Upside Down Mountain
Life with all its ups and downs is a beautiful experience nonetheless and all things considered, we couldn't have one without the other. At the tail end of yet another busy week, as we slowly pack up our things and prepare to head home for the weekend, we look forward to having some time to unwind and enjoy some downtime on our own or with our loved ones. And with that in mind, we would like to share the brand-new album by Jerusalem-based acoustic bass guitarist and composer/improviser Yosef-Gutman Levitt with you.
"Upside Down Mountain" is his first trio recording and finds him sharing the studio space with Omri Mor on piano and Ofri Nehemya on drums. As Levitt puts it, the album title refers to "a story of a love so great, it's as if a mountain is being held over our heads that at any time could be dropped – a love that's compelling and leaves no room for even a shadow of a doubt." And indeed, this 'love supreme' is reflected in every note of his "simple, direct, endlessly expressive melodies" and compositions.
Leading the way on his acoustic bass guitar, "Levitt plays with a striking clarity and resolve," while Mor, "with his emotional intelligence and organic apprehension of style, offers hints of Moroccan-Andalusian vocabulary, at times even [making] the piano sound like a kora" and Nehemya "brings a musical maturity and vital sense of minimalism to the project" in a magical display of advanced chemistry.
Mastering the art of improvisation in its highest form, Levitt apparently drew up the blueprint to "Upside Down Mountain" in one go, playing “whatever flowed freely from my heart without thinking, editing or perfecting. I got my sound recorder ready and improvised for a few minutes, caught something, recorded it, named it. After a few hours I had material for an album and I sent it to my co-producer Gilad Ronen, who made sense of it.”
Essentially, this twelve-track spiritual venture into contemporary jazz is an intimate, sincere and unexaggerated exploration of the musical self. Wonderfully picturesque and atmospheric, it is a welcome companion to any personal unwinding, soul-searching or centering that needs to be done. As the musicians take turns at taking their time, ideas unfold like petals on a flower and take flight, seeking out a higher truth. You can now stream the full longplayer and watch the equally mesmerising video to "Wedding Song" below.
More posts
Saath Saath
Just a few days after sharing Weltbeat host and selector Jean Trouillet's special Globalwize tribute show to the great Qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan via Greedio, we remain in spiritual territory behind the meditative sounds of Indian sitar player and composer Purbayan Chatterjee and his lifelong friend and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia. "Saath Saath" is the title of Chatterjee's latest album, performed alongside Chaurasia on flute, Ojas Adhiya and Satyajit [...]
Translucence
Rarely do we review the same artist in such a short period of time, but in this case we simply could not resist. Currently based in Kaş, Turkey, Siberian artist Misha Sultan released his versatile eight-tracker "Roots" on Hive Mind Records back in May and now returns to Patience with a "twin set of deeply mystic shapeshifters." His current outing is entitled "Translucence" and is nothing short of visionary.
On the A-side we find "Not Every Lake Dreams Of Being [...]
Took A Second
With the holidays in full effect here at Greedy headquarters, we admittedly withdrew for a short breather over the past few weeks to recharge our batteries and re-up on some much needed vitamin D. That being said, it 'took a second' for us to find our stride and come up with new musical content to bestow upon you. Lucky for us, Tel Aviv's kaleidoscopic conglomerate Liquid Saloon unveiled its sophomore longplayer back in June, an album that has been a welcome [...]
Up And Away
Love is a mysterious thing, wonderful, captivating, volatile, hot, cold, indefinite. It generally arrives unannounced and is equally capable of moving on without further notice. Such is the basic storyline of Athens-based singer-songwriter Σtella's June-released 30-minute longplayer on Seattle's Sub Pop imprint. "Up and Way" is both "an old-school pop paean to the pangs and raptures of love" as well as a fresh start, which sees the multi-talented painter, [...]
Small Small
Almost exactly three years ago, we did a short write-up on "Kalba", the debut collaborative album by Ghanaian xylophone master Isaac Birituro and British singer/songwriter/producer Sonny Johns, and were thus pleasantly surprised to hear about their recent return to London-based imprint Wah Wah 45s for album number two. "Small Small" is the name of their inspirational sophomore effort, which sees them continue their pursuit to "hear the usual done unusually" [...]
Balkan Express
This is an express post to express our profound appreciation for London-based experimental music composer and performer, alternative electronic music instrument maker, tutor and sound technologist Tasos Stamou's current six-track album "Balkan Express", released last month on French imprint Akuphone. "Exploring the gap between ancient and contemporary transcendental music, using both traditional and advanced media," Stamou has been "developing a unique style of [...]
Djine Bora
Five years ago, we reviewed the feverish sophomore album "Mali Foli Coura" ('new music from Mali') by the singular Malian five-piece BKO, inviting listeners to explore the heart of modern-day Mali, while combining the traditional music of the griots with the ancient, mystical rituals of animist hunters. This combination of distinct musical traditions is indeed unparalleled though highly representative of the country's heritage. Last Friday, BKO unveiled their [...]
Sounds Of Lecak
Hop aboard a musical flight to Southeast Asia behind the "Sounds of Lecak Vol.1", a recently released compilation, featuring a lush 20-track selection of "contemporary artists from the Singaporean underground." This record was pieced together by the enigmatic musician and producer Haqim Maggot (or simply Maggot) in his very own studio, "sitting atop a bean curd shop on grungy Geylang Road in Singapore." Which also happens to be the home of his independent label [...]
Rhythm Revolution
Fuzzing through our stereo come the sounds of freedom inherent to the funk and rock 'n' roll movement of the 1960s and 1970s, music in its rawest and most genuine form, as a means of political expression. This is the first we are hearing of "Beninese musical visionary" Ferry Djimmy and his "Rhythm Revolution", an album "originally recorded in the mid-1970s in support of Benin’s revolutionary leader Mathieu Kérékou," but that doesn't lessen its impact. [...]
Tartit
This is not the first time that Berlin five-piece Onom Agemo & The Disco Jumpers and Malian Tuareg singer, guitarist and songwriter Ahmed Ag Kaedy (Amanar de Kidal) embark on a unique musical exploration of Saharan blues rock fused with layered, jazzy psychedelic krautfunk. In fact, their first collaboration resulted in the 2018-released two-track single "Onin Okalan" (transl. 'realization'), revealing an unusual musical chemistry and a foundation to build on. [...]
Bi Cinnete Bakar
Quite frankly, we're having a bit of a hard time keeping up with all the fascinating releases currently hitting the streets. This debut full-length by Istanbul's almighty Lalalar, however, is an absolute show-stopper and entirely in a league of its own. The bold and fiercely innovative three-piece is currently at the forefront of contemporary Turkish psychedelic rock and dark wave as well as a fixture on the megalopolis' tight-knit underground circuit.
Amor (É Revolução)
Love is revolution. Such is the borderline philosophical title to producer, percussionist, DJ and global bass pioneer Maga Bo's latest full-length "Amor (É Revolução)" released on his own label Kaxambu Records a few weeks backs and presenting the emphatic outcome of a long-standing and ongoing exploration into Afro-Brazilian music. Marking his first solo album in a decade, Maga Bo does not hold back, presenting ten original compositions along with eleven [...]