Atomik Clocks – Death Funk EP (2016)

Atomik Clocks Death Funk EP 2016

Atomik Clocks Death Funk EP 2016 Atomik Clocks it’s a jazzcore band from Firenze, Italy. They are pushing the so-called envelope over the edge to widens the unexplored borders of music.
Some people make music because they need to express their feelings and thoughts, some people make music for fortune and fame. Sometimes this two things are come together, sometimes not.
Art is not always audience friendly. And this is just cool.
Atomik Clocks makes music, they give artistic expression to their untainted feelings.
They made some giant steps forward since their previous release. “Death Funk” kind of reminds me of Frank Zappa.
It’s vivid, bold and have a good sense of humor. Read more Atomik Clocks – Death Funk EP (2016)

Skip the Use – Little Armageddon (2014)

Skip the Use – Little Armageddon (2014)

Skip the Use – Little Armageddon (2014) While I’m drowning in a sea of absolutely boring music day after day, this pretty British sounding French band made my day and Monday. It’s a cool mixture of reggae, funk, punk-rock and accidentally some electronica. Smooth, groovy and nicely done. And genuine in a world of fake and plastic. Simply it feels right. Maybe it’s not revolutionary, it will not turn your world (and pity life) upside down, but it will keep you going. And although by default I would reject any mixture of punk with pop, this “Little Armageddon” sounds more convincing then most of the modern American self-declared punk products.
Mat Bastard (vocals), Yan Stefani (guitar), Jay Gimenez (bass), Lio Raepsaet (keyboards) and Manamax Catteloin (drums) at their third album just simply nailed it. Read more Skip the Use – Little Armageddon (2014)

EarthBound – The Tales of EarthBound (2013)

EarthBound, known in Japan as Mother, is a role-playing video game series created by Shigesato Itoi for Nintendo. The series started in 1989 with the Japan-only release of Mother (planned to be released in North America as “Earth Bound”) for the Famicom, and was then followed up by a sequel, released in North America as EarthBound for the Super NES in 1995, and followed up again 12 years later with the Japan only release of Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance in 2006. Itoi stated in an interview that the name “Mother” was greatly influenced by the John Lennon song “Mother”.
About the EarthBound trio it was damn difficult to dig out useful informations, although I find them on Facebook, Bandcamp, Soundcloud and YouTube. It seems they are an Australian band and probably “The Tales of EarthBound” it’s their debut album, as they declare, “a conceptual journey through a mystical musical land called Cleftopia.” Actually, this is a simultaneously familiar and refreshing adventure around several very famous and recognizable rock themes with a great combination of rock, funk, jazz and blues elements. Incredible talented musicians, great instrumentalists. All of them.
Joe Jeremiah – Keys, Jon “Oshy” Ooi – Drums and Jonathan “Menjeed” Mengede – Bass manage to twist in and out and back again some great themes and tied up together several different songs and at the bottom line it’s sound brand new, fresh and their own. Some things were out of my knowledge, I wasn’t able to identify precisely the source, but almost every passage sounded familiar. I’m still thinking of “Simple Bloom” and its tango flavoured aroma. Read more EarthBound – The Tales of EarthBound (2013)

Jimi Hendrix – People, Hell and Angels (2013)

Jimi Hendrix – People, Hell and Angels (2013) Although Hendrix died pretty young, at age 27, on September 18, 1970) and he only released three studio albums (the 1967’s “Are You Experienced”, the 1967’s “Axis: Bold as Love” and his seminal 1968’s “Electric Ladyland”), he managed the unequalable performance to release 12 posthumous albums. Not bad for a dead guy and those who are still earning big bucks by exploited his inheritance.
But while the so-called tasteless whatever called music these days it’s not even boring anymore, but directly annoying, listening Hendrix again made me feel better and enjoying turning the levels up on my loudspeaker. And honestly, it’s been a while since I actually enjoyed something released nowadays…
The tracks featured on “People, Hell & Angels” are previously unreleased recordings of songs that Jimi Hendrix and fellow band members – mainly the Band of Gypsys lineup featuring Billy Cox and Buddy Miles – were working on as the follow-up to “Electric Ladyland”, tentatively titled “First Rays of the New Rising Sun”. The majority of the recordings are drawn from sessions in 1968 and ’69 at the Record Plant Studios in New York, with a few inclusions from Hendrix’s brief residencies at Sound Centre, the Hit Factory, and his own Electric Lady Studios.
According to Eddie Kramer, the engineer who recorded most of Hendrix’s music during his lifetime, this will be the last Hendrix album to feature unreleased studio material. Kramer said that several as-yet-unreleased live recordings would be available in the coming years. I’m pretty sure, the greed will bring to the surface a few more “lost” recordings and we will have at least a couple of new recordings in the following years, but if those recordings will be just as good as this one, I do not mind! Read more Jimi Hendrix – People, Hell and Angels (2013)

Atomik Clocks – Magdan in Charleroi (2011)

Literally mind-blowing Funk, some pumping Punk energy and pounding Rock attitude, Atomik Clocks delivering a quite refreshing mixture of Jazz, Funk and Rock, merging the spirit of free, improvised music with the power and weight of experimental spiced, Progressive Rock, eventually reminds me of Morphine.
“Magdan in Charleroi”, their first full-length release is available as digital download for only €3 on their official Bandcamp page, and definitively it worth every single penny of it!!
We’ve got 10 groovy, sometimes pretty Psychedelic taste-like, experimental, but not pointlessly abstract songs, an exciting mixture of styles and approaches, the saxophone playing the main role, but the killer funky bass is equally present while the drums offers the solid bases for these sonic jams. Read more Atomik Clocks – Magdan in Charleroi (2011)

Galactic – Carnivale Electricos (2012)

Although I listen and I really enjoy lot of Jazz music, I’m the first to admit, I’m not an “expert”, and by the way, generally speaking I’m not an “expert” and anyone who claims he (she) is one, he (she) is a pretender (and liar). Gee! 🙂
Now let’s get back to Galactic.
Originally formed in 1994 as an octet, under the name Galactic Prophylactic, they delivering a mixture of electric Rock, Funk, Blues and Jazz. I get to listen them because behind the drum kit it’s Stanton Moore, who played in Corrosion Of Conformity, knowned him from Garage A Trois, the Stanton Moore Trio, Midnite Disturbers, played with jazz-funk keyboardist Robert Walter, with Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Boots Riley of the Coup on the project Street Sweeper Social Club, with Dragon Smoke and MG5. Read more Galactic – Carnivale Electricos (2012)

Red Hot Chili Peppers – Mother’s Milk (1989)

Between naked punks with only socks on their cocks and (funk) rock superstars with “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”, the transitional album was this “Mother’s Milk” from 1989, released on 16th August 22 years ago. Just as curiosity, “Freaky Styley”, their second album was released also on 16th August, but four years earlier, in 1985.
Kiedis, Frusciante, Flea and Smith delivered a nervous, high energy material where funk and punk collided into groovy and pulsing music. “Mother’s Milk” also contains guitarist Hillel Slovak last recording, a cover version of The Jimi Hendrix Experience song “Fire”. Slovak died on June 25, 1988 due to a heroin overdose. The record also contains another cover, Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground”.
“Higher Ground”, “Knock Me Down”, “Taste the Pain” and “Pretty Little Ditty” are the more funky – and radio-friendly tracks – while “Magic Johnson”, “Stone Cold Bush”, “Fire” and “Punk Rock Classic” were kept the energy and rawness of punk and the other songs were blendings of both direction.
Read more Red Hot Chili Peppers – Mother’s Milk (1989)

Cindy Bradley – Unscripted (2011)

Cindy Bradley blows the trumpet since she was in the 4th grade of the elementary school, it was her last minute “weapon of choice” at the school’s band program while she began playing piano at the age of 6. Back than probably little she anticipate that it was a choice of a lifetime.
Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, Cindy enjoyed a varied career in music starting from a very young age. At the age of 12 she began performing professionally with a Buffalo area jazz band that consisted of all promising young musicians called “Sugar and Jazz.” The group consisted of kids from ages 12-17 and stressed the importance of professionalism and emulating the big band sounds of the 1940s.
Cindy went on to earn a bachelors degree in jazz studies from Ithaca College, and a masters degree in jazz trumpet performance from the New England Conservatory. It was there that she studied with and was influenced by many jazz greats including John McNeil, Bob Brookmeyer, Jerry Bergonzi, George Russell and Steve Lacy. Read more Cindy Bradley – Unscripted (2011)

Black Cat Zoot – Mutable Transformer Act (2011)

Shamelessly fresh and sparking pop music mixed up smoothly with swing, funk, ska, big beat, and everything you can name it which brings pulse, balance and danceable, but charming feel-good attitude.
Lisa Milla on vocals, Bambucci on saxophone, Florian Reindl and Marc Schemmer on guitars, Bernhard Hiergeist on keyboards, Alex Trier on bass and Daniel Treimer on drums are seven musicians from Munich, Germany and they put the band together back in 2005 and made a deal with Chicago´s record label “Jump Up Records”. The band cranked out clubs and prestigious festival performances and “Mutable Transformer Act” was accomplished in 2010 in Fraknfurt´s Hazelwood Studios with the assistance of the notorious producers dyad Two Horses and Kaneoka One. Read more Black Cat Zoot – Mutable Transformer Act (2011)

Galactic – The Other Side of Midnight Live in New Orleans (2011)

Stanton Moore worked with Robert Walter, Corrosion of Conformity, he’s one of the founding members of Galactic, but he’s also involved in other projects as well: Stanton Moore Trio, Garage A Trois and the Midnite Disturbers. Recently I wrote about Garage A Trois and their latest release. New Orleans outfit Galactic has a well earned reputation as one of the most exhilarating live acts around. Originally formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to an instrumental sextet of: guitarist Jeff Raines, bassist Robert Mercurio, drummer Stanton Moore, Hammond organist Rich Vogel, Theryl DeClouet on vocals, and later adding saxophonist Ben Ellman. Last year the band released the critically acclaimed genre defying sonic tribute to the Big Easy entitled “Ya-Ka-May”. “The Other Side of Midnight” was recorded during an electrifying sold-out show at legendary New Orleans’ nightclub “Tipitinas” and features a host of guest appearances from the bawdy hip-shaking gender bending “bounce” star Big Freedia to local legends Cyril Neville and Trombone. Read more Galactic – The Other Side of Midnight Live in New Orleans (2011)