brighteyeslowfruit

Black Focus

Strings of Light

I Marc 4 - Ray Ban

As their third release for the year, Pacific Cruise stands as a bold statement of intention from prolific Melbourne outfit Foreign/National; another leap forward for a collective never content with stasis.  

A continuation of their production partnership with Joey Walker (King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard), Pacific Cruise was born on a glacial winter night, raised in sweaty rehearsal rooms and quickly matured as a staple of the band’s live show - a favourite for audiences throughout the country. 

While retaining their usual spread of crunching, saturated instrumentation, the band again nod lovingly toward slow-burning Motown classics in Pacific Cruise’s skittering and bullish rhythm section.  

Though a healthy dose of fatalism remains present in the single’s lyrics, it does not - by any means - keep the listener at arm’s length. Each phrase carries a careful build-and-release of harmonic tension. Lapping gently over an arrangement spacious by the band’s own standards, the feeling is intimate and resolute. 

From its opening bars, Pacific Cruise whispers with casual menace. By the time those whispers become cries, the saxophone solo hits its peak and confusion gives way for clarity, it’s impossible to turn back. Either you’re right about this, or wrong about everything. 

ARTWORK: Alex Jennings ( www.ajayjennings.com )

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Pacific Cruise

Complete Mythology

Soul Heaven

Gap In The Clouds

Im starting to up some of my long-buried African records that get shamefully little play. Afro Overflow is all about little-known b-sides, obscurities and scratchy, muddy and forgotten records that nobody plays anymore.

Superb melancholic highlife by Akwaboa's Band. Bandleader Kwabena Akwaboa was a major player in Ghana highlife scene starting in the 1960's playing with his own bands and also in K Gyasi's band. Chilled playing, atmospheric mood and the slow pace make this a master class track in my books. Scarce UK press on Decca. 1966.

DJ IJJ'S AFRO OVERFLOW: Akwaboa's Band - Onuapa Due

Suite for Max Brown

Build a Nest (feat. Ruby Parker)

Burning Wooden Ship

For this months edition of 'Softly As A Morning Sunrise' Charles Vaughn invites Nabihah Iqbal to share some her unreleased works. For this mix, Nabihah has put together a selection of original meditations from her current studio sessions, all of which is unreleased and unheard previously. Her melancholic instrumentation and sense of space within each composition is a tribute to her introspective and explorative style; a perfect energy for your morning routine.

Robert Ashley - The Park
Efdemin - Oh, Lovely Appearance of Death
Chassol - Apes Kidz
James Blake - Tep and The Logic
Bill Evans - Solar
Robin McKelle - Back to Black (Unreleased)
Azymuth - Morning

NABIHAH IQBAL GUEST MIX
Untitled

Rare Silk - Storm
Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri - Los Bandidos
Tokyo Academy Philharmonic Chorus Group - Taharazaka
Caetano Veloso - Escapulario
Spanish Harlem Orchestra - Sacala Bailar
Herbie Hancock - I Thought It Was You
Victoria Santa Cruz - Me Gritaron Negra!
Joe Armon-Jones - Mollison Dub (V2)

Softly As A Morning Sunrise w/ Nabhiah Iqbal - Feb 2020

Gardens

Left Brain

Build a Nest (feat. Ruby Parker)

Jeff Parker

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