Thee Sacred Souls - new video

Daptone's Gabe Roth aka Bosco Mann has kicked off a new sub label called Penrose Records, dropping a series of sweet soul singles, here's the video for one of them, spot the lowriders. The vinyl has been delayed but the digital is out now.

"It is our distinct pleasure to present Penrose, a new imprint poised to usher in a whole new era of soulful sounds. Founded by Daptone Records' own Bosco Mann after building a new recording studio in his hometown of Riverside, California,

Penrose will showcase the most exciting acts emerging on the blossoming SoCal souldies scene today. For its inaugural release, the label offers up five singles by five exciting new artists: Thee Sacred Souls from San Diego; Jason Joshua from Miami; East L.A. mainstays Thee Sinseers, and The Altons; and Altadena veterans, Los Yesterdays.

What better way to christen Daptone’s fledgling imprint Penrose Records than with “Can I Call You Rose?,” a sumptuous and serendipitously titled mid-tempo premier by San Diego’s blossoming young soul serenaders, Thee Sacred Souls. Stepping off the stage after their very first club date, Josh, Sal, and Alex were tugged aside by producer Bosco Mann whose seasoned ears had been tickled by their set. Backs were patted, hands were shook, and three days later heads were bobbing in Mann’s Riverside studio, as the Souls laid their first notes to tape.
Penrose Records Volume 1: The release date for the 45s from Thee Sacred Souls, Thee Sinseers, Jason Joshua, The Altons, and Los Yesterdays has been moved to June 19th, but you can listen to all 10 songs via this digital compilation now."

Ring The Alarm playlist, March 21

Gary Bartz and NTU Troop - Celestial blues
Bill Doggett - Pimento
James Bown - Aint it funky now pt1
Honeydrippers - Impeach the President
Betty Everett - Take me
Paul Humphrey and his Cool Aid Chemists - Detroit
Willie Hightower - Walk a mile in my shoes
Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels - Jenny takes a ride
The Winstons - Amen, brother
Ray Charles - You're just about to lose your clown
Ollie and the Nightingales - Girl you make my heart sing
Booker T and the MGs - Can't be still
William Bell and Judy Clay - Loveitis
Mar-Keys - Philly dog
Sam and Dave - Wrap it up
Carla Thomas - Something good
Rufus Thomas - 6-3-8
The Newcomers - Pin the tail on the donkey
The Barkays - Copy kat
The Dramatics - Get up and get down
The Emotions - Boss love maker
Eddie Floyd - Under my nose
Jean Knight - Carry on
Otis Redding and Carla Thomas - Lovey dovey
Johnnie Taylor - I am somebody pt1
Booker T and the MGs- Soul limbo
Sharon Jones and the Dapkings - I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
El Michels Affair - Tearz
Lady Wray - Come on in
Jerry Butler - I'm a telling you
Bobby Bland - I'm so tired
Jan Bradley - Mama didn't lie
Bobby Moore - Hey Mr DJ
Isley Brothers - Fight the power pt1
Parliament - Up on the down stroke
Prince - Housequake (7 minutes mo quake)

New Speedometer

Official blurb: 'Our Kind of Movement' is Speedometer's 5th album release for Freestyle (excluding two compilations of archive releases) and sees Vanessa Jamie and Najwa Ezzaher join James Junior on vocal duties.

On this album, the band re-explore their own diverse influences combining the heritage of Latin Funk in 'Funky Amigo', Afro Beat on 'Abuja Sunrise', Indian Psychedelic on 'Kashmir', the Northern Soul on 'We gave up too soon'.

There is, of course, a hefty dose of new heavyweight funk and soul tunes, as you would expect.

After 20 years of making funky music, this LP brings their experiences all together on one record whilst keeping the funk groove at its heart.

Over the years, Speedometer have worked with a host of US funk legends including Joe Quarterman, Eddie Bo, Marva Whitney, Martha High, Sharon Jones, James Bell (Highlighters), Lee Fields, Billy Wooten and Robert Moore. All were blown away by Speedometer's authenticity and dedication to faithfully creating that original soul-funk sound."

Out April 3 on Freetsyle Records on LP/CD/digital

Ring The Alarm playlist, March 14

Beats On Canvas - Doki (DJ Vadim remix)
Nextmen vs Joe Dukie - The drop
Jean Jaques Perrey and Luke Vibert  -Ye olde beatbox
Talvin Singh feat Amar - Jaan
Umod - Love divine
Erykah Badu - Love
The O'Jays - For the love of money
Bill Withers - You got the stuff
Roy Ayers - Love will bring us together
Kokolo - The magnificent seven
Dele Sosimi - E go betta (dub)
Ikebe Shakedown - Tame the beats
Lightning head - Afro spot
Issa Bagayogo - Dibi
Chaka Khan - Too much love
Archie Bell and the Drells - Tighten up
Barbara Acklin - Just aint no love
Gene Chandler - No peace, no satisfaction
Shirley Ellis - Soul time
Fontella Bass and Bobby McClure - Don't mess up a good thing
Sharon Cash - Heighty hi
Merry Clayton - Whatever
Aretha Franklin - Won't be long
Len Barry - Bullseye
Gene Faith - Family man

Hannah Williams and the Affirmations new single

Cracking new soul cut off 50 Foot Woman, the latest album from Hannah Williams and the Affirmations, produced by Shawn Lee, out now on vinyl/CD/digital

Ring The Alarm playlist, March 7

Gary Byrd - The crown
T La Rock - It's yours
Dream Warriors - Wash your face in my sink
Chico Hamilton - El Toro (Mark de Clive Lowe remix)
Dee Felice Trio - Nightingale
Ramsey Lewis Trio - Slipping into darkness
The Mike Nock Underground - Space bugaloo
Mark Putney - Don't come around here anymore
Freddi Hench and Soul Setters - Funky to the bone
Joyce Jones - Help me make up my mind
Tami Lynn - Mo Jo Hanna
Society's bag - Let it crawl
Ann Winley - Watchdog
Stovall Sisters  -Hang on in there
Sister Love - Give me your love
Taana Gardner - Heartbeat
Hot, Cold Sweat - Move like that
Madness - Death of a rude boy (Andrew Weatherall remix)
Prince Fari - Clean hands, pure heart
Roots Radics - Babylon wrong
Scientist vs RSD - After all dub
Kode9 - You don't wash (dub)
Katchafire - Sensemilla (Pitch Black's sensi dub)
Lord Echo - Molten lava

Single off Dumama + Kechou's upcoming debut LP 'Buffering Juju'

Second single off this forthcoming album, out now, very cool skittery rhythms and great vocals...

"Intaka is the second single taken from Dumama + Kechou's upcoming debut LP 'Buffering Juju' - a work that relates to the process of “excavating spiritually charged content from within”.

The duo’s textural sound, driven by cyclical song structures and chant making, not only captures the angst of the modern world but mines this state of affairs for regenerative potential. The duo’s approach to music is a coalescence of their respective individual journeys into the self and society, making their sound – described as nomadic future folk music - the sonic result of an organic meditative process.

Dumama (Gugulethu Duma) and Kechou (Kerim Melik Becker) met in Cape Town in 2017. It was a time of intense socio-political upheaval in South Africa, coming off the back of student-led protests for free education and the wider societal striations those protests exposed. This period coincided with individual spiritual breakthroughs for the duo, signified by fruitful study and mentorship projects.

The jam sessions and initial clutch of shows that etched the dumama and kechou sound were marked by their fortuitously-timed meeting. There was an instinctive pulse to the interaction, not to mention the vast sonic and conceptual possibilities it blew open. “I guess we were in similar places with our music processes in trying to push healing music to the edges and be more experimental with it,” says dumama.

The result is that buffering juju plays out as a lush narrative meeting its sonic equivalent; one whose world is self-contained and interwoven. The narrative unravels as a piece of magical realism informed by South African folklore and reality, detailing a woman’s liberation story where the characters shift shape and traverse multiple realms, deploying various iterations of their power or lack thereof. “It has an organic, natural, cyber and modern kind of energy - all rooted in African aesthetics of sound and storytelling,” says kechou.

There is a unity of purpose that, on selected tracks, seamlessly brings together the talents of trombonist Siya Makuzeni, pianist Nobuhle Ashanti, vocalist Odwa Bongo, vibraphonist Dylan Greene, clarinet player Angel Bat Bawid, bassist Shane Cooper and synthesisers by Dion Monti. All of this sits on a bed of the duo’s unique musical language, one that, although applied electronically in the form of looping and soundscaping, is founded on approaches to string, vocal and percussion tones that reflect a merger between Northern and Southern African heritage and a collective study into continental music.

Recorded primarily in Cape Town and Johannesburg over the first quarter of 2019, Buffering Juju is a conduit to a past we were not necessarily present for, and a future where threatened indigenous technologies thrive in an increasingly digitised world."

Album out March 20, digital/vinyl/CD on Mushroom Hour Half Hour label.

Breakin Wreckwordz interview (2004)

Breakin Wreckwordz
By Emma Philpott, NZ Musician, June/July 2004 (Vol: 11, No: 6)
 
New Zealand hip hop is starting to cross over into the pop radio market in a major way. Even Australian radio is seeing the light with Scribe's Not Many remix only just missing out on a Top 20 position. The collective of Auckland mcs working under the Breakin Wreckwordz label don't seem too concerned about the possibility of mainstream success however - they want to keep their creative integrity intact.
 
While living in Melbourne in 2001, Cyphanetik (Jared Abbot) and Tourettes (Dom Hoey) put together a couple of tracks under the name Insomniacs. Out of those sessions came Hey Kids, which confidently slagged record labels with pro-independent sentiments like "I'd rather captivate than capitalise".
 
The duo moved back to NZ in 2002 and, putting their money where their mouths were, started the Breakin Wreckwordz label. Jared's place in Insomniacs was replaced by MC Muse, so he could concentrate on running the business.
 
Those impeccably delivered lines also captured the spirit of the record label as Jared explains.
 
"We didn't want to be a label that was taking trends from America and reproducing them in New Zealand saying, 'We're the first to do it in NZ like this' or anything. We just went off on our own tangent, in a hip hop way, rather than 'In America they're rapping like this, we should do a song like this'. We just try to keep doing different stuff."
 
Hey Kids spent a dominating six weeks at number one on the bFM listener-voted Top 10 and became a finalist for Best Unreleased Song at the 2002 bNet awards. The student radio network has been supportive of the label's output since.
 
"Pretty much everyone involved in the business side of the label are artists too," says Jared. "No one gets paid for the business side of things, everyone on the label is involved in the running of it too. And it's just non-profit in that sense, it's just set up for the artists, really. It is run pretty much non-profit, like there's no money in it, we're not bankrolling on a budget."
 
"At the same time, if we sold 2000 copies, I'm sure we'd get some money," says Dom.
 
"We want to push good music, rather than go, 'If that isn't going to sell more than 3000 copies, we're not going to release that', y'know what I mean?" continues Jared.
 
'Breakin Wreckwordz', the compilation album, was released in May by Shock Records NZ, thanks to a relationship fostered by Shock Records label manager Lio Nikolao. Lio heard an early Cyphanetik track I am the Slime on hiphopnz.com while Jared was still based in Melbourne.
 
"Lio started emailing me," says Jared. "And was like 'Send us a demo'. At the time all we had recorded was Hey Kids and I am the Slime and we were saying, 'Oh yeah, we're going to get you one' for ages..." he laughs.
 
"We were like 'We're sending you a demo next month' and then we'd record some stuff and be like 'Oh it's cack, we can't send that.' We finally got around to it though."
 
They signed a distribution deal for the first album early in 2004, and Shock will have first option on the next projects.
 
The sleeve of the compilation details two other releases scheduled for this year - an EP from JB and (ex-Dubious Bros MC) Tyna and the much-anticipated Insomniacs debut album. The future will no doubt see releases from the other three groups currently on the roster - Usual Suspects, Oddballs, and PNC - but releasing a collective effort was the logical first step.
 
"It makes it easier to establish all the groups at once," explains Jared. "It puts everyone out there, and then from the feedback that we get back, then we can see. Like I said, we're not on a big budget. If we just put out an Insomniacs album then it's hard to go out and establish the next group and the next group and the next group. Whereas if you do a compilation, then we get all our groups out there at once, then we get the income back from the album, and that allows everyone to have money, for everyone to start going on with that push."
 
Meeting up through the tight Aotearoa hip hop scene, the artists originally hailed from all over - Hamilton, Auckland, Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Upper Hutt, Wanganui - but all have relocated to Auckland for the cause.
 
"Everyone is real tight too, we are like a big crew. The only reason that we wouldn't be a big crew is 'cos, trying to get 12 people together each time we do a show, or a practise or stuff is ridiculous!" laughs Jared. "But we all hang out with each other and stuff, we are like a big crew that's just got different groups inside it."
 
They barely squabble over music to rhyme over - plenty of beats are supplied from upcoming producers both inhouse and outside the group. Much of the album was produced by Saia from Usual Suspects, but it also has tracks produced by the likes of Red Bull Academy attendee Jeremy Toy, and Auckland DJ 4130. The quality of the beats has quickly improved too:
 
"As you get more well known you get more given to you, y'know," says Dom. "You couldn't even get good beats three or four years ago without paying money. Now it's like, everywhere, there's people making beats, it's crazy."
 
The Wreckwordz roster has also made a mark on the freestyle MC Battle scene with Cyphanetik, Tyna and Tourettes all placing well in the last few year's MC Battle for Supremacy competitions.
 
"It's a totally different way of thinking," says Dom.
 
"It's like a sport, aye," agrees Jared. "If you are playing rugby, you've got touch with the boys in the park, and then you've got your major league games, and it's like if the games aren't fun, it becomes like a job. I enjoy battling on the street, or at gigs, but when it comes to battle competitions, you've just got to go out there and work hard and prove yourself."
 
Outside competitions, the Breakin Wreckwordz group have become a regular part of the live scene in Auckland. They were a regular fixation at a monthly hip hop night at inner city venue The Temple before it shut its doors last year, and agree their live show has become more organised with the practice. The addition of ex-Wellingtonian DJ Kase will also help the live show tenfold.
 
"With that many people, sometimes you're not exactly sure who's going to make it, but now everyone's living up here, it's a lot easier," says Jared.
 
While the first release isn't being snapped up at the same rate as local legends Scribe and P-Money, it's not their style anyway.
 
"The label, from the start, was never planned to be an empire," assures Jared. "We just wanted something where we had full control about how we presented ourselves. It was always just that we wanted to have a label that represented the people we trust would be like completely real hip hop and not just some image put out there."