John Parry, Author at Backseat Mafia

Album Review: João Selva- Passarinho : Re-shaping samba soul, funk and pop with a fresh momentum.

The troubadour will travel but they always have roots. Brazilian song-crafter João Selva may have ended up in Lyon but those formative years in Ipanema and Rio is at the…

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Album Review: Seljuk Rustum – Cardboard Castles : melodic, mischevious and magical, fresh soundscapes and songs from Southern India.

Womad used to run the strapline ‘bringing you the best music you’ve never heard’. Well the sonic explorers at Hive Mind Records are working on their own version of the…

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News/Tracks: Coming soon – two lo-fi funk lost gems ‘Thrust’ and ‘Thrust Too’, kickstarting an overdue retrospective of Wilbur Niles seminal grooves.

A label that does the crate digging for you, Toronto’s We Are Busy Bodies have announced a gold dust reissue series shining a light on the work of guitarist/producer Wilbur…

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News/Track – Ambient composer Matthewdavid presents the ‘On Mushrooms’EP, electronic collages with a celestial energy.

Los Angeles located Leaving Records have never followed the record label template. It’s more a community of experimental who see releasing music as part of their reaching out. Matthewdavid has…

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Album Review: Fågelle – ‘Den svenska vreden’: Experimental, poetic songs of inner rage and soaring beauty.

It’s no lazy shortcut to describe Fågelle’s arresting new album as ‘quivering with rage’ as this phrase captures the record’s emotional complexity with chilling accuracy. ‘Den svenska vreden’, available now…

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Album Review : New Age Doom & Lee Scratch Perry – Remix The Universe : a daring excavation of The Upsetter’s parting gift.

This is exactly how Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry would have liked it now that he’s left us. Not just commemoration with a stream of inevitable reissues or out-take raids from his…

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Track: Sao Paulo’s Tagua Tagua delivers natural nu-soul vibes with ‘Colors’, a taster from new album ‘Tanto’.

Signs are that Sao Paulo singer-songwriter Felipe Puperi (a.k.a Tagua Tagua) is really finding his groove. Known in Brazil for his sharp production work and fronting the slick alt-rockers Wannabe…

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News/Track/Video : Jazz-funk fusionists Caixa Cubo preview new album ‘Agôra’ with hot-stepping single ‘Sábado’.

Need pepping up then Sao Paulo trio Caixa Cubo may help with the sharp grooved energetic funk of their new single Sábado. Channeling the racy pace and dynamism of their…

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Track/Video: Geneva’s own lo-fi mini choir Alice preview new album ‘L’Oiseau Magnifique’- avant-folk with art-punk edge.

As sixties singer-poet Pete Brown maintained ‘Things may come and things may go but the art-school dance goes on forever’. Well Genevan trio Alice would definitely go down well at…

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Track/Video : Revered pianist/composer Neil Cowley previews ‘Ticker Tape’, a spirit raising burst from incoming album ‘Battery Life’.

From banging out hymns at his school assembly to playing Shostakovich (with Orchestra) on a South Bank Centre stage as a 10 year old to filling the keys’ seat through…

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