John Parry, Author at Backseat Mafia

Album review: TOMAGA – ‘INTIMATE IMMENSITY’: a final testament in darkwave from Tom Relleen

TOM RELLEEN was a cornerstone of London’s experimental/electronic music scene. Co-founder of Phonica Records, promoter and prolific musician, he was a hub around which creativity revolved. Forming Tomaga with percussionist…

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EP review: Dundundun – ‘Dundundun’: electronically charged debut from the wild West Country

THE WILD West Country has always taken beats and grooves seriously. From the dub haze agitation of The Pop Group, through Smith & Mighty’s mashed -p visions to trip-hop’s treasure…

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Track: Hear Koma Saxo’s ‘Fiskeskärsmelodin’, leading for their new live album

FINLAND – the happiest country in the world, apparently … well that’s not really a surprise when they’ve got We Jazz records, the Helsinki-based label, dedicated to keeping pulses racing…

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Track: Colectiva x Maria Grapsa release empowering debut single ‘Under The’

Here’s a reminder, if you needed one, that outside the nu-jazz hullabaloo the bedrock of the UK scene is thriving, still pushing those boundaries with vibrant, inventive music. Colectiva’s debut…

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News: Falle Nioke and sir Was announce joint EP; hear ‘Rain’

FORWARD-thinking indie labels are fast beginning to celebrate the soulful connection between dancefloor-slanted electronica and the rhythmic foundations of anything dubbed ‘world’ music. So right on cue Moshi Moshi offshoot…

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News: Mdou Moctar set to release a new album for Matador; hear ‘Tala Tannam’

MDOU MOCTAR is at last gathering momentum. Still, it’s been an epic journey since 2008 when his raw, emotional guitar music first began to spread across West Africa via the…

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News: Daptone to release an album from Morocco’s Innov Gnawa; hear ‘Chorfa’

DAPTONE, the home of soul and funk, is one of those labels whose judgement you can trust; when they’re onto something you just know it’s going to deliver. News that…

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Album review: Sarah Haras – ‘Mirage’: deeply effective and affecting abstraction

Often abstract albums come across like a loose series of random sketches; but not Mirage. It’s got a clear vision that binds it together and like the best electronic music suggests something different to every listener each time they tune in … and that is some achievement

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Album Review: Caravela deliver the sparkling fusion of ‘Orla’

Now here’s a new thing beaming out from the London jazz firmament. Caravela, a five-piece multinational band from everywhere (well Portugal, South America and Australia), now based in the capital…

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Track: Laundromat release the track ‘Flat Planet’ ahead of new EP, ‘Red’

Customer advice- get into this Laundromat now before the crowds show up. After two sold out EPs on Brace Yourself (‘Blue’ and ‘Green’), the label has just announced ‘Red’, a…

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