Procrastinating

Majid Jordan - Take Control

The Anatomy Of Serene Eloquence

La Psychosomnie

midi day job, pt. 4

Finn Rees, one of the key members of Melbourne’s bubbling music scene, announces his debut solo album, Dawn Is A Melody on Mr Bongo with the first single, ‘Looking Up’. As part of 30/70 and Close Counters his previous work has found form in its groove, Dawn Is A Melody instead places the piano and arrangements centre stage, embracing a timeless warmth infused with bittersweet melodies and saturated textures.
 
The lead single ‘Looking Up’ is a divine dose of uplifting, soul-rousing optimism that kicks off the album. A blank canvas for Finn and a whole host of Melbourne’s finest talent to fill with colour. Sitting between spiritual and cinematic, the track instantly envelops you in a swell of vintage hues, Lucky Pereira feathering the drums as Blakely McLean Davies riffs on the double bass. Finn’s fingers flow across the ‘70s Yamaha grand piano, delicately dancing around Siwei Wong’s stunning harp playing as the track builds and breaks. A sublime string section made up of Chloe Danger, Eunise Cheng, Nils Hobiger and McLean Davies, alongside shimmering vocal harmonies by 30/70 bandmate Allysha Joy, lift the track to limitless heights.
 
Finn’s layered synthwork on the Moog and Prophet provides a contemporary touch to proceedings, but one of the beauties of ‘Looking Up’ and the rest of the Dawn Is A Melody is its inability to be placed by age or era. A blend of inspirations from Arthur Verocai to Alice Coltrane, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson to Kamasi Washington, tied together with recording and mix engineer Henry Jenkin’s vintage recording setup warmth.
 
Just as the swell washed in at the start, the tide draws ‘Looking Up’ to a close, fading back out across the horizon as the sun sets another story.

Finn Rees - Looking Up

https://hanlitzgroup.bandcamp.com/album/the-universe-is-magic-feat-kid-sublime

Han Litz ft. Kid Sublime - 'Flute Passion'

One of the most electrifying acts to have emerged in recent years, New Regency Orchestra announce their highly anticipated debut album on Mr Bongo with their first single, ‘Labasta Llego’. A reimagining of Rafael Labasta’s 1972 original, the group have delivered a contemporary take on this sublime serving of Afro-Cuban jazz energy.

Harnessing the fusion of ideas that exploded out of New York’s melding of jazz and Latin during the ‘50s to the ‘70s, New Regency Orchestra are an 18-piece big band that has been setting the scene alight on stage. Led by artistic director Lex Blondin, the group are a hand-picked line-up of some of London’s finest Latin and jazz musicians. Providing a fresh spin on a selection of the seminal songs that emanated out of that golden era, they bring a contemporary radiance to their recordings.

Originally written in 1972 by Dominican trumpeter and orchestra leader Rafael Labasta, who played with greats such as Kako, Cortijo y Su Combo and even The Big 3: Machito, Tito Rodriguez and Tito Puente, ‘Labasta Llego’ is a salsa-infused track bursting with colour and creativity.  Congas, cowbells and timbales dance around bandleader Eliane Correa’s joyous keys providing an infectious rhythm on New Regency Orchestra’s version. With the rhythm locked, a wall of horns blasts you straight to the shores of the Dominican Republic. One of two vocal tracks from the album, Jose Cesar’s expressive vocal tones, backed by Flavio Correa add to the Latin spice, as Nick Walters steps forward for a spirited and spellbinding trumpet solo.

Lex sums up the single perfectly, “It’s one of our live anthems and it always goes down a storm. The music speaks for itself. It’s impossible to keep your hips still with this one!”

New Regency Orchestra - Labasta Llego

To celebrate 10 years of one of London’s most loved underground club nights, Tangent, Mr Bongo are thrilled to launch a new compilation series with the two residents at its helm. John Gómez and Nick the Record present a collection of prized, rare and dancefloor-ready tracks from around the globe that have soundtracked the past decade of parties. The first single from the compilation is a stunning, joy filled, Kompa disco anthem courtesy of Kajou’s ‘Tet Chajé’.

The early years of the party saw the pair delving deep into the afro-disco and zouk crates. One firm favourite is this sparkling slice of Haitian disco heat from 1985. A track that captures the energy of humid nights in the packed discotheques of the Haitian diaspora. With a hint of Lincoln Olivetti Brazilian boogie vibes weaved within, ‘Tet Chajé’ is dosed up on funk basslines, strutting disco-tinged guitars and glimmering percussion. A foundation that lets the addictive, harmonising, Haitian Creole vocals transport you to sunnier settings.

A super rare, Caribbean cut that gives a glimpse into Tangent’s eclectic taste, finally given the remastered reissue it deserves.

Kajou - Tet Chajé

Aerials live, dials tuned, Transmission Towers broadcasting. On either side of the river Mersey, transcendental communications are traded back and forth. Two late-night revellers, one firing messages filled with music, the other returning them laced with lyrics. The result, a dopamine hit of oddball machine soul, melded with a highlife, Afrofuturist touch. Wonky and murky yet deeply emotional, Transmission One, is a debut album that also marks the first release on Luke Una’s É Soul Cultura label, encompassing expertly the off-kilter atmosphere the label sets to orbit. 

A synthesised landscape with a Northern charm, Transmission Towers marry the musical worlds of two artists that last collaborated over a decade ago. 10 years have passed, lives have been led, but a gravitational pull has placed Mark Kyriacou and Eleanor Mante back in each other’s spheres on opposite sides of the city of Liverpool. Energised with a newfound desire to strip it all back to the sounds that influenced their formative years in the late ‘80s and ‘90s - astral travelling, intoxicated on Motor City techno, Black Dog IDM and mystical Sun Ra. 
 
Mark half Irish, half Greek Cypriot, Eleanor half Nigerian, half Ghanian, the music contained within is an alchemy of those roots and the pivotal acts that buried deep into their minds. A cosmic contrast, part machine-made, part distinctly human. Take the opener ‘UP’, an ESG-channelling, sci-fi punk beatdown or the polychromatic hyperspace anthem ‘Roller Skater 23’. 
 
Transportive throughout, you ride the solar waves, pace and emotion ebbing and flowing. Tracks like ‘Go Slow Heart’ and ‘Cosmic Trigger’ step to a slower beat but hit with a punch. The former, a slo-mo blast of celestial tenderness, the latter an otherworldly, chugged-out lunar excursion, micro-dosing on whacked-out Wah Wah and Eleanor’s ethereal vocals. Beaming love letters to space and back, ‘Sparse’ marries the organic with the artificial, pianos and percussion circling around synth pads and broadcasting bleeps.
 
Elsewhere, vibrations move faster. ‘Mega’ strikes, fusing sonic tribalism with psychedelic swirls, as ‘Everything’ sweeps you up in its extra-terrestrial new wave grip. Synth stabs and basslines fizzing from every angle.  
 
Demos of Transmission Towers music surfaced on Luke Una’s radar, making him stop in his tracks. Something magical was emerging, perfectly aligned with the E Soul guardian’s tastes. Guidance followed, quickly turning into conversations about Transmission One becoming the first release on Luke’s own label. 
 
Escapist and futurist yet grounded and relatable. Transmission One is synthesis meets sentiment with a deep, spine-tingling soul at its core.

Transmission Towers - Up

Emilia Sisco’s latest 7” vinyl single is a testament to the timeless allure of vintage soul music. Backed by the esteemed Timmion Records house band Cold Diamond & Mink, Sisco delivers a stellar double-sider that captivates you from start to finish.

On the A-side’s “Lemon Lime Sour” Sisco’s spirited vocals soar over infectious crossover soul terrain, creating an irresistible groove that celebrates the bittersweet feeling of falling in love. The track’s joyful energy invites audiences for a dance along its uplifting message.

Flipping the record reveals the B-side, “Love Can Carry Me,” a soul-stirring beat ballad that showcases Sisco’s growth both as a songwriter and a vocalist. The song’s emotive lyrics and dark melodies create an intimate atmosphere, drawing listeners into its introspective narrative of resilience and hope.

During these tumultuous times, the two tracks encapsulate what funky, emotion-driven music made by real humans is all about, blending Sisco’s undeniable vocal talent with Cold Diamond & Mink’s impeccable musical craftsmanship. With its universal themes and timeless appeal, the new single is poised to resonate with soul music enthusiasts around the globe.

Lemon n Lime Sours

Check out Blanka's new single "Fly (Feat King Krab)" ! 
Listen/Stream the single : https://bfan.link/fly-24

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Birds

Fly (Feat Papa Rua)

Blanka - Fly (Feat King Krab)

128 BPM Rhodes MatE is another revived demo for the forthcoming Forgotten Songs EP. 

Originally conceived as a natural successor to his much loved orchestral piece Within Without, "128 BPM" never quite made the cut on subsequent records. With it's shuffling broken beat and the latin-influenced piano chops also call back to his Penya collaboration Tanto Tiempo. But once the strings make their appearance it's clear that this is a far more lush, epic, orchestral experimentation.

128 BPM Rhodes MatE

128bpm Rhodes MatE

http://www.mrbongo.com/product/tumi-and-the-volume-cd-1153

The most unlikely combination to ever share a melody since free Mandela rallies: Tiago a guitarist with more hair than face, Dave the consciously inconspicuous Jewish bassist, Paulo the vigorous face contorting Mozambican drummer and Tumi a roly-poly twang festooned Muslim emcee. This ladies and gentlemen is Tumi and the Volume, arguably South Africa’s most electric performers. 

The group has managed to create a distinct musical accent for itself that includes blends of samba, swing, hip hop, reggae and poetry that speaks to the unique reality of the South African experience and still relates to the world in that universal way that only beauty can. Think The Roots meets Common by way of South Africa.

The band has wowed audiences all over the country, impressed fellow musicians Blackalicious (U.S.A), Positive Black Souls (Senegal) and Relax (the Netherlands) and has been frequent invitees to world-class music festivals such as the Quart Festival in Norway, North Sea Jazz in Cape Town, Montreal Jazz. They have also played throughout Europe.


Tumi & The Volume - What It's All About

Mr Bongo

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