Let’s face it, Luke Una knows his way around a compilation. 20+ years on from the classic Basement Soul and essential Saturday Night Sunday Morning (under the Unabombers guise in collaboration with Justin Crawford), he’s still putting out his musical message. But this latest one is certainly no 'comp-by-numbers' affair. You know these selections come from the heart, every track has been pored over for its meaning and fit. Nothing is included without reason taking ‘Everything Above The Sky’ in an expansive direction. Never one to downplay the power of nature and all its glory, the music on this record is very much about the open air, with space and time to breath.
And space is the overriding ethos, each track has room to expand and engage in its own way. It's far away from the cluttered hecticness that club sounds can be, battering the listener into submission. The feel is subtle, affecting, emotive and sometimes poignant. The spiritual element is completely unforced and natural. It’s easy to crack a wry grin at words like that, and ask what happened to the bangers? But it plots a clear path away from that down the front euphoria to the more internalised dreamscape that music can inhabit.
There are few better artists that capture that mood than John Martyn, his ‘Small Hours’ from 1977’s ‘One World’ is up first and very much sets the tone with its warped psychedelic guitar and that unmistakable voice. More straight ahead folk comes from Stephen Whynott with the beautifully poetic ‘A Better Way’ a perfect companion piece to the more strident rhythms of April Fulladosa. Luke’s taste is broad as well as deep, so only fitting that the offbeat orchestral moment of Sylvan Kassap’s ‘Plancoet’ sits easily alongside Manu Dibango and the Saharan sounds of ‘Night in Zeralda’ and then into French double bass, courtesy of Henri Texier. Jazz is present again with the sounds of spiritual awakening provided by Brazilian Nivaldo Ornelas.
Sounds from far away are balanced with some closer to home choices, including ‘Massey’s Conga Mix’ of ‘Pacific State’, stripping back the original to its Balearic bones, along with the other worldly sounds of Homelife. Then there’s the soul, aching masterpieces by Mel and Tim and Otis G Johnson make for an arresting combination in the latter half of the record, before closing out with amongst others the haunting Flamenco of Camaron with ‘De La Isla Romance Del Amargo’. ‘Everything Above The Sky’ is a lesson in discovery and the joy of sharing, as well as an expression of where he is as a DJ - ever expanding horizons with the breadth of music that’s out there and the emotion it can convey. A perfect soundtrack to that moment before dawn.
Everything Above The Sky is available on 7 October 2024 via Bandcamp and various physical outlets.