Fall Break

We know next to nothing about this band, other than they're from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo. You might even have guessed that from the distorted thumb pianos which are highly redolent of Kinshasa's most famous recent export, Konono No.1 - but Mbongwana Star (Mbongwana means "change", apparently) are a very different proposition. There's some very strange dubwise production, courtesy of Parisian and sometime Tony Allen collaborator Doctor L, some eerie postpunk-sounding guitar work, and an altogether unique vibe. They're coming to Europe in April and May and there'll be an album on World Circuit around then too. We will be paying close attention.

Mbongwana Star "Malukayi" - Boiler Room Debuts

Nightmares On Wax - Morse

Album number three, conceived in three different studios around the world, by the three-headed love monster which is Buttering Trio.

Our third and new album is the reflection of the sobering evolvement of ourselves. We approached the making of the album with clarity and intention, working on a regular basis with a very specific vision, a vision of an album that ultimately combines the beauty of studio-beat-making and organic songwriting. Unlike our previous albums, that were more on the range of spontaneous intuitive combustions, this album is a matured love child of an ever-awaking threesome of parents. ‘Threesome’ is an album that moves the soul, bounces the body and looks in the eyes.

The album was created in 3 different studios around the world - Trixx Studios in Berlin, Fossil Studios in London and Firehouse Studios in Tel Aviv. All the sessions were driven by an uncompromising sound approach, yet always with the natural twist of noise. The creative process was in liquid form - it could be an intuitive beat making upon which harmonies and lyrics are laid, or it could begin with a well processed harmony to which a rhythm is matched.The song making was always potent with playfulness but the big picture was solid. 

Influenced, as always, by round-the-galaxy rhythms and ideas, from indian ragas thru tribal music to archetypical melodies with a drop of dub, this is definitely a new kind of genre. Or no kind at all. This style represents our music and comes to a perfect extraction in this album. Each song stands for itself as an individual, tells a single complete story, still contributing to the harmony of the whole. The special kind of tension between the single song and the whole musical vision is one that we play with, in our live concerts and in this new album specifically. 

The album owes its’ existence to the uniquely changing relationship between the three of us. A relationship that manifests through communication that allows space and mystery, and is based on the common primal acceptance that nothing stays the same.

Some ultra talented friends helped to make this album - Asaf Shay, Piloni, Yogev Glusman, Yonatan Albalak, Tomer Bar, Raz Olsher and Avi Tuchman.

Buttering Trio - Unexperienced

Buy the single in all formats here:
BIG CROWN WEBSTORE: https://bigcrownrecords.com/store/underneath-my-feet-bw-guilty/

Taken from the Lady Wray album "Queen Alone" available here:

BIG CROWN WEBSTORE: https://bigcrownrecords.com/store/lady-wray-queen-alone/
BUY / STREAM: 
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Following up on the success of Lady Wray’s solo debut album Queen Alone, we are proud to give you another 45 offering, this time showing another side of Nicole. Known worldwide for her early career as a Hip Hop / R&B singer, then more recently for her more matured Soul inspired writing, the A side of this one “Underneath My Feet” shows just how hard it is to put Lady Wray in a box. If you haven’t seen her live show, you may have no idea that she has a healthy bad ass Rock and Roll side to her, commanding crowds with a raucousness that likens Betty Davis. Underneath My Feet is a tough blend of glam rock drums and guitar stabs that Nicole takes to like a fish to water. A self proclaimed voodoo woman, putting a spell on the listener, warning all of her unbridled power.
The B side is the heart wrenching Guilty, a song Wray wrote to cope with the incarceration of her brother. One listen and it is impossible to doubt the sincerity, again showing Cole’s songwriting prowess with imagery of no one to cheers with, and not wanting to experience the comforts of home knowing her brother was locked up in a cell. A solid 2 sider showing a different side of Lady Wray than she is typically known for all wrapped up in a beautiful picture sleeve cover. Another Big Crown sureshot.

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Buy at BCR

Lady Wray - Underneath My Feet - BC037-45 - Side A

A Town Called Obsolete

iTunes: http://apple.co/1iZBfCe
Buy on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1LMtXds
Spotify: http://spoti.fi/1LeV68o

NOMO and Shawn Lee collaborate for this one-off 7'' single which will be sold exclusively at upcoming NOMO gigs w/ Iron &amp; Wine (www.myspace.com/nomomusic for dates). This 7” tour exclusive is limited to 300 copies, it also features NOMO’s “Nocturne” on the B-Side.

This collaboration came about almost by accident. NOMO’s Elliot Bergman had spent the better part of the summer building and recording electric kalimbas in Brooklyn, when label-mate Shawn Lee asked him to send over a kalimba track for his new album. Lee, based in London, added some funky drums, bass and a smattering of steel drums, and sent it back to Bergman. When Bergman’s sister, Natalie, heard the instrumental track destined for Shawn's album, she decided that she had to add some vocals. She stayed up all night writing the tune and recorded the vocals in garage band. The happy result is a great groove, and NOMO's first vocal tune in ages.


NOMO and Shawn Lee - Upside Down

Khruangbin - Evan Finds The Third Room (2018)

Khruangbin - August 10 (2018)

The Vice Yard

Ikebe Shakedown, the self-titled album from the Brooklyn-based band, plays with elements of cinematic soul, Afro-funk, deep disco, and boogaloo in all the right ways.  After spending a few years together the group, named after a favorite Nigerian boogie record (and pronounced “ee-KAY-bay”), delivers a driving set of tunes featuring a mighty horn section anchored by tight, deep-pocketed grooves.

“Right now in cities across the globe, there are plenty of great Afrobeat revivalist bands aping the sound and groove of Fela Kuti’s legendary sound.  Yet, surprisingly few of the new groups have strayed from an orthodox interpretation of the genre or done much real innovation…Ikebe Shakedown is here to change that.  The band takes signature Afrobeat elements—big unison horns, slinky bass lines, tight little guitar licks—and blends them with tasty grooves culled from ’70s-style horn-driven funk”. – Marlon Bishop, WNYC

The Ikebe debut for Ubiquity Records sees the band push their globally-informed sound and eclectic approach to tune-writing into new territory. “Self-titling the album is a way to introduce the audience to the many facets of the band — to provide a more complete understanding of what we do,” bassist Vince Chiarito says.  “Our sound has grown to incorporate our influences without overtly representing any one in particular.  It just sounds like us,” he adds.

Most of the rhythm section met at Bard College, and the band rounded-out and officially formed when everyone settled in Brooklyn in 2008.  From there, Ikebe has emerged as a compelling voice on the progressive local scene.  After a run of dates around NYC, the band recorded their debut 7” single and the EP, Hard Steppin’, which was released on Colemine Records in 2009,receiving high praise from critics and fans alike.  The group was invited to record at Dunham Studios with producer Tom Brenneck and at Killion Sound in Los Angeles, home of engineer Sergio Rios of fellow Ubiquity act, Orgone.  “The studios share a lot of similarities — the tracks were all cut live to tape with minimal use of headphones and overdubs.  This basic approach allowed us to dig in and really focus on getting dynamic performances,” Chiarito explains.

The old school mentality to recording spills over in lush, laid-back, and soulful funk joints like “Kumasi Walk” and “No Name Bar,” where the multi-layered horn section plays off a cavernous backing track of slick drumming, spacey Hammond organ, and nimble guitar riffing.  The cinematic soul sound is warm and deep, with the 7-piece band sounding more like a larger ensemble as increasing layers leap from the tape.  At the other end of the BPM counter, on “Tunjunga,” the band build a gritty African disco jam boasting a floor-filling percussion section, adding seductive guitar licks and an irresistible bass-line to set the horns ablaze. “Tame The Beats” is pure fire — bold melodies and heavy rhythms propel the song, with Meters-esque breakdowns providing only brief respite from the action.

Kumasi Walk

Over the past eight years, Ikebe Shakedown has cemented a reputation as one of New York City’s boldest, most creative instrumental bands. Combining cinematic soul, Afro–funk, deep disco, and an irrepressible groove, Ikebe Shakedown has forged a style all its own. Each song is anchored in the deep-pocketed pulse of its four-man rhythm section (Barnaby Alter, drums; Dave Bourla, percussion; Vince Chiarito, bass; Robin Schmidt, guitar) and driven by one of the tightest horn trios on the East Coast (Mike Buckley, tenor/baritone sax; Jason Colby, trumpet; Nadav Nirenberg, trombone), with tunes ranging from dance-floor burners to lush, captivating scores.

The band first came on the scene with 2009’s debut EP, Hard Steppin’, from Colemine Records. Praised by WNYC’s Soundcheck as “the perfect soundtrack for the unwritten Tarantino movie of your imagination,” the five–song release led to tours up and down both U.S. coasts and paved the way for Ikebe Shakedown’s first full-length LP on Ubiquity Records. Recorded at Killion Sound in L.A. with Orgone’s Sergio Rios and Dunham Studios in Brooklyn with noted producer Tom Brenneck, this self-titled album, released in 2011, featured 14 blistering tracks that Okayplayer called, “an adventurous trip through time” and “one of the best releases of the year.” Having toured the record throughout the U.S. and Canada, Ikebe Shakedown returned to the studio in 2014 for their follow up album for Ubiquity, Stone by Stone. Recorded at Daptone Studios, the 10-song set let the band become more adventurous than ever before, weaving psychedelic textures and raw soul into powerful compositions, or as Wax Poetics called it, “a greasy and sometimes trippy funk world.”

Now, after hitting major jazz festivals, opening on extended runs for stars like Lee Fields, and with the band’s members simultaneously touring with acts like Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley and His Extraordinaires, and the Monophonics, Ikebe Shakedown is poised for their next big release in 2017. The new album, The Way Home, is due out October 20th on Colemine Records. It shows how the band’s style has continued to evolve, with material that transports listeners beyond their living rooms into dance parties and spaces for introspection. Building on the success that has led to musical features in series such as Eastbound and Down, movies like Our Brand is Crisis, and commercials for brands including Mini Cooper, Vans’ Off the Wall, and Surfline, the songs are at once richly familiar and incredibly fresh, paying homage to classic influences while pushing a brand new sound. Defying genre or classification, this album proves Ikebe Shakedown is helping define the next bold and soulful wave in instrumental music.

Kumasi Walk

Ikebe Shakedown

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