va -- Bees & Things & Flowers [Graham's Mixtape Summer 2023]

 "Just bees and things and flowers", quoted from Roy Ayers' timeless classic "Everybody Loves The Sunshine", was a good start and a perfect inspiration for this summer's soundtrack. In the same spirit as "Voyage Sans Retour" (mixtape from 2021), it features many trippy and far-out tracks.

2 hypnotic tracks by Turkish folk singer Fikret Kızılok combine rather well with French pop icon Polnareff's early stuff ; and American jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby's experimental koto-led tunes flow into Najat Al Saghira's beautiful "Bahlam Maak" and Lebanese songwriter Hissam Hajali's epic 11-minute folk fresque "Ana Damir El Motakallim". The psychedelic "Garip", sung by Anatolian rock figure Edip Akbayram, was written by legendary poet and songwriter Mahzuni Şerif, and arranged by genius keyboardist Murat Ses.

A handful of cool intrumentals too : multi-instrumentist and composer Uriah Witztum a.k.a. "YUZ" who kindly sent me his mesmerizing track "Revadim" from his soon-to-come album ; Dominique Guiot's "Iceberg en Voyage" from his cult "l'Univers de la Mer" album, Swedish composer Sven Wunder's cinematic "Snowdrops" from his upcoming album ; 2 great tracks by Italian composers Piero Umiliani and Pino Presti.

The selection ends with Ornella Vanoni's "l'Appuntamento", inspired by the famous song "Cucurrucucu Paloma".

Thanks : Molly, Dav' Grass, Uriah Witztum, Derya, Mambo Chick, Flavien, John "Piano Piano" and Sven Wunder

va - Love Without Sound [Mixtape #61]

A batch of fresh tunes for sunny days ahead. Arty pop songs, fluty jazz, synthy instros. And Isis and Osiris making love without sound.

Side A
01 - Yasuaki Shimizu - Seiko 2
02 - White Noise - Love Without Sound
03 - Marine Girls - Fridays
04 - Antoine - J'ai oublié la nuit
05 - Broadcast - Tears In The Typing Pool
06 - Cvartetul de Jazz Paul Weiner - Căutări
07 - Roger Bourdin - Meditation
08 - Moondog - Heimdall Fanfare
09 - Philippe Sarde - Le Cortege et Course
10 - Bailey's Nervous Kats featuring James Mills - Cobra
11 - Martin Rev - Secret Teardrops

Side B
12 - White Noise - Firebird
13 - Jonathan Bremer & Morten McCoy - Ordet
14 - Vernal Equinox - Sunrise
15 - Remo Fernandes - Jungle Days
16 - Masumi Hara - My Golden Hour
17 - Neon Phusion - It's Another

Thanks Thibaut 'Mus Joutra', Pablo 'Begayne', Jonat 'Société Etrange', Little Axe Rec, Banzzaï.

va -- Voodoo You Love [Le Major's mixtape]

Cinematic spells, Indonesian love balms, soothing melodies and soulful elixirs, this new mix has everything you need to to voodoo you(r) love, whatever that means, hihi !

Side A

1. Maha • Kabl Ma Nessalem We Nemshy 2. El Michel’s Affair • Enfant feat.The Shacks 3. The Rossumovi Univerzalni • Roboti Walz  4. Sven Wunder • Impasto 5. Orkes Kelana Ria • Semoga 6. Ellya Khadam & Rudy Anand • Tak Mau Lagi 7. André Popp • Ophélia 8. Misha Panvilov • Voodoo You Love 9. Don Burrows • Algeciras 10. Sessa • Vento A Favor 

Side B

11. Lorenzo Holden and orch. • Hold On 12. Cartola • Preciso Me Encontrar 13. Orkes Sendja Meraju • Bubuj Bulan 14. Kamuran Akkor • Düşmanlarım Çatlasın 15. Gülcan Opel • Su Gelir Güldür Güldür 16. Arif Sağ  • Aguş 17. Klaus Wunderlich & His New Pop Organ Sound • Let's Do The Latin Hustle 18. L.U.C.A • Valzer Del Risveglio 19. Boris Gardener • A Groovy Kind Of Love

Illustrations taken from Yann Damezin's stunning Majnoun et Leïli . 

Thanks to : Radio Campus Dijon, DJ Rainbow, Padang Moonrise, Derya, Gérard, Central Do Brasil, and our favorite music blogs.

va - DRIFTWOOD [Mixtape #60]

 

Here is mixtape #60. That is not counting Graham's & Le Major's selections, plus a few guest mixes you will find on this blog (Coco Maria, Captain XXI, Roady).

Driftwood is a very smooth voyage that starts in Japan with a short intro from Shimizu's music for commercials and Ohnuki's city pop hit 'Kusuri O Takusan'. Later on we can hear many mellow guitars: the haunting guitar of Yougoslavian/American Branko Mataja ; the burkinabe guitar wonder of Super Volta ; a wonderful huayno by Duo Wayra from Ayacucho, Peru ; 'Traces of the Past' by Los Compadres de Cuba (Compay Primo & Compay Segundo in their young days). You will also come across 'Earl Richard' a song of Olde England from the 60's UK folk revival ; the very expressive and aquatic version of Roger Bourdin's Atlantis by the Blue Bells ; dope rap track by Danger Mouse & Black Thought from their stunning album 'Cheat Codes'. And way out instros on side B by The Wailers (the ones from Tacoma), Roha Band (ethio-groove & jazz backing band), Smith & Erickson (from Berkeley?) and Isle of Wight native Max Brennan.

Pfew, never wrote so much in these pages. It's really just another C60 of sweet music.

Side A
01 - Yasuaki Shimizu - Seiko 3
02 - Taeko Ohnuki - Kusuri O Takusan
03 - Danger Mouse & Black Thought - Identical Deaths
04 - Branko Mataja - Da Smo Se Ranije Sreli
05 - The Monzas - Forever Walks a Drifter
06 - Super Volta - La Guitare De Tinga
07 - The Blue Bells - Atlantis
08 - Gene Sikora - A Song For Mary
09 - Duo Wayra - Camino Del Cielo
10 - Duo Los Compadres - Huellas Del Pasado

Side B
11 - Tim Hart & Maddy Prior - Earl Richard
12 - The Wailers - Driftwood
13 - Max Brennan - From The Temple To The Nile
14 - Smith And Erickson - Midnight Mambo
15 - Roha Band - Track 1
16 - Branko Mataja - Tebi Majko Misli Lete
17 - Antonio Sulca - Yaravi and Fugue Garsila

Thanks to Le Major, Jonat, Paul Wiel, Side One Records

va -- Perfect Harmony [Graham's Mixtape March 2023]

 

How do Senegalese avant-garde storytelling, 60's garage girl groups and acoustic Afro-Brazilian sambas combine ? In perfect harmony !

On this eclectic comp/mixtape, I've chosen (with great difficulty) excerpts from several concept-albums : NYC-based El Michels Affair's cinematic ''Yeti Season'', London's secret soul collective SAULT's ''7'' LP, Count Ossie's triple-long-player spiritual trip ''Grounation' (as The Mystic Revelation Of Rastafari)', Senegalo-Swedish political art project Wau Wau Collectif's first album ''Yaral Sa Doom'', Pastor T. L. Barrett's funky church choir production ''Like A Ship'', and Baden Powell & Vinicius De Moraës' legendary ''Afro Samba'' LP, featuring extraordinary vocal performances by Quarteto Em Cy.

Less conceptual but no less perfect and harmonious : 2 obscure songs from the excellent ''Ghost Riders'' compilation (Efficient Space), respectively by teenage garage boy band the Yardleys and teenage garage girl band The Mod 4 ; 2 songs by 80's UK girl-group The Delmonas (backed by Billy Childish's band Thee Milkshakes) ; Turkish instrumental group Önder Bali 4's first single ''Halûk için'' (featuring arranger Zafer Dilek on guitar), Barbadian soul singer Jackie Opel's ''Higher and Higher'' from his very last recording session ; and Quincy Jones' theme song to 1967 film ''In The Heat Of The Night'', sung by Ray Charles.

Thanks : Gérard, Cam Cam, Anja & Klas, Flavien, Georgia, Benny, Jérome, Le Major, Ella.

va - FLOR DE UN DIA [Mixtape #59]

Happy new Year ! Here's a new selection of soul warming music to fit on a C60 musicassette. Some fine calypsos, lots of instros old and new, a fair amount of andean music (can't seem to get over huayno, puro tayta shanti, and now even tracks from a far out pan flute k7) and a northern UK finish with a beautiful song about Salford, near Manchester, where the sun doesn't shine and the people don't smile...

SIDE A
01 - Blind Blake - Goombay Drum
02 - Lord Christo - Hurricane Janet
03 - Sir Artus and his Calypso Knights - Oken Karangee
04 - سالم البارودي - Fatouma
05 - Denny Reed - Hot Water
06 - Bobby Darin & His Orchestra - Theme From 'Come September'
07 - Ali Affandi - Mapinduzi Tsimtezo    (from this LP)
08 - Francis Bebey - Le Casino de Baden-Baden    (from this LP)
09 - Andes    (from this K7)
10 - Flor De Un Dia

SIDE B
11 - Broadcast - Phantom
12 - Dominique Guiot - Alerte en mer
13 - Alain Goraguer - Un Homme Traqué
14 - Babla & His Orchestra - Jam Chalne Laage
15 - Toni Esposito - Processione Sul Mare
16 - Luzmila Carpio - Amaotayku Avelino Sinani (Chancha Via Circuito Remix)
17 - Los Solitarios Del Ande - Mi Pachito A Muerto
18 - Broadcast & The Focus Group - I See, So I See So
19 - Jean Go Solo - In Salford the Sun Doesn't Shine

Thanks to Jonat, Lulu, Mambo, Seb.

Bonus rips are from albums that didn't seem to be shared over soulseek - check out Bebey, Affandi and Viento en los Andes !

15 Years Of Catapulte Records - Mix By CAPTAIN XXI

To celebrate the 15th anniversary of Catapulte Records our friend Captain XXI prepared this special mix with old and new sounds from the label. Check it out !

 

♥♥♥♥♥ 

We also made a cassette compilation last Summer and I thought I'd share it here too :

(or download the mp3 version here)

va -- Everything Seems Fine [Le Major Mixtape]

 

Moody november has definitely injected mellow, heartbreaking tunes into this new compilation but the uplifting B side will push your early winter's worries away! 

Indonesian, italian, and french treasures from the past are intertwined with a good amount of contemporary bands (the excellent Rozi Plain and Vanishing Twin from London, romanian project Raze De Soare, Lee Fields's new poignant single, Alogte Oho & his Sounds Of Joy from Ghana, and Dina Ögon's freak-funk from Sweden ...)

Pascale Sakr's "Zaranil Mahboub" also remains one of the best lebanese tracks ever ! 

Thanks to : Dj Rainbow, Madrotter, Graham Mushnik.

va -- Rivers [Graham's Selection Fall'22]

Here's a new comp stemming from recent discoveries, notably the wonderful label Philophon and its incredible Ghanaian artists Alogte Oho, Lee Dodou, Y-Bayani and Baby Naa (to name a few!) playing several genres (reggae, fra-fra, highlife...) with amazing songs, groove, sound... 

Some cool jazzy tracks from Finnish producer/musician Jimi Tenor's latest album "Multiversum", Dimples' soca-soul hit "Beautiful Feeling", Boris Gardiner's hot version of Booker T's "Melting Pot", French instro-group Resonance (feat. Pierre Bachelet!) and their funky "O.K. Chicago", London Caribbean crew Cymande's "Brothers on the Slide"...

And a special mention to Gary Bartz's magical live recording of "I've Known Rivers", which gave the compilation its name ; and to Selda's obscure version of "Bad-ı Sabah", backed by Anatolian rock legends Moğollar - one of her most beautifully haunting tracks!

Mystery track : who sings song n° 10 ?

Thanks to Molly & Benny Gordini, big up to Le Major and Grup Şimşek. Cover layout and font by Molly.

va -- Nebulosa [Graham's Summer Comp 2022]

 

This summer's special comp, for your trips, parties and lazy mornings. A few latin-jazz piano tunes (Tenorio Jr and Lalo Schifrin) or funkier ventures (Quincy Jones' theme to the Bill Cosby show, Bob James' magical "Nautilus", and a couple of great songs by Stax singer Luther Ingram), a handful of groovy - although slightly crackly - Anatolian 7 inches (notably Biricik's emo-prog "Iste Meydan", backed by cult psych-rock band Dadaslar, and Silüetler's 9/8 surf-rock hit "Kaşık Havası")... A few outsiders too : Os Brazões' amazing "Volkswagen Blue" (penned by Gilberto Gil), Anadol's haunting "Ablamın Gözleri" taken from her latest album "Felicita", Marc Bolan's first ever single "The Wizard", Ennio Morricone's theme tune to "The Italian Job", and Zalla a.k.a. Piero Umiliani's superb "Pianure D'Asia" from his cult "Paesaggi" album.

Thanks : Ilker, Benny, Derya

Illustration by Akira Nagasawa, layout by Molly

Just noticed Luke Warmcop also included Lalo Schifrin's Snake Dance... double hit!!

 

 

MIXTAPE #58 - Next-Door Beauty

Here's the latest selection of hits to fit onto a C60 musicassette, or to stream below. Check out far out tayta shanti numbers from Peru, Brummie experiments by Broadcast with and without the Focus Group, Schifrin's lovely Snake Dance and many more!

Side A
01 - Cleoma Falcon - Mon Bon Vieux Mari
02 - Mia Omorfi Gitonopoula Polyxeni and Kalliopi Litou - Next-Door Beauty
03 - Orq. Huracan Del Mantaro - Que Chevere
04 - Los Reales de Cajamarca - En Brazos de la Dicha
05 - Mama Cushta - El Violin De bahuer
06 - Bolingo Ya Mosika Mabé
07 - Lalo Schifrin - The Snake's Dance
08 - Murad Kajlayev - Exotic Dance
09 - Phuong Tâm - Magical Night
10 - Belbury Poly - Wild Spot

Side B
11 - Broadcast & The Focus Group - The Be Colony
12 - Toto La Momposina - El Pescador
13 - Luiz Gonzaga - O Cheiro Da Carolina
14 - Esma Redzepova - Romano Horo
15 - Salah Ragab - Oriental Mood
16 - Wau Wau Collectif - Mame Cheikh Sidy Anta Mba
17 - Broadcast - Until Then
18 - The Cure - Six Different Ways

Thanks to Little Axe Records, Graham Mushnik, Paul Wiel

 

va -- I Don't Wanna Move [Le Major Mixtape]

Hourray! A new eclectic selection of oddities and soul-soothing tunes;
Pop songs, African and Carribean hip shakers, Currulao from the pacific coast of Colombia, Brazilian love ... En route for the pleasurable spring !

Congratulations to Evinha for making any moment of the day magical, and Orchestre Kiam's guitarist for creating an endless party on his own.

SIDE A

01 • Evinha - Teto de Louca
02 • Hasnah Haron - Bintang Pujaan
03 • Canalón De Timbiquí - Lancherito
04 • Orquestra Romantica del Casino de Hawana - Oracion Caribe
05`• Quarteto Em Cy / Tamba Trio - Imagem
06 • Unknown (Tahiti) - Vairota
07 • The Lights of Khartoum North - Feelings
08 • Abdi Muhumud Amin & Waberi Artists - Aynaanka Hay

SIDE B

09 • Rahman Kadir  - Hari Ini Tak Seindah Semalam
10 • Ernesto Djédjé - Zibote 
11 • Orchestre Kiam - Memi 2
12 • Super Combo - Drole Messieu
13 • Chanel 10 - Lola
14 • Linton Kwesi Johnson - Two Sides Of Silence
15 • Oracle Sisters - I Don't Wanna Move

Thanks: Mauricio Ramirez, Radio Cosmo Berlin, Joe Summers.