a spiritually righteous jazz funk masterpiece

Following the success of the Yumi & The Weather E.P, We at XVI are delighted to welcome home one of our original family members, the mystic, elusive & relentlessly soulful Henry Wu with two beautifully crafted new tracks. 

Natural Complexion combines undeniable grooves with a vintage, lo-fi ambience, completed with Henry's vocals flowing seamlessly over the intertwined rhythms. On the flip side, Dutty Dub moves into jazz -infused broken beat territory, featuring dream -like synth waves washing over scattered drum patterns and some truly phenomenal keyboard playing. 

Released on February 24th.


Henry Wu- Dutty Double

YoungGirl

Playing with Dilla's beats is just another way for me to practice and improvise, guess I'm not the only one doing that.
 
There's no losin' game when playin' with Love 
that's what I've learned from you, Dilla.
 
Blessing

1. What's up (Detroit 98)
2. I believe in a love Supreme (Let me be the one)
3. What a color (Colors of you)

Art Work by J.Lamotta Suzume

About Love #1 (Dilla Tribute)

04.HER HANDS Feat. Allysha Joy - SO.Crates

Taken From: BBE20 Anniversary Mix Series #1 by Chris Read
Buy / Stream: https://bbemusic.lnk.to/ChrisReadBBE20

Celebrating 20 years of Barely Breaking even, independent UK record label presents a series of exclusive DJ mixes to mark the occasion. Available in both mixed and unmixed formats, the series includes a stellar lineup of DJs, selecting their personal favourites and obscure gems from BBE's bounty of classic titles.

The first BBE20 mix in the series comes from highly respected UK DJ and mix-tape specialist Chris Read, the man behind BBC New Music Award winning electronica outfit Maylight and compiler of BBE's 2012 album 'Latin Concrete', which was featured as 'Album Of The Week' by the Independent newspaper. The first of two mixes produced by Chris in celebration of BBE's 20th birthday, the first installment guides the listener on a journey through some of BBE's sultry downtempo and hip hop cuts, steadily making its way toward warm soul and disco, expertly building up momentum over the course of 23 genre-hopping tracks in the mix's 65 minute run-time.

Julien Dyne feat. Parks - Falling Down

About “The Egyptian Second Line” 

In the spirit of reclaiming that which colonization sought to destroy, I'm releasing the first single from my upcoming album Afro-Caribbean Mixtape at the top of Columbus Day weekend. Like a piece of African patchwork, this track is comprised of a lot of different elements — some old, some new. The main body of this record was constructed from the end vamp of a tune I wrote for Dr. Greg Carr (chair of African-American studies at Howard University) called, “Kimathi.” In fact, throughout the piece, you can hear my turntablist, DJ Lady Fingaz, scratching a sample I chopped from one of his interviews. I constructed a new work by cutting and pasting the best moments of Kevin Hays and I playing keyboards on top of the extended jam, and superimposed that over the groove laid down by bassist Vicente Archer, drummer Joe Dyson, and percussionist Daniel Sadownick. I did this with the help of my mix engineer, Blake Leyh (The Wire, Treme). 

Towards the beginning of the piece, you'll hear a chant from vocalists Yolanda Robinson, Jolynda Phillips, and Christina Machado. It's from a thing my father made up while walking through his childhood neighborhood of 13th Ward New Orleans back in the 1940s, “Na-na ni-ta ho-ho. Left, right. Left, right.” Thirty years later, as an elementary school band teacher at McDonogh #15, he had us chant this whenever we marched in second line parades. It recalls the syllabic prayers of ancient languages used in modern dance songs like Mani Dibango's “Soul Makossa,” of which Michael Jackson borrowed for “Wanna Be Startin' Something.”  


The centerpiece of the single is my recitation of a poem I wrote back in 2006 in the aftermath of the flood commonly referred to as “Katrina.” It's called “The Egyptian Second Line.” The gist of the poem toys with the theory that somehow Africans submitted to slavery in an attempt to become better versions of themselves. After the ladies chirp the hook, I step away from the keyboards and embrace the instrument I'm most known for — the trumpet — and blow a few before we take it out. With this song, I am channeling the energy of the ancestors to help give Africa back to herself in the best way I know how, through the power of music. 


In New Orleans, a “second line” is the procession where we dance in the streets to music played by a brass band to celebrate either life or death. When I think about what an Egyptian second line looks like, I think of the imagery of that photo of Louis Armstrong serenading his wife, Lucille in front of the Sphinx — again Africans giving Africa back to herself.
credits
released October 7, 2016 

Nicholas Payton: trumpet, spoken word, Fender Rhodes, Hammond B-3, Clavinet 

Kevin Hays: Fender Rhodes 

Vicente Archer: acoustic bass 

Joe Dyson: drums 

Daniel Sadownick: percussion 

DJ Lady Fingaz: turntable, sampler 

Yolanda Robinson: background vocals 

Jolynda Phillips: background vocals 

Composed by Nicholas Payton (BMI) 

Produced by Nicholas Payton 

Recorded, mixed, mastered, and designed using the PAYTONEsonic™ programming process 

Recording Engineer: David Stoller 

Assistant Engineer: Emily Eck 

Mixing Engineer: Blake Leyh 

Recorded at The Shed, New Orleans, LA 

Mastering: Michael Fossenkemper, Turtletone Studios, NYC 
turtletonestudio.com 

Art Direction: Nicholas Payton 

Cover Painting: Ayanna Bassiouni 

Cover Design: Ayanna Bassiouni

The Egyptian Second Line

The Yussef Kamal Trio Live@Jazz - Refreshed

Mandla Mlangeni:Trumpet,Mark Fransman: Tenor saxophone, bass clarinet and accordion Keenan Ahrends: guitar, Nicholas Williams: bass, Clement Benny: drums, Vocals: Zoe Modiga, Yonela Mnana and Vuyo Tshuma Music Composed by Mandla Mlangeni

Voices of our Vision

Umhlangano

"Lost in the Sauce" is the second single from King Garbage's debut LP, Make It Sweat, out 9/22 on Styles Upon Styles. Kicking off the album with a bittersweet vibe, laid-back yet celebratory with a hangdog's sense of perseverance, the track is a lover's inebriated lament for one last jam before heading home and starting it all over again.

King Garbage’s Make It Sweat LP will be available on September 22, 2017 from Styles Upon Styles.

Learn More: bit.ly/SUS025-KG

King Garbage – Lost In The Sauce (SUS025)

Elevate

Order 12" Album

Breaking (For This World To Change)

First single from the upcoming release Seven Wonders. New Movements in Australian Jazz & Soul A 14 track compilation recorded at Plug Seven Studios In Melbourne Collingwood, in partnership with Wondercore Island, due for release Feb 2020.

The Egyptian Second Line

nicholaspayton

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