Rhythm Section INTL

Brass & Groove - Funk Music

BURNING BRIGHT

Day Spa Studios Vol. 1 (Side A)

Let's cut straight to the chase. 28-tracks worth of Al Dobson Jr. is way more than anyone could ask for. His experimentations on Rye Lane Volume I broke the ice on Bradley Zero's now high-soaring Rhythm Section imprint; an über-healthy collection of vibey, percussive-led percies that came out back in 2014.

Volumes II & III come together like Siamese twins and its more of the same; warm and fuzzy doodles from the South London beat merchant. Many of the tracks are under three minutes in length, but no less punchy because of it. 

Case study: "Xingu". A quick Google tells us that the Xingu people are the indigenous peoples of Brazil, a title which suits the track in question. Its multi-layered drum underbelly would be at home in the tropics. And when combined with those glistening keys and laissez-faire bass rhythm, it's nothing short of magic.

Order on Bandcamp: bit.ly/RS010Bandcamp
Order on iTunes: smarturl.it/RS010


Order

Al Dobson Jr "Xingu" - Boiler Room Debuts

Marrying traditional Arabic maqam and trundling rhythmic drum tapping, this is @al-dobson-jr at his very best, showing a deft touch for pulling various influences and boiling them down into something interminably fresh and personal.

Taken from his debut LP, Rye Lane Volume II & III, out now on Rhythm Section (@bradleyzero): https://wearerhythmsection.bandcamp.com/album/rye-lane-volume-ii-iii

Read more: http://www.stampthewax.com/2016/03/21/premiere-al-dobson-jr-overseas-lebenese/

Al Dobson Jr - Overseas, Lebanese (STW Premiere)

Al Dobson Jr -Many Schools

Order on Bandcamp : bit.ly/RS010Bandcamp
Order on itunes: smarturl.it/RS010

Al Dobson JR - Tracy 36 27 36

04.HER HANDS Feat. Allysha Joy - SO.Crates

Hear the track live on #TightSongs hosted by @freshselects https://www.mixcloud.com/FreshSelects/tight-songs-episode-108-july-2nd-2016/

** FREE DOWNLOAD : https://www.toneden.io/cosmic_children/post/marvin **

This Ain't Livin (Marvin Edit)

De La Soul - Drawn Ft. Little Dragon

About “The Egyptian Second Line” 

In the spirit of reclaiming that which colonization sought to destroy, I'm releasing the first single from my upcoming album Afro-Caribbean Mixtape at the top of Columbus Day weekend. Like a piece of African patchwork, this track is comprised of a lot of different elements — some old, some new. The main body of this record was constructed from the end vamp of a tune I wrote for Dr. Greg Carr (chair of African-American studies at Howard University) called, “Kimathi.” In fact, throughout the piece, you can hear my turntablist, DJ Lady Fingaz, scratching a sample I chopped from one of his interviews. I constructed a new work by cutting and pasting the best moments of Kevin Hays and I playing keyboards on top of the extended jam, and superimposed that over the groove laid down by bassist Vicente Archer, drummer Joe Dyson, and percussionist Daniel Sadownick. I did this with the help of my mix engineer, Blake Leyh (The Wire, Treme). 

Towards the beginning of the piece, you'll hear a chant from vocalists Yolanda Robinson, Jolynda Phillips, and Christina Machado. It's from a thing my father made up while walking through his childhood neighborhood of 13th Ward New Orleans back in the 1940s, “Na-na ni-ta ho-ho. Left, right. Left, right.” Thirty years later, as an elementary school band teacher at McDonogh #15, he had us chant this whenever we marched in second line parades. It recalls the syllabic prayers of ancient languages used in modern dance songs like Mani Dibango's “Soul Makossa,” of which Michael Jackson borrowed for “Wanna Be Startin' Something.”  


The centerpiece of the single is my recitation of a poem I wrote back in 2006 in the aftermath of the flood commonly referred to as “Katrina.” It's called “The Egyptian Second Line.” The gist of the poem toys with the theory that somehow Africans submitted to slavery in an attempt to become better versions of themselves. After the ladies chirp the hook, I step away from the keyboards and embrace the instrument I'm most known for — the trumpet — and blow a few before we take it out. With this song, I am channeling the energy of the ancestors to help give Africa back to herself in the best way I know how, through the power of music. 


In New Orleans, a “second line” is the procession where we dance in the streets to music played by a brass band to celebrate either life or death. When I think about what an Egyptian second line looks like, I think of the imagery of that photo of Louis Armstrong serenading his wife, Lucille in front of the Sphinx — again Africans giving Africa back to herself.
credits
released October 7, 2016 

Nicholas Payton: trumpet, spoken word, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3, Clavinet 

Kevin Hays: Fender Rhodes 

Vicente Archer: acoustic bass 

Joe Dyson: drums 

Daniel Sadownick: percussion 

DJ Lady Fingaz: turntable, sampler 

Yolanda Robinson: background vocals 

Jolynda Phillips: background vocals 

Composed by Nicholas Payton (BMI) 

Produced by Nicholas Payton 

Recorded, mixed, mastered, and designed using the PAYTONEsonic™ programming process 

Recording Engineer: David Stoller 

Assistant Engineer: Emily Eck 

Mixing Engineer: Blake Leyh 

Recorded at The Shed, New Orleans, LA 

Mastering: Michael Fossenkemper, Turtletone Studios, NYC 
turtletonestudio.com 

Art Direction: Nicholas Payton 

Cover Painting: Ayanna Bassiouni 

Cover Design: Ayanna Bassiouni

The Egyptian Second Line

Joy, Ease, Lightness is a 4 track EP aimed squarely at the dancefloor, but with a meditative awareness that reaches far beyond the club. Fans of Seven Davis Jr, Steve Spacek et al, watch out - there’s a new man in Town: and he goes by the name of Dan Kye.


PRE ORDER LTD 12" HERE: bit.ly/RS017bandcamp
stream / listen here: rhythmsection.lnk.to/RS017

Joy, Ease, Lightness

Buy /stream now!

Dan Kye - Tolle

Off MR&RT, the first collaboration between producers Monster Rally (Los Angeles) and RUMTUM (Denver). Now available on vinyl for the first time.
http://goldrobotrecords.bigcartel.com/product/monster-rally-rumtum-mr-rt

MR&RT

Monster Rally & RUMTUM - Forest

Elevate

Order 12" Album

Breaking (For This World To Change)

"I love The Expansions their futuristic leanings inject new life into the form. Fresh material!" Ian Merchant (Black Acre)

“Exudes all the qualities I cherish most in music, warmth, integrity and a dedication to the groove… it’s a hard road to travel when you step in the footprints of giants, The Expansions are treading that path with ease and assurance.” Patrick Forge

"Coming off something like the UK's more jazz-funk fueled answer to BBNG, all four quarters of this monstrous unit are on point on this hugely anticipated release. There's got to be a very special long-player in the works, and I for one can't wait to immerse myself in that!" Dom Servini (Wah Wah 45s) 

“The Expansions, very funky! Headhunters/Weather Report inspired, and definitely worth checking out. My new favourite band.” Steve White (Style Council, Paul Weller)
=========
When The Expansions self released their first single in 2013, the laid-back jazz funk of Lavender, it quickly gained strong support from soul and rare-groove aficionados including Kenny Dope, Dom Servini, Patrick Forge and Andy Smith. A run of shows followed and before long, when someone was asking if there was a soul-jazz band around to play with, “The Expansions” was the answer. 

Although this popularity meant a hiatus in releasing music, the band have been constantly busy, playing around Europe with legendary British-Ghanaian soul singer, Andrew Ashong and the exceptional, upcoming talent Connie Constance. 

Murmuration, recorded over three days at Big Noise in Southend, is constructed of single takes, with minimal overdubs, as the band attempt to capture the feeling and energy they create live. 

Debut single Breakthrough introduced the insanely catchy but deeply soulful blend of synths and groove, but here on the album that is explored to the fullest with longer breakdowns and more expansive, experimental solos. Pocket 5 displays the, possibly unexpected, influences of broken beat and almost combative rhythm playing – particularly in the complex guitar and keys breakdown where Koor and O’Keefe layer conflicting time signatures and battle to ride it out to the heavy drum return. 

Cannonball brings warm mellowness that delicately evolves through beats, touching on bossas alongside their fundamental hip-hop sensibilities. But even here there is a raucous zenith before the band sublimely recede into the silence of the a-side ending. 

Colossal album highlight Ivory Mountain is truly an epic. Evoking moments of 4Hero, there is a lightness of groove in the first half of this soulful exploration. But at the halfway point, all restraint is let go as a live string section joins the four quarters of the band for three glorious minutes of soulful disco. Evoking sounds of Quincy Jones, George Benson and Johnny Hammond, all the way through to a beautifully cacophonous finale. 

Dragonfly undoubtedly reflects on the work of Herbie Hancock and is the most direct throwback to the band’s earlier work, which is a welcome marker of how far they have come. A quintessential jazz funker. 

The album closes with the thoughtful and introverted shuffle of Miles Away. In the final eight minutes of Murmuration, The Expansions allow space and time to take precedence, with once-more-restrained peaks and developments. It becomes clear though, that the band cannot resist one last explosive finale, as they rise with screeching synths, strings and dubs for a perfect race to the finish line. 

You can hear the influences of Idris Muhammad, Grover Washington, even parallels with South London peers Yussef Kamaal and Ruby Rushton. But The Expansions have tirelessly worked to create a sound of their own and are very proud, along with label Albert’s Favourites, to finally share it.

Murmuration

The Expansions - Cannonball

Pre-save the album on Spotify:
https://presave.kud.li/jrf0016

Drift Glass

Afronaut - SEED ENSEMBLE

Rhythm Section - regular dance in South London
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Breaking (For This World To Change)

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