John Parry, Author at Backseat Mafia

Album review: Crimi – ‘Luci E Guai’: potent fusion music from Julien Lesuisse

THE MOST potent fusion music, the stuff that’s born from experience rather than cooked up as an experiment, comes from travellers in search of sounds. Julien Lesuisse is one such…

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Album review: Joao Selva – ‘Navegar’: Latin optimism with endless energy

WELL it looks like the summer vibes may need a little boost this year, so here’s a release that’s set to heat things up. Brazilian troubadour Joao Selva, now based…

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See: Crimi bring irresistible global beat to ‘Chi Ci Talia’

FRENCH bands just seem to handle fusion music so naturally. They absorb the sounds around them, let them ferment and then uncork something with familiar flavours and an individual twist.…

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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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