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Many talk about Jagger, I talk about Fela…
I’ve not kept to date with my Hero’s friday. To make up for it, here is a video of the great and legendary Fela Kuti. This is rare footage taken from Calabar one of the rainiest parts of Nigeria. Rain aside you cannot deny this Fela’s passion and showmanship. The energy of the continent circulates through his pores; raw, uncontrollable, untamed and free.. -
Instead of chasing the dream, try to create it….
Andy Akinwolere
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Photo of the day, have a great weekend.
Photographer: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters
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Nu: Logic : ‘Morning Light’
Its been a while since i’ve graced the dens and depths of drum and base clubs or nights. As a young lad at 16, (Blue Peter presenters do have lives outside the wholesome joyous nest of Childrens TV) me and the lads we sneaking into Birmingham’s premier underground night ‘Flashback’ at the world famous Q club. My bright eyed catholic gaze at the time had never seen anything like it. Lads and ladies dressed in fluorescent garments, pupils dilated and chewed cheeks like a lion salivating at the prospect of eating a young gazelle. It was round the time when Jungle and DnB were massive. I remember the lads asking if wanted to come along, and and me pretending i knew who RatPack and M Beat were (Later i would realise M Beat’s track with General Levy ‘Incredible’ would shape a considerable part of my school and adult life)
The Jungle rooms in the club were unbelievable i had never dance with such vigor my body had never moved like that to so many BPM’s in its life. The DnB room gave me more rhythm and bass than i can ever have imagined. I started getting into LTJ Bukem and Goldie in particular. Bukem’s almost spiritual progressive approach cast a spell on my ears, with a jazz like quality that just drifted effortlessly. We all know ‘Horizons’ and the importance of that track in drum and base. Goldies ‘Inner city Life’ crowned him as one of the godfathers of the movement. I’ll be honest im not an expert but when i hear a good tune i get my head round it and never stop playing it for about a week or even more.
This brings me ‘Moonlight’ by Nu: Logic DnB producer brothers Dan Gresham (Nu:Tone) and Matt Gresham (Logistics). Boy oh boy the is a banger. Excuse the colloquialism but sometimes plain english wont do. This taken from the Hospital Records website :
“Morning Light” starts the 12” with a flurry of twittering birds and murmuring atmospherics. Calm and mellow from start to finish, this blissed out track pairs pattering drums with cooing vocals for maximum effect, whilst guitar strumming and sub-heavy upright bass add weight and depth.
Over on the flipside we have the not-so-cuddly “Grizzly” which switches up the tempo and goes for the jugular with superb trigger-clicking, bass-ridden stabbing beats. The trippy tinkling intro drops swiftly into a raw and rugged affair and continues to menace right til it’s all over.”
Need i say more… get this in your collection and embrace beats of 160–180 BPM in your ears (if you don’t already) You know you want to. If the video above has given you a taster, check out the website by hospital records more more Drum and Base delights. As i said I’m no expert but i know what i like and i repeat this is a serious ‘banger’.
Andy Akinwolere(Source: thenewblackofficial)
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James Blake ‘Retrograde’:
Hes back with a light hearted darkness more bass and even dirtier synths…. Let the heavens hope for Mr James Blake!!!
(Source: thenewblackofficial)
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Hero Friday :
Dame Shirley Bassey - Singer, born 1937
Arguably the greatest Welsh singer of all time, Bassey is the only artist to perform three James Bond themes. The Cardiff-born diva has recently made a popular revival (she was made a Dame in 2000) and can apparently count the Queen as a fan.
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HERO FRIDAY:Stokely Carmichael - Civil rights activist, 1941-98
Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Carmichael moved to Harlem at 11. He was leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, bringing black students together to protest against segregation. One of the first activists to use the term “Black Power”. -
Young Farmer UNST
Photography Andy Akinwolere -
All men fear death. It’s a natural fear that consumes us all. We fear death because we feel that we haven’t loved well enough or loved at all, which ultimately are one and the same. However, when you make love with a truly great woman, one that deserves the utmost respect in this world and one that makes you feel truly powerful, that fear of death completely disappears. Because when you are sharing your body and heart with a great woman the world fades away. You two are the only ones in the entire universe. You conquer what most lesser men have never conquered before, you have conquered a great woman’s heart, the most vulnerable thing she can offer to another. Death no longer lingers in the mind. Fear no longer clouds your heart. Only passion for living, and for loving, become your sole reality. This is no easy task for it takes insurmountable courage. But remember this, for that moment when you are making love with a woman of true greatness you will feel immortal.
Ernest Hemingway (In Woody Allen’s “Midnight In Paris.”)
Hemingway is the truth…
(Source: helloimstephen, via aileenthegreat)
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Finley Quaye Maverick A Strike : 1997
Lyrically, poetically and melodically brilliant. Finlay Quaye is one of the most definitive voices of the 90’s. Elegant, cool and somewhat lost Finley sings with an unusual sincerity and honesty. Covering topics of masculinity, humanity, society and love this album became a soundtrack to many people’s lives. Giving tones of dub, reggae and cosmic vibes this is one of those LP’s that hypnotically enchanted many to play it continuously.Finlay is a troubled soul who’s battled with himself, his thoughts and drugs. The genius and the simplicity of his lyrics cannot be denied though. I always think the joy of a great pop record is its accessibility no matter what the subject matter, or sub genre. They hit gold with this album with unforgettable hits such as : Sunday shining, Even After All, Your Love Gets Sweeter and Its Great When We’re Together.
I saw Finlay at The Tabernacle in Nottinghill London a couple of years ago. Slightly more portly than i remember with the most vulgar of sunglasses on, he did the entirety of the show with his back to the audience. He sweated profusely and seem really awkward and nervous. Clearly his demons had not left him. Finley is a little like many artist we mourn and sycophantically remember their brilliance when they are deceased. He is very much alive though and i very much doubt he’ll re create this brilliance. Maybe he doesn’t have to, a little like Lauryn Hill could never make another Miseducation. Finlay “even after all your suffering so” this will LP will be in the musical ether for years to come.
The New Black Official by Andy Akinwolere
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Never be afraid to Open your eyes: My Life and Inspiration
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