2021

The Brkn Record - The Architecture Of Oppression Part 1

You'll find the best new music every week on our playlists. Take a peek and dive into the music! To keep up with the latest new tunes, click on the Linktree in the bio.

Playlist: Today's Banging Beats

We put together a playlist of the best new music of last month.

Twistedsoul Stereo: October

The Brkn Record is a new project led and produced by Jake Ferguson, the co-founder and bass player for the UK’s foundational deep jazz outfit the Heliocentrics. With fellow Heliocentrics co-founder and legendary drummer Malcolm Catto, Ferguson has been a regular collaborator with globally recognised artists including Archie Shepp, Mulatu Astatke, Melvin Van Peebles, Orlando Julius and many others.

The Architecture of Oppression Part 1 represents Ferguson’s debut as a bandleader and orchestrator, and manifests as a committed and soulful response to ongoing and systemic anti-black racism, social oppression and state violence both at home in London and across the globe. Combining poetry, testimony and song with rich and cinematic backdrops, Ferguson has produced a sui generis sound that conjures flavours of Arthur Verocai, Ennio Morricone, classic library productions, Madlib-style deep-jazz beat science, and psychedelic soul. With bandmate Malcolm Catto on drums, Ferguson draws on their long years of collaborative experience in the Heliocentrics to build an album of striking texture and depth. 

But the album does not only reflect Ferguson’s full-spectrum musical prowess, experience and vision. It is equally a manifestation of his longstanding and high-profile work as a frontline activist for racial justice and social equity in London and beyond.

Alongside Malcom Catto, contributors to the album are drawn from the intersecting worlds of community activism, cultural education, politics and music, and include singer and political activist Jermain Jackman, Zara MacFarlane; Chicagoan activist, poet and singer Ugochi Nwaogwugwu; Lee Jasper, longstanding worker for racial justice and former advisor on equalities to the Mayor of London; acclaimed performance poet Dylema; Hackney community leader Janette Collins MBE and Leroy Logan MBE, founder and former chair of the Black Police Association, and the subject of Steve McQueen’s Small Axe episode ‘Red, White and Blue’.

The Architecture of Oppression Part 1 is a singular and urgent chronicle of the black British experience, an upful expression of Pan-African creative unity and community solidarity, and a militant and unbending missive from the frontline in the great tradition of The Impressions’ This Is My Country, Irreversible Entanglements Who Sent You?, Max Roach’s We Insist - Freedom Now Suite, or Linton Kwesi Johnson’s Bass Culture.

A broken record repeats itself, and never plays through – the music is interrupted or trapped in a cycle by damage to the grooves. But The Brkn Record is a work of healing and protection, and a chance to let the full story be heard – all the way to the end, no skips.

The Brkn Record - ‘The Architecture Of Oppression Part 1’

Celestial Greens

‘On The Daily’ is the electrifying first single taken from The Brkn Record’s forthcoming debut album, ‘The Architecture of Oppression Part 1’. A ground-breaking concept album from Jake Ferguson of The Heliocentrics. It is a critical journey through the eyes of black Britons, blending powerful and sobering narratives with psychedelic and soulful symphonies.

‘On The Daily’ is a future anthem that has a timeless quality to it. With flawless production that is relevant and urgent today, but would also feel at home had it emerged from the Cadet Records stable at their 60s and 70s peak. It displays the strength and intimacy of a modern-day Odetta jamming with Charles Stepney. 

A child of Nigerian, West African parents, Ugochi Nwaogwugwu, narrates and delivers the song with the strength and ethereal beautify of an avenging angel. Ugochi describes this song as an "attempt to express the degree of power, resilience and focus it takes to be black and in this world. So many forces trying to take our peace of heart and mind. Though the battle rages on, those on the frontline win when we keep our poise and expose the perpetrators of racism and white terrorism."

This song is a clarion call driving awareness to the fact that these things are happening to black people everyday, and you have to be strong to survive this - on the daily.

The Brkn Record

The Brkn Record - On The Daily (Feat Ugochi Nwaogwugwu)

‘Lifeline’ is the stunning second single taken from The Brkn Record’s forthcoming debut album, ‘The Architecture of Oppression Part 1’. A ground-breaking concept album from Jake Ferguson of The Heliocentrics. It is a critical journey through the eyes of Black Britons, blending powerful and sobering narratives with psychedelic and soulful symphonies.

Fronted by MOBO award-winning Brownswood Recordings artist Zara McFarlane, ‘Lifeline’ is a paean to strength, solidarity and hope atop a blazing psychedelic storm with sonic echoes of the Velvet Underground’s ‘Venus In Furs’.” The song was born during a period when Jake had been listening to Josh White and Johnny Shines and imagined himself sitting alone on a porch somewhere pondering his future. He describes what happened next, “inspired by this scene, I picked up my Thai guitar, which is a four string instrument with a very bluesy, cranky sound, and then the main hook line came to me. I kept playing it over and over again and thought about recording it on its own without other instruments. After a while I started to lay down the first main line, then layered it up a few times to make it sound more lush. Sitting next to the Thai guitar was my electric tanpura which seemed to be calling me to use it which I promptly did to get that drone sound. Next thing I know and I am immersing myself, as usual, in the work of Richard Evans, one of my favourite arrangers of all time and, the man behind Cadet's Soulful Strings which is where I got the inspiration to have strings follow the Thai guitar hook.”

The drums were added to the track by Jake’s long-time collaborator from The Heliocentrics, Malcolm Catto. This loose breakbeat drumming, haunting strings and psychedelic drone culminated in something akin to a tripped-out version of Rotary Connection’s ‘Memory Band’. Jake knew he would need a singer who could cut through, and Zara McFarlane was his first choice. "The clarity and precision of Zara's vocals offered a real juxtaposition to the 'roughness' of the bluesy drone. Also, Zara dug deep to give her own perspective on racism that I hadn't heard before.”

Zara’s serene voice has a magnetic pull that draws everything together on the track. The lyrical content is equally powerful, which she summarises as "an observation of how decisions, made by ourselves and others, affect our circumstances and consequences and thus the pulse of our lives from that moment on.”

The Brkn Record - Lifeline (feat. Zara McFarlane)

‘His Mother’s Eyes’ is a future anthem and the mesmerising third single taken from The Brkn Record’s forthcoming debut album, ‘The Architecture of Oppression Part 1’. A ground-breaking concept album from Jake Ferguson of The Heliocentrics. It is a critical journey through the eyes of Black Britons, blending powerful and sobering narratives with psychedelic and soulful symphonies.

Exquisitely sung by The Voice winner and political activist Jermain Jackman, ‘His Mother’s Eyes’ communicates the pain of loss, the trauma of systemic oppression, and the hope for an end to struggle. 

Jermain described the writing process “I thought about Marvin Gaye’s ‘What’s Going On’ and the opening line "Mother, Mother, there’s too many of you crying”. I asked myself, what was the context in which Marvin wrote that, and how does that relate to today? I felt that song meant so much now, it is still so important and factually correct. I decided to flip it on its head and use that as an inspiration. The first line of ‘His Mother’s Eyes’ is “how do you stop the tears from falling from his Mother’s eyes” - we are talking about George Floyd’s family, but also the families of those who have been killed because of racism, not just police brutality, but negligence, institutional racism, where Black women are five times more likely to lose their child or die themselves during childbirth. It was direct inspiration from Marvin, where at the point he wrote the song he was trying to understand what was going on so we can come together. ‘His Mother’s Eyes’ is a journey from that song to this one that says now we know what is going on how do we stop it? At what point do we stop and listen, and how do we now build to a better future? It felt like a part two where I was writing to ‘What’s Going On’.” 

Jackman’s crystalline voice is matched to an emotionally rich backing reminiscent of Charles Stepney’s timeless Cadet productions. It allows Jermain’s vocal to soar, culminating in an emotionally powerful song that will surely be heralded as an anthem of its time.

Download

The Brkn Record - His Mother’s Eyes (feat Jermain Jackman)

Birdy Island (Remixes)

Foreign Flowers (Dengue Dengue Dengue & Prisma Remix)

‘Melodi’ is the second album from Kit Sebastian. Those familiar with the band's cult classic 2019 debut record 'Mantra Moderne' will instantly recognise their unique sound that blurs boundaries of world music, jazz and psychedelia. Not to be content replicating the same album, sonically the feel of ‘Melodi’ is a maturation. It is more diverse and provides glimpses into many different worlds from the Italian Riviera to the mountains of the Caucasus, the beaches of Bahia to the city streets of Istanbul and Paris. This joyous merging of soundscapes evokes a borderless planet with music as an international language, belonging everywhere and nowhere.

Melodi

Kit Sebastian - Affet Beni

Martin Rude & Jakob Skøtt Duo released 2 albums in 2020: The Discipline of Assent & The Dichotomy of Control. For the third installation in their Stoic opus, they join forces with Tamar Osborn on saxophone & alto flute. Similar to their first 2 albums, Rude & Skøtt improvised a tidal wave of ideas and grooves in the studio of Causa Sui’s Jonas Munk, the perks of which were shipped to the UK for Osborn’s overdubs of echo-drenched sax and wah-flute. An improvisation rippling across time & space, merging a river of constantly in flux head-on improv, as well as making room for floating harmonies and studio-wizardry.

Playful, experimental and explorative, the trio ventures into a free wash of exotica drenched in deep modal jazz-vibes - with splashes of something more futuristic and modern. But contrary to what the title suggests, there are also roaring waves of energy, sizzling funky grooves to complement the ambient undercurrent. It’s a record akin to the library & film music of the 60’s and 70’s and an ode to the willful river of experimental moderation. Far in.


Bios:
Tamar Osborn: Saxophonist, composer and multi-wind instrumentalist is the creative force behind modal jazz ensemble Collocutor (On The Corner Records). She is a long-standing member of the Dele Sosimi Afrobeat Orchestra, performs and collaborates regularly with Sarathy Korwar, Jessica Lauren, Emanative, Ill Considered and DJ Khalab, and is an in-demand session musician.

Martin Rude: Multi-string instrumentalist & lead singer in Sun River, as well as stand-in bass player in Causa Sui. 

Jakob Skøtt: Drummer in Causa Sui with a slew of side projects on El Paraiso, as well as responsible for the label’s visuals.

Rude Skøtt Osborn Trio: L'Ombra Blu

https://soundcloud.com/mushrooms-project2
https://soundcloud.com/roam-recordings
🛒 https://www.beatport.com/label/roam-recordings/26722
🔊 https://youtu.be/JWA_tM2AWPI

San Francisco based record label Roam Recordings celebrates its 100th release with a compilation from beloved alumni and new artists offering original work spanning darker shades of disco, cosmic techno, psychedelic, and acid house. What started as a group of ravers in the mid 90s that roamed the countryside (mostly in the US, Canada, and Mexico) looking for parties has evolved under the direction of its boss Jason Peters into a record label featuring a diverse array of internationally known artists. The in tent of the record label is to continue the journey in search of new sounds while honoring the past. The Roam 100 Compilation is a milestone in that journey. It has been arranged to be enjoyed from beginning to end and to be rifled through at will.

Tracklist:

Animale - Mushrooms Project 
Eloquence - Lucare & Popular
Galaxia Sin Control - Ademarr 
Horizon - Damon Jee
Digital Words - Zakmina
Moroccan Head Dream - AIMES
Invisible Man - Disco Mortale
Sonido Espacial - Theus Mago
Jo-Jo - Moisees & Zea
Pinch and Punch - Duncan Gray
Nova - Jason Peters
Keep Your Body High - Silicodisco & Futuristant
Dance of the Magicians - Alejandro Molinari
Es Mental - Tiempo de Maldad feat. los Dvtsuns
Badlands - Kate Stein
Never Going Home - Tronik Youth
Reflections (Original Mix) - Javier Busto & Eva G. Feat. Rams
Masquerade - Azaria & Alvaro Cabana
Illusion - DJ Rocca
Stolen Accuracy  - Teniente Castillo
I Wanna Sem You - The Emperor Machine

The Roam 100 Compilation

Animale

PREMERE: Mushrooms Project - Animale [Roam Recordings]

On the outside he hadn't changed, his face looked the same — his eyes remained sunken, his brow still furrowed — but there was something different about his personality. There was a renewed sense of self, he seemed assured, reborn almost, which was a far cry away from the person she'd known before. What had spurred on this change? Where had it come from? She needed a dose of whatever he'd taken...

Paris' La Mverte has made a name for himself through his slew of releases on Her Majesty's Ship, which blur the borders between sounds like new wave, electro, acid and dark disco. Now he's taking matters into his own hands with the launch of his new label Les Enfers, and much like the sonics we've come to know him for, the imprint will continue to swirl around dark, hypnotic, punk-tinged sounds.

Titled 'Alchemy Calls', the EP sees La Mverte pay homage, in name, to the different alchemical stages associated with working with the prima materia to produce the philosopher's stone. Backed by two remixes from Javi Redondo and Anatolian Weapons, and featuring a collaboration with Vox Low singer Jean-Christophe Couderc, the original tracks tip the hat to electro and Belgian new beat, driven by gritty machines and filled with raw energy.

Alchemy Calls

PREMIERE: La Mverte - Rubedo [Les Enfers]

’Assimilation’ is the fourth, and final, single taken from The Brkn Record’s forthcoming debut album, ‘The Architecture of Oppression Part 1’. A groundbreaking concept album from Jake Ferguson of The Heliocentrics. It is a critical journey through the eyes of Black Britons, blending powerful and sobering narratives with psychedelic and soulful symphonies.

It is a track that has an overwhelming potency and power. A visceral tour de force that stops you in your tracks. The music has a Wagnerian manner to it, culminating in a dramatic and emotional intensity, masterfully matched by the evocative lyrics and their delivery. Over a pulsing, ominous beat, spoken word artist, singer and performance poet Dylema breaks down the psychological and social violations entrenched by the pressure placed on Black and Brown people to ‘assimilate’ to so-called English culture. 

Born and raised in Nigeria, Dylema moved to England in 2000 and it is this lived experience that is expressed in the song’s lyrics, "When I came to this country, I had such a strong accent that it was really difficult to blend in. Before I opened my mouth, you had the Black thing, and when I opened my mouth you had the African thing. People were taken aback by that, and so I found myself assimilating and remembering my experience of that assimilation. I felt in order to survive in England I would have to learn how to speak like an English person. Even though I have this accent right now, it is completely fake. It never left me to have an African accent, so amongst my friends and people close to me, I slip back without even noticing. The level of skill I had to have to assimilate into England required so much of me. Even if you’re not born and raised in Africa, there are so many things that Black British people have to do to assimilate without even noticing it. I still feel like I haven’t completely assimilated and I’m ok with that now. That is what inspired me to write Assimilation. I felt someone needed to put a voice to what we actually do to ourselves to be respected or accepted in Britain.”

The Brkn Record - Assimilation (feat. Dylema)

La Mano - Tarvisio EP
BUY LINK: https://smarturl.it/uahxvs
Release date: 29 october 2021
Label: sounddujour (https://soundcloud.com/user-457597245)
https://soundcloud.com/lamanomusic

Tarvisio EP is the debut release for Sound Du Jour, the new label founded and run by producer La Mano.

The EP’s first single Tarvisio is an acidic, 808 heavy, electro driven workout, with a pulsing bassline and hypnotic, arpeggiated synths.
Veteran DJ/Producer Kiwi works his magic on Tarvisio taking all the important parts of the original and adding floaty pads and strings, new percussive elements and a driving bassline.

The anthemic Kursaal merges layers of breaks with chopped up melodic vocals and a reverb drenched melancholic lead.

BUY LINK

PREMIERE : La Mano - Tarvisio (Original Mix)

It was dark all around, little sound to be heard but for the pitter patter of footsteps on the gravel below. In the distance there were dancing, dazzling lights but he was far away from them for now. His breath left a trail of fog in the midnight air - it was cold out, the seasons were changing. Some might not have chosen to brace the elements on a night like this but not him. He was cool, calm and composed - a late night runner who left it all behind when his feet hit the concrete. Everything was a blur...

Hany is a German producer set to release a sprawling record on Too Rough 4 Radio. The release features a number of tracks which transcend style and genre, weaving between jungle, breaks, fast paced house and techno.

PREMIERE: Hany - Läufer [Too Rough 4 Radio]

* Subscribe for more premieres: bit.ly/2igyosu
* Read more: https://boltingbits.com/diogo-sempre-para-diante-rave-tuga/
* Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0J5LlXj5NF0
* Pre-order: https://ravetuga.bandcamp.com/album/sempre-para-diante

The 9th release on Lisbon's dance agitators Rave Tuga is on the way: an EP, available on tape and digital by local mainstay DIOGO, who's been loyally serving the dancefloors of Lisbon in the past few years via his sick DJing and productions. Recruits for the remixer role are other two legends of our scene: genius clubkid Ecstasya and spot-on dance composer Moreno Ácido.

Acid and jacking flavours gladly meet again, with an added ray of local sunshine, on the opener 'Paz d'Alma'. The skillfully programmed 303 lines keep going throughout the album, on the A3 accompanied by a sick electro groove and emotional pads and some bleepy chill-packed vibes on the A4.

The B side switches gears into techno territory, with steady hi hats guiding the groove; relentlessness pervading on 'Brick & Mortar'. Ecstasya steps in to remix the title track with a dramatic take chock-full of hyperpop stabs, sentimental chipmunk vocals and re-constructed clubby beats, the Lisbon way. Moreno Ácido takes the scenic route with dubbed out harmonies and warm, blissed-out beats and bass.

Sempre Para Diante

PREMIERE: Diogo - Sempre Para Diante

The Brkn Record - A Police Service, Not A Police Force (feat. Lee Jasper)

The Brkn Record - Break The Chains

The Brkn Record - Brother Andrew – The Investigator (feat. Brother Andrew Muhammad)

here's that electronic version, similar arrangement to the other one, just kind of has more blips

Yamantaka // Sonic Titan - Hoshi Neko Remix Electronic Version

saxsyndrum's single 'up to you', set to be released on a 7" via oh hi (ohhicollective.com/) featuring a dub version on the b-side

physical orders: http://saxsyndrum.com

Saxsyndrum - Up To You

Music video game for "I Don't Wanna Cry": http://dreambuttons.com/IDontWannaCry/
Play it now in your web browser or on your iOS or Android device, it's free!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tommy-Toussaint/141591589227131 
http://twitter.com/#!/tommytoussaint

--- 
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http://www.facebook.com/badpandarecords 
http://twitter.com/#!/badpandarecords

Tommy Toussaint - Scared to Death

Debut Album "Under Water" Out Now on Atlas Chair
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/under-water/id1100207082
www.babyalpa.ca
www.facebook.com/babyalpacalove
www.twitter.com/babyalpacalove
www.atlaschair.tumblr.com/
Limited edition vinyl is available for sale via atlaschair@gmail.com

Digitally here:
iTunes America - bit.ly/14UoYUm
iTunes UK - bit.ly/12fvdRq
iTunes Belgium - bit.ly/14u6qbd
iTunes France - bit.ly/1a9rVnS
iTunes Netherlands - bit.ly/11JN93z
iTunes Germany - bit.ly/178ZanB
Amazon - amzn.to/1a9rREG
etc.

STEMS to REMIX: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xfjus255eg0qr0f/Wild%20Child%20BPM100%20STEMS.zip

Wild Child

You said I was a loser, you said I was a boozer
That I’m not going anywhere, but I don’t care 
What you think with your little mind, You don’t feel 
Like I feel, and I’m feeling fine

I’m feeling wild child driving with a blindfold
Don’t need a hand to hold, Don’t need a hand to hold
I’ve got a wild side, maybe you should know
We’re never going home, We’re never going home

You said I was a loser, you said I was a boozer
You said that I live in fear, do I look afraid?
Standing strong, standing brave
Ready to accept my fate, ready to accept my fate

I’m feeling wild child driving with a blindfold
Don’t need a hand to hold, Don’t need a hand to hold
I’ve got a wild side, maybe you should know
We’re never going home, We’re never going home

My mom says it’s a means to an end, that I’m never gonna win but I keep on churnin
She says she’s afraid for the day when I end up dead
I love livin in the red, livin day to day, it’s my wage
Freedom, my pay

I’m feeling wild child driving with a blindfold
Don’t need a hand to hold, Don’t need a hand to hold
I’ve got a wild side, maybe you should know
We’re never going home, We’re never going home

Wild Child

Record label. Record shop. Film label. Since 1989.

The Brkn Record - Assimilation (feat. Dylema)

Mr Bongo