Soul

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Tenderlonious

The 2015 semester is now in session and what better way to reignite than with an absolute banger of a release from one of our favourite South London crews. Yes the 22a imprint makes a welcome return to our turntable with a fourth outing, an EP entitled ‘Thoughts of You’ from label boss Tenderlonious. Since we last caught up with the South London multi-instrumentalist and vocalist behind 22a’s existence a little under a year ago, things have moved on at a rapid pace for him and his 22a bredren. A third split release featuring beats from Mo Colours and Reginald Omas Mamode IV appeared back in September of last year and quickly sold out (original copies of the vinyl are now fetching a tidy sum on Discogs), while two tracks from Tenderlonious were picked up by Sounds of the Universe for their ongoing Art+Sound 12″ series on Soul Jazz Records.

For his first release of 2015, Tenderlonious returns to his own label and drops four tracks of low slung, jazz inflected deep house sounds that clearly take inspiration from days gone by without ever resorting to pastiche – a trap which so many of today’s producers seem to fall into. Kicking things off on a loose limbed tip with the spatial ‘Something Special’, cosmic keys ride over chattering percussion for a pretty excellent opening shot. ‘Little D’ is a little darker in mood but no less essential with its nagging rhythms, while on the flip, ‘Thoughts Of You…’ continues the mid tempo four to floor attitude, pairing flourishes of jazz piano with a driving kick. This is most definitely Detroit Beatdown… Peckham style. Finally, the set closes out with possibly the strongest cut ‘Wow Wee (Not Seen U B4)’, which slowly drifts into view after a brief interlude, a minimal beat giving way to elongated and circular tones that produce the sort of mesmerising effect you would normally find exuding from the depths of downtown Chicago . Without doubt a solid four-tracker, you should get your hands on this limited release before you have to resort to finding a (more expensive) copy on the second hand market. It seems the 22a crew are here to stay and with each record, the music just keeps getting stronger.

Stream a few clips of the EP below and then go grab the 12″ either via the 22a Bandcamp or Soho’s finest Sounds of the Universe. We guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Well unless you are this girl

Tenderlonius on Facebook
22a on Twitter

Souleance

With the World Cup finally over, so finishes our month long hiatus from the Internet (well, predominantly this blog), but that’s not to say there’s not a little more Brazilian sunshine to enjoy before we get plugged in again and the clouds descend (although we expect the mood in Rio is still pretty overcast). When thoughts turn to sunnier climes, it’s always nice to pack a tropical tune or two, and whether it be South American or otherwise, it seems the French production duo Souleance share the same view as they’ve turned in a new four track EP of beat-orientated Brazilian edits for the First Word Records fam.

Since pairing up back in 2009 for the supremely well-received boom-bap mission that was the ‘Le Monde’ EP, DJ Soulist and Fulgeance have already released an album and several EPs for the London-based record imprint and here they pull together another quartet of beats that are this time heavily indebted to Bahia and beyond. Released last week on digital, the little collection packs a serious kick when it comes to all things Samba and things start promisingly with ‘Segrados do Samba’, a heavily filtered Samba rhythm giving way to snapping drums, percussion,  a nimble electric piano line and a choice vocal refrain that gives the tune a boisterous bounce. Elsewhere there’s ‘Vem Jogar’, a suitably smooth journey that comes some way to giving us an idea of what would happen if Maga Bo got hold of the Azymuth master tapes, while ‘Novo Mundo’ is another choice cut, underpinned by a funky breakbeat and a curious vocal hook. Finally, for the digital heads there’s ‘Dum Dum’ which so happens to be our preferred rhythm and one sure to cause a little damage on the dancefloor.

Preview all four tracks below via the wonders of Bandcamp and look out for a 7″ to drop later this month.

Soul-Identity Radio

Just squeezing in the right side of May, here’s the stream and track list for our latest show on MEATtransMISSION radio.  2 hours of assorted Soul-Identity endorsed beats from the crates, a miss mash of soul, hip-hop, house and disco.

PLAYLIST

1. LSK – Hate or Love (Mahogany Mix)
2. Dwelogy & SV – Brandi [Flava Dré Brandizzle Blend]
3. Five Deez – Kissyface
4. Al Dobson Jr. – Nankoo on Keys
5. Bok Bok Feat Kelela – Melba’s Call
6. Slakah & The Beatchild Feat Ayah – Keep Up
7. Low Leaf – As One
8. Mark De Clive-Lowe – The Mission
9. Dele Sosimi Afro Orchestra – Ojoro
10. Te’Amir – Ballake
11. Dames Brown – Soul Fly (Extended Mix)
12. Seven Davis Jr. – One
13. Massimiliano Pagliara – It’s A Lately Thing
14. Chez Damier, Siler & Dima, Thomas Zander – Speechless (Rex Club Paris Mix)
15. Ron Trent – Future Shock
16. Mark E – Being Hiding
17. Ugly Drums – Don’t Let Life (Passing by)
18. Mome – About A Groove
19. Raw Essence – Disco Fever
20. Al Kent – Gee Whizz
21. Wood, Brass And Steel – Funkanova

LISTEN AGAIN

Soul-Identity Radio Show 18/05/14 by Soul-Identity Music on Mixcloud

GUESTMIX004 | Neil Bopperson (Wah Wah 45s) (May 2014)

A little late in the month but no doubt we hadn’t forgotten. Just in time for the Bank Holiday break we present our fourth guest mix of 2014 and it’s a cheeky little number from Neil Bopperson of Wah Wah 45s fame. The third man behind the blazing London imprint does not disappoint either, digging in the crates for some lesser known gems that take us on a 50 minute journey of deep and funky grooves. As a permanent fixture on London’s club circuit, Bopperson has already shared bills with a varied array of talent including BBC Radio 6 Music’s Huey Morgan, Plan B, Debruit, as well as seemingly everyone’s favourite DJ Theo Parrish and Jazzanova! Kicking things off here with a little mellow Montana, you get raw soul, funk and jazz in abundance.

For a few more of Neil’s selections, make sure to check out his Mixcloud page and if radio is more your thing, it might be nice to know that he also also hosts a show on the excellent French online station Le Mellotron once a month. As part of the Wah Wah 45s collective, you can also find him regularly rocking an assortment of London’s venues – next up for him is this Friday’s Wah Wah South event at Brixton Jamm featuring a guest DJ set from edit king Yam Who?, as well as a June 20th date out East at The Hive Project / The Yard alongside Andrew Ashong, Josie Rebelle and a live PA from Lea Lea. Then it’s time to head out for this summer’s festival season where Wah Wah 45s will be making appearances at the Southern Soul festival in Montenegro and Bestival on the Isle of Wight.This year also sees the independent label celebrate its 15 year anniversary and on October 11th, amongst a glittering array of live talent, the boys will be flying in the legendary Kenny Dope to headline their birthday bash at Oval Space. You can pre-order tickets here.

On the label front, Neil helps out on the day to day running of the business and having just announced the signing of London’s Afrobeat king Dele Sosimi to their artist roster, it’s looking like another busy summer of releases. Look out for a brilliantly atmospheric cover of the Talking Heads classic (and Greg Wilson favourite) ‘Pyscho Killer’ by Lea Lea, as well as a reissued gem in the form of the rare ‘One More Step’ LP from Canadian pianist Henry-Pierre Noel and more new music from Paper Tiger, The Gene Dudley GroupHackney Colliery Band and Stac!

To stream this month’s mixtape click below and if you dig it, make sure to let Neil know over on his Twitter.

GUESTMIX004 | Neil Bopperson (Wah Wah 45s) (May 2014) by Soul-Identity Music on Mixcloud

TRACKLIST

Montana – Warp Factor II (Atlantic)
The Soul Fantastics – Ain’t No Sunshine (Soundway)
Willie West – Fairchild (Josie Records)
Slide 5 – Outerspace (Ubiquity Records)
Alain Toussaint – Get Out Of My Life Woman (Bell Records)
The Lost Generation – This Is The Lost Generation (Brunswick)
Richie Phoe – I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You (Wah Wah 45s)
Gary Burton Quartet – Las Vegas Tango (Atlantic)
Teotima Ensemble – Gloves Off (First Word)
The Five Corners Quintet – Hot Rod (Ricky Tick)
The Soul Session – Horse With No Name (Bopperson Edit) (Free Download)

Mark de Clive-Lowe

Anyone at least a little familiar with this site and its history will know that among other things we have a heavy interest in the genre that is (was) dubbed ‘broken beat’. From that now seemingly dormant scene there is perhaps one man that, since the mid-noughties, has continued to forge a lead all of his own, building an impressive CV that has seen him relentlessly tour (both as a musician and a DJ), promote, collaborate and release eight albums over a productive sixteen year stint.

With his ninth album ‘CHURCH’ now in the bag and due to be issued later on May 27th via Mashibeats/Ropeadope (on digital, CD and 2 LP vinyl!), Mark de Clive-Lowe is now back on the promotion trail to ensure he maximises the returns on an album that promises to put the producer firmly back in the spotlight as a present-day pioneer. In celebrating the recent milestone of acquiring 20,000 fans on Facebook, the producer, beat-maker and virtuoso keyboardist has decided to compile a 2GB collection of his previously recorded work and release it free via the BitTorrent platform. Comprising of early albums such as his debut ‘Six Degrees’, the trailblazing ‘Tide’s Arising’ and the super rare Japanese outing ‘Journey 2 The Light’, as well as EPs, remixes and rarities, the package serves as a perfect introduction to the man and his music and a reminder to more seasoned followers of the quality and depth of his back catalogue.

Available for only 24 hours, the file should be off air by 17:00 BST tonight, so whether you want to download everything or simply plug a few gaps in your current MDCL collection, we urge you to visit this site NOW.

If you still need a little persuading, you’ll find five of our favourite picks from de Clive-Lowe’s early discography below. If you’re a fan of electronic soul, then there’s a whole heap of treasure to discover!