In this week’s selection : Banga ritualism blends with Noise Rock in Ifriqiyya Electrique’s album, Lee Field reminds us to believe in love, UK Neo-Soul ambassador Ady Suleiman releases a mixtape and Ghanaian rapper KiddBlack teams up with Moorsound for an experimental-infused party anthem EP.
Ifriqiyya Electrique
Laylet El Booree
Ifriqiyya’s music was never composed for a Western audience in the first place, rather it is a contemporary and unexpected hybridation, that the band calls a “post-industrial ritual”. “Laylet el Booree” translates as the “Night of the Madness” and refers to the last part of the annual gathering of the ritual from the Banga of Tozeur, the night when the spirits actually take possession of the bodies. Formed by European post-punk musicians Gianna Greco and François R. Cambuzat as well as three members of the Banga community (localised in the Tunisian desert) – Tarek Sultan, Yahia Chouchen and Youssef Ghazala, the band delivers a blend of Banga ritualism and Noise Rock sounds in a powerful album.
Lee Fields & The Expressions
It Rains Love
It Rains Love is Lee Field’s fifth album with his band The Expressions. The godfather of New York’s Soul pays tribute to love – his favorite topic – in this new effort, and mainly to the love he has been sharing with his wife for the last 40 years. His powerful and unique voice vibrates on the almost erotic harmonies composing this new album. The songs exhale mastery and authenticity, while taking us through a romantic journey in 1970’s New York.
Listen: Apple Music / Spotify / Deezer
Labelle
Orchestre Univers
For his third album, Labelle teams up with the National Orchestra of Reunion Island for a sonic odyssey across Post-Maloya and electronic experimentations. Inbetween past and present, trance and serenity, organic and electronic, Indian Ocean’s rhythms and Detroit Techno, Labelle deconstructs his influences in a singular way. In Orchestre univers, his third album recorded live with the National Orchestra during a four-date tour of the island, the producer opens a new chapter in the merging of classical and electronic music.
From the forty-or-so available musicians, Jérémy chose a handful of instruments and twelve performers to revisit three titles from his discography and offer seven new ones. The album floats between tradition and modernity, giving Labelle’s music a new dimension.
Ruby Rushton
Ironside
London-based, Tenderlonious-led Jazz Quintet Ruby Rushton took the scene by storm in 2017, following up their highly acclaimed debut release Two For Joy in 2015, with not one, but two new albums – Trudi’s Songbook: Volume One & Trudi’s Songbook: Volume Two.
The new album Ironside is influenced by jazz greats but equally by contemporary urban culture. Ironside was recorded at Abbey Road’s Studio 3 in just two days – capturing the band’s essence and vitality as players. The quartet’s fresh, high energy sound is rooted in the spiritual concepts of John Coltrane and Yusef Lateef, prime period Headhunters, Afrobeat, Hip Hop, Jungle and House.
Ady Suleiman
Thoughts & Moments Vol. 1
After his acclaimed debut album Memories, Ady Suleiman released Thought & Moments Vol.1, a mixtape featuring tracks initially recorded on voice memos on his phone during the last months of his tour. In this new effort he brilliantly strolls through the R’n’B spectrum. Throughout the mixtape, his vocal poise and elegant melodies carry his experimentations, attesting to his status as a major ambassador of the new UK Neo-Soul scene.
Listen: Apple Music / Spotify / Deezer
KiddBlack, Moor Sound
Here for a Good Time Not for a Long Time
Born from spontaneous studio-sessions, “Here for a Good Time, Not a Long Time” is a collaborative EP by Ghanaian rapper Kiddblack and producer Moor Sound. The vocalist, member of rising La Meme Gang collective, displays here his versatility as a songwriter and the influence of Moor Sound provides an experimental contribution with his beats, adding a new element to the project. Though laced with hip-hop party anthems and feelgood choruses, this release doesn’t lack any deepness.
Listen: Apple Music / Spotify / Deezer
