Ignace De Souza Les Black Santiagos
Yao Yôyô / Zangbétô

Transversales Disques presents for the first time on LP, François de Roubaix’s full score for the French TV series Les Secrets de la Mer Rouge, an adaptation of the epic travel, through the Middle East, of the famous writer and explorer Henri de Monfreid. This album is a collection of the original (1967) themes and those recorded later in 1975 when the TV series was continued.In the 1967 soundtrack, de Roubaix uses various flutes, marine conches, and for underwater views, unexpected instruments such as a celesta or a crystal xylophone. By 1975, electronic technology had dramatically developed and this evolution is clearly apparent when one listens to the recordings of the two seasons. For the later 1975 series, de Roubaix composed a new music score, mixing old and new sounds, a great combination of EMS VCS3 synthesizer subtly mixed with acoustic instruments.For François de Roubaix, there was never a border between fiction, life and music, and writing music for Les secrets de la Mer Rouge was an extension of his love of the open sea.

John Wardle, alias Jah Wobble, came to fame in the late Seventies at the age of 20 as bass player for John Lydon’s first post-Sex Pistols outfit, Public Image Limited, following this with a series of collaborations with members of German avant gardists Can and U2 guitarist the Edge. He plays on today.He quit the biz and spent time in the Eighties driving trains on the London Underground. Happily, creativity won out and this show from 1992 is from one of a series of charity shows co-ordinated by New Musical Express at London’s Town & Country Club under the banner Viva Eight. Highlights include ‘Visions Of You’ from 1991’s classic ‘Rising Above Bedlam’ album, ‘How Much Are They?’ and the iconic ‘Invaders Of The Heart’ from which his group take their name. The performance includes percussion and exotic dancing, and is an audio-visual treat.

Award-winning Iranian percussionist Mohammad Reza Mortazavi describes the rhythm of eternity or ‘Ritme Jaavdanegi’ in eight transfixing ways on his first vinyl album, following 12”s with Padre Himalaya and Burnt Friedman’s Nonplace in recent years.A prodigious child student turned absolute master of the tombak - a traditional Iranian drum famed for its wide range of tonalities and striking techniques - Mohammad Reza Mortazavi brings an unparalleled instinct and knowledge to his instrument with each new release, and in recent years has found fine foils in Europe’s experimental garde with collaborators such as Mark Fell, Fis and Burnt Friedman, while also performing at prestigious venues including Berlin Philharmonie and the Sydney Opera House. On this, his 6th solo LP, Latency give Mortazavi room to let his heart run free thru his fingertips. Reflecting on his childhood in Iran - where he first learned the tombak and famously surpassed his teacher’s knowledge by the age of 9 - the artist found an 11/8 time signature in the Farsi phrasing for “Rit - me - Jaav - da - ne - gi”, which gave naturally gave birth to this album.Playing within the tricksy, off-kilter meter, Mortazavi beautifully resolves its lop-sided equation in a fractal not fractious style, with rhythms endlessly rolling from others in a seemingly effortless chain reaction of ballistic physics that barrels straight from his head and heart from fingerskin to drumskin.