Snips
Water Get No Enemy / The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

Obscure, rare spiritual jazz, deep folk and psychedelia sounds from the French ‘70s - ‘80s underground‘Spirit of France’ is an anthology celebrating the French artists whose total desire not to belong to a particular trend expanded their horizon by pushing the boundaries of creative music. Recording in caves during the full moon, or in the open air in Ibiza to celebrate the sun - with flutes, cromorne (French woodwind reed), darbouka and hurdy-gurdy, or with fascinating, unusual, artist-build instruments, with sounds heavily influenced from Indian, African, Arabic, Eastern and Malagasy cultures, this is what makes this compilation so unique.Freedom of expression, experimental creativity and collaboration constitute the fuel for these hand picked artists – similar to Don Cherry’s influence on Colin Walcott and Kahil El’Zabar (in the field of jazz), and folk background artists like Robbie Basho and Sandy Bull; in Europe, the same approach was manifested in Italy with bassist Marcello Melis, the Sardinian singers from the Gruppo Rubanu, Aktuala and Futuro Antico. In France, Cossi Anatz, Nu Creative Methods and Sonorhc were also echoing the same approach.‘Spirit of France’ – a long project in the making, is dedicated in unearthing more than just curiosities, instead focusing on never been reissued, obscure, artist-self-released music. Carefully curated by Spiritmuse Records’ Mark Gallagher and Thea Ioannou, and joined by young French digger Tom Val, ‘Spirit of France’ is an anthology of obscure spiritual jazz and its’ relationship with deep folk in the ‘70s - ‘80s French multi-cultural melting pot underground scene.The album’s aim is evident from the outset, with Rémy Couvez’s aptly named ‘Rêve de Voyage’, illustrating the theme’s quest for imaginary folklore, continued with Workshop de Lyon, Jef Gilson – France’s spiritual jazz giant, Sylvain Kassap, Noco Music, Pân-Râ, L’Empire des Sons, Ghédalia Tazartès, and the mysterious Adjenar Sidar Khan. Some of these artists remain unacknowledged, yet they’re all extraordinary heroes of the French music avant-garde scene.‘Spirit of France’ is a journey of imaginary folklore, blending spiritual jazz influences and deep folk, celebrating the unique sounds of the French avant-garde underground, at the crossroads of the tribal, the secular and the universal.

While Jimetta Rose composed the songs on How Good It Is, a collaboration with Los Angeles community gospel choir The Voices of Creation, during a period of personal hardship, even the album's most bittersweet moments feel hopeful and positive. As a result, the set's six tracks feel surprisingly joyous, with inspiring choral, solo and spoken word vocals rising above backing tracks that variously offer nods towards the Staple Singers, Funkadelic and Sly Stone. It's a genuinely timeless, life-affirming collection, with highlights including blindingly good opener 'Let The Sunshine In', the atmospheric, slow-motion shuffle of 'Operation Feed Yourself', the squelchy and suspenseful brilliance of 'Answer The Call' and the sweet release of original gospel compilation 'Ain't Life Grand'.

Julian LAGEThe LayersBlue Note

Enregistrement public le 29 Janvier 2017 à Port-Louis – Festival Jazz Miniatures – FranceCet album est une trace laissée après un voyage d’exploration ayant eu lieu en France du 29 Janvier au 12 Février 2017, dans le cadre du projet The Bridge, un réseau transatlantique pour les musiques créatives. Denis Fournier est né à Montpellier dans le sud de la France. Autodidacte, il commence à jouer de la batterie à l’âge de 15 ans, et devient professionnel à 17 ans. Bien que son premier contact avec la musique fût le rock, il se tourne ensuite vers le jazz. Vers le début des années 80, Denis développe une nouvelle conception mélodique de la percussion et transforme son instrument pour étendre ses possibilités afin de former un monde sonore unique et indépendant.“Les musiques du monde de Denis Fournier reviennent toujours vers le jazz, vers sa nature expérimentale et sa grandeur dans l’émotion de l’instant… Il s’inscrit dans la lignée des maîtres de la batterie free tel Milford Graves, Barry Altchul et également de Max Roach ou Philly Joe Jones”.

TBMO first revisited the works of elders Batsumi and Malombo whilst on tour in Europe during 2018 and 2019. In collaboration with Matsuli Music an idea was seeded to record these works specifically for a vinyl release.With these recordings, TBMO work to re-stitch a torn cloth. These songs are critical shards of a fractured sonic, social and political inheritance. They are the sound-work of the elders – Mongezi Feza, Johnny Dyani, the Malopoets, Batsumi, and Philip Tabane, and they come with a blessing from Moses Taiwa Molelekwa. Called into the circle for this session, they speak old wisdom in new voices, and what they have to give is not measured in distance from a so- called original version.TBMO is a South African performance art and music ensemble from Johannesburg formed in 2009 by brothers Nkululelo and Siyabonga Mthembu whilst watching an episode of the US TV-drama The Wire. The name is a misconfiguration of a fictional character, The Brother Mouzone, from The Wire. Since 2009 they have released two albums, A New Myth (2013) and The Golden Wake (2015).