, the soundtrack to some tropical retreat where the sun is always setting and the surrounding landscape will sooth the soul.
As with any decent compilation, selection is only one part. The flow and connection between the tracks has to work and unsurprisingly this is taken care of here. Starting with the gentle breaking of waves from the outgoing tide, The Carmets’ ‘Silver Moon Beach’ leads into a tropical guitar led instrumental that stitches into some laid back jazz funk to ease the mind. Taken from the 1978 album, ‘California Surfer’, which also features tracks called ‘Flying Woman’ and ‘Sky Rider’, gives a decent idea of where we’re headed. Andrea Bofill is present with the incredible soul-jazz of ‘Under the Moon and Over the Sky’, quite easily sitting with some of the best Minnie Ripperton or sadly recently departed Cassandra Wilson. The general mood is one of immersion, deep diving, taking time out, but that doesn’t mean it’s all soft focus, the music still demands attention. Fred Bryan and the All Stars’ ‘Apartheid Must Go’ drives its message home with a hypnotic reggae groove. Cut from the same cloth but different continent, Harari’s eponymous track is a mesmerising piece of music that just draws in the listener as it continues to unfold. Yasuko Agawa’s ‘L.A. Nights’ is surely a record that folks are familiar with by now, but the Ambient Mix included here, maybe not so much. Virtually unrecognisable from the original but remarkably beautiful in its own right, it's some way to close off what was already a great night.
Moving on, but staying in the more subtle end of the musical spectrum, Smiling C have recalled Mike Patricola to the team in order to put together ‘Pipe Dreams’. Pushing the obscurity dial as far as it can go, this is a labour of love built from a true dedication to uncovering lost music. As with Coconut Dreams, there’s a distinct feeling of time and place. In particular a connection to the ocean, and a slower pace of life from a more analogue time. This is the soundtrack to endless summers of innocence and carefree fun, of being in the moment.
So many of these tracks are simply one offs, private press pieces, fruits of single moments of inspiration. Take the opening track, ‘Darlin’ by the Sunset Kidds Band, did they ever make another record? Who knows, but the harmonies on here are worth the admission alone. Pierre Rochet does a rolling sing a long with ‘On The Beach’ its military drum and growl just perfect. The pace rolls back with Dennis Soares’ ‘One World’ and there’s even a track called ‘Coconut Dream’ by Glen Banks for the completist dot-joiner. Obscurity for its own sake can sometimes be a little disappointing but this is definitely not that. Every track has its own story and is deserving of this new life.
Heading East, and in an altogether more angular and discordant direction, Sound Metaphors have released ‘Miss You - Japanese New Wave On Dub 1980 - 1985’, compiled by Yuzo Iwata. The twelve tracks here provide a thrilling insight into the early days of the Tokyo Rockers scene of the early 80’s. As punk’s tendrils spread from its source locations of London and New York, it was interpreted in a particular way by the likes of So-Do and Pineapple 4.9 in Japan. Much like the UK version, these musicians had grown up on the underground rock of the previous decade but were looking for a new direction. Tapping into that energy and fire of punk's uprising, its DIY/no rules attitude, the scene paralleled some of the UK scene’s affinity with reggae and dub. These groups really ran with the influence, sometimes going all in with a reggae style, but always pulling the dub lever to unique and intriguing effect.
Chinggis Chan Dread epitomise this best with ‘Yattane Babylon’, with its picked guitar line and clashing drums, it sounds exactly how you'd hope a Japanese take on Jamaica’s finest export would. The Air Music International go in a more straight ahead dub style with the foreboding chug of ‘Hot Steppas in a Dub’. So-Do’s ‘Nothing’ draws more heavily on the new wave sound that would emerge from punk’s rubble, its more pop sensibility countered by the more avant sounds of tracks like ‘dB’ by EP-4, then back with the poppy joy of Bananarians and ‘Suna No Atama’. Across the twelve tracks the depth and breadth of what was being created from such a small scene is really something. This is a really fascinating set that benefits from repeated listening and, as usual, the extensive supporting documentation takes the experience to another level. If you are that way inclined.
At a similar time, Nigeria in 1980, despite the start of a new decade was still a country in flux. The end of the military rule and election of new president in 1979 did not necessarily bring about the complete political renewal that may have been expected from such a change. Economic crises, internal division and the impacts of global events all conspired to make Nigeria’s early independent years ones of turmoil and conflict. No discussion on the music of this country is complete without reference to the great Fela, but by the early 80’s the toll of his fight with authority and the terrible personal tragedies that had involved weighed heavily upon him. With Tony Allen no longer the rhythmic core of his band, his music took new direction. While not necessarily a vacuum, he was still the major figure in Nigerian music, his move to a more introspective place left space for new artists to flourish. These musicians embraced the sounds going on around them, both at home and the wider world, but continuing to stay true to the roots of their musical heritage. But, despite the challenges going on around them, the music still drips with energy and joy.
‘Ocheme Mia’ epitomises this feeling, its high life guitar and rolling beat full of life from the magnificently named Prince Nico Mbarga and his Rocafill Jazz. The dancefloors of New York sneak into the mix of influences on Mansour’s disco-funk banger, ‘We Have Got It’ and in a parallel to what was going on across the Atlantic, I.C. Rock taps into the sound of rap's early beginnings with ‘Advice / Oge Chi Kanma’. Female voices have their say too, reflecting the growing equality and attention the 80’s would bring them. Stella Monye’s ‘Oke Mi Ye’ showcases her natural and engaging vocal style perfectly. Countering that more traditional style, Evi-Edna Ogholi draws on a more Caribbean beat to join some more dots with the above. There’s a richness to the musical palette here. There’s dancefloor pressure sure, but soulful, sometimes reflective and emotional engagement also has its place. As Lekan Animashaun says on his track here ‘Se Rere’ - do good.
Coconut Dreams Volume One is available now via Mr Bongo.
Pipe Dreams is available to pre-order via Smiling C.
Miss You is available now via Sound Metaphors.
Nigeria 80 is available to pre-order via Strut.
