Week 2: Jan 14-20
Portland, Or
Welcome to my weekly recommendation digest. I am posting an album a day on threads and Instagram but this digest has more ways to listen, ways to buy physical or digital releases, a few more images, and some background words from me on why I selected this album.
This experimental project will evolve over time, I may try some themes, some vibes but definitely no requests.
Week 2 digest was massively delayed due to Portland Snow/Ice/Wind, Travels to NYC, and work (not the greatest start to a regular endeavor)
Day 8
Attica Blues
Attica Blues
Mowax
1997
The group began life in 1994 when producers D'Afro (aka Charlie Dark, born Charlie Williams) and Tony Nwachukwu first met up. D'Afro had previously founded London's Urban Poets Society collective but the duo later became Attica Blues. While trying to sell some Japanese hip-hop records, D'Afro met up with Mo'Wax founder James Lavelle and was offered a spot on his Mo'Wax label despite never having made music before. The duo began recording their first single alone but when a local student, the Egyptian-born Roba El-Essawy, visited the studio during the recording for their debut single, D'Afro and Nwachukwu decided to ask her to join them. The band released their first single in 1995 and their debut album in 1997.
Not available on Spotify (None of the Mowax records are) or Bandcamp.
Singer Roba released her debut solo release under the name MidnightRoba in 2021. The album was titled Golden Seams and is available on streaming services and on her bandcamp site
Attica Blues have in recent years been back in the studio and are teasing a comeback with a third studio album.
Day 9
Alice Coltrane
World Galaxy
Impulse records
1972
A really special record for me, one I probably got to way too late in my life. I think I found this after digging through John Coltrane’s releases and then I discovered Alice. Alice’s journey through jazz, ambient, improvisation and spiritual journeys has never really been explored or talked about in a way that would have been if she was a man. Or maybe her journeys into spiritualism turned people off?
For me her music is very special to me, somewhere between meditation, spiritual practices and really good jazz, when it breaks “Jazz” boundaries. Uplifting,
In January 1966, Alice Coltrane replaced McCoy Tyner as pianist with John Coltrane's group. She subsequently recorded with him and continued playing with the band until John's death in 1967. After her husband's death, she continued to develop the spiritual vision, and started to release records as her own composer.
”One day, when she was struggling with her health and caring for her young family of four children, there was a knock at the door and to her immense surprise a full-sized Lyon and Healy concert harp was delivered, having been ordered by her husband for her before his unexpected death. From 1968 to 1977, she released thirteen full-length records. As the years passed, her musical direction moved further from standard jazz into the more cosmic, spiritual world. Until 1973, she released music with Impulse! Records, the jazz label for which her husband recorded. From 1973 to 1978, she released on Warner Bros. until she stepped away from the public eye.”
After the death of her husband, Coltrane experienced severe weight loss hallucinations and sleepless nights, which she would later describe as her undergoing tapas (a Sanskrit term for spiritual birthing). Seeing Coltrane in a state of emotional turmoil a colleague of hers introduced her to the Yoga guru Swami Satchidananda, under whom she studied Hinduism during the early
1970s. By 1972, she moved to California, where she established the Vedantic Center in 1975. She developed original melodies from the traditional chants and started to experiment by including synthesizers, eastern song structures and aspects of Gospel music in her compositions.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Coltrane would release books, through her private publishing company, the Avatar Book Institute. Endless Wisdom I, was released in 1982 with an amazing cassette, Turiya Sings.
The 1990s saw renewed interest in her work, which led to the release of the compilation Astral Meditations, and in 2004 she released her comeback album Translinear Light.
Amazing super inspiring article to go deeper
Buy it on discogs
Day 10
Carlos Nino & Friends
(I’m just) Chillin’, on Fire
International Anthem Records
2023
Last year, it felt like the mainstream started paying attention to jazz and ambient's love of long, spiritual, spacey tracks. First Andre 3000 with his incredible playful album, and then his producer friend Carlos Nino. Another incredible release by International Anthem, this album is all improv, fun, chill tunes hovering in your speakers.
This album features more than a dozen musicians and includes a who’s who of sonic experimentation — everyone from guitarist Nate Mercereau and saxophonist Kamasi Washington, to New Age cornerstone Laraaji and hip-hop legend André 3000 playing his now trademark flute.
Day 11
Air
Moon Safari
Virgin
1995 (25 years ago to the day)
This album blew me away when I first heard it and it still does today. From the Mike Miles designed album cover, the strings and orchestration, the production some at Abbey Road, introducing me to Beth Hirsch, updating French seventies pop, all of it. Th release came with a short film DVD by Mike Miles, a booklet and a bonus CD of great remixes. Air were always part of my French Connection (Super Discount, Daft Punk, Ed Banger) - but less the partying crowd and more writing poetry and smoking Gauloises.
It always felt like summery warm air coming in a window over a balcony.
I am sat here on a plane waiting to be de-iced in Portland right now - I could do with some of that warm air right now.
A great longer article by Jeremey Allen at Quietus.
Day 12
Charles Webster
Decision Time
Dimensions Recordings
2020
My 2nd recommendation from Charles in less than 2 weeks. He was behind Presence - my first reco. IMO Charles is so under appreciated - he is a British producer who worked with some of dance music's OG's including Juan Atkins, Derrick May, and Kevin Saunderson through his job as a recording engineer at Square Dance studios in Derby, UK
He then moved to San Francisco in 1992 where he started the Love From San Francisco label. Back in the UK in 1996, Webster started the Remote label and released the "All Systems Gone album" in 1999.Years later he released his first solo album - Decision Tree. It feels like a more grown up Burial. In fact Burial's remix of The spell is incredible, more noise, more feelings, darker, but true to its core.
Day 13
Electribe 101
Electribal Memories
Mercury
1990
Another one with singing - I'm not sure what is getting in to me. This is a classic. It sits between so many genres. The band was started by Bille Ray Martin (Loving arms is one of my all time favorite house tunes). She advertised for some musicians, and they built a sounds round her voice.
Electribal Memories is the first album by Electribe 101. It was originally released in 1990 when the world around them were releasing ravey banging tunes, they reached into a Chicago house sound but made it feel European somehow.
The album was re-released in 1998 with three remixes of "Talking with Myself,". In 2002, the album was reissued again under the title The Best of Electribe 101 Featuring Billie Ray Martin. The album has never been released in the United States, and the first pressing was only available as an UK import, despite the release of the album's singles in the US.A second album,”Electribal Soul” was shelved before its release but recently released after 30 years on hard drives.
Half speed Vinyl released this week - superdeluxeedition.com/news…
Day 14
Todd Terje
It’s album time
Olsen
2014
Another connection to rjbirkin
He may have introduced me to Lindstrom (or it may be the other way round) when we worked together way back and that connected me to Todd Terje who is an incredible Norwegian DJ, and producer. His name is a homage to house master Todd Terry.He makes music that straddles and skips a million genres. Part disco, part lounge, part jazz. He makes tracks that can last 14 minutes. Slowly building never losing the focus.
Creating sexy, danceable moments that reminder you of summer balcony’s and teenage discos in southern France.The album includes Terje's 2012 track "Inspector Norse", which became Mixmag's best track of 2012, which is the highlight on this album. The cover art was designed by Bendik Kaltenborn who also designs illustrations for The New Yorker magazine; his illustrations often sit beside the humor columns, and the event listings in the beginning of the magazine.
Week 2 in the books. Added some more words regarding the why’s of these selections (thanks for asking). More comments please.