All the best new music reviewed by Meme Magazine http://www.mememagazine.com/content/Meme_Music_Reviews.xml http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Thu, 08 Dec 2011 06:41:28 +0000 Thu, 08 Dec 2011 06:41:15 +0000 FeedForAll Mac v2.1 (2.1.0.1); http://www.FeedForAll.com/ The blurb says ‘an addictive listen, Chapters reveals more with each play’ and we couldn’t agree more. The danger is that people dismiss this elegant and alluring album too early, without really getting under its skin. And there are plenty of skins - Masaaki Yoshida builds layer upon layer of rhythms, melodies and harmonies in each of the exquisitely crafted tracks, and these take a good few listens to really appreciate... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/anchorsong-chapters-tru-thoughts/ 87C640A3-7320-403C-840A-4404B6ABAAE6-5932-00007719E40E9F84-FFA Thu, 08 Dec 2011 06:41:22 +0000 We’ve been listening to this album quite a lot since we discovered it a few weeks back – it’s one of those that is perfect when you are travelling, or running, or cooking, or even reading, which means that we keep coming back to it again and again. It’s far from simply ‘atmospheric background music’ though; each track is a ‘proper song’, with sufficient structure and complexity to hold your attention, even when some of them are 8 minutes long... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/tycho-dive-ghostly-international/ 0F8A2E40-A58B-46FD-A882-6189452BEC73-1224-00000FDC4263F159-FFA Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:17:34 +0000 It’s lovely down at the Hollow with Adam Scrimshire. You get to listen to all sorts of beautiful and mesmerising music accompanied by some great singers and even a brass band. With this album, Scrimshire has managed to create an collection of diverse songs with a common vibe – one that is both soulful and sombre, sexy and sultry... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/scrimshire-the-hollow-wah-wah-45s/ 1A56B791-3E56-4A74-8BFB-ED8BCF7C3C28-4378-00006D1D2B01E982-FFA Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:03:19 +0000 Go back in time to when music was simple, soulful and superb, when songs had titles such as ‘Somebody’s Been Lovin’ You (But It Ain’t Been Me)’ or ‘I Couldn’t Love You (More Than I Do Now)’, and when gifted artists such as Jean Wells were considered also-rans. The late sixties had to make room for many styles of music, with the embers of rock and roll, the peak of psychedelia, the alternative of soul and the embryo of disco, with artists’ success heavily dependent on radio play as well as early music television such as Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. So, to find a voice amongst all of this was always going to be difficult. But Jean Wells tried, and boy, did she try... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/jean-wells-soul-on-soul-bbe/ C10E4AD3-D44F-4DB3-84E5-C4DD998CB1F9-4238-0000050E6664F940-FFA Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:31:51 +0000 This is the album that M83 always promised too deliver, following his successful debut ‘Saturdays = Youth’ – grand, sweeping synths, plenty of emotion, heaps of melancholy and drops of irony. But ‘Hurry Up We’re Dreaming’ is more than that: it is a ‘tour de force’ for Anthony Gonzalez. When listening to the album one can sense the fervour and energy that has been expended in getting it to this level: this album delivers intensity from start to finish, and, for a double CD, that is no mean feat. Let me give you an example… http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/m83-hurry-up-were-dreaming-naive/ E79DF059-B179-4283-9770-08128FBBF57B-7616-0000359C462730F9-FFA Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:15:23 +0100 You may have noticed that we are quite big fans of the label known as BBE, or Barely Breaking Even. Their output is both prolific and diverse – there is the BBE ‘foundation’ of hip hop (e.g. Beat Generation), as well as soul (e.g. Jean Wells), afrobeat (e.g. Spoek Mathambo), disco (e.g. Al Kent), reggae (e.g. Dave Rodigan), house (e.g. Louie Vega) and electronica (e.g. Julien Dyne) music from original artists and on superb compilation series... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/va-bbe-15-15-years-of-real-music-for-real-people-bbe/ 7AC9B2B3-CE98-4350-83D1-7217271A118C-56681-0003B70255899CEE-FFA Wed, 05 Oct 2011 10:38:10 +0100 Ashley Anderson, aka Katalyst, seems to have carved his own little niche at BBE, sitting somewhere between the hip hop roots of the label and its inherent soul spirit. ‘Deep Impressions’ is a fine collection of tracks with deep beats, gutsy vocals and catchy tunes... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/katalyst-deep-impressions-bbe/ E6E72D69-E633-4948-92B3-C740DE5FA633-6215-00006002037E7EE9-FFA Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:32:03 +0100 Buzzin’ Fly does indie! That could be the headline for this album, if it weren’t so simplistic. This is actually a complex and highly satisfying album that manages to marry indie and electronica together with grace and style. The mood of the whole album is deep and sensuous, never getting over-excited but never losing the inherent tension created by the Buzzin’ Fly beats... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/flowers-and-sea-creatures-flowers-and-sea-creatures-buzzin-fly/ 667EF5A5-03C9-464F-8D1B-65EBCFCB583B-1116-000016FF96436A60-FFA Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:23:33 +0100 Regina carry on a long-tradition of bands that we think started with the ethereal sounds of Cocteau Twins, and is now called ‘shoegaze’ or ‘dreampop’. There are plenty of other bands out there doing similar stuff (just have a listen to the latest Late Night Tales compilation from MGMT for evidence) but Regina seem to do it very well. We’re not sure if it’s the language angle that makes the difference; all the songs are sung in Finnish (which compares favourably with the made-up languages of Sigur Ros and Cocteau Twins), the cleanness of the production (Regina have been around a while so should know how to make a good album by now) or the atmospheric vocals from Iisa Pykäri (which are much improved since the last LP)... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/regina-soita-mulle-friendly-fire/ 99F56199-CE04-4847-9659-8D43EA1011CC-33081-0001507858A29CD1-FFA Sat, 24 Sep 2011 12:57:17 +0100 The blurb from the label gives a pretty good rundown of the tracks on this LP, so let's get right down to the nub of question. Is this album just another 'coffee table' selection of retro soul tunes (as some have claimed) or does it stand up in its own right as a new and original work? http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/lack-of-afro-this-time-freestyle/ 445E80B8-967D-4768-A2D7-B44A3CD554B8-5597-000039D1308F6008-FFA Sun, 18 Sep 2011 11:18:22 +0100 It’s difficult to know where to start, when faced with two (full-to-bursting) CDs of the very best of a prolific, brilliant, genre-transcending artist on one of the most innovative record labels around. But it’s a very nice problem to have. After 10 years and 12 albums on Tru Thoughts Records, this retrospective of Quantic’s full range of work will provide much aural satisfaction to anyone who appreciates quality music... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/quantic-the-best-of-quantic-tru-thoughts/ 65710668-ED5C-4CE3-BD97-69A510B5CDC1-25936-00015C81CC7F5737-FFA Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:55:14 +0100 The attraction of the ‘pureness’ of this record, with its vintageness and analogueness (if they are real words), especially when applied to reggae music, is certainly enough to peak your interest. And with that amazing album title, which must have come in a very inspired moment or as a bet, this is already a record that you will want to listen to whatever the genre. But none of this will matter a jot if the music isn’t good enough... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/extra-classic-your-light-like-white-lightning-your-light-like-a-laser-beam-manimal-vinyl/ 469370F7-4119-42A5-8A9C-ECD456B7703F-41197-0001E3DCC1972582-FFA Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:13:47 +0100 This album came out a few weeks ago, probably whilst you were sunning yourselves on the beaches of the Riviera, so it’s worth highlighting, through the unquestionably authoritative power of a Meme Review, exactly how good the record is. Wah Wah 45s is a growing label with a distinct sound and big ambitions... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/va-allo-love-vol-1-wah-wah-45s/ D7B9071C-D71B-4AE0-872E-4089B9E02E57-19872-0000DEC7E97BFE65-FFA Thu, 01 Sep 2011 22:36:13 +0100 We sincerely hope you read past the ‘radio-friendly three minute pop anthems’ bit in the blurb above, because, whilst pretty much all the songs are radio-friendly, three minutes long and have an anthemic pop feel to them, they are also much more than that over-used phrase would suggest. Ste has managed to create an intelligent, uplifting, consistently good and even humorous album... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/kidda-hotel-radio-skint/ F52A9BBE-D781-4C94-89B0-3C5C63052408-9638-00008B64957E8709-FFA Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:25:09 +0100 Kid Creole and the Coconuts have been neither underground nor mainstream (despite a collaboration once with Barry Manilow) during a career that has lasted over 30 years. So, with a new album now due 10 years after the last one (the live ‘Too Cool To Conga!’), the big question is whether August Darnell is going to go all freaky on us, producing a cutting-edge but undanceable mess or go for the sell-out approach with instantly-forgettable pop powered by auto-tune vocals. Well the good, and bad, news is that ‘I Wake Up Screaming’ is neither of those nightmares... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/kid-creole-and-the-coconuts-i-wake-up-screaming-strut/ A25AD3CD-819C-49E2-B0F4-C32FDAAD8CBE-23376-00012D297FB8C91B-FFA Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:10:11 +0100 We’ve got to admit, we were really surprised at how good this record is. We had assumed that it was going to be another retro-funk effort like all of the others, but the diversity of the music, the quality of the playing and the knock-out vocals make this album really stand out. And I’m sure Greg and the band would be the first to admit that Sulene Fleming‘s contribution in front of the microphone is definitely what makes this record special. .... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/the-fantastics-all-the-people-freestyle/ 1C33F4C5-1CF1-469E-89A0-05071D7573F9-12736-0001316F6C226CA2-FFA Thu, 11 Aug 2011 08:53:34 +0100 The Salsoul label, funded by brothers Joseph, Stanley and Kenneth Cayre in 1975, was fundamental in the development of dance music, right from the point that they released the first commercially available 12″ record in 1976. Therefore it is extremely welcoming to find that Harmless Records have put this 3xCD set of the labels best mixes. Some of these, such as ‘Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’, will be instantly recognisable to many people in the street, and others will be familiar from the samples that have been used more recently (‘Love Sensation’ and ‘Love Is You’), but, only when you hear all 31 tracks that have been compiled on this release, do you realise how bloody good this music is.... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/va-mixology-the-definitive-salsoul-mixes-harmless/ C29849EE-0F2E-4D2B-BFD6-17835A6DB0DB-11998-0000C7870125311C-FFA Wed, 20 Jul 2011 06:41:14 +0100 If you go way back in time to 2009 you will find a track by The Mighty Show-Stoppers called ‘Hippy Skippy Moon Strut’ on our MemeMix006. That stand-out track was pure, concentrated funk, but the band was completely made up. Now, fast forward to today, and we have ‘Black Feeling Volume 2′: the concept is exactly the same, even including another track from The Mighty Show Stoppers (‘Shaft In Africa’), but we think the music on Volume 2 is even better... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/va-black-feeling-vol-2-freestyle/ C027ED50-B9E7-49FB-A922-AEFBA13FE03E-34907-0001F08BF09BAA5B-FFA Sat, 16 Jul 2011 08:22:47 +0100 When you’ve collected pretty much all of the Good Times compilations as they’ve been released (Volume 6 being our favourite, by the way) then it’s tricky to see what a ’30th Anniversary’ disc will do. Well, what it does for you is it puts the whole thing into perspective – this is a man who took his sound system to a completely new level, in effect creating a brand around it and him... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/va-norman-jay-presents-good-times-30-strut/ 6B8D13A1-9FE6-4CD2-BF43-8BF9A40D7920-7442-00009393CCF20559-FFA Fri, 08 Jul 2011 18:31:35 +0100 The minimalist blurb from the label belies the fact that this is a really lovely record to listen to, and, to be quite honest, it deserves more hype than it is currently getting. We covered one of the tracks’ videos recently (Tobrok’s ‘Take Em Off‘) which really epitomises the type of electronica music you will find through the album’s 36 tracks... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/va-beat-power-a-u-d-d-a/ 941D7012-9ED7-410F-822D-D8513F2E32CB-520-000001F102ACDF9D-FFA Thu, 30 Jun 2011 07:27:48 +0100 There is a sub-sub-genre of achingly-hip brass bands around at the moment, including The Hypnotic Brass Ensemble from Chicago and the Hot 8 Brass Band from New Orleans. And now, from our very own London town, we have the Hackney Colliery Band... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/hackney-colliery-band-hackney-colliery-band-wah-wah-45s/ 40C42E51-5228-46F0-ACBD-FDB2284748C2-1215-00000C7423E091CD-FFA Sat, 25 Jun 2011 11:01:01 +0100 With its Tru Thoughts credentials, this was never going to be a disappointing album, but even we were surprised at how much we actually enjoyed the whole listening experience. Mr Boko has made a well-balanced, soulful, danceable and even humorous record, and he has managed to do it using a wide variety styles, ideas and singers... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/benji-boko-beats-treats-all-things-unique-tru-thoughts/ AAFD366C-8D7D-42A1-8A6F-5710735A07BB-15635-00009B40132053A5-FFA Wed, 15 Jun 2011 06:39:12 +0100 This is an album with a very definite feel and mood – the Latin and African beats are paced and deliberate (clearly influenced by the Thievery Corporation production) with the vocal contributions (from label-mates Natalia Clavier, Sitali, Verny Varela and Chico Mann) having to share centre stage with them. None of the tracks really jump out to bite you, which could, in some cases, all add up to a rather dreary record; luckily it is that overall purposeful vibe that gives the LP its appeal... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/ocote-soul-sounds-taurus-esl/ 2C0245EA-20A4-46A1-A514-F55588C99AA5-5020-00005D4957ECC2F7-FFA Sat, 11 Jun 2011 18:02:05 +0100 We absolutely love this album. Using the seven inch as its ‘hook’, is a great idea but it is the quality of the tracks that are featured that makes this record worth spending your pocket money on. Right from the very beginning, with the James Taylor Quartet’s hammond-heavy ‘Senouci Part 1′, to the very last (‘Get Carter’ by The Filthy Six) each of the songs is a corker... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/va-seven-heven-compiled-by-mark-webster-bbe/ B53B8D16-AAEA-47E8-958A-34C32ADB55C7-12096-0001B947A5CCCBCF-FFA Thu, 09 Jun 2011 06:15:19 +0100 Although this is essentially a collection of previous and new songs, rather than a ‘whole’ album, it does not suffer as a result of that. The first track, which gives its name to the LP, sets things out well, and is probably the best track on the record: telling the story of a country boy wooing a city girl, it is soulful, romantic, danceable and even humorous, all at once. The beats, for us, are pretty magical... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/miles-bonny-lumberjack-soul-mpm/ C71C55E7-912D-49FE-9E13-DE7A1FBBE88E-4071-000016334405FE24-FFA Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:11:00 +0100 You cannot help but admire Julien Mourlon, the founder of Laid Back Radio, for building what is fast becoming a mini media empire, with this compilation being his latest achievement. The ‘74 Miles Away‘ project was interesting enough, but ‘All School Flavour’ breaks more ground by being ‘crowd funded’ and using a wide selection of musicians, all with some Laid Back heritage (and the cover’s pretty cool too). So, is the music any good?... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/va-philly-re-grooved-2-the-tom-moulton-remixes-harmless/ BDE097D8-CF00-46B8-A36B-C0DB64AF949E-630-0000069EA46CA62A-FFA Mon, 23 May 2011 21:07:33 +0100 You cannot help but admire Julien Mourlon, the founder of Laid Back Radio, for building what is fast becoming a mini media empire, with this compilation being his latest achievement. The ‘74 Miles Away‘ project was interesting enough, but ‘All School Flavour’ breaks more ground by being ‘crowd funded’ and using a wide selection of musicians, all with some Laid Back heritage (and the cover’s pretty cool too). So, is the music any good?... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/va-all-school-flavour-vol-1-laid-back/ E4482EBE-FB12-4D88-9D4E-E88190F5F3C5-920-00000E8325930F2A-FFA Wed, 18 May 2011 22:08:44 +0100 With a name like The Pimptones, you would expect something big and brassy to come out of your speakers, which, luckily, is exactly what you do get from this jazz/funk band from the North of England. Or is it funk/jazz band? Wih a good mash up of the styles, it’s difficult to tell, especially with some added Samba beats on ‘Hug Lorenzo’ and an... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/nick-pride-and-the-pimptones-midnight-feast-of-jazz-record-kicks/ 819AC3C1-9C85-4244-925A-01770F87536D-21479-00008047D860BAED-FFA Tue, 17 May 2011 09:20:16 +0100 Another case of instant love from the prolific soulsters. Smoother and more focused than ‘Antique Soul’, this album will push this pair to the forefront of modern soul music and well-deserved popularity... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/smoove-turrell-eccentric-audio-jalapeno/ 320D3FE3-6E53-4FDD-BAB7-F9C331594FAF-35999-0000E47F1572359B-FFA Tue, 10 May 2011 08:32:42 +0100 You will not find a better pedigree of current jazz and afro-cuban musicians together than on this record. Right from the opening track of ‘African Mailman’ the mood is set for a jubilant journey through traditional and new arrangements, expertly led by Ben Lamdin... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/the-rhythmagic-orchestra-the-rhythmagic-orchestra-impossible-ark/ 5C5AB7B5-5E27-4579-9A63-8AE9356537EE-10598-0000A63CB908ED95-FFA Sun, 08 May 2011 10:18:31 +0100 You definitely shouldn’t be put off by the sub-stitle of this LP, ‘B-Sides, Remixes and Exclusive Cuts’, which is usually record label speak for ‘flogging a dead horse’. On ‘Mo Record Kicks Act 2′ the DJ and producer Smoove has compiled a varied selection of funk, soul, reggae and afro-beat from the Record Kicks library, as well as adding in a couple of his own remixes... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/va-smoove-presents-mo-recordkicks-act-ii-record-kicks/ D62991A6-8E52-4C8D-AA85-2C812B83A198-586-00000577E028F96A-FFA Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:22:15 +0100 After the relative success of the comeback-LP ‘Love And Death‘ that was released toward the end of last year, Strut have compiled a double CD of the Ghanian guitarist’s tracks from his heyday, focusing on his solo albums and some of his lesser-known side projects such as the Apagya Show Band.... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/ebo-taylor-life-stories-strut/ 1B20E859-C19E-435A-B41C-8DF46432686C-5567-00007282AC2D7937-FFA Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:20:51 +0100 The Beekeepers are DJ Parker and Scott ‘Boca 45‘ Hendy, two of Bristol’s musical play-makers, and ‘Apiculture’ is their first full-length LP – a study in sweeping, epic sounds over hip hop beats. A couple of the instrumental tracks were released earlier this year as an extremely impressive taster... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/the-beekeepers-apiculture-jalapeno/ 4353F639-CFF4-4AA2-A0EA-5F5314CB66F6-2036-000019F176E54A73-FFA Tue, 26 Apr 2011 20:51:44 +0100 We gave you the heads up on Benny Tones last January when he released the title-track first single from this LP. Benny is part of the burgeoning New Zealand scene which includes Ladi6, Karlmarx and, notably, Electric Wire Hustle, of whom he mixed their eponymous album and has managed all of that band’s live sound. Which all gives you a few big clues to the sort of record this is... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/benny-tones-chrysalis-bbe/ 87220D27-B8C5-4587-BAD4-397780AF464A-11876-0001085624953AAC-FFA Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:20:30 +0100 This is definitely a case of an LP doing ‘exactly what it says on the tin’: The Liberators bring us the funkiest afrobeat sounds we have heard this year. Coming out of Sydney, this 10-piece band have been together less than a year but are putting down some very heavy sounds... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/the-liberators-afrofunk-record-kicks/ 63724694-F650-443B-AE34-05C8884FA0CF-1914-00002B103FE5CE9F-FFA Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:55:08 +0100 This delightful LP is the child of a radio show hosted by German DJ, Quincy Jointz. Essentially a compilation of downtempo, nu-funk, breakbeat, and broken beat tracks, Quincy has selected and mixed 16 tracks featuring acts such as (Meme favourites) Ancient Astronauts, Thunderball and Dr. Rubberfunk... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/quincy-jointz-presents-lime-sorbet-eighth-dimension-records/ 1B636F9E-30EB-4509-A55A-FE17FDA25B2D-1376-00015D5E5A8B5E56-FFA Wed, 06 Apr 2011 19:35:58 +0100 The Ancient Astronauts are Kabanjak and Dugo, two German-born producer-DJs, and ‘Into Bass And Time’ is their second LP on ESL Records, home to Thievery Corporation. Although giving us a similar big bass feel, Ancient Astronauts are like the up-start younger brother to Thievery’s more mature chilled vibe... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/ancient-astronauts-into-bass-and-time-esl/ ACA4C40C-2F14-4ABB-931C-E06177E4D318-92978-0000B1193E465EF1-FFA Mon, 04 Apr 2011 14:58:41 +0100 In the ideal world, this LP would need no promotion at all – the music and artists it features should speak loudly enough for themselves – with names such as J Dilla, King Britt, Pete Rock, will.i.am, Marly Marl, Jazzy Jeff, DJ Spinna and Madlib this is a history lesson in 21st century Hip Hop... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/va-the-beat-generation-10th-anniversary-collection-bbe/ 513989F2-D5FB-4868-9E8B-1FE7223BB346-98265-0001766173BB7E98-FFA Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:05:06 +0100 Ben Lamdin has been a busy boy between his last album, and this, his fourth, working as producer, engineer, musician and on projects with, amongst many others, Jeb Loy Nichols, Lizzy Parks, Larry Stabbins, Alice Russell and his own Nostalgia 77 Octet. Probably due to these many influences, ‘The Sleepwalking Society’ changes the vibe a little from ‘Everything Under The Sun’... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/nostalgia-77-the-sleepwalking-society-tru-thoughts/ A4AFF680-D0D3-4638-8007-61A58B2B84F8-3553-0000507FECF8CD49-FFA Sun, 27 Mar 2011 10:13:26 +0100 One of a current swathe of compilation albums being released by BBE, ‘Henry Street Grooves’ is a collection of top House tunes that were all recorded at the eponymous recording studio / label in Brooklyn run by Johnny deMairo, whose day job was Senior Director A&R for Atlantic Records. Kicking off in 1993, this is a story of... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/va-henry-street-grooves-classic-deep-funky-and-jazzy-house-from-new-york-bbe/ 705F65D2-12BC-409D-8F44-7115C3DBE10B-753-0000120D11488789-FFA Tue, 22 Mar 2011 20:59:28 +0000 Sydney-based Space Invadas, aka Katalyst and Steve Spacek, released an EP of 3 tracks and remixes from this album late last year, which we enjoyed enormously. The album arrived at the end of last month in Europe (it was released initially in Australia) and included a further 12 tracks, making this quite a substantial piece of work... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/space-invadas-soulfi-bbe/ FF663AEB-BA47-4CBB-A031-8866471AC49C-4797-0000202261F29964-FFA Fri, 18 Mar 2011 18:08:46 +0000 If you’ve ever wanted to collect together on one album all of those original soul and funk tunes that have had their breaks used in classic hip hop tracks, then you will surely be satisfied with this new compilation-of-compilations from Harmless... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/va-the-breaks-original-b-boy-street-funk-block-party-classics-harmless/ 6555911C-F0C7-44F0-B599-4F15387F84E3-477-000004C325858870-FFA Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:44:17 +0000 Any disco compilation around at the moment (for there are many) has got to be pretty special if it is to stand out from the crowd, especially if it’s Number 2 in a series (BBE themselves are releasing The M+M Mixes Vol 2 in the same week). So, when Disco Love 2 arrived at Meme Towers it was already facing an uphill challenge. Luckily, it is born of a fine pedigree... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/va-more-rare-disco-soul-uncovered-compiled-by-al-kent-bbe/ C0465B7A-BC78-4497-87D9-3CA0883085F9-623-000005D92C6C3E82-FFA Sat, 12 Mar 2011 09:33:59 +0000 There is no denying the skill and reputation of remixer and producer, John Morales. Listening to this second instalment of his work (we reviewed Volume 1 a long while back) it’s patently obvious his influence on the disco scene of the 80s is profound – we have remixes of Teddy Pendergrass’s ‘The More I Get’, Harold Melvin’s ‘Don’t Give Me Up’ and ‘Young Hearts Run Free’ from Candi Staton, all of which are exemplars of the music of that era... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/va-the-mm-mixes-vol-2-by-john-morales-bbe/ 3CBA0488-8FD7-4E2E-A8C7-ED981FF5BEA6-440-0000034B99473171-FFA Sat, 12 Mar 2011 08:47:43 +0000 By now we don't need to tell you that Lanu is the solo recording nomme-de-guerre of Lance Ferguson, band leader of the mighty Bamboos, whose long player, '4', we included as one of our top 5 albums of 2010. So, is 'Her 12 Faces' just a distracting side project or a solo tour-de-force?... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/lanu-her-12-faces-tru-thoughts/ BCA1DFE0-721D-42D0-96BC-B5E8F773E0B9-12606-00011EE361158900-FFA Sat, 26 Feb 2011 09:05:16 +0000 The first single, ‘Fish In The Sea’, from new Freestyle signing, Frootful, generated a lot of interest on Meme Magazine. Now, with their debut LP ready for release on 21st March 2011, the band are set to get us all going once again. Created and led by Nick Radford and produced by Adam Gibbons (Lack Of Afro) this is an album of fresh soul, jazz and funk tunes with a strong guitar-led theme... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/frootful-colours-freestyle/ 58838B24-E754-4179-9724-E2061E8F837F-86519-0000F62E8500D40C-FFA Mon, 21 Feb 2011 21:42:23 +0000 Everyone needs some soulful hip hop in their life. So we should welcome with open arms ‘Stylin’ Free’ from Bristol beatmaster Ben Dubuisson, aka Hundred Strong. But our welcome for this record should be all the more enthusiastic because of the high quality of the vocal collaborators that Ben has collected together for this, his third album... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/hundred-strong-stylin-free-high-noon/ 7BEEC5CF-24B5-4D83-9373-54903BB3EFEE-13954-0000BDEB61CFE4BF-FFA Tue, 08 Feb 2011 21:37:22 +0000 We previewed a couple of tracks from this LP at the end of last year and they proved very popular, so we were pretty darned excited to get our hands on the full album. Just to remind you (as if we need to), ’74 Miles Away’ has been lovingly put together by our friends... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/pierre-anckaert-trio-vs-monkey-robot-74-miles-away-mpm/ 07D7A915-5A29-479A-BDA1-DB9439BEC8E7-95109-00018D574F409F5C-FFA Fri, 04 Feb 2011 19:13:49 +0000 There are, amongst the great music buying public and, particularly, music journalists, very high expectations for this record. Having released a cover of Feist’s ‘Limit To Your Love‘ to wide acclaim, coming second in BBC‘s acts to look out for in 2011, and a darling of The Guardian newspaper, James Blake‘s mix of minimalist electronica and dubstep has a lot to live up to, especially for a 24 year old releasing a debut LP that was recorded in his bedroom... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/james-blake-james-blake-atlas/ EE785ACB-609C-4149-9CD5-2E9676B07407-97528-0002439D03FD36FF-FFA Fri, 28 Jan 2011 17:00:22 +0000 The ‘Special Edition’ piece of this LP is the extra four tracks that have been added on to a digital-only EP release from late last year. So, that’s the complicated bit out of the way, and we can now talk about the actual music. Slakah The Beatchild is a young Canadian producer / performer of soulful jazz-tipped hip hop, presenting us with a mixture of instrumental and vocal tracks reminiscent of... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/slakah-the-beatchild-something-forever-special-edition-bbe/ A36CE7A3-1AE7-4673-9AC4-0812269353E2-17518-0001663DAF687F4F-FFA Sat, 22 Jan 2011 16:01:07 +0000 This is the debut LP from this pair – producer and DJ Freddie Cruger (also known as Red Astaire) and vocalist Anthony Mills – and follows on from the first single, ‘Heroine’, of which you can see the video here and which will very soon be available as a free download on Bandcamp... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/wildcookie-cookie-dough-tru-thoughts/ 482C2DA0-5AEC-4149-B02D-BE3935DCB1E4-55855-0002D59D38FDB435-FFA Sun, 16 Jan 2011 09:12:09 +0000 Argh! We so wanted to like this LP ‘out of the box’. Having listened to some genius remixes by Stephen Fasano and Vito De Luca, such as their sublime version of Grace Jones’ ‘Williams Blood‘, expectations were running high. Even the departure of Stephen from the duo before the record was made did not dampen... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/aeroplane-we-cant-fly-wall-of-sound/ 4183D7F2-7953-4DC3-84EA-8AA500E9163E-5724-00008184BA2B6ADE-FFA Sun, 26 Dec 2010 08:32:59 +0000 Twice a year the Parisien label Kitsuné Music release a compilation of tracks from their own artists and notable songs from other bands that fall into the nu-rave/electronica/rock/dance crossover style. Number 10 is a bumper edition with two CDs of 25 tracks... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/va-kitsune-maison-10-the-fireworks-issue-kitsune/ 2C423438-068C-4D8E-BCA0-1B96327659D8-31374-0001D24565DA7123-FFA Fri, 03 Dec 2010 12:08:03 +0000 This is not any label sampler, this is a Tru Thoughts label sampler. By which we mean the two CDs, which have been compiled by Rob Louis, are packed with treats and surprises that take this way beyond a collection of ‘previously released tracks’. Probably the biggest, and loveliest, surprise is the dub version of the Dr Who Theme from Smerins Anti-Social Club, but we also have... http://www.mememagazine.com/featured/va-shapes-1002-tru-thoughts/ FA8B50A2-0E83-4D05-A688-8DD6D65EE0C1-25685-0000F1739DCA4C41-FFA Tue, 23 Nov 2010 19:56:53 +0000 You can’t blame chill-out electronica maestros Thievery Corporation for bringing out a ‘Best Of…’ LP, considering they’ve been at it now for 15 years. The tracks have been selected by Rob Garza and Eric Hilton for “longtime fans and for music lovers who have heard of Thievery Corporation but may have never listened to the band”. If you’re like us (which is how we picture you, but with nicer clothes) most of the tracks are probably familiar to you already, although there is one exclusive song included... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/thievery-corporation-it-takes-a-thief-esl-music/ D15C65BB-CE3C-4B9E-AA90-1B42E6F14677-1495-00002B83A1EB4DB7-FFA Fri, 19 Nov 2010 22:04:42 +0000 Once a compilation series gets to number 7, then you should probably start worrying…but…DJ Mark Farina has been delivering a perfect balance of jazz influenced downtempo and dancefloor beats under the Mushroom Jazz title since 1996 (with the first ones being released on cassette tape) and, in our humble opinion, he has managed to get... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/dj-mark-farina-mushroom-jazz-7-mushroom-jazz-recordings/ 9D639D98-BAE6-4785-BAD9-531A72B34E67-24627-00010708712973EA-FFA Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:46:10 +0000 These disco compilations keep coming and coming. Fortunately, the ‘Jumpin” series is a bit a veteran around these parts, having first appeared in 1997 and then again a year later. Volume 3 is being released as one of Harmless Records signature albums of 2010 to mark its 15th anniversary and covers the period of dance music from 1976 to 1986 when disco slowly transformed into the 80s electronic dance scene... http://www.mememagazine.com/reviews/va-jumpin-harmless/ 2A7EAB2F-4081-487B-B813-07458FF5981B-16421-00013C5CB6748D7A-FFA Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:47:05 +0000 Right from the first confident, ebullient horn blasts of this album, it is clear that Ebo Taylor and the Afrobeat Academy are masters of their craft. Ebo Taylor is a veteran of the Ghanian music scene, living the relative celebrity highlife in his country during the 50s and 60s... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=2273 7D51FC8A-5CDF-404B-9E87-1ADBD9FAA120-14758-00013C5C9609C848-FFA Sat, 30 Oct 2010 17:14:21 +0100 There are an awful lot of soul / funk bands around at the moment, and, in a genre where it is relatively difficult to innovate and differentiate, a lot of them sound distinctly samey. So, when Freestyle Records sent us two new LPs from funk bands we were pretty cautious... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=2271 A66683E1-6778-473E-9FF7-2AFAA659EDD7-10952-0000863031B9263C-FFA Tue, 26 Oct 2010 20:36:51 +0100 The SoulShaker series of soul/funk/afrobeat compilations differs from many out there on the market because it only uses contemporary recordings, with many of the tracks exclusive to the CD. So on the funk tip we have bands like the Diplomats Of Solid Sound (who have just released their own album, 'What Goes Around Comes Around'), Dojo Cuts and the wonderfully named Shaolin Temple Defenders.. http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=2232 DA033230-D970-4424-86DB-0317CCC3B8AF-9362-00006DB770AB165C-FFA Sun, 24 Oct 2010 09:55:14 +0100 There is a certain expectation with this rather eclectic series of rare(ish) soul tunes from BBE Music, with the emphasis clearly on quality over quantity. Previous curators have included Kenny ‘Dope’ Gonzalez and Mr Thing, so Number 5′s Chosen One, DJ Spinna, must have had to think very carefully about his choice of tunes to keep with the theme but, at the same time, stamp his own mark... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=2175 EF19428A-8691-47AA-A3FB-65C708D09236-9362-00006DA54E5533CB-FFA Sun, 24 Oct 2010 09:54:35 +0100 The brainchild of Evan Landes of MoreHouse Records, ‘In The Zone’ is an exquisite lesson in how to make funky dancefloor music across the length of a full Long Playing record. This is an extremely professional, well-produced album that, unsurprisingly considering the Groove Junkie’s legacy, takes its cues from the New York discos of the 70s... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=2057 855AC55B-B227-4C73-817D-32C75A36C4C3-7840-00009A7138118744-FFA Sat, 16 Oct 2010 18:28:00 +0100 Essentially billed as a ‘radio show’, this is the third in the ‘…broadcasting’ series from German label Sonar Kollektiv. The difference this time is that it is the label themselves that have curated the tracks. Hence, there are a few from founders Jazzonova... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=1717 46D91EDC-4D31-46D7-A487-4224D52EBE76-20046-0001597F77947B3A-FFA Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:27:25 +0100 Eskmo, aka Brendan Angelides, recently signed with Ninja Tunes from Warp Records and, whilst Eskmo claims a ‘new direction’ for the music on his latest eponymous LP, you can’t help but hear those Warp roots coming through loud and clear. The new direction is, actually, a bit less dancefloor than his previous releases... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=1702 4AC03203-65B5-48A3-A631-3262F23A064E-16982-00011E437EC4514B-FFA Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:53:17 +0100 Sometimes simplicity is the best policy – this LP from Oregon’s Lovers is an exercise in understated brilliance, a stark and intense record of pared-down emotion. Consisting of 3 people, (Carolyn Berk on vocals, Kerby Ferris on synth-programming and Emily Kingan on percussion), the band’s songs are messages of... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=1643 AB935D02-60AE-4D60-BCB2-52661A91A907-82877-0000C3BA1BFD2BFF-FFA Tue, 28 Sep 2010 06:13:47 +0100 The word ‘cinematic’ is used an awful lot to describe the Thunderball sound. The music is, indeed, fairly grand and very polished (as you would expect from a band on ESL, a label founded by Thievery Corporation), but it is more the sense that any of the tracks on this, their fourth LP, would fit effortlessly into a blaxploitation or spy film... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=1554 768ABE62-7CB0-47F4-9F85-FC6A97D40F47-2506-00002DDC27AE8030-FFA Sun, 26 Sep 2010 21:00:06 +0100 Listening to Belleruche now is a bit like watching kids grow up – “I can’t believe they’re on their 3rd album already. I remember when they first got signed to Tru Thoughts. Aren’t they doing well?”. That kind if thing. The truth of the matter is that this is indeed their 3rd long playing record, and, in our opinion, their best yet... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=1297 AEE35BD8-B861-4102-A1B4-FFC978C9350D-7961-00004CD53E454F9E-FFA Sat, 18 Sep 2010 11:08:32 +0100 We’re using the excuse of the Special Edition US release for a review of this Helsinki band’s latest LP. For anyone familiar with Husky Rescue‘s music, this album is probably more ‘accessible’ than the previous efforts... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=1216 21D8C284-8A28-414E-B179-B5EBC83BE02E-5650-00002914CE8592B0-FFA Thu, 16 Sep 2010 21:49:39 +0100 When Gil Scott-Heron released ‘I’m New Here‘ last year, he gave buyers of the album strict instructions on the inner sleeve on how to listen to it – in a room, sat down with no other distractions, definitely not whilst in the car, and listen to it all the way through. Anyone buying this debut album from songstress Andreya Triana (and we suspect there will be many), would do well to follow similar advice... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=1288 01B2269A-14DC-4F79-BA71-62D7FF60EEF6-1174-0000105F7914B31C-FFA Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:53:09 +0100 Hidden Orchestra are the latest signing to our favourite label, Tru Thoughts. The initial single release, which we shared with you here, had us very excited that the album release would be another TT classic. But, the big challenge for long-playing records from... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=1213 043541C1-4AF2-441B-AC93-0C7D563663E2-9733-000074EC5419AB0B-FFA Sat, 11 Sep 2010 09:46:10 +0100 This is the flagship series from Harmless Records, and this edition of Pulp Fusion has been isssued to celebrate their 15 years in the business. The series focuses on hard-to-find funk, jazz and soul tunes... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=926 CF1B453D-E9E7-4F15-9C0E-5A986EF7B1EE-5050-00002497FDA80D3B-FFA Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:26:09 +0100 The Sonar Kollektiv label is an interesting one for us – the music we love at Meme Magazine has big funky grooves at one end of the spectrum and deep electronica at the other – Sonar Kollektiv sits right in the middle of this, bridging our diverse tastes... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=962 D5782488-6815-4C98-888E-92BC6672A27A-5050-00002481C5590E55-FFA Thu, 02 Sep 2010 21:18:29 +0100 The received wisdom is that there are certain groups who will always sound much better live than on record, and that New Zealand's very own Fat Freddys Drop are a prime example of that. It's unfortunate that this LP seems to be the exception to the rule... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=928 6C355056-50ED-40F0-9A6A-24A179692685-11738-000036E81135C4A8-FFA Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:53:14 +0100 Typical – you wait ages for one brilliant Philly remix album to come along, and then two appear at once. Following Dimitri From Paris’s ‘Get Down With The Philly Sound’ (read our 5-star review here), Harmless Records have marked their 1000th release with an LP of, you’ve guessed it,... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=891 633053A5-9BB6-496E-850A-088A1A17F282-9305-000012AF85F506B1-FFA Sun, 22 Aug 2010 14:56:22 +0100 After the poppy optimism of the Norwegian duo‘s previous LP, ‘Junior’, the opening of the sister album, ‘Senior’ is a decidedly down-beat affair. As the music moves uptempo in Track 2, ‘Tricky Two’, the listener can start to see (or hear) a story unfolding; a story, apparently, of... http://www.mememagazine.com/?p=641 2E71CB63-8452-42EB-ABCA-CEB425ECFF6C-3524-000035BAEC1E467E-FFA Sun, 15 Aug 2010 10:54:57 +0100 Natural Self’s 2009 LP, ‘My Heart Beats Like A Drum‘ was an accomplished album of hip-hop-influenced funky dance-floor grooves with Nathaniel Pearn doing most of the instruments and vocals himself... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 9A3E5513-97C2-4CC8-86ED-3C5962FD18C5-2972-00003479DD31EF7B-FFA Sat, 24 Jul 2010 14:43:53 +0100 Occasionally a deep electronica LP is able to stand out from the myriad of offerings that appear in our inbox. the recently reviewed Baths album 'Cereleun' was one, and like the proverbial buses, another has come along soon after. This Debut LP from Brad Loving aka Lobisomem (Portuguese for 'werewolf' apparently) is an extremely interesting mix of styles http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 689CE500-36A6-41A4-90AE-AAD38A608799-9003-0000921AD37B7665-FFA Wed, 21 Jul 2010 19:18:33 +0100 You may have noticed that there are quite a few Disco compilations around at the moment, but what makes Horse Meat Disco stand out is that their selections are very much focused on todays dancefloor... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 4A311EAD-736C-44B0-B1CD-FEE277FC8050-4292-000051DE5A14D1E3-FFA Sun, 18 Jul 2010 17:56:50 +0100 This LP is so much more than just electronic chill-out music. The sound throughout posesses a great maturity and careful restraint, which is very surprising seeing as the artist is a Los Angeles' 21-year-old... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html CA4716D6-A4D5-4D02-85E1-F53944473EFE-2843-000032A46DA7FAC8-FFA Thu, 08 Jul 2010 22:38:54 +0100 This is our second recent review from Tru Thoughts Records, and again we bring you rhythms from across the world. Saravah Soul are a band with Brazilian and English roots, a 7-piece that specialise in pretty niche rhythmic styles... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 8762C2D5-80A3-4E8C-A7AC-000F6A52DD19-1906-00001CEC8419843B-FFA Sat, 26 Jun 2010 17:27:24 +0100 The last LP from Will Holland was 'Tradition In Translation' under the banner of Quantic And His Combo Barbaro, which was pretty much our favourite album of last year. The question is, could the multi-talented, and prolific, musician now based in Cali, Columbia, pull it off again, this time with his reggae and dub inspired project... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html BA109B4B-3A15-4BB9-9FEB-4A4B4812AC0A-4322-00003DE8094C2CEA-FFA Sun, 20 Jun 2010 12:19:30 +0100 This is the second LP from The Root Source, the jazz-funk band headed up by Hammond organist and pianist Andrew Fairclough. Whilst it harks back to a 70s jazz feel, what marks this album out from all the others is... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html C09DD647-463E-459F-A620-459ECDF8B602-10602-0000C9D53704DA69-FFA Sat, 19 Jun 2010 09:43:56 +0100 So, very simply, this is a remix album from Moby's original LP released last year, with the individual tracks on CD1 and a mixed version by Moby himself on CD2. There are some heavyweight remixers here, including Tiesto, Gui Boratto and Carl Cox (which sound exactly as you would expect them to) but we prefer the remixes from the 'lesser known' guys... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 3012FB14-376B-406A-B2A7-3F6830CE0A0E-20662-0001D76C585CDB3E-FFA Sat, 05 Jun 2010 09:46:09 +0100 Ever since we first heard about this record coming out we've been very excited. This was heightened even further by the label not sending out any promos prior to release for fear of it being leaked. Now that it is finally with us and we've had a chance to listen to it a few times, are we still excited? Damn right we are... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html E5273000-9641-4553-8718-000166E39031-3773-0000509DC35B90A5-FFA Mon, 31 May 2010 10:24:08 +0100 Following on from Kitsune Maison 9 with its much gentler sounds, comes this new compilation from the uber-cool Parisien record label / fashion house. Emphasising their fashion credentials even more, they have teamed up with London fashion house PonyStep... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html F288F116-5629-4119-8934-2E3A01BEF050-333-000001AB726C0F3B-FFA Mon, 31 May 2010 10:25:07 +0100 Another funky LP from our friends at Freestyle Records - this one the work of 2009 signing The Q Orchestra. Formed in 2006 and formerly known as The Quasimodo Orchestra, the band is led by Greek producer Dimitri Nassios... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html F796B31B-32CC-46FC-BBC3-F5CFA1109834-3292-000055C3662C9483-FFA Sun, 23 May 2010 12:07:12 +0100 This is the third, and probably the last, LP from James Murphy, better known to the world as LCD Soundsystem. Usually at about this time for a musical trail-blazer such as James, the whole thing goes a bit pear-shaped... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 5C398FA9-952D-4A78-9939-DE245C68BD79-2931-000030337CC5161E-FFA Sat, 22 May 2010 07:28:57 +0100 Despite people talking about there being a Disco backlash, we're still finding the father-of-all-dance-genres fit and well as we head into the summer. And, just to prove it, Harmless Records will shortly be releasing the second tranche of CDs in their Disco Discharge series... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 2B879A70-D146-4995-AE5A-E89F77D311AF-5397-0000732247951F90-FFA Sun, 16 May 2010 10:12:48 +0100 This is more of a 'secret back room' than a 'shop window' LP from Freestyle Records. Filled with remixes and unreleased tracks from the Freestyle vaults, this is a grand mix of soul, jazz, funk, afro-beat and latin styles carefully selected by head honcho (and Jazz Café owner) Adrian Gibson... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 06F9F7E0-B51B-4523-96F5-E55429B98C23-508-00000545F42BED24-FFA Sun, 02 May 2010 09:44:44 +0100 I was struggling with this record for a while - one minute I really liked it's hip hop / pop / funky grooves and fresh vocals, the next minute I was dismissing it as far too twee. What won me over in the end was... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html A45C0533-9D4C-42CB-AB43-8DA8BA2D7AAB-1109-00001267560520E4-FFA Wed, 28 Apr 2010 21:41:44 +0100 This record, volume two in a series of three, is sub-titled 'Soul, Funk and Organ Grooves from the Townships 1969-1976', and it does exactly what it says on the tin. We liked Volume 1, but we love Volume 2... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 5490D63C-4D30-4105-B7C7-5E9FD13E8654-32327-00016E10562CFFF2-FFA Sun, 25 Apr 2010 10:44:17 +0100 We've been banging on about Suff Daddy for a while now: we love his laid back narrative hip hop style. This is his first artist album (the previous output being the compiler of MPM's Hi-Hat Club series) and is made up of... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 5E1D5393-1F63-4C9F-955C-607BDD00D7F8-25538-0001116AC72FFC8A-FFA Sat, 24 Apr 2010 06:28:13 +0100 If you loved Healer Selecta's debut LP 'Let's Get It Started' but wondered what it would be like turned up to 11, then wonder no more. Yvan Serrano-Fontova, aka Healer Selecta, has this side project called The Dustaphonics in which he provides... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 2551ACF4-2D28-4E08-8A61-057E189CD615-17431-0000C833E8356C87-FFA Sat, 24 Apr 2010 06:28:23 +0100 The second LP from INFRAcom! this month - this one is another jazz-infused lovely, but with strong influences of afro-beat, soul and funk. The thing that makes this record interesting, apart from the accomplished music and vocals, is that it has a bit of a story to it.... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 59B90BFD-574B-4DEB-B13C-71AFF9B1C6F3-8556-000050378336C48E-FFA Sat, 10 Apr 2010 08:36:46 +0100 A wonderfully eclectic mix of music from Germany's [re:jazz]. This album includes electronic edits from the 2008 studio album 'Nipponized' plus edits of previous [re:jazz] tracks and a new song called Star Chasers. Remixers include... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html A4DB3823-BC50-4474-BFDE-37246A50FEE8-2611-0000282C1AAB1445-FFA Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:18:43 +0100 This is a concept album with a twist. Quite a few twists, in fact. It all started when Ashley Beedle, he of X-Press 2, and his music partner Darren Morris, made a 58bpm instrumental track inspired by their heroine, Mavis Staples... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 2319CA77-9054-4B7A-9705-F5E57261A0AE-16306-000182E3FD08B630-FFA Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:12:07 +0100 Just to warn you, this record will affect the way you think of the other records you listen to after this one. It's not a paradigm shift or anything so dramatic, it's just that 'CTRL ALT Delete' shows what you can do with music if you put your mind to it... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 71013F75-8A88-4330-8A32-BA8467C6A741-12842-0000C4AD02B51CA8-FFA Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:09:07 +0000 We loved Tracey's music with Everything But The Girl, the last being in 2000, and the solo record which followed in 2007 (the hiatus was to raise her family). Now it would seem that, along with the rest of her EBTG fans, she is experiencing... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html E5CBBAE5-B25D-45F3-87BC-EF728AD87463-5069-0000525B6014A41A-FFA Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:15:01 +0000 At Meme Magazine we don't worry too much about specific genres, we just celebrate all music that is very good and stands out as being new and different. So it's with a beautiful twist of events that the brilliant new LP from dan Le sac Vs Scroobius Pip contains a song called... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html F5D70459-59B2-4A11-A06C-8F7D433C1311-17454-0001146EACF96917-FFA Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:14:26 +0000 Those of you who have followed this series of excellent nu-rave compilations from the Parisian label will find Volume 9 a little surprising... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html E8D8DF42-8C38-4ADB-827A-8E2226ABF41F-13764-0000C8510F3C6EF7-FFA Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:59:30 +0000 This LP is a retrospective of the Swedish "post-modern jazz-pop" band's previous 3 albums. As you can tell from our ratings, this is very much 'dinner party' fare, but that doesn't distract from the quality of the music on offer... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html FD5F60FF-1712-4139-A0A7-0E2BC9EEB377-1618-00001E74E3CCEF38-FFA Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:06:48 +0000 Depeche Mode's synth player, Martin L. Gore, makes a guest appearance on one track of Bomb The Bass's latest album, 'Back To Light', but the 80's synth influence seems to extend beyond the single song to permeate the whole record... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 6E85EE83-04EB-4A40-850F-7ECCDFBC73FD-10843-0000CB2E221D9C59-FFA Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:28:35 +0000 This is an interesting one. You'll alrerady know from our piece on the first single that this is King Britt's last 'dance' album (the subsequent stuff will be a lot more experimental, apparently), but it is the maner that the record was put together that intrigues us... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 856824EE-B029-4C46-AC83-787BF4D44C98-6725-0000647A42643140-FFA Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:06:37 +0000 The welcome fourth LP from Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings epitomises the Daptone sound - warm, soulful and funky. Some of that warmth will be due to recording the album on an Ampex eight-track tape machine, but most of it will be from... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 4D2AD7C5-970D-4F44-98FB-18CA9D841FEC-15639-000154D775AFA6C2-FFA Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:06:58 +0000 Hang on to your hats, this is Healer Selecta. An LP that does just what it says on the tin, 'Let's Get It Started' is a wild journey through what can only be described as good-rockin' beats... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html F7315415-98A7-4D4D-99E7-5A8C4C000CE5-731-00000692B8EF064E-FFA Sat, 20 Feb 2010 11:57:26 +0000 If you've enjoyed any of our previous recommendations from Skeletons, Jimi Tenor / Tony Allen, (label mate) Mulatu Astatke or Stonephace, then you are bound to delight in this latest album from Canada's Souljazz Orchestra... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 1A734C67-E27F-406A-A864-ECFE7AC51924-311-000001C0ADEBDD8E-FFA Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:15:55 +0000 This is dark, very dark. But, as you would have hoped from the first LP from the 'godfather of hip hop' in 16 years, it's brilliant. If you know Gil's voice, age it about 100 years, put it on a backing track of Burial and Fourtet static, then you have an idea of where this record is going... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html BFB7A7FE-9695-4C32-88AF-3432A4986537-31213-000218ECDF0933CA-FFA Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:07:20 +0000 This is the LP where The Bamboos bring it home, in spades: a real masterpiece of under-stated funk music. This is still as tight a band as you will find anywhere, but rather than just 'go large' on the funk (as many of their contemporaries tend to do), this is a much more measured affair of soulful rhythms and classic tracks... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 52604750-A3E5-4D13-B984-500C31C838A9-3083-0000090DCC38D2BE-FFA Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:31:14 +0000 This is the brilliant third LP from Simon Ward, aka Dr Rubberfunk: a look back at late 70s / early 80s soul and funk done in a very mature and accomplished manner. Mixing danceable funk with groove-laden jazz and hip soul... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 30EF8BDD-5928-4BDA-BE09-467B32FAD028-21058-0001DBDE54C9B462-FFA Sat, 30 Jan 2010 10:26:46 +0000 Chill-out music has been done to death since the heady days of the late 90s and early 2000's, so it might seem a bit strange for us to be introducing you to what is effectively an 'old skool' electronic chill-out LP. The thing is that... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 8C19B5AF-369F-4453-A35D-A26F3CE447E8-1712-000019656F91F89C-FFA Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:52:05 +0000 There is a recent trend to issue remix albums, which, on the most part, looks like a not-so-subtle ploy to squeeze more money out of existing material ('sweat the assets', as we say in the business world). These LPs tend to be a rag-bag of inconsistency and hardly worth your hard-earned cash. However, this is definitely not the case with Flevan's remix album of 27 Devils... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html F2577985-CA9F-445B-A23E-B0BE7F41471E-10916-0000A90598D8A177-FFA Sun, 10 Jan 2010 13:09:01 +0000 We don't have much information yet on this LP that is due to be released in March 2010 (we think), but what we do know is enough to hold our attention. The Skeletons are a group formed by Ben Lamdin, aka Nostalgia 77, that play a mix of... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html D8C9166C-09D4-4C7E-9420-5EFE31967AA1-15517-000298F59E2FC872-FFA Wed, 30 Dec 2009 09:28:09 +0000 Don't be thinking this is just another Latin-fuelled compilation LP. This is actually a pretty good snapshot of the dance music scene in Brazil at the moment.... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 81FD7265-4B8C-4D4C-A16E-3929701805FB-9024-00010745ECB3A9D2-FFA Tue, 01 Dec 2009 20:00:15 +0000 This is a mix album of brand new house music selected and produced by what most people refer to as ''the Godfather of House', Frankie Knuckles. There are performances from Michelle Weeks, Jocelyn Brown and Vernessa Mitchell, and productions from Shapeshifters and DJ Spen... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html F6D452E6-B21D-4A70-95CC-2A21A3EC4BA0-32407-0003A80D8BA1B33A-FFA Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:56:23 +0000 This LP is attributed to 'Underworld vs The Misterons'. For those of you who know Underworld as purveyors of techno and house music, then one can only assume that it is their alter ego, The Misterons, that is responsible for this album, which is primarily a jazz record... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 6B9CC039-FE14-4289-8D85-65E4A66490AE-32407-0003A80D7774F973-FFA Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:56:14 +0000 This is like a history lesson of 80's house music. You will have heard plenty of John Morales records but may not have realised it. He has been responsible for remixing classic tracks from people like... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 5818B636-7539-4ECF-850E-BFB9BD803601-32407-0003A72B2632882C-FFA Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:54:52 +0000 This latest in the Strange Breaks series has Mr Thing bringing his favourite left-field tracks together once again. For us, the songs fall into three categories: 'damn good funk and soul'; 'quirky but nice'; and 'not good enough'. Luckily for us all, by far the majority of the tracks fit it the first of these... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 379FC26B-9F6E-445D-8DB2-1EAFB79E2AF3-32407-0003A72B1A3FF248-FFA Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:54:27 +0000 Not only is this an LP of funky, big synths, it is an LP of funky, big, analogue synths. Dam-Funk (pronounced as 'Dame') is a master of boogie-funk, using his own collection of vintage synths and drum machines to create layered harmonies and chunky baselines... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 1AECA452-E257-4209-841A-7D1AEAD81826-32407-0003A72B0F43499A-FFA Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:54:08 +0000 Third review in a row for us from Strut, and, (in the words of Meatloaf), two out of three ain't bad. This is the fourth in the Inspiration Information series and, as you can see from the ratings, this one hits the mark again... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 2FAC1FE0-1367-417C-B4AC-607715CC2716-32407-0003A72B0301CEF6-FFA Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:53:41 +0000 We love funk. We have more than our fair share of funk CDs and have been to quite a few funk gigs. We've even done a funk mix or two. So when the forthcoming Breakestra LP arrived at Meme Towers, you can imagine that we were more than a little excited. However (and it's a big however)... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 67DC047A-5968-41BF-A689-F7A6A7EB51F9-32407-0003A72AF7CC3155-FFA Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:53:17 +0000 This is well out of the mainstream, but if you like the Ethiopian sound, or are familiar with the Ethiopiques series of LPs, then this is the perfect record for you. If all of this means nothing to you, then I beg a few precious moments of your time... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html E3231007-31E2-4560-A835-0A5F43BEB6E0-32407-0003A72AED46F27E-FFA Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:52:52 +0000 It was a bit of a strange connection that first grabbed my interest in this record. The blurb says it is a musical interpretation of a particular brand of behavioural and cognitive therapy that includes buddhist theories of 'mindfulness'... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html A0A33D3A-5D89-464F-A007-C5111D503DD1-32407-0003A72AE0A052B0-FFA Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:39:13 +0000 You've probably heard Shena's superb voice before but might not have realised it. She has sung backing vocals for such greats as James Brown, Chaka Khan... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html A27CA922-DA94-4B79-A49D-BA542F9F8BB2-5383-0000761C89DDDF0C-FFA Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:01:30 +0100 It takes quite a bit for a DJ mix to stand out from the crowd. This one has all the ingredients to do just that: DJ Danny Krivit has based this mix on his NY residency '718 Sessions' and includes such luminaries as... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 2A825CB2-EDC8-4D9A-8686-82C7D050A646-5383-0000760B76BA47AF-FFA Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:00:52 +0100 This is the best non-Hip-Hop Hip-Hop album we've heard in a long time. Whilst there are still a few tracks on here that hark back to their previous LPs, this is much more a diverging of musical styles (reggae, soul, breakbeat, dubstep, house) for Dom and Brad... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html D44E481A-FF1D-4AB0-92EF-7D099A86E246-5383-000075FBEBB41E24-FFA Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:59:37 +0100 Erm...yeah. I know. Snow Patrol. But (BUT) this is 'Late Night Tales' - the latest in an excellent series of bespoke compilations put together by a wide range of artists... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 6772BF53-5F72-4FBE-959E-597B40257B42-583-0000061660BFC982-FFA Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:09:08 +0100 You know when Disco has officially made a come-back when the (ill-informed) backlash has already started. Here at Meme Towers we're backing Disco all the way - especially when we get to hear superb mixes like this... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 4A68CD6F-BCD8-442D-BE2E-B85B5B9F7940-8960-0000E9CDD85C082A-FFA Sat, 19 Sep 2009 09:15:41 +0100 This one kinda snuck up on us. The blurb told us about the prolific LA DJ who had created a "scrambled, sampled, angle-poised and untangled" mix from the vaults of Finders Keepers Records, utilising 64 tracks from the full 40 year history of that label. But it's not until you listen to it that realise http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html C5F36EC9-259D-440A-ADB7-E043EE8F8B1A-22800-0001EC36CC69BC3B-FFA Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:13:25 +0100 Freshly on BBE Records, this is a collection of Bugz remixes from the last 5 years. Bugz In The Attic are a South London collection of DJs and producers who are big names in their own right (like Seiji and Afronaught) who occasionally get together to remix classic tracks for the dance-floor or produce their own songs (remember 'Booty La La' in 2006?) under the Bugz name. This set includes... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 7E0511A3-26DA-4B49-89F8-0590AFFEFBC3-8373-0000B250F280D9E9-FFA Tue, 08 Sep 2009 17:21:13 +0100 This makes us very happy. Not only is it a brilliant update on the soul music genre by a 29-year-old white guy from Detroit, but it is exactly the reason that we started up this magazine for... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html FB50A80A-8346-424A-BF64-3BA767114E8C-3117-0000389DF41F043D-FFA Sun, 06 Sep 2009 10:40:30 +0100 So, the story is that Jónsi, lead singer with Sigur Rós, has got together with his partner, Alex Somers, to create a 'side project' from the band but, (some would say crucially), without the vocals. The good news is that it works really, really well... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 85E823A5-DE91-48BD-BB78-5E2861D398A7-2029-00002C5C954EA9C8-FFA Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:40:40 +0100 Laroca are an English band with a very European sound. We were first alerted to them through the excellent 'Elevator Tester' EP - a beguiling electronica track that combines melodrama with irony in equal doses... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 6C4B560A-B6A1-4D1C-9F5C-3DF5BE62E1F8-2029-00002C39087FC81E-FFA Sun, 23 Aug 2009 09:15:13 +0100 We have a real soft spot for cover versions, and also a soft spot for Tru-Thoughts Records (don't know if you'd noticed at all?). So, when TT sent us the promo for 'Tru Thought Covers' you can imagine the little squeal of excitement we let out. http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html FEBE1032-8D56-435F-B3EE-3EAAE43F27A1-2898-00003DBF909D2F30-FFA Sun, 16 Aug 2009 12:27:43 +0100 This is our newest favourite band, and for lots of reasons. They are an 8-piece group from Brooklyn with a really refreshing diversity of sound across the whole LP - including soul, funk, pop and, er, prog rock... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html E0346BB7-24D6-450F-A898-71C28A9385D7-15636-000169819E0F4ED5-FFA Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:08:01 +0100 Can you see what they've done here? This is a kind of a retrospective of the Herbaliser's best songs, made as instrumentals and recorded as live. You've also probably worked out that this is the sequel to 'Session 1' which they released in 2000, and includes reworkings of tracks from their subsequent LPs, including a Meme favourite... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 430589C6-E85D-448D-91FD-ED9AB2B81F7B-1728-00002149E9FAFCD6-FFA Sat, 11 Jul 2009 18:53:07 +0100 We previewed some tracks off this LP a while ago, but we've held back from reviewing the whole thing because we wanted to give it a fair hearing. When we first listened to it, it was a bit like listening to a compilation CD, so diverse were the tracks. But we liked Flevans' previous work and knew it had potential, so we listened to it again, and again, and again... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 54E57342-1488-40BF-9346-D028650AFE2F-27193-00022A32D010ABA8-FFA Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:38:42 +0100 Even at number 7 in this series, it is still well worth getting your hands on this compilation of acts from the uber-cool French label, Kitsuné. The mood of this one is... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 1715E4F8-0EF6-4FEC-837B-A582CD282670-19783-000168A852098D2C-FFA Sun, 14 Jun 2009 11:59:58 +0100 I know this is kind of hip-hop, but it is brilliant. Speech Debelle has given us a beautiful record that provides a surprisingly honest window on her troubled 25 year-old life. The music alone is enough reason for you to buy this record, but the quality of the lyrics on tracks such as... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 79E33254-EBC1-46B5-8F89-C3F55D37BC0C-17659-00013F5607349C49-FFA Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:23:01 +0100 It's fairly easy for a European musician to make a pretty good Latin-American-inspired record these days, but damn near impossible to make a great one... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html E24E709A-94D5-4D5A-9BED-017FABCB1769-17659-00013F46EE678E48-FFA Sat, 13 Jun 2009 23:22:11 +0100 We reviewed their latest LP, 'Mellow Out & Acoustic' a few weeks back, and that put us on to this collection of Cro-Magnon remixes from the Japanese band (originally released as 3 EPs). If you like your music a bit more electronic (and who doesn't?) then this may suit you even more... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 21F4E727-82EB-4F75-B873-1169A4586291-37939-0002BDBE3BD40090-FFA Thu, 14 May 2009 17:59:27 +0100 This is one of those 're-discovery' LPs that Ubiquity do so well. Betty Padgett recorded this LP in Miami in 1975 when it had some minor success, mainly through a 12" of 'Sugar Daddy' (which was actually used on a Pepsi ad)... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 0B00ED54-E01F-49A8-9F9D-ADD4DEA87674-40834-000392AF2917A829-FFA Sat, 11 Apr 2009 10:13:43 +0100 So, imagine you are in Cairo, or London, or somewhere; it is late at night, you hear some music coming from behind a doorway at the bottom of some dark steps off the street. You go down the steps and push open the heavy door a little... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 3AA9F463-FDF3-4B73-83CA-A76FE55075D7-12086-00012239666B4A93-FFA Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:29:39 +0100 Jazzanova have moved in a subtly different direction on this LP. Using mainly real instruments rather than samples (they are mainly DJs by trade), and some cracking (all male) vocal talents, they have produced a superb record that manages to keep things real gentle but carries with it enough tension and energy to make it stand out from the crowd... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 0BCD6519-A0D6-4AA4-97B2-1CC552495BF0-7505-0000A0BE7F6E6E64-FFA Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:56:59 +0100 Shawn Lee is responsible for a very diverse set of records, crossing many genres but always with a funky, soul element to them. On 'Soul In The Hole' Shawn keeps very much to the knitting by producing a record that is his own tribute to soul music... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html B0A53582-3B9E-4B5F-8F3C-D4DBC89E5436-12910-0000E53612CD8545-FFA Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:25:40 +0000 We're privileged to get our hands on five pre-release LPs from California's Ubiquity Records. A real mixed bag of new and old (and old/new) we wanted to share these with you as soon as possible... http://www.mememagazine.com/ 078B59F4-30D4-4819-B704-7F512A94CD8C-2567-00001E857ED22CF0-FFA Wed, 18 Mar 2009 20:44:26 +0000 You'll have seen Kinny come up a few times on this site recently - and that's because we lurve her. This is the sort of modern soul music we get off on... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html BB037EDE-B5E5-437E-887F-2806D604F3E6-11819-0000EE5A4A3BFB9F-FFA Sat, 14 Mar 2009 16:40:56 +0000 You want laid-back, soulful, tight rhythms? You want some sublime covers of Moodyman, Roy Ayers, Blackbyrds and the Jacksons? You want some original jazz/soul/funk tracks with a cool vibe? Then let us introduce you to the Japanese trio called Cro-Magnon... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 3DE07FB8-D827-478A-B660-3A8282B59EEA-21945-0001B52C1C0312DC-FFA Sun, 15 Feb 2009 10:29:06 +0000 Hmmm...there are two ways of looking at this LP (Antony Hegerty's second) and we swing both ways. The first is that this is a disappointing follow-up to his first now-classic 'I Am A Bird Now'; nothing new; just more of the same. The second is... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 91396F86-76A1-40D5-8992-357EB5E48EAC-619-0000024896A8EF0C-FFA Mon, 09 Feb 2009 21:39:22 +0000 If we're honest, we wouldn't have bothered even listening to this, the first LP from Ms Jones in 19 years, if it wasn't for a rave review of a remix of the fist single 'Williams Blood' in Time Out a few weeks back... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html FA9F2008-55BE-4D6B-A6E5-481BC2A6662E-721-000007A337465E23-FFA Sun, 01 Feb 2009 21:32:59 +0000 Just when you were expecting 'more of the same' (which is, of course, lots of chilled-out bass-heavy horn-laden electronica) the Thievery Corporation surprise us with an overtly political record and a much more diverse sound... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 5F6458BC-549F-4A9D-ADC7-CC81A4B95D1E-1303-00000CBE3E9C052B-FFA Sun, 23 Nov 2008 15:16:58 +0000 An obscure little gem for you this week from French label Cosmic Groove. These (all instrumental) songs invoke a sixties club feel with plenty of Hammond organ... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 02FE7CD7-E505-47DA-B8C6-B515D025906D-2738-0000297EEFC4299B-FFA Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:35:56 +0000 We've come to this series a bit late, now at number 4, but we're definitely going to get the previous three... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 7F0DB5D2-A81E-42E0-8322-F94AA98AEAFC-5101-0000D21290C9E706-FFA Wed, 29 Oct 2008 12:13:24 +0000 Ohhhh...Lush. We've been looking forward to this LP for a while now, ever since we heard the sublime L-O-V-E. Of course, the danger with high expectations is that they could ultimately disappoint... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 175F8061-ECA6-4765-B2CE-7FCE84501F3C-1318-000019F42574CAED-FFA Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:05:33 +0100 Last year we reviewed the Hot 8 Brass Band's debut UK LP, 'Rock With The Hot 8'. We gave it 3 stars because we loved its refreshing New Orleans brass band sound and inherent optimism. BUT, listening to this release of remixes you can't help wondering whether this is how the record was meant to sound... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 7FF4475F-F1ED-4418-9942-EBFEAFC15113-10671-000183865FC9253C-FFA Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:13:03 +0100 Sticking with our Tru-Thoughts theme this month, we think you will love this debut LP from Australian Kylie Auldist. Originally known for the vocals with the funky 'Bamboos'... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 1041E417-9E6F-45EE-894B-4AD3DBE6E90B-7132-00011D5CD3E8DDA4-FFA Sun, 14 Sep 2008 12:58:42 +0100 At MemeMagazine we don't cover a lot of what most people call 'indie rock' but we do enjoy it when it's as good as this. Pop Levi was responsible for giving us the best gig we've ever been to... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 26132AFC-3C46-41F8-973F-35E9C4A90A10-8124-0000DB4FDE9DE29A-FFA Fri, 29 Aug 2008 17:37:32 +0100 We, like a lot of people, have found Beck a bit 'hit and miss'. In poilte circles they refer to this as his 'chameleon' style. This new LP, produced by Danger Mouse, is one of the better ones but... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html FD5BF79E-8BC7-4EFB-A543-003261C39B50-3759-00009D37DFD5749B-FFA Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:16:33 +0100 Freestyle Records, founded by Adrian Gibson of Jazz Café fame, has an excellent roster of artists, most of which are showcased on this luverly compliation. There is a heady mix of... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 115C238C-B579-4679-BA15-D550DC6A1398-9874-0000FE94A2C4F7C6-FFA Tue, 15 Jul 2008 22:29:10 +0100 The Herbaliser traditionally blend their Hip-Hop roots with Soul, Funk and Jazz, and on this, their 6th studio LP and now on K7! Records, they do the same but much more. For us this is the best Herbaliser record... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 3347EDD7-36F5-4DDC-8E9D-902DFD661963-3135-00005E81372A45AF-FFA Mon, 07 Jul 2008 21:43:00 +0100 We like 'different stuff' at Meme Magazine, and this is one of those records that is definitely different, but awfully good in the process. Lots of different styles here, but generally very 'cinematic', 'grand' and 'lush'.... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/news.html 2410DDCE-F646-4EE3-B4D3-24B424C62351-4286-000080D16C9873C9-FFA Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:00:14 +0100 Sharon Jones has been making music for a good while now, but it has taken a while for her to settle into a stable line up; here she has teamed up with the reborn Soul Providers, now known as the Dap-Kings. Very quickly they have gained... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 27695886-FA9F-49D4-B6B0-44C0A6B912FA-4803-0000BBB90F4FC604-FFA Thu, 08 May 2008 21:21:48 +0100 Despite 'Connie Price' being a recording project from Dan Ubick (Breakestra) and Todd M Simon (El Michaels Affair) it sounds like a real gritty low-funk LP. There are... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 4CEE506F-6A9A-49B2-ACDC-07397FFBBE75-4803-0000BB9D01CCE7CC-FFA Thu, 08 May 2008 21:20:20 +0100 This one is really interesting. GAMM Records is a sub-label of Sweden’s Raw Fusion with a very exclusive distribution and little available information. However, they have released this LP... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html B8BD0088-7212-4102-8061-03C3A0281012-4803-0000BB44D9156BC9-FFA Thu, 08 May 2008 21:13:31 +0100 This is one of Meme's top, top bands, but I don't know where to start in how to describe them. They come from Iceland and make, we think, the most beautiful music in the world... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html B11B15BF-F5D5-450E-B74A-7547351C8D33-4803-0000BB1730ABFD18-FFA Thu, 08 May 2008 21:10:15 +0100 This is pretty special. A relatively unknown guy (David Wolstencroft) from Manchester making some soulful house / electronic music... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html CE5DC4E9-C1C5-4F14-A982-A34813BBA109-4803-0000BB114245FD8D-FFA Thu, 08 May 2008 21:09:51 +0100 We know you like surprises, so please take the time to listen to this LP from New Orlean's Hot 8 Brass Band. The highlight is clearly their... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 34BEEFF2-2B41-42B9-8A28-73927D734471-4803-0000BB0BA091228C-FFA Thu, 08 May 2008 21:09:24 +0100 You may know of Sébastien Tellier from 'La Ritournelle' (a firm favourite with Meme Magazine which closes our MemeMix003). This new LP has been produced by... http://www.mememagazine.com/content/reviews.html 036005AD-15DE-4453-96EB-271AE05B53AE-4803-0000BAFE1CA3C43D-FFA Thu, 08 May 2008 21:08:42 +0100