As you might have seen, our Vibe session was on pause last month so it’s only right we come back bigger and bashier….especially as its almost summertime!
This month the Heads High/12 Tone camps will be joined by Wara, a crew of young musicians forging an explosive new brand of Afro-Cuban groove, infected with hip-hop, soul and a whole heap more. Born in 2009, Wara took the London latin alternative scene by storm from their very first gig. Their sound is tropical with an extra dose of Cuba, shaken not stirred, asere!
See below for flyer (inna old school block party style).
So after the obligatory two month hiatus, we’re back in the basement on May 14th. Our last session in March went distinctly tropical at the request of the Samba dancing crew in the house and now the sun has got his hat on, we’re looking to turn up the heat even further. For the first time in Heads High history, the girls out-number the boys this month too. After two solid sets of all things boom and bap, Amaka is in the place again and still mourning the loss of a large chunk of music from a defective hard-drive, Miss Crawford steps up with the weight and crackle of a vinyl only selection. A last minute addition that didn’t make the designer’s deadline is Darren Judge. He’s been smacking it recently with the Clubb Rock podcasts he lays down with partner in crime Mikee Lazy so we’re expecting those Clubb Rock high-energy bass movements cut and pasted with his foundation Hip Hop selection. Naturally, the Duke & Cal provide the rock upon which the party is built….and the vocals? Expect something a little different this time as Connie Bell and Amaka conduct a little live experiment…tell a friend!!!!!
Sat 24th April marks the unveiling of a brand new Heads high vs 12 Tone session in the centre of our fair city. Having raised our east-end party the right way, the good people at Soho’s newest venue, Barrio Central have invited us to embark on a fresh leg of our beats, bass and brass tour with them. Erase all memories of the soundsystem at their sister venue Barrio North though. We’re assured that they’ve done the right thing with BC and come correct with the sound. You know we’ll do the same with our performance, and entry is free so it’d give us a warm glow inside to see some familiar faces in the place.
As I opened my front door to a spine-chillingly cold blast of Arctic air this morning I found myself thinking ‘When the rass is this winter going to end?’ Thankfully, the warmth and wellness of an equatorial existence was closer than I’d imagined as my inbox opened and a warm breeze carried news of the next Sofrito Tropical Warehouse bash!
Those that know tend to know about Sofrito’s functions, their heavyweight bills, heavier dubplates and contrastingly light-footed crowds have brought them much attention on these shores and beyond. Add to that a scorching release schedule and a propensity for rooting out excitingly unknown locations for their events and you have all the information required to confirm your attendance at their next session.
March the 6th is a big one, here’s the blurb:
“For our first party of 2010 we are very proud to present an exclusive DJ appearance from QUANTIC alongside many special guests!
Taking control of an amazing new two room warehouse space in the heart of Dalston, we’ll be playing the best in hot and heavy Tropical sounds in a costeño style!
We are bringing together the peerless Family Atlantica (featuring Luzmira Zerpa and Jack Yglesias) and Quantic to present the heaviest Vallenato and cumbia sounds in an exclusive live set that you won’t be able to see anywhere else! The raw sound of the Caribbean coast, bringing together Afro-Venezualan sounds and the folkore of Colombia.
All this alongside a live set from Afro Latin masters Drymbago, DJ action from Quantic himself and the Sofrito Soundsystem plus some special guests!
Tickets are £10 in advance (plus £1 booking fee)”
So there you have it. Cheat winter and get your heat on. In the meantime, here’s a mix lovingly sculpted by the soft hand of Sofrito, taking in rhythms from Colombia, Benin, Trinidad, Angola as well as an exclusive track from Quantic’s Sonido del Valle project…
Lets face it, Grace Jones has been engaging us with her uniqueness since circa 1977.
Most of us will probably be able to recognise some of the many classic tracks this woman has dropped over the years but I’m not really sure that she’s been given the props she truly deserves for her contribution to all things creative.
In fact – In my honest opinion, I don’t think it would be an overstatement to class the ‘Grace Jones Movement’ as somewhat revolutionary.
I hate to state the obvious but even before we began to get excited (if we ever were) about Madonna putting cones on her tits, Grace Jones was pretty much pissing all over fashion and music conventions. Let us not be deceived by her outlandish publicity stunts; ‘rebel with a cause’, she is. According to Jean-Paul Goude (her long term lover and collaborator), she was very much “an opportunist and knew (his) vision was good for (her) career…”
Right from her initial appearances during the high-time of disco, Grace found her Jamaican footing pretty quickly in the NYC clubbing scene and soon had the likes of Mr. Warhol et al eating outta the palm of her hands.
Considering we’re talking about the late 70s, early 80s – being an ebony skinned, raw looking woman couldn’t have been an easy deal anywhere outside the Islands and Africa. But this is precisely the moment she decided to seize and thus accentuated herself into a whole new realm of cool. As a young, black female myself – growing up with issues of skin complexion, kinky hair and other afro-native features, it took me years of ‘growing up’ to eventually learn to love and embrace my own identity. I cannot even begin to understand the kinda obstacles she must have had to bulldoze through in order to create her own stylized niche… though bulldoze, she did.
With regards to breaking through cultural boundaries, Grace Jones nailed it, full stop. Being Jamaican and looking like an African; Plus being a female and looking like a male, combined, was a new concept to the mainstream. She left ‘beauty’ as we knew it to the vultures and as a result, every industry wanted a piece of her.
In Hollywood, who could forget her role as ‘Strangé’ in Eddie Murphy’s Boomerang or ‘May Day’ in James Bond? …How about the fierce, primal stone-aged-bitch she plays alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Conan the Destroyer? Hardcore stuff. The fashion industry which, until then (loosely speaking) only had time for the feminine, Aryan types were pretty much booking her out for shows between New York and Paris.
The music, which she began in the 70s with fresh, tropical vibes (after being signed to Island Records), indulged in the light-hearted, poppy side of disco. Her early works such as ‘Portfolio‘ or ‘Muse‘ display her underplayed range and high-pitched signature vocal style. Then, almost out of the blue, in her 80s phase – she switched her game to the funkier electronic synth-pop. This came equipped with androgyny, alter egos, mental costumes and flat-tops.
By this stage, she’d bulldozed her way into our record boxes too.
Along with churning out the hits such as ‘Pull up to the Bumper‘ or ‘Slave to the Rhythm‘, Grace Jones has always been very aware of the complete package required by the genre’s fans. From aligning herself with the right kind of producers (Nile Rodgers), to creating visually stimulating album artwork (‘Island Life‘ and too many others to list) to putting on eccentric live performances, this wonder woman always seems to go beyond the call of duty.
Her public image too made hedonism look tame – Once, at a party, it is claimed that she stripped down and declared herself the “Queen Bitch Jungle Mother of New York.” This plus other rumours of that ilk have run consistently throughout her career. In saying this, I must salute Grace Jones for being able to pull off such happenings* whilst somehow meticulously managing to stay on the ‘cool’ side of the ‘freaks of nature’ club.
… All these new-age attention-seekers need to take note.
Now at 60-odd and she’s back… This is the resurrection of Grace Jones.
A new album has been dropped – Hurricane. Check out the chocolate mannequins below:
She’s headlined Massive Attack’s ‘Meltdown‘ last year and has been touring all over since. Now on our shores for the summer season and already clocking a few UK festivals**, word on the street says its a serious affair.
As for me, I reckon it’ll be worthwhile catching this iconic figure at Brighton’s Beachdown Festival at the end of August. A decent line-up anyways, so I’m all for killing a few (big) birds with one stone…
Keeping it diaspora, but moving across to what Christopher Colombus (or ‘Christopher Colon’ as he signed his name) erroneously named the West Indies, we’d like to point you towards Sofrito’s site/blog where you’ll find details of their forthcoming Tropical Funk Experience CD lovingly compiled by Hugo Mendez. Anyone who’s had the pleasure of his audio companionship over the past few years, will know that this is an album definately worth checking. Having earnt his digging stars on numerous trips to Africa (birthing the Ghana Soundz series) and Latin America (resulting in the Panama! compilations), Hugo is adept at unearthing long lost nuggets of funk with a tropical theme. Having recently released two 12″ edits (feat. Frankie Francis and Simbad) aimed at a slighly more House/Disco crossover market Hugo’s latest Tropical Funk offering is the offspring of his recent trips to the Eastern Caribbean Island of Dominica where he dug hard and deep for long forgotten funk from the island’s past.
I’ve got relatives in Dominica myself and I’ve gotta take my hat off to him for this latest comp. I know from personal experience that vinyl records are pretty hard to come by over there…and licensing them….rather him than me! Anyway, click here to check out the album, here to read this in-depth interview with Hugo over at excellent music journal Musik Line and see below for a clip of Dominica carnival 2009 (big up WCK!) to remind you of what life can be like when the sun shines….
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