WHAT YOUR EARS SAY & WHAT THE COVER LOOKS LIKE

WHAT WE SAY

Get your Friday freak on & launch into the weekend with the horn & string assisted, propulsive polyrhythmic joys & full on celebration of Mandé music from London's Balimaya Project for Jazz Re:freshed & pray to Mangala that live music returns soon as this crew will undoubtedly smash any show.

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Driving collective polyrhythms, blazing frontline horns & virtuosic kora stylings collide across this dynamic meeting of traditional Mandé music/culture and contemporary jazz.
CreditsYahael Camara Onono - Lead Djembe/Arranger/Composer/ Voice /Sangban 
N’famady Kouyaté - Balafon/Sangban/ Voice 
Jali Bakary Konte - Kora 
Skanda Sabbagh - Dounoun 
Adeegun Crispin Robinson - Congas/voice 
Paul Goumou - Omele/Shekere/Sakara 
Michael Adesina - Lead Talking Drums/Sakara 
Moses Olukayode - Talking Drums/Sakara 
Yohan Kebede - Keys 
Godwin Sonzi - Guitar/voice 
Jonathan Monga Moko - Bass/voice 
Nathaniel Cross - Trombone 
Joe Bristow - Trombone 
Elias Ntiamoah Atkinson - Flugelhorn/Trumpet 
Ife Ogunjobi - Trumpet 
Triston Dubison - Kit 
Mariam Tounkara Koné - Solo Vocal 

Recorded at: Livingston Studios 
Engineered by: Marcus Locock 
Mixed by: Marcus Locock 
Mastered by: Daz-I-Kue 
Date recorded: July 2020 

Thanks to: 
I’d like to thank my ‘father’ Sidiki Dembele for his undying encouragement, mentoring, care and Attention and education in tradition and culture. 

A big thanks to my Family - Balimaya Project - without whom, none of this would be possible. The talent that surrounds us all is extraordinary. 

To Michelea Onono and Adaiba Onono, for keeping us Sane. 

Thanks to Andrew Azuka Uchea (RIP), Frances Uchea and the Uchea family for their prayers and support throughout my life and career. 

Marcus Locock, for working with us singlehandedly and doing a hell of a job 

Last but definitely not least, a huge thank you to Jazz re:freshed. Adam, Yvette and team, You have consistently followed and supported everything we have done. Advised, sacrificed and supported. To pull this off during a pandemic was no mean feat. But your unwavering positivity and encouragement has been priceless. What you do for the community, in general, is indescribable. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.​

WHAT YOUR EARS SAY & THE COVER LOOKS LIKE

WHAT WE SAY

Sonic luminescence lights the way through flora rich, poorly lit ambient waters on Sonmi451's exploration of deep space's aquatic realms for Laaps, as the alien fauna & unseen sirens utter sweet ASMR nothings in an effort to beguile & bewilder.

WHAT THE RELEASE NOTES SAY

All tracks written & produced by Bernard Zwijzen/Sonmi451. 

Equipment : Moog Mother 32, Elektron Octatrack, Instruo Arbhar, Make Noise Morphagene, Happy Nerding FX Aid. Plugins by Applied Acoustics, Native Instruments, Arturia and U-He. Additional production, sequencing and mixing in Ableton Live. 

Mastered by Taylor Deupree 
Artwork by Stéphane Mahé 
Design by Sprflxgrfzm 
_____________________ 

"Bernard likes to thank Mathias for his wonderful work on the LAAPS project and for the opportunity to participate. Thanks also to friends & places for inspiration"​

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WHAT YOUR EARS SAY & THE COVER LOOKS LIKE

WHAT WE SAY

One for the space cocktail lounge sophisticates & suave summer shakers from the Duo Brothers on Raw Tapes, as they throw some outernational jazz licks over some smooth & slinky grooves for all your linen clad, sunglasses on the head, warm weather moves.

WHAT THE RELEASE NOTES SAY

Welcome back to our dope lil universe. 

We’re stoked to announce Cookie Stars, the second album from one of Raw Tapes’ most impressive instrumental lineups, the Duo Brothers. Visionary local staples Sol Monk and Yonatan Levy have taken the cool from their debut album to another level, lifting off into “spaceship jazz” territory. Cookie Stars sends you out into orbit, each song a planet onto itself, leaving pleasureful tastes from different atmospheres but never drifting too far from home. Think Khrubangin meets psychedelic jazz: groovy synths, soft riffs, and flowing beats all effortlessly bounce off of one another, masterfully spaced and minimalistic, leaving each room to breathe. 

Cookie Stars takes you on a chill journey towards the stars. Enjoy the ride.

CreditsAll tracks composed by Yonatan Levy except Rough Waters by Elyasaf Bashari 

Produced by Aviv Cohen (Sol Monk) and Yonatan Levy 

Recorded and engineered Aviv Cohen at Saloniki Studios 

Mixed by Aviv Cohen (Sol Monk) and Yonatan Levy 

Mastered by Asaf Shay 

Artwork by Linja​

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WHAT WE SAY

Inspired by Octavia Butler's prescient 90's novel predicting today's climate & wealth inequality crisis', the new LP from Trippers & Askers for Sleepy Cat Records is a laid back alt-Americana & jazz laced psychedelic folk foray into humanity's dark side, the still burning candles of hope & the difficult choices facing us all sooner than we want to admit if we want to build a more equitable, sustainable future.

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Inspired by the world building, Afrofuturist radicalism of the novel “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler, the latest Trippers & Askers LP “Acorn” blends spiritual jazz and traditional styles in ways that pose fundamental questions about the nature of “American” music. With cover art from acclaimed comic artist John Jennings - whose work includes multiple graphic novel adaptations of Butler’s work - this concept album ushers the listener through the narrative of the novel as it pertains to the very real political and emotional challenges of the present. 
Parable of the Sower was written in the 1990’s and set in 2020’s U.S. when society has collapsed for everyone but the super wealthy due to climate change, wealth inequality, religious fundamentalism, and corporate greed. The protagonist – a woman named Lauren Olamina – embodies a kind of radical hope that has nothing to do with denial. In fact, it’s a kind of hope that can only spring from the fact that she understands the severity of her and her community’s situation better than anyone else. It’s a hope that is anchored by a religion that she creates called Earthseed, a way of seeing the world that many contemporary black feminist activists and musicians such as adrienne maree brown, Toshi Reagon and so many others have taken up as a spiritual roadmap toward liberation from an increasingly unacceptable present. 
Side A of “Acorn” deals with the childhood of humanity on earth, with the discovery of Earthseed ushering us to the stars. Side B deals with a “sweet, sad and terrifying” adulthood that is oriented toward the creation of the first Earthseed community, “Acorn.” An album based on the second novel in the series, “Parable of the Talents”, is in process. 
Acorn was recorded primarily in Durham, North Carolina, and features some of the area’s finest including Andy Stack (Wye Oak, Joyero), Joseph O’Connell (Elephant Micah), Joe Westerlund (Califone, Megafaun), former Sun Ra member Ken Moshesh. Here are some words on the album from songwriter, friend and fellow traveler, Will Stratton. 
 CreditsPerformance: 
Jay Hammond | Voice, Guitars, Mandolin, Bass, Electronics 
Chessa Rich | Voice, Keyboards, Organ, Piano, Flute 
Andrew Carlson | Voice, Bass 
Joe Westerlund | Drums, Percussion 
Ken Moshesh | Percussion 
Joseph Decosimo | Fiddle 
Bako Jaf | Saz 
Mike Grigoni | Pedal Steel 
Joseph O'Connell | Pump Organ 
Andy Stack | Saxophone, Organelle 

Production: 
All Songs by Jay Hammond 
Saz by Bako Jaf recorded in Pigneto, Rome 
Engineering @ Silkworm Sound in Durham, NC by Saman Khoujinian 
Engineering @ The Rubber Room in Chapel Hill, NC by Saman Khoujinian 
Engineering @ Arbor Ridge Studios in Chapel Hill, NC by Jeff Crawford 
Engineering and Initial Mixing @ Everywhere by Jay Hammond 
Final Mixes by Scott Hirsch @ Echo Magic Studios in Ojai, CA 
Distributed by Sleepy Cat Records 
Manufactured by Blue Sprocket in Harrisonburg, VA 
Package design by Gabe Anderson 
Original Cover Artwork by John Jennings 
Produced by Jay Hammond 
© simultaneities 2021​

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Nice to see Sam Gendel back with Sam Wilkes on another mission for Leaving Records. Anchored by a bit of hip hop bump they embark on a smooth future jazz ride, but not without them gently probing the jazz continuum for possibilities they will no doubt explore at a later date.

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The follow-up to 2018's underground jazz milestone from Los Angeles-based musicians Sam Gendel & Sam Wilkes. Music for Saxofone & Bass Guitar More Songs collects nine additional songs from the duo.

CreditsPerformed, recorded, mixed and produced by 
Sam Gendel + Sam Wilkes 
additional bass by Daniel Aged on THEEM PROTOTYPE, COLD POCKET, FLAMETOP GREEN 
Mastered by Matthewdavid McQueen 
Recorded on location at Mh Zh + Daniel's Basement + etc. 
2017-2021​

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