‘Roman Norfleet and Be Present Art Group play deeply felt, sometimes earthy, and sometimes cosmic music. A trio (sax, drums, and organ) are augmented by additional percussion, soaring vocals, and even a vocal appearance by a toddler. Roman Norfleet and Be Present Art Group will take you where you need to go. A spiritual classic for the ages, following the lineage of Alice Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders yet firmly rooted in the present.’

‘Deep and haunting; a dense tapestry of layered percussion, time-warped tape loops, and spiralling drumgita figures, all underpinned by hypnotic improvisations from Brazilian pianist Rafael Dos Santos. Privately pressed in 1982, it is both ecstatic and unsettling, a landmark recording in black British experimental music.’

A reissue of Vambe’s privately pressed album from 1982.

‘Occasionally, you find music outside the commercial mainstream, outside of everything – the music of visionaries, eccentrics, inventors, loners. Moondog, Daphne Oram, Harry Partch are from this mould. And so too is Lori Vambe.
‘A self-taught drummer, inventor, and sonic experimentalist, who moved from Harare to London in 1959, Vambe is a unique figure in British music. The creator of his own instrument, the drumgita (pronounced ‘drum-guitar’) or string-drum, Vambe intended to create a kind of music that had never been made in order to pursue access to the fourth dimension. The album plays with time, mixing hypnotic, trance-like drumgita pieces with the same segments played backwards. You can hear echoes of African drumming traditions, minimalist repetition, and tape-manipulated musique concrète— but ultimately, the album defies genre. It is a solitary voyage, spiritual and futuristic.’

‘A deeply emotional, hypnotic fusion of gospel, psychedelic groove, folk, soulful funk, and
Afro-Latin rhythms. Recorded in Pointe-Noire, and originally released in the Republic of Congo in 1982, the album channels the raw spirit of 1980s Congo with vibrant multilingual vocals and rich, polyrhythmic textures.’
Fully remastered from the original tapes.

Thrilling, earthy twists on Ethio Jazz and co — born of authentic engagement and love —  with a knockabout spirituality and body-rocking grooves, by this quintet led by Swedish saxophonist Lina Langendorf.
Gilles has been spinning it.
Check it out!