The Breakdown
Dalliance or daring, ‘Rivière’ Noire’ the fourth album from singer, producer and beats aficionado Reginald Omas Mamode IV is, whichever way you look at it, a bit of a leap. This Anglo-Mauritian musician has since 2012 been at the forefront of the UK soul jazz, groove scene, lauded by Giles Peterson, loved by Mojo, The Wire and Mix Mag, plus name dropped by Questlove and Erykah Badu. He’s an artist whose music stays true to his hip-hop, Sega, raw funk roots but who is never content with treading water. So ‘Rivière’ Noire’ sees him propel forward once more, moving away from his sample-based modus and focusing on his own instrumental playing to back that peerless Mamode vocal flow. The result is possibly his boldest and most direct statement so far.
After a psychedelic soul-revue meets skulking downbeat invitation to listen up, the album slinks straight into funky action with It’s Our World. From the first few bars of that deepest bass rumble and those slicing snare strikes, it’s clear that Reginald Omas Mamode IV operates with in-built understanding of all that’s necessary to make his music strut and strike. Every detail is perfect, intuitively delivered rather than sounding constructed: smoky keyboard thrusts; wah-wah fluttering riffs; and Mamode’s relaxed drawl working up to a spirit raising “It’s Our World” hook. You can hear the “Yeh” shout-outs now.
The album’s not focused on party fluff or hyping up the good times though. Mamode’s music has always had a political intent and spiritual integrity but ‘Rivière’ Noire’ may be his hardest hitting, coherent messaging to date. Early on Through Our Veins delivers a powerful ‘listen-up’ jolt. Wired with raw blues indignation, sort of R.L. Burnside bite on a Shuggie Otis roll, the song’s cutting rhymes leave no room to hide. Mamode’s Mauritian/ Mascarene Islands heritage reverberates through the track from the opening stark reveal, “My great grand papa was born in chains”, to an open call to account: “Your house was built by we enslaved/You write your truth but we are named/ This is story it runs deep, through our veins”.
Such a strong narrative undercurrent gives ‘Rivière’ Noire’ both significance and coherence as an album. To weave the longer songs together Mamode uses brief ‘interludes’ or ‘intermissions’ which give the recording not only its episodic quality but also an innovative edge. From gospel-like choruses (Make it Right) to wiry free-form guitar sketches (No Harm), loose jazzy improv (Message From A Creole) to righteous spirituals (Freedom Song) the pieces are much more than incidental jams. They feel like placards, moments when protest is brought out into the open. These miniatures with their stylistic sweep and deep sonic references also resonate with the album title ‘Rivière’ Noire‘ which as the sleeve notes explain “symbolises the ever flowing, intuitive and lifegiving contribution of the African diaspora to global culture”.
As well as such thematic intensity the album is strikingly minimal in its soundscape. Mamode determinedly takes the “less is more” route using a stripped back instrumental palate, often just drums, bassline, vocals, brisk guitar patterns and Rhodes interjections. The result is lo-fi, live and real with no distractions. The Creole rich Throw your Woes Away packs an ethio-jazz lurch with an afrobeat snap and layers in some sharp Prince harmony moments. D’Angelo cool circulates through the juicy vamping pump of No Maybes as well as the zingy, hypnotic nu soul of Whole Hearted but crucially no song presents as overblown or overwrought.
The same goes lyrically. Although hip-hop remains a pivotal influence, Reginald Omas steers clear of word play complications. He uses repetition, neat rhymes and sharp phrases to make a point as on the spiritual jazz hymnal Yasiin’s Lament or the urgent appeal of the tense funking Can’t Let Them. “There’s a way, there’s a way to change our past/ we must now rid ourselves of psychopaths”, it’s a fundamental song for the whole world today.
Although Mamode’s nu-soul on ‘Rivière’ Noire‘ maybe some distance from any angular jazz pretensions or zealous sampledelia the music buzzes with detail and intricate invention. His guitar playing which edges further into the mix has a spidery lightness about it which somehow works amongst this low-slung funk and blues momentum. The muted jangle and top-neck strums on Just Keep On or the broken beat, unpredictable lines on More Love add a real freshness which parallels Nourished By Time’s singular productions. Both artists have that confidence and panache to allow the immediate idea to win out every time.
That vibrant lack of convention pulsates right through ‘Rivière’ Noire’ all the way to the closer No Time To Waste. There’s no final crescendo here, Mamode’s loose improv scat, a relaxed slow beat on hand drum and bells, play- along guitar plus gentle keys are enough to elevate this deceptive album’s final minutes. Yes ‘Rivière’ Noire’ may initially feel lengthy and hard to fathom but it’s a record that you’ll find seeps into your psyche to always reveal new dimensions. Understated and subtle maybe, but a soundtrack that’s also genuinely forward -thinking.
Get your copy of ‘Rivière’ Noire‘ by Reginald Omas Mamode IV from your local record store or direct from Melting Pot Music HERE
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