Thursday, November 02, 2017

NEW RELEASES: FUNKADELIC REWORKED BY DETROITERS; ORCHESTRE LE MANGELEPA – LAST BAND STANDING; WILLS SESSIONS FEATURING AMP FIDDLER – KINDRED LIVE

FUNKADELIC – FUNKADELIC REWORKED BY DETROITERS

The classic sound of Funkadelic, reworked by a key selection of contemporary talents from the Detroit scene – but never in a way that wrecks the originals at all! Unlike other remix projects, which might break up the music to a point that you can hardly recognize the original grooves – this set does a wonderful job of maintaining all the integrity of the famous funky recordings by the group, while also letting some artists from the group's hometown also include a few of their own contributions too – all in ways that really expand the original vision of the music, while keeping things in a funky soul vein all the way through! Given all the greateness of Detroit grooves in recent years – from that city's very fertile underground of producers and musicians – the sound here is still even more amazing than we expected, and the album's a very fitting one to be issued on the Westbound label. The set's double-length, and for good reason too – and titles include "Music 4 My Mother (Underground Resistance mix)", "Sexy Ways (Recloose disco flip)", "Get Your Ass Off & Jam (Marcellus Pittman rmx)", "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure (Alton Miller mix)", "Super Stupid (Dirtbombs version)", "Music For My Mother (Andres Wo Ahh Ay voc mix)", "Cosmic Slop (Moodymann mix)", "Be My Beach (Mophono & Tom Thump)", "Let's Make It Last (Kenny Dixon Jr edit)", "Let's Take It To The Stage (Amp Fiddler @Ya mix)", "Undisco Kidd (Gay Marvine edit)", "Looking Back At You (Ectomorph stripped & dubbed)", and "Standing On The Verge (Anthony Shake Shakir & T Dancer rmx)". ~ Dusty Groove

ORCHESTRE LE MANGELEPA – LAST BAND STANDING

A legendary East African band – finally given their due on the international scene! The set's got all the sharp edges and rich charms of older work by Orchestre Les Mangelepa – but there's also a focused clarity, and maybe even a maturity of presentation that's really nice too – never too polished or commercial, but perhaps a new sense of energy from the group as they spread their music out to a global audience. The lineup mixes original members with some younger musicians – and there's an especially strong sense of vocal interplay on some of the songs – lyrics traded back and forth over the tight percussion, horns, and guitar lines. Titles include "Maindusa", "Nyako Konya", "Ma Lilly", "Mimba", "Suzanna", "Mbungu", and "Malawi Zikomo". ~ Dusty Groove

WILLS SESSIONS FEATURING AMP FIDDLER – KINDRED LIVE

A fantastic step forward for Detroit's hip Will Sessions combo – a set that's every bit as funky as their previous work, but also has a soaring fusion vibe as well! Amp Fiddler's with the group on keyboards – and with his help, they hit sort of a Bitches Brew vibe here – a style that's especially augmented by the great trumpet lines of Sam Beaubein, who's often right out on front, blowing over the heavy drums – and getting plenty of sharp help on guitar, tenor, bass, and percussion! Bryan Arnold mans the might drum kit – and the songs are long, open, and very groovy – one original, plus remakes of tunes by Miles Davis, Jaco Pastorius, and Herbie Hancock – titles that include "Dance Girl/Chameleon", "Bitches Brew", "Sivad", "Black Satin/What I Say", "Kindred", and "River People". ~ Dusty Groove


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