As I mention at the start of the show for this month, I had a number of mixed emotions going into this final show of 2021. I considered doing something similar to last year’s show, when the toll of Covid deaths with Musicians was truly staggering. We had a number of losses this year, particularly near the end of the year, but I didn’t want to close the year with that same kind of sentiment. I’d also thought about doing a show around “Desperation,” but that will come at a later date. Instead, I decided to focus on “Peaceful,” being a bit aspirational, given the continuing state of affairs, but also reflective of the mood I most like to embody at the close of a year.
Also, as I additionally mentioned in the show, whenever I want to enter a more peaceful mood, my go to artists/songs almost always tend to be not only from Jazz as a genre, but specifically that sub-genre we describe as “Spiritual Jazz.” There is a single way of defining “Spiritual Jazz,” in some ways it’s a catch all term for songs that not only are directly concerned with spiritual matters, but music that evokes a specific feeling. One of my many rituals whenever I’m either feeling lost, or on the flipside, when I’m feeling grateful after the close of a trying period of time, is to play Pharoah Sanders’ “The Healing Song.” Pharoah has a number of songs that could have found their way into a show themed around “Peaceful,” but “The Healing Song,” has a unique quality to it, most especially in the chorus of voices that sing throughout it. Few other sounds, combined with that magnificent, soaring, tone from Sanders’ saxophone, fill me with such a overarching sense of hope and peace than the ones heard in this song, and so that became the obvious starting point for this month’s Moods. From there, I attempted to add in as many other songs as I could fit into the two sets/one hour format we currently have that fit a similar mood.
For me, peacefulness isn’t just about serene or calming music, there are more than a few moments in these songs that are filled with a bit of fire, but it’s about the overall feeling that comes through listening to these pieces in their totality, as individual songs and as a show. I hope these sounds put you in a peaceful mood as we close the door on this tumultuous year, and look forward to new beginnings in 2022…Peace and Bright Moments to you all.
Playlist – Moods In Free Time 024: Peaceful
{opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)
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Pharoah Sanders – The Healing Song – Live At The East (Impulse)
Don Cherry & The Organic Music Society – Hope – Organic Music (Caprice)
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Ensemble Al-Salaam – Peace – The Sorjourner (Strata East)
Andrew Hill – Illusion – One For One (Blue Note)
Charlie Haden & Alice Coltrane – For Turiya – Closeness (Horizon)
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{closing theme} Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It (Columbia)
As the year comes to a close, we often get reflective about the past 12 months. 2021 wasn’t at all the year I hoped it would be, but if there was one unqualified bright spot of the year, it was the series of dedicated deep listening sessions that were put on by the folks at In Sheep’s Clothing Hi-Fi during their residency at Hollywood’s NeueHouse. One of the last things I did pre-pandemic was attend a deep listening session of Alice Coltrane’s Ptah, The El Daoud at In Sheep’s Clothing’s spot in the Arts District in DTLA, and so when I learned they were doing sessions again this past Summer, I was beyond excited. Having apparently lost their prior location, they set up shop at NeueHouse, taking over the rooftop along with a space set up inside with one of the sweetest Hi-Fi sets I’ve ever had the privilege to hear music on.
Of the many sessions I was able to attend, BY FAR my favorite was the very first one I went to, featuring selections from Melissa Dueñas aka Sonrisita.
Sonrisita first came up on my radar when Oliver Wang of Soul-Sides.Com had effusive praise for her East Side Story Project, documenting the compilation series with the same name, as well as the Chicano Oldies culture connected to the songs here in LA. She’s a DJ of the highest order, whether in clubs or bars, or on the shows she produces, on my current home, Artform Radio as well as Lowrider Sundays on Dublab, in addition to being a sterling journalist/archivist.
While all of her selections were spot on and curated in a perfect flow from the start (Alice Coltrane) to the close of the evening (Lonnie Liston Smith) and all points in-between (Edu Lobo, Arthur Verocai, Clube Da Esquina & Nuova Napoli), this album from the Japanese group Mariah was the one that was the most illuminating. I had heard about this album previously, but, for some completely inexplicable reason, I hadn’t actually heard anything from it. It’s an album that for the most part dropped off the radar after release, but, as is so often the case, quality music finds its way to people’s ears eventually, and in time “Shinzo No Tobira” became a bit of a underground club staple, eventually leading to the whole album being reissued in 2015.
The sound of this album fits, to a degree, in sounds that emerged out of Japan and elsewhere in the early 1980s. There are aspects of synth-pop, industrial, post-punk & no wave jazz swirling around in the mix that bandleader Yasuaki Shimizu brought together for this session, the final album by the group. It’s the addition of vocalist Julie Fowell, along with Armenian lyrics culled from poetry by Seta Evanian, that create music that almost defies classification. When I was first listening to the album (the only one that Sonrisita played in it’s entirety, instead of just a single album side) in that space, I couldn’t actually place the language, which added to the mystery of the sounds I was experiencing there for the first time. Armenian music and lyrics just aren’t something you hear very often in the States, and certainly not what you’d expect from a Japanese group’s record from the 1980s, but due to Evanian’s relationship with Mariah’s bassist Morio Watanabe, they found their way here and created the record’s unique sound.
Shimizu, in an interview with Red Bull Music Academy, described the sound of this album as “the feeling of an eternal breeze brushing your cheek,” and also as “the sound of a line drawn by a petal in the wind alighting on a river, and going with the flow.” As much as I love the poetics of that description, personally, I can only describe it as what a soundtrack for a David Lynch directed anime/live-action mash-up of Akira, Blade Runner & the Color Of Pomegranates would sound like…it’s not a sound that really should exist, but exist it does.
After that session at NeueHouse, I did all I could to track down a minty copy of this album, and in the ensuing months since initially hearing it, I’ve tried my best to recreate that same deep listening experience that I had that first time. Even after multiple listens, the album still amazes and confounds my ears. Mariah’s Utakata No Hibi isn’t just one of my favorite musical discoveries of the past year, but of all-time, and a reminder that there’s still so much music yet to discover, hear and adore out there in the world.
In many cases when I start sorting out what mood or emotion I’ll focus on for this show, I may start with a song, sometimes a few songs, and then build around it. This month’s show coincided with a much needed break, which meant I had a little more time than usual to ponder and think about possible show ideas. There were a number of false starts, which may become shows in the future (particularly around some darker moods like Desperation and Depression), but nothing was coming to me that I could build a show around. While I initially gave myself some flexibility, where the show could focus on a specific mood for just a song or a set, I’ve actually enjoyed the challenge of creating an entire show around a particular mood/emotion. As I was beginning to get frustrated about the inability to pull the trigger on a specific mood, I realized that some of the issue was that I had gotten an almost unhealthy amount of vinyl in the last two months. Grips of records from Artform Studio, Permanent Records, Gimme Gimme, and Rappcats pop-ups from Cool Chris of Groove Merchant and DJ Shadow created a situation where there was a lot of vinyl lying around my apartment that I hadn’t even really heard at all.
From that realization the catalyst for focusing on “Neophilia,” the love for what is new or novel, was born. At first, I was just thinking that I would focus on “new” vinyl to my collection, but as I was going through these particular stacks I realized that there about 20 or so records that I hadn’t even heard at all, including some that were still sealed. Not only had I not heard the records, but in virtually every case they came from bands that I didn’t know previously. I then rather suddenly had the wild idea that it would be a good idea to actually do the show without listening to any of the records, but to start with one of the sealed records and just see if I could piece together a solid show. As a chronic planner (I often say ‘even my plans have plans,’) this was definitely not something I had ever done in my life before. After damn near 30 years in radio, it’s exceedingly rare to have a completely new experience. I’m thankful for the novelty of this show, but as I say at the end of the show, there ain’t no way I will ever do a show like this again! Having been through the experience of trying to get songs together in the moment and with the show recording was one of the most exciting, but also anxiety inducing experiences I think I’ve ever had as a DJ. I can’t entirely recommend it, but it was a cool challenge nonetheless. Hope y’all enjoy the results.
Playlist – Moods In Free Time 023: Neophilia {opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)
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The Glitterhouse – Tinkerbell’s Mind – Color Blind (Dynovoice) Influence – Overture/I Admire – Influence (ABC) Southwest FOB – Downtown Woman/Nadine – Smell Of Incense (Hip) Fat – Country Girl – Fat (RCA) Atlee – Swamp Rhythm – Flying Ahead (ABC)
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Endle St. Cloud – This Is Love – Thank You All Very Much (International Artists) David Tukhmanov w/ Contemporary – From Sapho – On A Wave Of My Memory (Melodiya) Acqua – Song From A Picture – Fragile (Numero Uno) Oko – Samsam – Raskorak (MarCouMar) Teddy Lasry – La Femme Qui Venait D’Ailleurs – La Femme Qui Venait D’Ailleurs (Sonimage) Woz aka Paul Woznicki – 2nd Attempt – Woz (Ulterior)
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{Closing Theme} Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It! (Columbia)
As a kind of post-script to the moments of “suasion” that occurred in October, you have this absolutely stellar song from George Duke. While Duke is someone I’ve always appreciated, I haven’t really spent a lot of time with his catalog (my tastes have always tended to focus on Pre-1977/Post-1987 sounds with Jazz & Soul for reasons that are both clear and unclear to me personally). As I left the first day of the DJ Shadow storage sale at Rappcats, having sated my appetite for dusty vinyl, I found myself hungry for actual food. Being in Highland Park, I thought I’d swing by one of my favorite spots to get some good grub. I found a parking spot almost exactly across the street from Peanut Butter Wolf’s Goldline Bar, which now has street side speakers, and from those speakers I heard the absolute magic that is “Just For You,” almost exactly after the first verse ended. I almost ran through oncoming traffic to make sure that I found out what the song was. Thankfully, there were still three minutes left in the song and I had plenty of time to safely cross the street, show my ID & Vax card at the door and ask the DJ what they were playing. As I mentioned in previous posts, the serendipity of walking into fantastic music that you’ve never heard before is one of my favorite things of all time. And this song, I don’t really feel like I need to even say anything about this song, if you have or are about to listen to it…You know that joyful little dance you do every time you take a bite of some really good tasting food? This song is the musical equivalent of that feeling, for every second of it’s duration.
Even after all these years as a DJ and collector, I am never not surprised by how much amazing music there is still to discover out there. So thankful that the musical surprises never end, and eternally thankful that on that day my stomach started grumbling at the perfect time for me to hear “Just For You.”
I’m not sure there’s a greater joy than finding a record that you would never expect to have a massive drum break, but does in fact have a massive drum break on it. In some ways it’s what motivates many of us vinyl addicts and crate diggers. That chance to strike gold on a record that barely anyone else knows. While it has happened a handful of times to me, in most cases, a bit like buying rare gems from an amazing jewelry store, it’s much more likely that I pick up one of these records from some other collector, in this case from the one and only DJ Shadow.
As I mentioned in the October “Moods,” this one was a record that if I saw it in the bins at Rappcats, I likely completely skipped over it. The record gods smiled on me twice this day though, first when Shadow played “Can’t Get Enough” over the house speakers and I heard those massive drums, and second, when despite how amazing those drums are, no one decided to buy the album before me.
From what little I could gather, Fred Cancio and his family (his wife Cookie is responsible for the album’s design) preached and sang the gospel through the US, perhaps also abroad, for many years, up until his death in 2019. He has a lovely, booming, voice and sings these devotional tunes with great sincerity, but it is the band that most drew me to this record. Unfortunately, aside from some credits to Gary Tosti, there isn’t any information on the musicians who recorded the funky backing tracks on the best tunes here on this LP, and I have no clue who the stellar drummer is. To my ears they sound too polished and too locked in to “just” be local musicians from a La Habra church. What they add to “Can’t Get Enough,” and “Peace” gives the feel of a seasoned Jazz or Funk band. It is highly likely I’ll never find out who the musicians were on this album and that is often the case with private press records such as these. But, in some ways that is exactly their charm. In the mysteries that remain after initial discovery, there is always the possibility that there may be more gold to mine some day in the future.
Sometimes in doing these shows, each focused on a specific mood or emotion, I have something in mind well before I do the show, and in other cases, I practically have no idea what I’m gonna focus on until I just about to start recording the show. In this month’s case, I knew that I was highly likely to feature records that I had picked up at DJ Shadow’s storage sale at Rappcats, which happened over the weekend just before the show was to air. The trouble was that I didn’t have any particular emotion or feeling in mind, particularly since I hadn’t gotten any of the records. I though maybe I’d focus on something that connected to a love of novel or new things (which then likely inspired November’s “Moods”), but as I was waiting in the line to get into Rappcats, I still had not chosen anything specific.
Of late, whenever I’m waiting in a line, or if I’m by myself at a bar or restaurant, I almost always am reading Roland Barthes’ “A Lover’s Discourse,” a magnificent work that was somehow foreign to me until a dear friend gave it to me as a holiday gift. Of the many things I appreciate about Barthes’ treatise on the many feelings associated with love, is that there’s always something to discover within it, whether it’s a reference to obscure work of literature, or a word that I’ve never heard before which I actually have to look up in a dictionary. One such word was “suasion,” which is the root of the much more frequently used “persuasion,” and relates to the art of influencing others. Reading it outside wasn’t quite a eureka moment, but being inside, and especially when Shadow would play a particularly obscure record, I realized that “suasion,” might just be the perfect subject for this month’s “Moods.”
I’ve written frequently in the past about the serendipity of discovering something new to your ears right as you walk into a record store or while browsing in the aisles. Some folks, such as Cool Chris at Groove Merchant, are especially good at anticipating the kinds of things their customers may dig, and Shadow definitely has that same almost magical ability. Some of the best, most interesting records in my collection are there as a result of him blowing my mind with the sounds after playing it on the Rappcats house speakers. And so, “Suasion” was the chosen mood for this show, and while it’s not a mood/feeling I’ve been familiar with for long, it’s definitely something that fits and works perfectly for this particular show, featuring records culled from DJ Shadow’s storage sale of his extensive collection that now are in mine.
Playlist – Moods In Free Time 022: Suasion {Opening Theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)
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Pat Taylor & the Belvin Band – Struttin’ Your Stuff – 7” ($Monique$ Records) Anthony Butler and the Invaders – Katty’s Thing – 7” (Big Deal) The Freeze Band – The Ninth Song – The Freeze Band (Vista) Beaufort Express – You Got To Do Your Best – 7” (Priscilla) JD Blackfoot with Uncle Billy – It Don’t Mean A Thing – 7” (Peace) Fred Cancio – Can’t Get Enough – Jesus Is My Friend (Emmanuel)
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Diplomats – I’ve Got The Kind Of Love – 7” (Dynamo) Chain Reaction – Lady In Red – 7” (Oshowleo) Free Form Experience – Blowin’ My Mind – 7” (Free Form) Secret Is Now – Let’s Straighten It Out – 7” (Gense) Steppin’ Out – Shame – Steppin’ Out (Charly)
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Ness Harding – Parting Of Man – A Matter Of Time (Encore) North Texas State University Lab Band – Three Freaks – Lab ’69 (Precision Custom Recording)
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{Closing Theme} Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It (Columbia)
As might have been evident based on the pace of posting here, I’ve been struggling through the end of the Summer and Fall, trying to balance my academic work along with existential dread of the pandemic. However, my ongoing vinyl addiction continues unabated, so there is plenty of music to share, but actually sitting down to write the posts and post them all is another story entirely. “Elation” was chosen for September’s edition of “Moods” because of a true blessing from the record gods…on the same weekend, Cool Chris of Groove Merchant did a pop-up at Rappcats and the folks at Artform Studios came back from Brasil with a whole lot of goodies. Perhaps, I over indulged, given how many records I bought and how much money I spent. But what’s the point of being a vinyl addict if you don’t occasionally over-indulge? For me, there are fewer things that bring me great joy and happiness, or elation, than being able to find records that I’ve never had before or never heard before and that definitely was the case this month. The first set features records from Artform Studios, all from Brasil, and the second set features tunes dug up from the Groove Merchant pop-up. I hope you dig on it all!
Playlist – Moods In Free Time 021: Elation {Opening Theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)
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Edu Lobo – Viola Fora – Edu Lobo (1973) (Odeon) Silvia Maria – Palhacos E Reis – Porte De Rainha (Continental) Azymuth – Despertar – Aguia Nao Come Mosca (Atlantic) Airto – Lendas (Tales From Home) – Identity (Arista) Cleston Teixeira – Apesar De Tudo (Paixao (Cambara) Wanderlea – Vamos Que Eu Ja Vou -Vamos Que Eu Ja Vou (EMI/Odeon) Banda Black Rio – Vidigal – Gafiera Universal (RCA)
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John Dankworth & His Orchestra – Theme From Modesty Blaise – Movies ‘n’ Me (RCA) Puddleduck – Tower Of Baradur – Latitudes 1973-74 (Private Press) Tudor Lodge – The Lady’s Changing Home – Tudor Lodge (Vertigo) The Little Boy Blues – The Dream Weaver/Seed Of Love – In The Woodland Of Weir (Fontana) Larry Good & Friends – The Lost Model – Trying To Reach The Ground (Third Rail) Frankie Bleu – Moses Theme – The Fish That Ate Pittsburgh (Lorimar)
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{Closing Theme} Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It (Columbia)
Today would have been Matthew Africa’s 50th Birthday. Every year around this time we pay tribute to Matthew here on Melting Pot, without a doubt one of the most influential musical presences in my life. Today I spent most of the day, along with other record nerds, digging through DJ Shadow’s Storage Sale at Rappcats. Shadow and Matthew knew each other well and according to Shadow, they used to try to blow the others mind with some strange and obscure album that they hoped the other wouldn’t know. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during one of those listening sessions, but I’m thankful for the years spent around Matthew and for the privilege to dig through Shadow’s collection. It was quite fitting that amongst the records I pulled, there was a 45 that Matthew (along with B.Cause) included on what might be my all-time favorite mix, Soul Boulders 2. It’s always a joy running into one of the records from that mix, or discovering new “soul boulders,” and wondering if Matthew had a copy (or two or three knowing Matthew). I felt like it made sense to highlight a few other 45s that are on that mix, as a tribute to Matthew this year.
This 45 is the one that actually starts off the Soul Boulders 2 mix. I had no clue what it was but one day feeling braze, I just asked B. Cause and he told me it was Daz Rene’s “Change,” something that I also recognized from Gonjasufi/Gaslamp Killer sample around the same time. That bass line hits so deep, every time I swear I feel it in my soul.
On the Soul Boulders 2 mix, Matthew and B. Cause do a little studio trickery with this track, which extends some instrumental parts that are not in the this original single edition. As with most of the remixes Matthew did during his life, the changes are very subtle and take nothing away from the original, but only add layers that you never knew needed to be added, but once hearing them you wish were there in the original.
Quite possibly the single best transition I’ve ever heard in any DJ mix (and over the years, I have heard many a DJ mix) is the transition out of Leon Haywood’s “Long As There’s You,” into Webs’ “It’s So Hard.” If you’ve never heard, it’s a true thing of beauty, two songs perfectly placed together and perfectly timed in the mix to create magic. This song is one of the deepest soul songs I’ve heard, one that you really feel the emotion of the lead singer in every cry, all matched beautifully by the background harmonies throughout. An ace tune if there ever was one.
This one is the most recent addition to my collection of Soul Boulders, picked up at the most recent DJ Shadow storage sale. “Lady In Red,” is an interesting song, aside from its musical charms. Despite multiple listens I still can’t tell if this is a anti-sex worker or pro-sex worker tune. Perhaps it can be seen each way, perhaps the titular “lady” isn’t a sex worker at all, but based on the lyrics it certainly seems so (especially that “I’ll be much older then but you’ll still be the same” line), and regardless of the intent, it is a singularly special song and one I likely never would have discovered absent the influence from Matthew & B. Cause on Soul Boulders 2.
The last track that I’ve chosen for this MKA tribute comes from the Bay Area in the form of Sass’ “I Only Wanted To Love You.” I know this song was released in 1976, but there’s something about the sound of it that messes with my mind as if it should be from a later date. I think it’s that synthesizer that’s just hanging out in the background. Maybe it’s the vocals that just remind me of 1980s quiet storm tracks. I don’t know what it is about this track that casts such a spell over me, and in all honesty, I don’t really want to ever know. I just appreciate that it’s one of my absolute favorite Soul Boulders, and ever thankful that Matthew (and this is one that I’m 99% sure Matthew brough into the mix) included it in the Soul Boulders 2 mix and brought it into my life. Just as I am so thankful for the memories and all the other music Matthew brought into my life…There will never be another, he was my brother. RIP MKA
MKA & Joe Quixx, Likely In Oakland, Perhaps At The Ruby Room…
I’d been threatening to focus on “Mellow” for several months, with the only unknown being exactly how mellow I wanted to make this show. With the additional available options of “Hella Mellow” or “Mellow Mellow” (which is the most mellow that mellow can get in my book) on the table, I decided to “just” let my birthday month show for Artform radio be mellow, which seemed just mellow enough for the moment.
Originally I thought perhaps I’d split the show into two separate sets, instead of the usual three, but as the show came together, it actually made better sense just to create a single mellow set for the hour, and come in at the end to let y’all know what tunes I played. Given all of the songs I could have played, there’s a VERY high probability that I’ll return to even more mellow moods in the near future, perhaps even as early as September. But for now, enjoy this unharshed mellow vibe…Peace and Mellow, Bright Moments to you all.
Playlist: Moods In Free Time 020: Mellow {opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler
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Lo Borges & Clube Da Esquina – O Trem Azul – Clube Da Esquina (Odeon) William Fischer – Iruten Ari Nuzu – Akelarre Sorta (Edigsa/HG) Funkadelic – I’ll Stay – Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On (Westbound) Cymande – One More – Cymande (Janus) Bembeya Jazz National – Ballake – Special Recueil-Souvenir Du Bembeya Jazz National (Editions Syliphone Conakry) John Cameron – Half Forgotten Daydreams – Voices In Harmony (KPM) Ame Son – Reborn This Morning On The Way Of… – Catalyse (Metronome/BYG) Daivd Axelrod – The Sick Rose – Songs Of Experience (Capitol) Perfume Azul Do Sol – Sopro – Nascimento (Chantecler) The Savage Resurrection – Tahitian Melody – The Savage Resurrection (Mercury) Pink Floyd – Cymbaline – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: More (Tower) Jeffrey Simmons & Rod Steirling – End Title – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack: Naked Angels (Straight)
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{closing theme} Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It (Columbia)
This record is a bit of a mystery, on multiple fronts. I’m not sure where I first came into contact with it, or saw it, but I’m fairly certain after talking to him, that these recordings first came onto my radar from one of Egon’s pop-ups at Rappcats, where he was selling this version of Akelarre Sorta with its an exceptional cover.
I didn’t get the record on that day, but the distinctiveness of the cover stuck with me, and eventually I had to do some digital digging to discover more about the music on it. What I discovered quite literally blew my mind, with some seriously funky sounds along with vocals that were in the Basque language. The reason this blew my mind wasn’t even entirely because of how it all sounded, but mostly because I hadn’t realized that there were ANY recordings of music with Basque vocals during this period of time. For those not aware, during the Fascist dictatorship of Franco in Spain, regional culture/dialects, such as Catalan and Euskara were outlawed. In Catalunya, during this time, it meant that one of the only avenues where you could celebrate your culture was at matches for FC Barcelona, but the situation was even more precarious for Basque folk, particularly after ETA began their campaign. While Catalan clearly has some connection to other romance languages, sounding like a largely novel mix of Spanish, French, Italian and Portuguese, Euskara is something else entirely. It’s one of the few languages in all of Europe that is entirely unrelated to any other existing languages. I’ve only gotten a chance to dig for records in Spain a couple of times, so I’m not sure if there are more records to be found, but given all I knew of Spain’s history, I recognized that this record had to be a fairly unique thing when it was recorded and released in 1971, four years before Franco’s death and the establishment of the current democracy in the country.
But the fact this record featured vocals in Basque was only one mystery, because I soon discovered that before this album was released, there was an entirely instrumental record that was released, and the vocals were added to some of those songs. What made this mysterious was the direction of American composer/musician William Fischer.
Fischer is a bit of an enigma, not releasing a large body of work, but what records that can be found are certainly idiosyncratic. The most widely available is the avant-funk-fusion album Circles on Embryo records, recorded roughly around the same time as Akelarre Sorta. After tracking down a copy of the vocal version of these songs and then discovering that there was an entire album of instrumental material, my music obsessive mind just HAD to track that one down to.
I was lucky enough to find a pristine copy from a Basque collector in Spain by the name of Jon Navarro. He told me of how when he discovered this album in the 1990s he went understandably crazy since the melodies that Fischer employs on these wildly funky songs were all from Basque folk tunes that Navarro had grown up on. How Fischer came to know these songs, what he was doing in Spain, who he was employing as musicians on the record, all of that, remains a complete mystery.
The liner notes on the original instrumental record, which are extensive in length and in Euskara, French and Spanish (but notably not Catalan), are no help whatsoever with these mysteries (the same is the case on the later vocal version, pictured above). The name “Akelarre Sorta” more or less translates to “Witches’ Sabbath,” and the liner notes, roughly translated below into English, follow that theme but say next to nothing about the actual music.
“Satanologists, sorcerers, specialists in various forms of palingenesis, talmudists of fame, and other scholars in Sorgiñología, agree to affirm the identity between environment and music in the old akelarres. Burned some of our witches by the Roman Inquisition, the others took refuge in their underground dwellings.
A fantastic world was formed then. Sorgiñas and Basque sorcerers persecuted by the hisopazos of Pierre de Lancre, allied with a Jewish gnome travel-which was said to be a cousin of Spinoza-contacted the subterranean spirits of some blacks, cimarrones escaped from the brutal raids that our European ancestors, on behalf of of civilization, performed in Africa.
From time to time, thanks to magical formulas and ointments, they surfaced…A happy conjunction of subterranean efforts caused the fall of the Bastille…And of the old Aviraneta, it was said that he was mixed in suspicious practices.
Chaho himself was seen, several times, at night, with a black kapusai, a sack, a squadron and a map of the world, in a gorge near Itxasu, where there was a very favorable tectonic fault, trying to make contact with the crypto-sorgiñes…Three phosphorescent owl-shaped figures preceded him… and a learned fundamentalist author seriously affirms that from that strange coyunda the satanic pact that led to the creation of a particularly evil carbon sect to which Garibaldi, Rawachol, the Sorcerer of Bargota and a mysterious Russian with a beard and bowler hat. For something the reaction spoke of contubernios and hidden forces!
Today we have no doubt that psychedelic music is extremely propitious to the old goblins and that…Well, listen to the disc. And please, do not charge any possible defects in our account. At the last minute, poor Maria Zozaya, Basque witch burned in the eighteenth century, but redivizes the year 1968 thanks to the latest palingenésicas techniques of Mr. Lovecraft enimschol-kai-takos … -and we do not say any more in case someone comes up resuscitate General Espartero-, escaped, abandoning the project, before the news, certainly chilling, that reached his underground dwelling on a certain local critic, we do not know if San Sebastian or San Sebastian. And it is that, with palingenesia or without it, also the witches reach menopause. Please excuse us.”
So, ultimately, all we are left with is the music, along with the vocal versions in Basque, sung by Fernando Unsain. The lead track “Bat Bi Hur Lau” (“One, Two, Three, Four) sounds like it would be perfectly suited to half a dozen Blaxploitation soundtracks, though it takes on a totally different feel with Basque lyrics. “Eguntto Banez” (Being One Day) is seriously one of the dopest, deepest funk songs I’ve ever heard, just the way it builds and builds and builds and then completely explodes with the guitar solo at the end. They made the right choice to close the vocal album with that track, since at the start of the 2nd side on the instrumental album it leaves you entirely exhausted with four more tracks to go. Each of them is fairly mellow though giving you time to recover (and there was no way I wasn’t gonna play one for my most recent Moods focused on that feeling), with “Xarmangarria” (You Are Charming) being the representative that I’m sharing. The instrumental album closes with a track that isn’t featured on the vocal one, “Txori Erresinula” (Mockingbird), which those of you who have dogs may want to play just to see the perplexed look on your pup’s face when they hear the wild keyboard/synth sounds that Fischer produces near the end.
Given that he often has a line on musicians and producers of the 1960s & 1970s, having discovered all that I had about this music, I asked Egon if he knew any more about this album or if he’d been able to discuss it with William Fischer, but unfortunately that was not the case, as Fischer has dementia. Egon did mention that someone was working with Fischers archive and perhaps something down the line may come out with Numero Group, but for the moment, all of that is just speculation. But, with that being all that it is, and the possibility that this record will largely remain a mystery, what we do have is a mighty mighty sound. One that I am thankful came across my radar and that I am able to share here.
On the last day of my 45th year, I was invited to be a guest on Mixcloud Live’s Club Peace Pipe Radio to do an all 45 set. Having done a 45 45s set for my 45th in 2020, I thought it would be a grand opportunity to do a sort of remix of that set, giving me the chance to put some of my favorite 45s that made it into that mix in different spots and a different context, and to include a number of records that didn’t make it into the set last year, as well as some new additions to my collection, added over the past year. Aside from that desire, I didn’t do much planning on the set, preferring to largely do it stream of consciousness and see where the spirit would take me. I felt a bit rusty, but I’m pleased with the results and so I thought I’d share the set here for folks. Didn’t quite get to 45 total 45s this time around, but came pretty close in the time I was allowed, and as you might expect from me, the set definitely goes a variety of places. Big thanks to Octavio, Hymnal and Mixmaster Wolf for being gracious hosts and to Amanda Alderman for setting things up…it made for a very happy pre-birthday bright moment, indeed.
Playlist:
Daz Rene – Change – 7” (Cared)
Ike & Tina Turner – Up In Heah – 7” (UA)
The Inner Drive – Party Man – 7” (Zodiac)
King Sporty – Dance To The Music – 7” (Konduko)
Brother Jack McDuff – Oblighetto – 7” (Blue Note)
Sonrize – Feeling – 7” (Earth)
Irakere – Bacalao Con Pan – 7” (Arieto)
Edip Akbayram & Dolstar – Ince Ince Bir Kar Yagar – 7” (Sayan)
Cozy Powell – And Then There Was Skin – 7” (Chrysalis)
Ofo The Black Company – Allah Wakbarr – 7” (London)
Jean Kassapian – The Snake – 7” (Kassap)
Yukio Hashi – Shikaku Dou (Thug Road) – 7” (Victor)
Thom Macke – Lonely Weekends – 7” (Omega)
Python Lee Jackson w/ Rod Stewart – In A Broken Dream – 7” (Eurogram)
Betty Harris – There’s A Break In The Road – 7” (Exit)
Lee Dorsey – A Lover Was Born – 7” (Amy)
Gloria Walker & the Chevelles – You Hit The Spot Baby – 7” (Flaming Arrow)
Franciene Thomas – I’ll Be There – 7” (Tragar)
Mr. Pitiful & the Ghettos – Ghetto Stroll – 7” (Equator)
Vernon Garrett – You Blew My Mind – 7” (Kapp)
Ann Sexton – You’re Losing Me – 7” (Seventy Seven)
Bobby Williams – Let’s Work A While – 7” (Nor-Mar)
The Odd Squad with the Soulistics – The Row – 7” (Al-Pa)
Wild Honey – Straighten Up – 7” (P&P)
Francine King – Two Fools – 7” (Channel I Records)
Lonette – Stop! – 7” (M-S)
Irene Reid – Dirty Old Man – 7” (Old Town)
A.C. Reed – Talkin’ About My Friends – 7” (Nike)
London Fogg – Easy Mover – 7” (Imperial)
Smokey Johnson – I Can’t Help It Part 1 – 7” (NOLA)
Ruby Andrews – You Made A Believer (Out Of Me) – 7” (Zodiac)
Bonnie & Shiela – You Keep Me Hanging On – 7” (King)
Lee Cooper – It Ain’t Been Easy – 7” (Strata-East)
Don Julian – Shorty The Pimp – 7” (Jerk)
The Diamonettes – Don’t Be Surprised – 7” (Alston)
The Summits – Let Me Love You Again – 7” (DC International)
The MasterPlan – One You Can Touch This Heart Of Mine – 7” (Fos-Glo)
Cold Fire Inc. – I’m Gonna Love You Anyway – 7” (Lightin’)
Donald Jenkins & The Delighters – Music Revolution – 7” (Black Beauty)
No matter how deep my depression may get or how it may be affecting me personally, there is one absolute truism in my life these days, and that is that I NEVER miss Rahsaan Roland Kirk’s birthday or posting up an album from his mighty discography on this hallowed day here on Melting Pot. This year’s selection is another one of those Limelight albums that is packaged in an exceptionally distinctive way. In contrast to all of the colors of Rip, Rig & Panic, the packaging for I Talk With The Spirits employs only Black & White. The starkness of the colors does nothing to dim the beauty of the record’s cover. When I thought about posting this record today, it had been a while since I’d looked at this record, and I thought that I just had a regular edition, without the special packaging emblematic of this series.
But then I noticed the almost imperceptible crease that ran across the picture of Rahsaan. Flip that over and the liner notes begin with an essay from Michael Zwerin that describes Rahsaan in the following ways, “…He is all music…there is music emanating from his every pore…the more one listens to Roland the more extraordinary he seems. There are always new experiences for the listener.”
Aside from the gorgeous packaging, what makes this record unique is that it was the first time that Rahsaan had solely played Flute on a recording. “Spirits” includes what might be Rahsaan’s most well-known track (at least to those who don’t consider themselves fans of his music already) “Serenade To A Cuckoo,” a track that was a major influence on Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson and many others in the British scene. As famous and familiar as that song is, it’s not even remotely the best or most memorable track on the album, at least not to my ears. The title track, described as “elegiac” in the liner notes has an almost otherworldly quality to it. The same can be said of “Ruined Castles,” one of the shorter, but most affecting pieces on the album. It’s always fascinating to me hearing Rahsaan’s music and the many broad and diverse textures and tones that he brought out in his recordings. Listening to these selections I hear sounds I’d never heard before, even though I’ve had some version of this record for over 25 years now. As Zwerin mentioned, there is always some new experience to discover, and that is just part of the reason that he remains my favorite musician of all-time and the patron saint of Melting Pot…Bright Moments!
As I mention at the start of the show, this month’s mood “Hopeful,” was definitely chosen based on how I was feeling at the moment I got the show together. At this time in the year, there were so many terrible things going on in the world, insane wildfires in CA and elsewhere, the seemingly never ending pandemic, unrest around the world, including in a country that has a major part of my heart, Cuba. While I may be clinically diagnosed with severe depression, I often like to say that I’m the most optimistic depressed person that I know. And so, I felt a need to surround myself with music with hopeful sounds and messages, even if some of them (particularly the track that leads off the show from Silvio Rodriguez) deal with hopefulness in a slightly cynical way. Several of these songs, particularly “Come Sunday,” and “Over Again,” (a mix of which I included in this show that highlights only one side of the original stereo recording, where the strings are largely dropped out and the soulful elements become even stronger) are songs that have literally at times saved my life and given me the strength to keep going on and to remain, no matter how bad things are in the present moment, hopeful that brighter moments are always around the corner. Though it was a show borne of a specific moment, I’m hopeful that it’s one that you and I can both return to in those times when we need a reminder of how beautiful this life we are living actually is, and that as long as we’re living we have a chance to make it even better for us all.
Moods In Free Time 019: Hopeful Playlist – Moods In Free Time 019: Hopeful {opening theme} The Visitors – The Juggler – In My Youth (Muse)
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Silvio Rodriguez – Ojala – Ojala (Discos Bello) label from Santo Domingo in the DR Minnie Riperton – Les Fleur – Come To My Garden (GRT) Curtis Mayfield – I Plan To Stay A Believer – Live! (Curtom) Ensemble Al-Salaam – Optimystical – The Sojourner (Strata East) Tim Maia – Over Again – Tim Maia (1973) (Polydor)
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Lenny White – Sweet Dreamer – Big City (Nemperor) 1977 Billy Harper – The Cry Of Hunger – Capra Black (Strata East)
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The Lumpen – No More – 7” (Seize The Time) Funkadelic – Everybody’s Got To Make It This Time – America Eats Its Young (Westbound) Duke Ellington & Mahalia Jackson – Come Sunday – Black, Brown & Biege (CBS) Liberation Music Orchestra – We Shall Overcome – Liberation Music Orchestra (Impulse!)
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{closing theme} Tony Williams – Wild Life – Believe It (Columbia)
