Owner: Eclectic Grooves URL:http://eclectic-grooves.blogspot.com Join Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 15:32:19 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Eclectic Grooves will take you on a journey through altered states of consciousness. It features an exciting mix of avant garde, international, soul, blues, etc. Please stop by and let me know what you think. Site statistics:Click here
Monomono in Stereo 2007-10-03 20:14:00 Monomono- Dawn of AwarenessLately, I have been on a psychedelic afro-beat kick. You will probably be into Monomono's Dawn of Awareness if you dug the Chrissy Zebby Tembo from last week . However, their sound is more reminiscent of Fela Kuti's syncopated afro-beat funk than Tembo's afro-psych fuzz guitar sound."Dawn of Awareness" was released on Capitol Records in 1974 to little critical acclaim. Friday Jumbo, the leader of Monomono was a member of Fela's group before he joined forces with vocalist Joni Hasstrup and bassist Kenneth Okulolo to form Monomono. The opening track entitled "Awareness Is What You Need" really nails the Fela afro-beat sound while still creating it's own sound. "Ipade Aladun" is the longest track on here at just over eight minutes and it really cooks with soulful vocals laid over a bed of funky organs and keyboards. Lots of breaks and weird sound effects for the beat junkies on this track alone. At just under five minutes, "Tire Loma Da Nigbehin" is the e Read more:Stereo
Worship At the Altar of Number 9 2007-09-30 15:06:00 Ric Colbeck Quartet- The Sun Is Coming Up[UK Fontana, 1970]This one was featured on Church Number
Nine back in May, but the link was removed a couple months ago. I want to dedicate this post to them, because I most likely wouldn't have been exposed to Ric Colbeck if they hadn't posted it. Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth proclaims this as #5 on his top 10 from the Free Jazz underground list, and I can definitely see why. "Aphrodite" starts with a frenzied drum solo right out the gates that stands up to Rashied Ali's dynamic work on Coltrane's "Interstellar Space". The drums continue this erratic tempo throughout the entire song but are joined by flurries of intense blowing from Mike Osborne on Alto Sax and Ric Colbeck on trumpet. There are some electrifying parts around the ten minute mark of the song where Ric's trumpet and Mike's alto sax combine for a dissonant mind-melting excursion. Towards the end of the track, a bass solo slows down the tempo and then the original theme is Read more:Altar
Howlin' On the 4th 2007-07-04 16:17:00 Happy 4th of July to everyone who recognizes the 4th as a holiday!About a week ago, someone requested that I post a very rare Howlin' Wolf album. Ask and ye shall receive.Here is a review I posted during March on Ear Fuzz that hopefully gives you an idea of what it sounds like.Howlin Wolf was persuaded to record This is Howlin' Wolf's New Album for Cadet Concept in 1969. This label also released Muddy Water's Electric Mud which has a similar electric rock-n-roll blues sound designed to pull in bigger audiences for both bluesmen. Wolf's opinion of this record was emblazoned on the cover in bold letters- This Is Howlin Wolf's New Album. he Doesn't Like It. He Didn't Like His Electric Guitar At First Either. The idea of creating this album came to Marshall Chess after he toured with the Rolling Stones and realized that they were making money off of the blues legends who influenced them. He brought in the same band that was used in the Electric Mud sessions: Pete Cosey and Phil Upc
Afro Beat Electro Groove 2007-04-25 20:04:00 I wanted to let you know that one of the most amazing bands from the Congolese is coming to Portland. Konono No.1 has been mesmerizing crowds around the world with their unorthodox instrumentation and trance-inducing rhythms. Konono No.1 has often been compared to avant-punksters The Ex from the Netherlands who dedicated a song to Konono No.1 on it's latest album Turn. Beneath the power and distortion of the amplified likembes and distorted basslines lies beautiful African harmonizing that recalls Ladysmith Black Mambazo. I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be than at the Aladdin theater tonight. This show is going to be too good to miss. I have posted two songs from each record to give you an idea of what they sound like in both a live and studio environment. Konono No.1- Lufuala Ndonga and Kule KuleCongotronics [Crammed Discs, 2005]Buy It HereKonono No.1- Zeyisalangayizama and Ku HollandeLubuaka [Terp Records, 2004]
Read more:Electro
, Groove
Variety is the Spice of Life 2007-04-14 19:29:00 Johnny Jenkins- Ton Ton Macoute, 1970, Capricorn Johnny Jenkins recorded this legendary funk-inflected swamp blues album in 1970 at the ripe age of 31. Jenkins was a huge influence on the playing of Jimi Hendrix and on Ton Ton Macoute, Jenkins concocts a heady brew of Hendrix-flavored psychedelia mixed with gospel, delta blues and swamp rock. Beck liked the sound of his rendition of the Dr. John classic "I Walk on Gilded Splinters" so much that he sampled the infectious drum beat for his hit song "Loser". On "Sick and Tired" Johnny really funks it up with an infectious mix of wah wah guitar, tight beats and gutsy vocals that really make you believe in the power of soul. Other standouts include the psychedelic gospel soul of "Voodoo and You" and the wonderful organ and slide guitar driven "Leaving Trunk". Check out this underappreciated classic in all it's glory while the getting's good. Get it hereApryl Fool- S/T, 1969, Label UnknownI was really surprised to find out that this experi Read more:Spice
, Variety
Sun City Girls and Delta Dan 2007-02-24 19:31:00 It was brought to my attention by the FM Shades blog that Charles Gocher from the Sun City Girls
passed away on February 20th at the age of 54. Charles had been battling cancer over the last three years, but apparently he only wanted his immediate family and friends to know about his illness. I was privileged enough to witness his frenetic free-jazz inspired drumming and spoken-word at a Sun City Girls show at Dante's in Portland, OR on 11/13/02. It was a sight to behold , and an experience that I will never forget. I wish I had gone to the band's last show in Portland, but unfortunately I can't turn back the hands of time. In honor of Charles and his recordings with the Sun City Girls, I am posting an album from the Sun City Girls' limited edition Carnival Folklore Resurrection Series called The Handsome Stranger which primarily focuses on the profanity-laced beat poet stylings of Gocher with Alan and Rick Bishop complementing him with a loungey jazz backdrop on piano and guitar. Read more:Delta
MV& EE w/ Charalambides 2007-02-20 17:33:00 I wanted to post a little something on MV & EE w/ The Bummer Road since they are rolling through Portland tonight w/ Charalambides at The Reed College Chapel. I realize its not much notice, but if you want to head out to the show, it's probably around $6-8.The MV stands for Matt Valentine and the EE stands for Erika Elder. The married duo have been releasing limited edition CD-R's and vinyl that have long gone out of print. For those of you who weren't fortunate enough to snag those when they were in print, you can still find them scattered on various blogs and file sharing services such as Soulseek. I will be posting a couple of these later this week, so keep your eyes peeled for that. Since time is of the essence I am only going to say that ever since I discovered the Tower Recordings (MV & EE's band before they started MV & EE w/ The Bummer Road) ) album Folk Scene, I have been mesmerized with it's intoxicating blend of atmospheric folk, indian ragas, experimental sound
On the 8th Day of Christmas... 2006-12-20 15:34:00 Blue Yule This is the second installment of Christmas
goodies for your stocking. I hope you enjoyed the Where Will You Be Christmas Day album that was posted yesterday. I decided to give you a double dose of Christmas goodness today. Blue Yule, which was released by Rhino Records in 1991, is an essential compilation of Blues greats such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Sonny Boy Williamson, John Lee Hooker and Big Jack Johnson belting out their Christmas favorites. Blue Yule is one of my favorite Cd's to spin during the Christmas season. It is the Christmas sound spiked with raw, soulful performances from some of the greatest artists in Blues. If you like a little bit more whiskey in your eggnog, then you'll love Blue Yule. Please go here or to your local record store and pick up a copy of this CD.Christmas Cookin'The second part of this post is dedicated to "The Incredible Jimmy Smith" and his astonishing Hammond B3 organ playing. Jimmy Smith first released Christmas Cookin' on Verve Record
Punk Jazz from Macabre Land 2007-10-12 19:18:00 Dull Schicksal- They Saved Hitler's BrainUnfortunately, I was unable to find much information on this album and that includes the cover art. This image was taken from the movie trailer for the 1966 Sci-Fi film that was adapted for television from the feature film "Madmen of Mandoras" directed by David Bradley. I do know that it was released in 1991 on the Dutch Label ADM, but it's extremely hard to find.Dull Schicksal was a Rotterdam-based band that existed from 1984 to 1999 with permanent members Lukas Simonis (guitar, synth, vocals), Hajo Doorn (drums, keyboards, vocals, also known as Raoul Goudvis), Colin McClure (accordeon, bass, sousaphone, keyboards, vocals, sometimes listed as Colin McClean), and Henk Bakker (flute, clarinet, vocals). I can only describe "They Saved Hitler's Brain" as avant garde prog punk jazz that sounds like nothing I've ever heard before. It has elements of The Ex, Marc Ribot and Dog Faced Hermans with marching band and free-jazz textures added to it's
A Little July in October 2007-10-20 16:27:00 Well, I apologize for the lack of new posts this week, but I have been under the weather. If you want to know when this site is updated in the future, please sign up for my feed via Feedburner. Another way to receive this information is by adding Eclectic Grooves to your Technorati favorites. I hope to update more frequently next week with some new tunes that I'm sure you will dig. In the meantime, please feel free to leave any requests in the "General comments" above. July- S/TThis UK psychedelic gem is out of print in the US, but it can be purchased here in an expensive Japanese import edition. As far as I know, this is the only slab of wax that July ever recorded. Epic Records released this record at the height of psych rock's popularity in 1968. Unfortunately, the band received very little fanfare and disbanded a year after their inception. Lead vocalist, Tom Newman, would become renowned as the recording engineer for Mike Oldfield's instrumental concept album Tubular Bells, whi Read more:October
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