Album Review: Jon Hassell – Seeing Through Sound (Pentimento Volume 2)
When Brian Eno has touted you as ‘the most influential composer of the last 50 years’, when you’re credited as raising cultural awareness with your ground- breaking Fourth World Music, when you’ve spent over 80 years on this planet, you might be tempted to kick back a little, put your feet up and bask in …
Track: Mammal Hands announce new album and release track, “Chaser”
WITH all the jazz noise coming out of South London these days it is easy to forget that the pulse continues to beat elsewhere. Mammal Hands have been steadily developing their individual pursuit of contemporary fusion music on Matthew Halsall’s esteemed Gondwana Records since their 2014 debut, Animalia. Now comes news of their fourth album …
Daniel Blumberg releases three new tracks ahead of album
Daniel Blumberg’s 2018 release ‘Minus’ never drew the recognition it deserved. A profound record of late Scott Walkeresque scale with songs balanced on an improvisational high wire, it was a massive leap from the indie noise gaze of his former bands Cajun Dance Party and Yuck. Now Blumberg is offering the next instalment of his …
TRACK: Funk legend Steve Arrington releases ‘Keep on Dreamin’’
STEVE Arrington has serious funk pedigree. First breaking through as percussionist and drummer for “The World’s Greatest Funksters”, Slave, on their boundary pushing 1978 classic The Concept, the group soon had the measure of his extraordinary vocal agility. He moved to lead singer on the band’s string of more R&B-flavoured hits in the early 80s, …
Track: Legendary jazz fusion figure Jon Hassell releases ‘Unknown Wish’
Jon Hassell, trumpet player, sonic explorer and elder statesman of the ambient fusion scene has offered up another preview from his upcoming album ‘Seeing Through Sound/Pentimento Volume Two’. Unlike the previously released teaser the protracted and tensely metronomic ‘Fearless’, the new track ‘Unknown Wish’ offers up numerous possibilities in a succinct three -minute excursion. Moving …
Track: Native Harrow release new single ‘Shake ahead of forthcoming ‘Closeness’ album
For over 20 years the Loose label has built its canny reputation on sifting out the best Americana and alt.country for your listening pleasure. The Felice Brothers, Sturgill Simpson, The Handsome Family, Hurray for the Riff-Raff have all passed through their doors and now it looks like Native Harrow, The Pennsylvania duo of Devin Tuel …
Track: Jyoti (Georgia Anne Muldrow) releases new track ‘Orgone’
Described as an ‘R&B and astral-funk polymath’, the singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Georgia Anne Muldrow is an artist in perpetual creative motion. She has co-founded her own label Someothaship Connect Records, been produced by Madlib and received a Grammy nomination for her 2018 futurist soul, Flying Lotus endorsed album ‘Overload’. Now Muldrow returns for …
Meet: We interview Shirley Collins ahead of her new album Hearts Ease
At Back Seat Mafia we are eagerly awaiting the release of sixties folk pioneer Shirley Collins new album ‘Heart’s Ease’ via Domino on 24th July. After 2016’s epic ‘Lodestar’ which marked her return to recording and performing after a 35 year pause, we wanted to talk to Shirley about the new record and what the …
Album Review: Pottery – Welcome to Bobby’s Motel
If you asked a band what was the idea behind their new record and that record was called ‘Welcome to Bobby’s Motel’ and they told you that it was based on an ‘all encompassing alt-reality’ that they had built around themselves where the band is Bobby and the motel is wherever they are….you might think …
Track: Jon Hassell – New album/preview track, ‘Fearless’
Pub Quiz question: Name a connection between La Monte Young, Terry Riley’s seminal record ‘In C’, Brian Eno, David Byrne, Bjork, Peter Gabriel, Ry Cooder, David Sylvian, Tears for Fears and Lloyd Cole plus his Commotions? Answer: they have all drawn on the talents of the essential trumpet player, composer and musical adventurer Jon Hassell. …