Beyond The Blue
As we tuned in to Jean Trouillet's recently aired new instalment of his regular "Globalwize" format on Greedio, we chanced upon a noteworthy collaboration by seasoned French producer Martin Nathan, aka Brain Damage, and iconic Jamaican deejay Manley Augustus Buchanan, better known as Big Youth. Surprised that this LP had gone under our radar, we read up on the release notes that revealed another story, one that we didn't want to let go unmentioned.
In March 2020, just as the pandemic went global, Martin Nathan and his longtime friend Samuel Clayton Jr travelled to Jamaica, to work with the legendary artist Big Youth. However, said pandemic and the ensuing worldwide lockdown left them with very little time to record, before they themselves contracted the virus. But while Martin Nathan was lucky enough to return to France, Samuel Clayton Jr did not make it back and passed away in Kingston.
Upon recovering and to honour the memory of his dear friend, Martin Nathan was determined to bring the project to completion and, with the support of his label Jarring Effects as well as Jamaican producer Stephen Stewart, he did just that.
"Beyond the Blue" marks the return of Big Youth, sounding fit as ever and laying verse upon verse on equally potent productions, almost exclusively new: "Sparkling and inexhaustible, distilling an amazing variety of vocal styles, that he created himself, he recalls [...] the golden age of Jamaican reggae in the '60s & '70s, performs his version somewhat conspiracist, of the sanitary crisis, evokes his faith and tells about love, while perfectly merging into each universe offered by Brain Damage."
As Martin Nathan serves up a multitude of musical styles, including jazz, blues, ska and rock-steady, to provide fertile soil for Big Youth's infinitely inventive, smooth and wise lyrical approach, we cannot help but marvel at how well this project harmonises. And so it is with both happiness and sadness that we share this collaborative effort with you, the last that Samuel Clayton Jr worked on, but one that we feel sure he would have been proud of. As Big Youth puts it: "Some people dying to young!"
More posts
Two Tribes, Volume Two
The only thing we might complain about is that Tobi Kirsch and Ubbo Gronewold made us wait just a bit over two and half years to receive Volume Two of their "intercontinental journey in rhythm." Finally dropping two-day on Agogo Records is the highly anticipated follow-up to their 2019-released debut exploration of contemporary European artists incorporating African musical traditions in their work, building musical bridges instead of soundproof walls. "Two [...]
Pissourin
It's been a bit over a year since we first mentioned the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus on Greedy and expressed our joy about discovering the electronically enhanced post-rembetiko compositions of a certain Trio Tekke on "Strovilos", their 'whirlwind' of a fourth album. Today, we bring you the fourth album and resounding return of another Cyprus-based three-piece, coincidentally also led by musical mastermind Antonis Antoniou, who released his first [...]
Orayta X Shantel
A slightly belated 'Shana Tova' and 'gut Shabbes' to everyone enjoying the first few days of the year 5782! We sincerely hope it will be a better one. To celebrate the occasion, we have a brand new track by Israeli vocalist Victoria Hanna or rather a bouncing 'Kabbalistic' remix of a track from her 2018-released, self-entitled debut album, readied by Frankfurt's very own Stefan Hantel, better known under his resounding moniker Shantel.
Those who are familiar [...]
SHIRAN
In the summer of 2020, amidst a global pandemic, Tel Aviv-based singer SHIRAN unveiled "Glsah Sanaanea", the highly anticipated follow-up to her 2018-released self-entitled debut album on Batov Records. "Reinterpreting traditional Yemeni songs for a contemporary audience" in Arabic and Hebrew, both albums point to her own Yemenite heritage, "inspired by the many stories and experiences of her cherished and much-loved Grandmother who left Yemen in 1949 for [...]
Guruji
You may have heard the title track "Guruji" setting ears ablaze in our "Greedio X July '21" playlist on Spotify. If so, then you are well aware that the man himself, Kutiman, is back with another highly combustible two-tracker on Siyal Music . Adding to the mix is now the official B-side "Majan", taking a more "meditative" approach than its predecessor, yet equally resounding.
We last covered the prolific and infinitely versatile Israeli producer, aka Ophir [...]
Furto
Rio resident Vasconcelos Sentimento, aka Guilherme Esteves, is a "self-taught composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist" and self-proclaimed "amateur euphoric sound researcher," who just released his adventurous debut album on Far Out Recordings. "Furto" features "a mosaic of lo-fi breaks, cosmic ambient jazz and wonky chromatic funk," seemingly brought together in a beautiful whirl of DIY spontaneity and melodic curiosity. Though undoubtedly rooted in jazz, [...]
Nella Misura In Cui
Disco, you either love it or can no longer stand it. In our case it's the first and upon hearing the latest 'reissue' or rather "the first complete release of Augusto Martelli's sultry" golden age soundtrack to Italian director Piero Vivarelli's 1979 "delicious erotic-exotic flick" entitled "Nella Misura In Cui", we felt obliged to do a short write-up.
Despite not having watched the movie, the choice to feature Martelli's undeniably groovy movie score was a [...]
So La Ma La
Bolgatanga's one and only (no pun intended) Guy One returns to Max Weissenfeldt's Berlin-based Philophon imprint with an infectiously upbeat two-track 7" release and a brand new band. The award-winning Kologo authority leads the way with his two-stringed proto-banjo, accompanied by "Kumasi's finest young talents, plus Florence Adooni and Tenni Akagam as his choir voices."
On the A-side, "So La Ma La" hits the ground running with "a straight-forward Highlife [...]
Tuff Time$
It comes as no surprise that the title "Riders on the Storm", a track made world-famous by The Doors, would come to be the opener of Stiff Pap's recently released album project "TUFF TIME$", seeing as they are literally out there riding the current storm. Strained economies, a worldwide pandemic and local South African strife add to the Johannesburg-based duo's riveting mix of progressive electronic styles, blending an alternative hiphop spirit with African [...]
Dost 1
Turn your dials to the latest six-track release by "Anatolian psych-pop sensations" Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, who are back with a new batch of musical lightning. Last Friday, the Hamburg-based group unveiled its second album, "the first of a two-part series to be released in 2021" via Bongo Joe/Catapulte Records. Having gained well-deserved and steadily increasing worldwide acclaim for their "contemporary takes on traditional Anatolian folk ballads, [...]
This is Tehran?
Tehran, the Iranian capital and cultural melting pot, is not just home to a population of approximately 15 million, but also accommodates a vibrant music scene with many a hidden gem yet to be discovered by Western audiences. Sure, we've covered a few uncharted releases in the past, such as Hamburg-born and Tehran-based sound visionary Ata 'Sote' Ebtekar's "Parallel Persia" (2019) and "Sacred Horror in Design" (2017) or Iranian composer Morteza Hannaneh's [...]
Noussin
It's been three years since we picked up on the wicked charms of ebullient French-Togolese afro-funk collective Vaudou Game by ways of their third album "OTODI". Led by equally effervescent and formerly masked bandleader Peter Solo and shrouded in a spiritual mist, Vaudou Game was quick to win us over with a whole lot of funk and pizzazz. The group continues to be a force to be reckoned with and just dropped its fourth longplayer on Hot Casa Records. Enter "[...]