Alegría - ELIA Y ELIZABETH

Funky Beats Version of the B&G Rhythm Balearic Jazz Classic coming soon on a 45 from Jazz Room Records!

AFLEX COMBO - HIBAROS

Dose Album Credits 

1. Brother Dragonfly 
(Rachel Fraser & Isaac Aesili) 
Produced by Isaac Aesili 
Rachel Fraser - Vocals 
Cam Allen - Flute 
Steph Brown - Piano 
Daniel Ryland - Guitar 
Marika Hodgson - Bass Guitar 
Julien Dyne - Drums, brushes 
Tom Broome - Cymbals 
Isaac Aesili - Programming, Synths, Synth Bass, Horns 

2. Freeloadubt 
(Daniel Ryland, Rachel Fraser & Isaac Aesili) 
Produced by Daniel Ryland and Isaac Aesili 
Rachel Fraser - Vocals 
Daniel Ryland - Programming, Keys, Bass Guitar 
Tom Broome - Hats & Ride 
Julien Dyne - Drums 
Cam Allen - Flute 
Isaac Aesili - Sub Bass, Horns, Programming 

3. Teacups 
(Rachel Fraser & Isaac Aesili) 
Produced by Isaac Aesili 
Rachel Fraser - Vocals 
Daniel Ryland - Guitar 
Marika Hodgson - Bass Guitar 
Isaac Aesili - Programming, Synths, Synth Bass, Horns 

4. Te Kano 
(Rachel Fraser & Isaac Aesili) 
Produced by Isaac Aesili 
Rachel Fraser - Vocals 
Johnathan Crayford - Rhodes 
Daniel Ryland - Guitar 
Marika Hodgson - Bass Guitar 
Tom Broome - 808 toms 
Isaac Aesili - Programming, Synths 

5. Treat the feel 
(Rachel Fraser & Isaac Aesili) 
Produced by Isaac Aesili 
Rachel Fraser - Vocals 
Julien Dyne - Drums 
Daniel Ryland - Guitar 
Isaac Aesili - Programming, Synths, Synth Bass, Horns 

6. Cherished 
(Rachel Fraser & Isaac Aesili) 
Produced by Isaac Aesili 
Steph Brown - Piano 
Cherished 
Rachel Fraser - Vocals 
Isaac Aesili - Wurlitzer, Synths 

7. Dose 
(Rachel Fraser & Isaac Aesili) 
Produced by Isaac Aesili 
Rachel Fraser - Vocals 
Cam Allen - Flute 
Daniel Ryland - Guitar 
Marika Hodgson - Bass Guitar 
Isaac Aesili - Programming, Synths, Synth Bass, Horns 

8. Desire 
(Rachel Fraser & Isaac Aesili) 
Produced by Isaac Aesili 
Rachel Fraser - Vocals 
Steph Brown - Rhodes 
Daniel Ryland - Guitar 
Marika Hodgson - Bass Guitar 
Cam Allen - Flute 
Julien Dyne - Drums 
Isaac Aesili - Programming, Synths, Synth Bass, Horns, Percussion 

9. Shifting 
(Rachel Fraser & Isaac Aesili) 
Produced by Rachel Fraser and Isaac Aesili 
Rachel Fraser - Vocals 
Johnathan Crayford - Rhodes, Synth Solo 
Marika Hodgson - Bass Guitar 
Daniel Ryland - Guitar 
Tom Broome - Hats, Cymbals 
Julien Dyne - Drums 
Isaac Aesili - Sub Bass, Horns, Programming 

10. Do it 
(Isaac Aesili) 
Produced by Isaac Aesili 
Daniel Ryland - Guitar 
Marika Hodgson - Bass Guitar 
Isaac Aesili - Programming, Synths, Synth Bass 

11. Stutter Step 
(Isaac Aesili) 
Produced by Isaac Aesili 
Cam Allen - Flute 
Steph Brown - Rhodes 
Isaac Aesili - Synths, Synth Bass, Keys, Programming 

Vocals recorded @ Red Bull Studio Auckland by Ben Lawson 
Guitar recorded @ Organik Musik Workz by Ben Horton 
Steph Brown Rhodes and Piano recorded @ The Lab by Olly Harmer 

Production by Isaac Aesili @ Ariki International 
Mixed @ Red Bull Studio Auckland by Ben Lawson and Isaac Aesili 
Mastered by Kelly Hibbert

Teacups

My raggae tune with the great Laetitia Sadier on vocal

Through Your Hands Love Can Shine (with Laetitia Sadier)

Making Time

06 Bluebird

Most honored to even have the chance to put my spin on this beautiful piece of love by two of my all-time favorites. Sincerely hope yall dig it. I played all the guitar work, drums sampled from Shawn Lee, and grateful for my man Reed Mathis, coming through in a rush and laying bass on it night before the deadline for submissions.
Blessyall!
// Sole.

UPDATE: The winners of the DJ Shadow remix contest have been announced! I'm not one of them, but it was great to hear the ones that shadow picked. So glad Archive's Waltz version was in the ranks, played that on my KCRW show on Wednesday. I'm not bummed one bit, everyone who Shadow picked killed it in their own way, and since I only set out to make what I consider to be a beautiful song... I feel successful in that. BLESSYALL for voting, and all the kind words. Now that it's over I can give it away for free. Enjoy.

DJ SHADOW ft. LITTLE DRAGON - Scale It Back (Jeremy Sole Remix)

Metal Fingers Presents: Special Herbs Vol. 1 & 2

Arrowroot

Slowly - Max Sedgley

"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

OFFICIAL URL - ​https://hopest.re/LookAround

DANIELLE PONDER &
KARATE BOOGALOO

“Look Around” ​out July 24, 2020 via ​Hopestreet Recordings​.

New York singer and activist ​Danielle Ponder pairs up with Melbourne cinematic soul outfit ​Karate Boogaloo to deliver ​“Look Around,” a haunting reflection on the times we live in. ​“Look Around” was written in the studio with the band in the first days of 2020 when Danielle was in Melbourne, and at the time was conceived as a cry for help in the literal firestorm that was engulfing Australia. As 2020 progressed, the words that came in that moment of inspiration seemed to reflect each of the multiplying calamities this year has presented. When the death of George Floyd ignited indignation across the USA and the world, the lyrics to Look Around could not have been more apropos.

In Danielle’s words: “fires were raging through Australia and smoke covered the sky. It felt like all of our human sins had gotten the best of us and we were paying a price. I didn’t know that when I arrived back home in the U.S, the world would only get darker. I feel like my past self wrote this song for my future self knowing what was to come.” ​This song would help Danielle through what has been one of the most painful times to be Black in America.

Coming from different continents and different backgrounds was no obstacle to Danielle Ponder and Karate Boogaloo forming an immediate musical connection in the studio. Karate Boogaloo is a formidable studio band with years of studious focus learning soul music and its history. The instant connection is obvious on ​“Look Around”, ​as the band and Danielle sound like they’d been playing together for years rather than hours. Black Lives Matter, while being a US based movement, has a strong resonance in Australia where Indigenous people are massively over-represented in prison populations and in fatal interactions with the police. Thus, sales in July and August are going to be donated to the Equal Justice Initiative in the USA and Warriors Of The Aboriginal Resistance in Australia.

Making Time

SaucerKommand

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