A collection of short reviews inspired by music magazines and DJ charts, including Altın Gün, Soul Jazz, UNKLE, Weatherall and more
I’ve been looking for ways to cover more of the releases that speak to me, while understanding that time isn’t something I can make more of. Having recently put together a number of shorter reviews in a vaguely list-like fashion for a piece on the 2020 records I almost missed, it struck me that might be the solution. I liked that it felt akin to the review pages of a magazine and had something of the DJ chart about it; I thought it worked well for me. Therefore I’ve decided to give the format another go, probably on some sort of ongoing basis. I’m certainly not phasing out writing single reviews or my irregular column, so don’t get too excited – this is merely another path I can take.
As to the name. Well, the answer to the mystery on LOST of what was in the hatch was (amazingly) a Scotsman playing records in a concrete bunker. I could relate then and it feels even more appropriate now. So welcome to the first instalment of Music from the Concrete Bunker.
IWDG – In a Lonely Place (AW/RW 2020) (Rotters Golf Club)
A celebration of Andrew Weatherall one year after he departed this plane of existence, put together by Andrew’s brother Ian alongside his Sons of Slough studio partner Duncan Gray. Their reconstruction of New Order’s “In a Lonely Place” plus reworks by David Holmes, Keith Tenniswood and Sean Johnston subdue and exhilarate, invite introspection and promise dancefloor communion. The EP captures the spirit of Weatherall through the prism of Factory Records, conjuring concrete dreams under dubbed out skies. Digital only for now, but there’s a physical manifestation on the way in June. Required listening whatever the format.
¡La Ruta! – ¡La Ruta! (Days of Being Wild)
Andrew Weatherall’s A Love from Outer Space brother-in-arms Sean Johnston teams up with Inspiral Carpets bass player Martyn Walsh for an addictive EP of dub-house-disco chuggers. The vibes are set to living in the moment and the call of the dancefloor is very strong indeed.
UNKLE – Do Yourself Some Good (Studio:UNKLE)
Last year James Lavelle documented his and Gilles Peterson’s club night That’s How It Is with a series of mixes (including “DJ commentary” versions) for Worldwide FM. It would appear that the experience proved inspirational for Lavelle, as the latest UNKLE single is a return to his create-digging roots, complete with ear-burrowing soul sample, block rocking breaks and insistent cowbell. Think peak time Mo’ Wax in the DJ Shadow “High Noon” mode, the disco-not-disco of Liquid Liquid and the anthemic feel of Minnie Riperton – all inventively cut and pasted into something brand new.
Nubya Garcia – The Message Continues (Mark de Clive-Lowe Remix) (Concord Jazz)
Los Angeles-based producer Mark de Clive-Lowe takes “The Message Continues” from Nubya Garcia’s Source LP and powers it up for the dancefloor with flair, successfully maintaining the track’s nu-jazz fluidity while nudging it into broken beat terrain.
Nicola Conte & Gianluca Petrella – People Need People (Schema)
Jazz is the starting point, but Italian producer-performers Nicola Conte and Gianluca Petrella are open to possibility and fluid with genre, allowing their cast of international collaborators true freedom of expression. Downtempo dreams, house music excursions, hip-hop high consciousness – it’s all realised beautifully and exudes positivity throughout.
Altın Gün’s third LP takes their unique brand of Turkish psychedelia meets Anatolian rock and reconfigures it for the cosmic dancefloor with a smorgasbord of steeped in tradition yet open to the moment outernational synth-pop marvels. They also have a genuine outsider pop anthem on their hands with the dub-washed twisted disco of “Yüce Dağ Başında”, wherein Merve Dasdemir’s star attraction vocals lure the listener into a world of off-kilter loft parties where magic is always about to erupt. Yol is so imaginatively vibrant, boldly joyful and utterly irresistible that it makes life feel much better.
Menahan Street Band – The Exciting Sounds of… (Daptone)
Seductive cinematic soul from the Daptone supergroup. As if Madlib and Money Mark were locked in a basement with more vintage gear than even they could imagine. The stuff that samples are made of.
Mother of Mars – I Hear (Ransom Note)
Formed by Vito Roccoforte and Gabriel Andruzzi (of punk-funkers The Rapture), Mother of Mars have landed with this stripped down collection of sinewy electronic dreams. Third member Jaiko Suzuki’s vocals have a levitational impact on the album as it delivers back room vibes with muscled delicacy.
Dax Pierson – Nerve Bumps (A Queer Divine Dissatisfaction) (Dark Entries / Ratskin)
East Bay resident Dax Pierson may have emerged from the alternative hip-hop scene – as a member of Subtle, 13 & God and the live iteration of Anticon outfit Themselves – but his solo debut long player Nerve Bumps explores more shadowy pathways. After a tour van accident left Pierson a paraplegic, he has had to continually adapt his music-making process, but this certainly hasn’t dampened his creativity. Now operating a laptop with iPad apps, he has forged his own particular sound from industrial strength breaks, 808 states and soundscape dynamics, finding moments of synthesised beauty along the way.
Winston Neale – Sinnerman w/ Quiet Village Remixes
A subtly powerful 1986 private press free-soul original unearthed by fledgling archive label RE:WARM. Production duo Quiet Village get spacey and Balearic on the flip with a pair of ace dub reconstructions.
Another abundance of riches from the Soul Jazz stable documenting specific times, places and scenes while never curating themselves into a corner. These three collections are wildly different but equally essential. You may go where your specific interests take you or else dive into all three for the full CinemaScope Soul Jazz experience. That is, choose your own adventures: of the moment mutant sounds under the post-punk dance banner; seventies and eighties Cuban gems barely heard beyond the island courtesy of Gilles Peterson and Stuart Baker (of which there is also a rather lovely coffee table book); post-vaccine summer under the influence rocksteady vibes. The cover of the latter gloriously depicts dancing in a field – it’s a state of mind we can try to attain even before the real thing is possible again.
That’s it from the concrete bunker for now. Stay safe out there folks.
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