Music of Late

I haven't posted anything musical of late, so I'll just quickly mention a few things I've been listening to recently. My brother recently asked me about suggestions for four-four dance music (for example: house, techno, etc.), which reminded me of a mix I've enjoyed over the past months by a chap called Pearsall. This prompted me to visit his website, of which the URL was listed on my MP3 player, at www.sonicrampage.org. Apart from having a name fabulously evocative of pounding bass, Pearsall provides us with a bewildering array of different mainly dance music mixes, from drum and bass, to techno, to house, to trance and many other genres in between. Each mix is completely free and is accompanied by a post about what prompted him to make that mix, it's a highly entertaining website with plenty of good quality mixes, although beware of the olfactory presence of a particular French dairy product in some of his musical tapestries.

I've been having a bit of a renaissance of hip-hop enjoyment of late. In particular I've been listening to a mix by DJ Moocha, also known to me for excellent selections of jungle, this mix includes many fine examples of UK and US hip-hop, mainly harking from the late nineties onward. Some of my favourite raw producers are on there, from Rodney P and Jehst to Wu Tang Killa Bees and various classics that I know from nights out in London but whose names escape me. Jehst is an English artist, who does a lot to dispel the image of hip-hop as all about gold and misogyny with his lyrics about all manner of topics including, oddly, Charles Bukowski in "Alcoholic Author". I'd suggest listening to "High Planes Drifter", an EP that has many of my favourites on, a great showcase of Jehst's lyrical poetry and commentary on urban life in the UK. Rodney P is somewhat rowdier, one for a party mood, I've been listening to "The Future" of late, his debut album that has some heavily produced tracks on it, often tinged with reggae or dancehall influences.

For DJ Moocha have a look at https://www.mixcloud.com/tag/dj-moocha/ or http://www.illfm.net/browse/show/7/1.html , the latter is my old favourite, the Ill FM internet radio station site.

Jehst - "Alcoholic Author"

Some of Rodney P's Caribbean influenced hip-hop sound.

Something recently reminded me that I also wanted to listen to Fela Kuti, the famous pioneer of Afrobeat music from Nigeria and political activist, most prominent during the 1970's. It is to this soundtrack accompanied by the patter of oriental rain that I type. I can report that his music is very listenable indeed, I'm really enjoying "Shakara - The London Scene", it's very brassy soul-tinged music, with an unmistakably gravelly voice providing a commentary in what is presumably Nigerian language. I heartily recommend giving Fela a listen.

"Shakara" by Fela Kuti, described here as iconoclastic (!).

Thanks for reading.