My favourite albums of 2014

There's a ton of best of lists floating round the internets right now, and the strange thing is, every time I read a list of the best albums of 2014, I end up seeing albums that are completely different from the ones I liked this year, apart from Run The Jewels 2, which has made an appearance on a hell of a lot of lists, deservedly so. Can't wait to see those cats live in early January, when they make it back to NZ.

So, am I just looking for a list to validate my musical choices for the year? Not really - I like what I like. But end of year lists are a great way to check for albums you may have missed, or slept on. Been studying them for that.

Albums I've caught up with so far this week from various best of lists include the latest from Ghostface Killah (36 Seasons), the very cool Sun Ra collection on Strut, and the Bad Bad Not Good album. Here's a few of my favourite albums from this year.

Lee Fields and the Expressions - Emma Jean
Off the back of a stunning live show at the Powerstation at the start of the year, Mr Fields and band return with his third album for NYC's Truth And Soul label, and it's a strong set. I reviewed it for 13th Floor here, and it's still one of my faves.

On the same tip, the latest album from Sharon Jones and The Dapkings, Give the people what they want, made it onto a few end of year best of lists, but for me, it's a bit weak in the songwriting department, compared to their last album.




Little Dragon - Nabuma Rubberband
When this gorgeous album dropped back in May, I wrote "I really love their debut [album], but of the followup albums Machine Dreams didn't fire for me, and Ritual Union seemed like a grab bag of tunes written in a hurry between tours - one critic described it as sounding like a bunch of throwaway B sides.

As The Guardian observed in their review of a live show from March this year, "Little Dragon are emphatically not a band in high definition. Sonically as well as visually, they don't do "obvious". I think that captures the band perfectly."

They return to our shores as part of the lineup at Laneway in January, very excited about that. Wellington gets a sideshow from them as well, lucky bleeders.

Jukebox Mambo 2
Gloriously slinky mambo tunes pulled together by the clever folk at Jazzman Records. Excellent summer record too.




Nick Waterhouse - Holly
I listened to this record a lot this year. It's a swinging slice of old style rockin' R&B from LA cat Nick Waterhouse, and it turned up on AllMusic's Favourite R&B Albums of 2014, alongside our own Electric Wire Hustle, Naomi Shelton, Lee Fields, Sonny Knight, and more.




Funk, soul and afro rarities - an introduction to ATA Records
A ridiculously funky compilation looking back at the output of this Leeds-based label. As the folk at Fleamarket Funk said, "These are 12 songs of heat rocks. There is not one bad tune. If you’re a fan of deep funk and soul, library music, or left field funky cinema sounds then is just up your alley."


 
Neneh Cherry - Blank Project
Angular, difficult, oddball, and never less than exciting. Produced by Fourtet. Need to go see her when she plays live in NZ early next year, shows in Auckland and Wellington.

Local - Mike Hodgson (ex Pitch Black) dropped a fine, dubby, bubbly, ambient album Tickling the dragon's tail as Misled Convoy (listen on Bandcamp), while his former Pitch Black cohort Paddy Free stepped up in his new role as keyboardist for Moana and The Tribe, handling production duties for their latest album Rima, a great collection of ideas and grooves.

Electric Wire Hustle finally returned with album number two and didn't really connect as strongly as I would have expected. I wanted to like this record a lot more than I did. Did it lack soul?

Mark de Clive Lowe dropped in on his former hometown (Auckland) back in May for a listening session for his latest album Church, pulled together via crowd funding. It's easily the strongest thing he's done in a while. Well worth checking out.




Che Fu didn't drop a new album (STINK ONE!) but did pop up in the mean video for his collaboration with Team Dynamite, which got a wider, official release early in the year, and saw Team Dynamite trek around the country opening for Ladi6 on her hugely successful tour. Che signed up with Dawn Raid earlier in the year, so new material is coming, apparently.

While the Kiwi female singers dept has been dominated by Lorde this year, Ladi6 had a pretty amazing year too. She successfully pulled off her first US tour, after some visa hurdles, which seems standard for any artist trying to tour the US of A. She had that aforementioned local tour, which she said  was her biggest ever, and then took off for a trip to revisit Tanzania, with a film crew in tow. Ladi6 and her family lived in that country for a year when she was16. (Watch the trailer here)

She closed the year with taking part in Manawa Ora, as a mentor for troubled youth for Nga Rangatahi Toa, in their performances at the Herald Theatre, which I was lucky enough to see - that was deeply moving. And she also fitted in a trip to play in Brazil. Big year!




On a personal note, I got a huge buzz when my band Hallelujah Picassos dropped our single Salvadore back in July, and got an overwhelmingly positive response from fans, and student radio -  we even made it onto the top ten charts of BFM and RDU.

It was our first new recording in 18 years, so I was a bit nervous about how it would be received. There's some more new recordings on the way too.

Thanks to everyone who has supported me this year. Here's to an awesome 2015, full of great music!

Grant Phabao - Jamaican icons EP ft. Reggie Stepper, Horace Andy, free

Ring The Alarm playlist, Dec 27

George Benson and MAW - The ghetto / El Barrio
Fatback band - Keep on stepping
Manzel - The party - Dopebrother remix
Junior Walker - I'm a road runner
The Capreez - How to make a sad man glad
The Sonics - Psycho
Keil Isles - Monkey stomp
M'shell Ndegeocello  - Who is he and what is he to you
Robert Glasper Experiment - Twice - Questlove twice baked remix
Boozoo bajou - Camioux - Biggabush remix
Bigga Bush - Deep Eastwood - DJ Fitchie remix
Michael Rose - One a we, two a we
Manasseh and Earl 16 - Natural dub
The Tennors - Got to be at the party
Skatalites - Beardsman ska
Jackie Mittoo - Homemade
Marie Queenie Lyons - Your thing aint no good without my thing
The Gaturs - Yeah you're right, you know you're right
Eddie Bo - Rubber band
Gentleman June Gardner - It's gonna rian
Meters - Just kissed my baby
Jugoe - Ohio city
The Orb & Lee Scratch Perry - Soulman - Villad B remix
Mr Scruff - Ug
Jean Jacques Perrey and Luke Vibert - Ye olde beatbox
Spoonie G and the Sequence - Monster jam
Jurassic 5 - Monkey bars inst

Let's make Christmas mean something this year

Two Syllables Volume Eleven: Free!

BaseFM Sunday 7s

This cool video is from a gig I DJed at a few weeks back, the BaseFM Sunday 7s at Golden Dawn on 7th December.  BaseFM DJs turn up, put their name on a whiteboard, and when it's their turn, they get to play seven of their fave 7-inch singles. Great concept, great day. Thanks to Dylan C and all involved in putting this on.

Here's my 7 x 7...

1. Sonny Knight & The Lakers – Sugarman
2. Eddie Platt – Tequila
3. The Rock-a-teens – Woo Hoo
4. Len Barry – Bullseye
5. Jay Epae – The Creep
6. Amrals Trinidad Cavaliers – It Sure Is Funky
7. Ardijah – Give Me Your Number

Ring The Alarm playlist, Dec 20

Tiger - Who planned it
Edwin Starr - Contact
Alyson Williams - Sleep talk - extended version
Upper Hutt Posse - Do it like this
Chi-lites - The man and the woman (the boy and the girl)
Isley Brothers -Take some time out for love
Luther Ingram - Baby don't you weep
The Ringleaders - Grin and bare it
The Valdons - Stop wait a minute girl
Omar - I love being with you
Red Astaire - Love to Angie
Jimmy London - I'm your puppet
Augustus Pablo - Lightning chap
Bullwackies Allstars - Mash it up
Horace Andy - Don't let problems get you down
Desmond Dekker - 007 (shanty town)
Tommy McCook and the supersonics - Out of space
Jackie Mittoo - Stereo freeze
Damian Marley - Welcome to Jamrock
Fat Freddys Drop - Hope - Sonsine remix
New hope - Godofallofus
Dionne Warwicke - Just being myself
James Brown - Santa Claus goes straight to the ghetto
Stargard - The force
Lonnie Givens - The heat is on
John Gibbs and the US steel orchestra - J'Ouvert - Lord Echo re-edit
The Elder Statesman - Montreux sunrise
Lewis McCallum - Tales of Mingus
Ladi6 - Ikarus
Submariner - Tha natural
Mephisto Jones - Chocolate hot sauce

JStar reggae mashups free

UK DJ and producer JStar drops another swags of his back catalog of reggae mashups, his Tooting Gangsta is a fave of mine (grab that here).

He's out here early next year as part oif the lineup for Splore, which recently added Roy Ayers, Earl Gateshead, and Kid Koala to the bill.

Raggamuffin hits AK

Raggamuffin Festival was held last weekend, with organisers reporting that 18,000 people attended the event, the first in Auckland since its relocation from previous home Rotorua.

Auckland reggae DJ Dubhead, who has played at several previous events and again this past weekend, estimated last weekend's crowd at around 14,000.

Raggamuffin organisers decided to move the event from Rotorua to Auckland after February's event in the sulphur city, when attendance numbers were reported as being down on the previous year.

Organiser Andrew McManus told the NZHerald he lost more than $1 million on the [February] concert this year, and that about 70% of attendees travelled from Auckland to Rotorua for the event.

Rotorua Daily Post, quoting a Rotorua District Council economic impact report, says that the concert attracted 32,000 people in 2008, 22,000 in 2009, 29,000 in 2010, 30,000 in 2011, 20,000 in 2012, and 25,000 in 2013. 

The Daily Post reports that "About 19,000 people attended the festival at the Rotorua International Stadium in 2014, a 30 per cent drop from last year."

So, if Raggamuffin shifts to Auckland and still drops attendance numbers, will it return next year?

As Chris Schulz, reviewing the show for the NZ Herald noted, the rainy weather may have had a hand to play (especially in lower crowd numbers) but hosting a summer festival in December is always gonna be a gamble.

Reviews of the event were largely positive, with Schulz saying "Trusts Stadium Arena is a fantastic venue for a festival around half the size of the Big Day Out: queues were minimal, food and drink options were plentiful and a covered stand even provided shelter from the constant drizzle."


Previous posts:  Raggamuffin moves to AK (June 19 2014) Herbs vs Raggamuffin (March 26 2011), Raggamuffin rumblings (Dec 8 2010), Raggamuffin cancels Aust shows (2012) Ali Campbell owed $ by Raggamuffin (2012)

Ring The Alarm playlist, BaseFM, Dec 13

Risco Connection - Good times
Lynn Taitt - Soul food
Jackie Mittoo - Grand funk
The Rebels - Rhodesia
Karl Bryan and the Afrokats - Money generator
UB40 - One in ten dub
Laurel Atkin - Skinhead train
Luciano - Life - Creation samba remix by Da Lata
Fat Freddys Drop - Ray Ray
Yellow magic orchestra - Computer games
Recloose - Turkish delight
Gloria Gaynor - If you want it, do it yourself
Uncle Louie - Full tilt boogie
Dennis Edwards - Don't look any further
Harold McNair - True love adventure
Mountain - Long red
Sharon Jones and the Dapkings - Aint no chimneys in the projects
Clarence Wheeler and the Enforcers - Right on
6ix - I'm just like you
Wade Marcus - Spinning wheel
Eddie Bo - The thang pt2
Roy Ayers - Searching
Edwin Birdsong - Cola bottle baby - Todd Terje rekutt
Biologia - Nite lite
Rick James - Give it to me baby
Skull snaps - It's a new day - Shoes edit
Billie Holiday - Miss Brown to you
Chanters - She wants to mambo
Nicola Conte - Mambo de los dandies

Splore adds Roy Ayers, Kid Koala, Earl Gateshead and more

Roy Ayers. Photo: KMUW

Soul legend Mister Roy Ayers makes his second visit to our shores, playing at Splore, next year... his last visit was October 2008, playing Auckland.

From Splore Festival: "Splore’s already impressive music line-up gets a further boost with a few more acts including the legendary godfather of neo-soul, Roy Ayers.

His classic hits “Everybody Loves the Sunshine”, “Searchin” and “Running Away” are some of the most sampled tracks by DJs. Ayers exclusive show at Splore will be his first in New Zealand for many years.

Also announced is a solo DJ set from Canadian turntablist Kid Koala. The Ninja Tune artist is also a musician and graphic novelist and has collaborated with the likes of Gorillaz, Amon Tobin and The Slew (featuring former members of Wolfmother).

Seminal German EDM producers Acid Pauli and NU have also joined the Splore roster along with the UK’s Earl Gateshead and Brazil’s Alti Fidelidade.

Local acts added include Ahoribuzz, Antix, Rio Hunuki-Hemopo, The Nukes, Randomplay, Chica Lorica, Adam O, The Funk Ferret and the Fuzzbox."

Marbecks 80th birthday

Murray Marbeck and Hayden Marbeck. Via Marbecks Facebook pg

Following on from Real Groovy's recent 33 and a third birthday (go read Alan Perrott's great piece on Real Groovy's history here), Marbecks are celebrating their 80th birthday.

Current owner Roger Marbeck, writes that "This month is a landmark for Marbecks and our family - it's our 80th year in the Queens Arcade as music retailers. My Grandfather Alfie had a saying of "well, bless my soul" when he found something miraculous or new.

I feel he would have said that many times over the past 40 years as we have ridden the changes in the music world and with technology, but the one thing that has never changed is the passion for music which we all share, and so it is you the customer we must thank for enabling us to still be here and still enjoying each day with music."

Roger Marbeck sold the family business to The CD and DVD Store in 2006; they rebranded their stores as Marbecks, but eventually ended up shutting most of them down or switching them to cafes, and sadly announced in Nov 2012 they were closing Marbecks' original Queens Arcade store, in March 2013.

Roger Marbeck bought back the business in April 2013, and it has since expanded from a small space in the Arcade back to the previous area of Marbecks pop/rock store, along with gaining music distributors Rhythm Method as co-tenants of that space.

Marbecks have also just announced a pop-up store in the arcade for the next four weeks, with CDs from $5. Happy birthday.

Ross McHenry - Prayers EP, free DL

Ross McHenry dropped a beautiful, jazzy album Distant Oceans featuring Kiwis Myele Manzanza and Mark de Clive Lowe, late last year, Here's a wee ep, for free from now til Dec 25.

McHenry says: "I have released these recordings for free to show the process of creating the album of Distant Oceans. This EP was recorded on 8 Oct 2012 and documents the first incarnation of my RM group project. 

My growth as an artist is an ongoing process and although these recordings are far from perfect they represent my music at a moment in time that was an important jumping off point into my current concept of writing, performing and recording. 

For more information on this recording and why it was an important step for me check out my blog post on the EP here."

Ring The Alarm playlist, BaseFM, Dec 6

Lynda Lyndell - What a man
The JBs - I'll ze
Erma Franklin - Piece of my heart
Otis Redding - Can't turn you loose
Barbara Lynn - You're losing me
Soul brothers six - I'll be loving you
Harvey Averne dozen - Think it over
Joanie Sommers - Don't pity me
Ella Fitzgerald  - Get ready
Bobby Womack - I can understand it
Sharon Jones and the Dapkings - Stranger to my happiness
Roberta Flack - Go up Moses
Jimmy Nolen - Jimmy's jive
Zilla Mays - Calypso blues
Antibalas -Che che cole makossa
Hugh Masekela - Languta
Manu Dibango - Soul fiesta
Mulatu Astatke - Metche dershe
Woima collective -Marz
JStar - Tooting gangsta
Morwell Unlimited meets King Tubby - Morpheus special  - Kid Loco remix
Chaka Demus and Pliers - Murder she wrote
Marcia Griffiths - Electric boogie dub 2
Groove armada - Tuning in - dub mix
Hardwire - Belongs to the people
Freestylers - Ruffneck
Lee Scratch Perry - Jungle youth  - Congo Natty remix
The Congos - Bring the macakback
King Tubby - Dub of rights
Manasseh - Maga dub

Tuxedo revealed

Mayer Hawthorne & Jake One are Tuxedo. Album on Stonesthrow Records, coming March 3rd 2015. Cover & track list right here ...

Stonesthrow say: "The two Grammy-nominated artists have teamed up to release their debut album Tuxedo (Stones Throw Records) on March 3, 2015.
Mayer Hawthorne (Aquarius) and Jake One (Taurus) – they are descendants of the one- word moniker family of funk, where you will find groups such as Chic, Shalamar, Plush & Zapp.

The Tuxedo collaboration began with an exchange of mixtapes back in 2006. The fruits of a long-standing kinship were three tracks that mysteriously showed up on Internet doorsteps nearly two years ago.

In between personal projects, these three tracks became a full album’s worth of Tuxedo. The album was mixed by original disco don dada John Morales at his home studio in South Plainfield, New Jersey. “I flew out there,” Mayer says. “His wife made me spaghetti and everything.”

The duo is excited to release the upcoming album on Stones Throw Records, which also marks Mayer's return to the label since his debut release of A Strange Arrangement in 2009. Until then, stay classy."

New Lee Fields video

T&S say: "Shot and filmed during one of Lee's backyard barbeques with his family and friends, it's a glimpse of what life is like off the tour bus.

Truth & Soul would like to thank everybody that sent in a remix and congratulate the winner of the Lee Fields contest, Benzeena. Now residing in the UK, Benzeena has had a long career of making and producing music. His unique synth sounds bring a whole new level of danceability to "Just Can't Win" while maintaining the original message of the track. Listen to it here."

ProleteR: Rookie

Chopped up samples of old jazz and 1930s sounding swing tunes... lotsa fun.

"From a factory floor in France to dancefloors across the world; ProleteR makes his triumphant return with Rookie, the highly anticipated follow-up to 2013’s Feeding The Lions EP. The last two years have seen ProleteR go from strength to strength.

The 30th November will see the release of Rookie through ProleteR’s own record label ‘Breaking Mad’. Fans can also expect to hear this eclectic and danceable record live with tour dates following shortly that stretch around the globe.

Like all ProleteR's previous releases, Rookie EP will be available as "pay what you want" on his Bandcamp page as well as all digital platforms."

Curtis Harding - Keep On Shining

Ok, bit late to the party on Curtis Harding, but here goes... love this single... 

Harding's debut album dropped here in May, via Southbound, and now Warners have given it a wider release... Hat tip to Graham Reid at Elsewhere.co.nz for this one. he reviewed it a while back and has re-upped his review...

excerpt: "As a child, singer Curtis Harding from Michigan traveled with his gospel-performing mother and later in life hooked up with Cee Lo Green and was one of his backing vocalists.

He also appeared as a singer on some Outkast remixes apparently. So far, so black soul/r'n'b.

But then he ran into guitarist Cole Alexander of a Georgia punk band Black Lips and together they shared a love of Southern soul. So that comes into the mix.

But so does the garage rock sound which starts to emerge around the midpoint of these 12 tight'n'tidy self-produced Harding originals which bring in soul stomp (the horn-punched Keep on Shining) and a lovely ballad Beautiful People.

Then there's Surf with Alexander's guitar textures pulling you back to a Sixties garage-punk band behind Harding's Southern soul vocals, the driving I Don't Wanna Go Home which owes something to a polite version of the Ramones' pop-rock, and The Drive which is a moody piece over urgent drumming (with a distant trumpet, what sounds like theremin and textural sweeps of guitar)

Oh, and there's the bluesy Drive My Car (a nod to Wang Dang Doodle) and the wah-wah/falsetto pop of I Need a Friend. And Heaven's on the Other Side comes with disco tropes and strings..."

Mecca:83 - farewell, for now

UK crew Expansions Collective drop this great collection... name your price...

"Sadly Mecca:83 has decided to hang up his MPC for good. Read about it here: bit.ly/11ARQTv

With that news out of the way, join us for a 24-track celebration of his music featuring exclusive new tracks with Jneiro Jarel, Tom Misch and Byron The Aquarius as well as the 'best bits' from his numerous solo releases, group projects and production/remix work over the years. Some old, some new and a few previously vinyl-only joints...all distinctively soulful in construction.

"If there's a running theme through all the music i've done, it's positivity: i've always tried to make music that makes people feel good. I've never really been about dark music. If people remember anything about my music I hope it's that" - Mecca:83, December 2014