My favorite song by Neko Case, one of my favorite artists.

Music to Review 56

É Soul Cultura Vol.1 seemed to land at exactly the right moment. Post-lockdown, optimism was back on the rise and the dance floors swelled again. For many listeners, Manchester based DJ Luke Una’s intriguingly woven pattern of new, old, rare and under-discovered music from around the world became the soundtrack to rejuvenated positivity. Piccadilly Records made the release their top compilation of the year, with Rough Trade placing it as their number two. The enthusiasm from the industry was mirrored by record buyers and demonstrated that in the right hands, moving through genres, tempos and decades can make perfect musical sense. 

It was clear from the get-go that the concept warranted a series, there are many sides to É Soul Cultura and many musical stories to tell. This second volume gives another opportunity for Luke to share his journey of the past four decades of staying up late and getting transcendental whilst listening to holy grail music as the city slept. It follows on from where Vol.1 left off, at times venturing into the deeper, spiritual, soulful, downtempo, experimental aspects of his tastes. From the conscious, street soul fusion gospel of Veronica Mickie's 'Lost Children', to an excursion into Swiss, psych, progressive rock in the form of Pyranha, then onto the classic Indian music-inspired electronic workout of Andi Otto's 'Bangalore Whispers'. Luke hints at his softer side in Avis; a sweet, obscure cover version of Minnie Riperton’s ‘Baby, This Love I Have’, as well as championing local heroes in the shape of Manchester’s Yargo and their driving, obscure, proto-house belter, ‘Marimba’. There’s also Japanese, electronic, slo-mo heaviness from 1979, courtesy of Bach Revolution. House music is integral to the É Soul sound and is represented by Nav Aktah’s deep remix of Mr Scruff, and then there’s Isis ‘In Essense’; a track of such majestic brilliance that it has never left Luke’s record bag. 

The selection is eclectic, global, and plucked from different times and spaces. In theory, perhaps they shouldn't work together, but there is a mysterious link that makes them gel as a whole. That’s what Luke does best. He creates a sort of musical alchemy, unifying the diverse. This isn’t a compilation focussed purely on the rare, even though many tracks featured do fall into that camp. It is best described by Luke himself, “It’s not about showing off, collector rarity, or ego-strutting, it’s all about telling stories, sharing the music, and making life’s journey mean something. In the end, of course, it’s just a compilation of other people’s music, but hopefully it’s more than that, adding something back to the pot.”

Pyranha - Clepsydre

Best Of

CC Rider

The light recedes,
A final gleam.
The forest pleads
In a waking dream.
The ancient trees ascend,
To shadow and to night,
A silent, waiting friend
Born of the fading light.

Oh, the silence weaves,
A silence, deep and true.
An angel's wing believes,
This silence, holding you.
My heart grows vast, beyond all time,
Lost in the silent, sacred rhyme,
Lost in the silent rhyme.

The moss so deep,
The ground so cool.
A dream to keep
Beside the pool
Of memory, unseen,
A truth and whispered scene
While all the ages slept.

Oh, the silence weaves,
A silence, deep and true.
An angel's wing believes,
This silence, holding you.
My heart grows vast, beyond all time,
Lost in the silent, sacred rhyme,
Lost in the silent rhyme.

Is there a name for this I feel?
Where do my senses stray?
I lose myself in something real
And softly fade away.
A breath, a glance, a holy space,
I am no longer in this place.

Oh, the silence weaves,
This silence breathes in me.
The angel's wing now weaves
My soul for all to see.
My heart is vast, it knows no time,
I am the silent, sacred rhyme,
I am the silent rhyme.

—
Arrangement and vocals: Volker Redder, Udio, Apple's GarageBand
Loops and samples: Volker Redder, Apple's GarageBand
Editing and sound design: Volker Redder, Ozone 11, Sound Studio, GarageBand
Lyrics: Volker Redder, translated with the help of Google Translate
Cover design: Volker Redder, Adobe Photoshop, FLUXpro, Apple's Keynote

Lost In The Silent Rhyme

Money Money 2020

Hammer of the Gods

Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

The Needle Has Landed

1st single taken from the album Muance
to be released on Ici d'ailleurs on October 20th

Pre-order :
CD : www.icidailleurs.com/chapelier-fou?product_id=593
LP : www.icidailleurs.com/chapelier-fou?product_id=592
DL : itunes.apple.com/fr/album/muance/id1242874598

promo : Boogie Drugstore (justine@boogiedrugstore.net)
promo web : Attitude (Xavier@attitude-net.com)
booking : Wart (marine@wartiste.com)
management : Tiphaine (chapelierfou.management@gmail.com)

The Needle Has Landed

Neko Case

Recent comments

Stewart W

Related tracks