The guitarist’s debut album, inspired by a road trip through Brazil, taking in a Sun City Girls show in a remote former gay club, and a visit to a spiritual healer. He leads upright bass, drums, vibraphone, saxophone and percussion.
‘I decided that I would try to forge, in my own way, from my references, from my universe and from the collective intelligence and sensibility that surrounded me, fundamental melodies, repetitive, minimal, hypnotic rhythmic and harmonic patterns that would be crossed by some sort of improvisation, something that referred to a reality that existed before my individual history, that linked to the life of other places and other times.’
‘unique and beguiling…evocative and profound… music of rare depth’ (The Wire).
‘taps into the common ground between meditative, ambient and trance musics… delightful’
(Chris May, All About Jazz).
A symphonic layering of phone-taps by Scanner and TT, aka DJ Sprinkles.
Plus some deep, glitchy Ambient by the label-boss, with piano and harpsichord.
This is why Robert Hood is such a don.
‘A pinnacle of Detroit techno. Best-known for the lip-biting minimalism of One Circle, with its chant ‘Detroit’ and body-rocking riff-mongery, or maybe for the killer variation Explain The Style… but for us the EP’s shortest and freakiest number Modern And Ancient steals the show; a mad, half-stepping slice of Afro-futurist electro that still blows our mind today.’
The post bop masters with pianist Lawrence Fields, bassist Linda May Han Oh, and drummer Joey Baron. Two Shorter classics — Fee Fi Fo Fum and Juju — in amongst their originals.
The Upsetter’s imperious do-over of the almighty Skylarking rhythm, featuring himself alongside Winston Blake at the microphone, berating people for having fun in public. (‘Sylvester the jesterer from Manchester’, you know who you are.)
Contrastingly backed with Jimmy Riley in a sombre mood, c&w soul style, over a bare-bones reworking of the People Funny Boy rhythm.
Unmissable, obviously.
Captivatingly decentred, ghostly dubscapes, unhurriedly rolling out elements of jazz, reggae and — yep — Estonian folk music, with suspenseful toms, groovy double bass and punky-reggae guitar, and some lovely xylophone and accordion playing. Have a listen.