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Deft - One Eye Open

From EP "NO FORMAT : Vendredi Rework"

VIDEO CLIP : http://bit.ly/1IC6mOM
SPOTIFY : http://spoti.fi/1vA00Ki
DEEZER : http://bit.ly/1uv2V69
YOUTUBE bit.ly/1cwyVbV 

Part 1 : Bamako Skills

Taken from Nicolas Godin' debut album "Contrepoint"
released 18th Sept 2015 on NCLS / Because Music

Pre order "Contrepoint" : http://po.st/Contrepoint
Download Orca now : http://po.st/OrcaSingle


Contrepoint

Orca

Roasted Pheasant

MadColour - All I Need Is Some Sunshine

A recent stripped-down, ethereal dub version of the DJ Shadow feat. Little Dragon remix I originally did a few years ago. Played all the guitars myself and all those soaring, whispy whale mating calls are actually my man REED MATHIS on his bass guitar through his patented effect configuration. No drums, more room for the analog delays to breath, or swim, between the notes.

DJ SHADOW Ft. LITTLE DRAGON "Scale It Back (Jeremy Sole's Ephemeral Ether Distillation)"

Ménage à Trois - All Night Long

Download: https://www.xlr8r.com/mp3/2016/10/monster-rally-full-sail/

@monster-rally
@goldrobotrecords

Mystery Cove [via XLR8R]

Download: Monster Rally - Full Sail

"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
=========
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. 

But always, The Expansions has remained a central focus and the true home of these four jazz and soul lovers, with occasional trips out to the country to form ideas and practice new music for the eventual album. 

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.

Roasted Pheasant

leae

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