With Spain winning the World Cup yesterday, I’ve certainly had Spain on my mind quite a lot this past month. It just so happened that in the mail this weekend I received this record from the Pepper Pots straight out of Girona in Catalunya. The Pepper Pots originally favored Jamaican Ska & Rock Steady sounds, but they’ve enlisted Binky Griptite of the Dap Kings to revamp themselves into a Retro Soul powerhouse. While the new sound is great, I’m still very fond of the rock steady style they used to employ exclusively, which is represented sublimely on “Dream Guy.” Below is a little behind the scenes footage of the band with Binky working through rehersals and recording “Real Tru Love,” and “Starlight” while still in Catalunya before finishing the record in New York. Really hoping someone has the good sense to release Now! in the states and that the Pepper Pots will tour the US sometime soon…
Sunday was a whirlwind, with the tension filled, extra-time finale of the World Cup (Viva España y Barça!) and my “best so far” of 2010. Two hours is a very short amount of time to attempt to mix together the best music I’ve heard over the last 6+ months. Several records didn’t make it in, solely based off of time, including Golden Triangle, Bastien Lallemant, Neverever, but there are 35 different releases featured here from this first half of 2010, plus a couple of sleepers from 2009. I think I’ll have to do two shows for the year end special. Enjoy the show and be sure to let me know what you think have been the best records at this point in 2010!
Melting Pot’s Best So Far Of 2010
Playlist: 7-11-2010
{opening theme} Booker T. & the MGs – Melting Pot – Melting Pot (Stax)
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Charades – En Las Batallas – Revolución Solar (Bcore)
The Hawk feat. Little Hannah Collins – Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover – 7” (Record Kicks)
Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings – Better Things – I Learned The Hard Way (Daptone)
Strange Boys – Be Brave – Be Brave (In The Red)
The Amazing Farm Singers Of Chicago – I Got A Telephone In My Bosom – Fire in My Bones (Tompkins Square)
Orgone – Cali Fever – Cali Fever (Ubiquity)
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Apple & The Three Oranges – Curse Upon The World – California Funk (Now-Again)
3 Titans feat. The Menahan Street Band – Life Of A Scholar – 7” (Daptone)
Tita Lima – So O Comeco – Possibilidades (Label A)
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Orchestra – Welcome 2 Detroit / Gobstopper – Timeless: Suite For Ma Dukes (Mochilla)
Murs & 9th Wonder – I Used To Love H.E.R. Again – Fornever (SMC)
Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – Spottie – Heritage (Choice Cuts)
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Dum Dum Girls – I Will Be – I Will Be (Sub Pop)
The Stooges – Shake Appeal – Raw Power: Legacy Edition (Sony Legacy)
The Black Keys – She’s Long Gone – Brothers (Nonesuch)
Caetano Veloso – Sem Cais – Zii E Zie (Nonesuch)
Charlotte Gainsbourg – Trick Pony – IRM (Elektra)
Jose James – Black Magic – Black Magic (Brownswood)
Flying Lotus – Do The Astral Plane – Cosmogramma (Warp)
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Gil Scott-Heron – I’m New Here – I’m New Here (XL)
The National – Lemonworld – High Violet (4AD)
Ame Son – Eclosion – The BYG Deal (Finders Keepers)
The Morning Benders – All Day Daylight – Big Echo (Rough Trade)
Jimi Hendrix – Valleys Of Neptune – Valleys Of Neptune (Experience Hendrix)
Jimi Hendrix – Lullaby For Summer – Valleys Of Neptune (Experience Hendrix)
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Total Babe – Bearbones – Heatwave EP (So Tm)
Broken Social Scene – Highway Slipper Jam – Forgiveness Rock Record (Arts & Crafts)
Gorillaz feat. Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon – To Binge – Plastic Beach (EMI)
She & Him – Thieves – Volume 2 (Merge)
Polar Bear – Want To Believe Everything – Peepers (Leaf)
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Gonjasufi – Kowboyz & Indians – A Suf & A Killer (Warp)
Ana Tijoux – La Nueva Condena – 1977 (Nacional)
Sahr Nagaujah & Antibalas – Zombie – Fela! (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (Knitting Factory)
Cumbia Moderna De Soledad – Shacalao – Black Man’s Cry: The Inspiration of Fela Kuti (Now-Again)
The Gospel Storytellers – Peter & John – Good God! Born Again Funk (Numero)
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{closing theme} Bonobo – Black Sands – Black Sands (Ninja Tune)
These "Bright Moments" are for all of you, so check 'em out!
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Bright Moments
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Fly Town Nose Blues
Rahsaan Roland Kirk – Dem Red Beans and Rice
It seems only fitting that the first post of Melting Pot’s second year be this 1973 record from Rahsaan Roland Kirk. If I had owned a copy of it on vinyl when we started up on 7/7/2009, I would have posted it then. In fact, if I’d really been on top of my game, I would have started the blog on August 7th, so that each anniversary I’d be compelled to post up something from Rahsaan since that day is his birthday. In some ways it does seem to fit more now, especially since the message of Melting Pot (i.e. “uncovering Bright Moments across the musical spectrum”) is finally matched with the picture that graces the cover of this album in the website’s banner…High time indeed to give the master his due.
Since my ears first experienced the joyful noise that is Rahsaan (somewhere back in 1994), he has been my favorite all-time musician. Kirk’s work balances all the elements of modern music that I enjoy. It has deep intellectual and spiritual heft but never at the expense of a rowdy good time. It is frequently playful while often carrying a sincere and serious social message. For Rahsaan, when it came to music, there were no boundaries, he was as comfortable playing a century old New Orleans’ second line rhythm as he was playing avant-garde “new thing” with intense fire.
Rahsaan with the Vibration Society
He was also a master showman, as all his live recordings can attest to, though perhaps no record does it better than Bright Moments. Recorded at San Francisco’s Keystone Korner in 1973 and spread out over 4 sides, it features Rahsaan at the height of his artistry and with some of his best collaborators, loosely brought together as the “Vibration Society.”
What I’ve posted here are three songs that from the sound of the LP were performed in succession over the evening, I’ve switched up the order a bit so that “Bright Moments” can lead off. “Bright Moments” is so much more than a song, it’s more a description of a brief or perfect moment of beauty. Rahsaan explains “Bright Moments” in the spoken introduction through several examples, though this one was always my fave:
Bright Moments is like being with your favorite love
And you’re sharing the same ice cream dish,
And you get mad when she gets the last drop,
And you have to take her in your arms and get it the other way.
Musically, “Bright Moments” it’s a mostly straight ahead flute driven number, but there’s a feeling that’s evoked in the song that is as related to the introduction and the concept of “Bright Moments” as it is to the music. I would wager good money that it is impossible to remain depressed after listening to the full version of this song, just impossible.
Next up is “Fly Town Nose Blues,” which begins with a short rap from Rahsaan that has the crowd in stitches, but also serves the purpose of making sure the listener is aware (if they’ve never seen Rahsaan perform) that many of the flute sounds in the piece are derived from one of Kirk’s many creations, the nose flute, which yes…the man plays with his nose. Now, granted, playing an instrument with your nose should come off as a gimmick, and, in fact, many critics who just simply didn’t get Rahsaan certainly accused him of gimmickry throughout his career. But, when you watch Rahsaan perform you understand that it was never about gimmicks, it was always about the joy that comes from producing sounds that no one else would even dream of creating.
“Fly Town” is not only one of Rahsaan’s best live performances, its one of his most playful and also maybe his funkiest, though with some assistance from Todd Barkan’s synthesizer on the funky end of things.
“Dem Red Beans and Rice” closes things out for us here on an upbeat note with a trip back to the source of all great American music, New Orleans. There is, however, plenty more music to discover on the full LP, many more Bright Moments to be discovered and shared in Rahsaan’s catalog and elsewhere. My hope is that this blog, as the years go passing by, will be able to continually spread Bright Moments and allow music to bring just a little more sunlight to whatever corner of the world it may find you in.
Today marks exactly one year that Melting Pot has been up and running! I want to thank all of you who have been checking out the blog and especially for spreading the word (please keep doing so!). I think this coming year will be even better than the first, especially now that we’re over at KPFK. Expect more giveaways and performances to find their way here, in addition to the same mix of music.
One consequence of no longer being at KCRW is that I have to archive my radio programs directly on this blog which takes up significant space. This means that the majority of music will be up for only one month from the day it was posted. I may make exceptions for performances (once we start doing them!) and for special shows (the MJ Tribute will be here until the end of days…) but that’s the new policy now here at Melting Pot. So, if there’s music here that you dig and don’t have in your own collection, make sure you get it before it’s gone. In celebration of this 1st anniversary, at some point in between now and August 7th, I’ll be rolling out a mix of my favorite tracks from year one of “Dig Deep,” still in the concept phase right now, might focus just on breaks, might mix full versions, but I think this will be a yearly affair from here on out.
I’ll also be starting a new feature, Top 5’s, later next week. When KCRW started their “Five Things” blog stories, I found that there were a bunch of lists that were rolling around in my head, so “Top 5’s” will likely be a bi-weekly feature. Along with “Pound For Pound” and “What Does It All Mean?” I’m really hoping that as the years go passing by, “Top 5’s” will be another avenue for discussions about music, which is the only thing I wish we had a bit more of over here at Melting Pot. (Comment Please!!!)
Thank you all for checking out the blog and radio show…Onwards and Upwards!
This one is part of the Congotronics series that has been going on for a few years now, highlighting exceptional contemporary sounds out of Congo. Konono No. 1 has been around for quite a while, but have only recently caught on to international ears. This new album is seriously fantastic, with upbeat rhythms and electro kalimba sounds. If you happen to be in the LA area, they are playing a free show on Thursday July 8th as part of the Santa Monica Pier’s Twilight music series. Not to be missed!
We were finally back to just playing music this week on Melting Pot, for the first time in three weeks. Many thanks to everyone who pledge their support to KPFK during the fundraiser, we raised close to $3,000 on our three shows, which is no small feat given the circumstances. This week’s show featured new music from Aloe Blacc, Adam Franklin (of Swervedriver fame), Tender Trap, Seu Jorge, Bastien Lallemant, Orgone and music from the cast recording of Fela! Also some classic material from the Tuff Darts, Tim Maia and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion.
Now that I’m getting settled at KPFK, I’m starting to think about the future possibilities for Melting Pot, including interviews, performances and many more giveaways. Next week I’ll have my “Best So Far” of 2010 show, so definitely tune in or check back here.
{opening theme} Booker T. & the MGs – Melting Pot – Melting Pot (Stax)
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Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings – This Land Is Your Land – 7” (Daptone)
People Under The Stairs – Anotha BBQ – FUN DMC (Gold Dust)
Big Barney – The Whole Thang – 7” (Grandville)
Roy Ayers – Everybody Loves The Sunshine (9th Wonder Remix) – Verve Remixed 4 (Verve)
Polar Bear – Happy For You – Peepers (Leaf)
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Charades – Revolución Solar – Revolución Solar (Bcore)
Total babe – Short Stories – Heatwave EP (So Tm)
Laurindo Almeida & Bud Shank – Nocturno – Brazilliance Vol. 2 (World Pacific)
Aloe Blacc – Femme Fatale – Good Things (Stones Throw)
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Neverever – Now – Angelic Swells (Slumberland)
The Tuff Darts – All For The Love Of Rock’n’Roll – Tuff Darts! (Sire)
Armageddon – Oh Man – Cloud Cuckooland (Finders Keepers)
Orgone – Overtime – Cali Fever (Ubiquity)
Anibal Velasquez – Vestido Nuevo – Mambo Loco (Analog Africa)
Los Silvertones – Uptight – Panama 3! (Soundway)
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Konono No. 1 – Fula Fula – Assume Crash Position (Crammed Discs)
Saravah Soul – Fire – Cultura Impura (Tru Thoughts)
Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Orange – Orange (Matador)
Sahr Ngaujah & Antibalas – Water No Get Enemy – Fela! Original Broadway Cast Recording (Knitting Factory)
Femi Kuti – Do You Know – Day By Day (Mercer Street)
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Tender Trap – Do You Have A Boyfriend – 7” (Slumberland)
Leon Gardner – Farm Song – California Funk (Now-again)
Los Shakers – Break It All – Nuggets II (Rhino)
Quantic – Te Pico El Yaibi – Dog With A Rope (Tru Thoughts)
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Seu Jorge & Almaz – Cristina – Seu Jorge & Almaz (Now-again)
Tim Maia – Over Again – Tim Maia (1973) (Polydor)
Bastien Lallemant – L’amour – Le Verger ( L’autre)
Adam Franklin – She’s Closer Than I’ve Ever Been – I Could Sleep A Thousand Years (Second Motion)
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{closing theme} Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Batar (Kemado)
The Packers – Pure Soul
The Packers – Hoppin’ John
The Packers – I’m Converted
It doesn’t happen often, but I honestly can’t remember where I first came into contact with this album. I might have gotten a copy off of Dusty Groove, or at Groove Merchant, definitely while I was living in Oakland, but can’t remember…anyhow, for a long time this was a record that after my great sell-off in 2004, I really wish I had kept. I recently tracked down another copy at Amoeba Hollywood and now I share it with you.
The Packers are a somewhat mysterious group, put together by a DJ (Man, those were the days!!!) by the name of Magnificent Montague and led by saxophonist Charles “Packy” Axton, who was the son of the “AX” part of Stax records, Estelle Axton. The mystery surrounding this record is who else is involved. Funky 16 Corners did some nice detective work back in 2006 which explains that most likely Booker T and several “MGs” are featured on the original single (with Booker on piano and Leon Haywood on organ), one of the all-time great soul instrumental sides “Hole In The Wall” and it’s B-side “Go Head On.” From there, no one seems to be sure who the sessions men are that make up the rest of the record’s dynamite soul sound.
To my ears, it really does sound like Steve Cropper throughout, but it could have been one of the Muscle Shoals pickers, or just someone biting Cropper’s style. Perhaps someone else on the internets has figured it all out (or maybe it’s even in one of those books everyone used to read before the internet came along), but a little mystery is never a bad thing. Neither is the absolutely ace soul sound of this record. With tracks like “Hoppin’ John” with it’s snapping fingers and poppin’ drums and “I’m Converted,” with it’s mighty fine, though very quick, drum break, this record got me rethinking my preferences for soul music and got me digging for pre-1967 titles.
“Pure Soul” remains my favorite track though, with it’s “Tramp” inspired beat and gritty sax, as well as multiple times every takes it down and plays it a little bit softer before bringing it back up and banging. I would have loved to have been at a performance or a dance hall when this was playing back in the day.
Speaking of “Pure Soul,” it might just be my shaky memory regarding this song, but I could have sworn that my original copy, which had a red label, faded out at the end, though this current copy (on a black label pictured to the right) just cuts cold. Maybe there are more subtle differences between these two pressings, which will remain a mystery to me, unless some chimes in or I track down another copy.
Charades were one of my few contemporary music finds from our trip to Spain in 2008 (my only time overseas). I was initially intrigued by the cover art for their record En Ningún Lugar but just about instantly fell in love with the fuzzy indie-pop that was on display from the group back then. Somehow this follow-up, which was released all the way back in January, slipped under my radar until now. Revolución Solar finds the band with a more polished sound, which is still mighty solid, but I do miss the slight grittiness of the prior release. It feels as if the group has traded in a more Pixies influenced sound for more of a Stereolab vibe at times, which seems clear on “En Las Batallas,” perhaps the best bridge between the older sound of Charades and the newer version.
{Congrats to Javier R. and Rachel G., winners of the tickets to go see Dum Dum Girls @ the Echo!}
Been a long time since we were able to do one of these, I think we’ll have a few more in coming weeks. LA based Dum Dum Girls are, in my humble opinion, leading the way in a “girls in the garage” styled revival that also includes Best Coast, Neverever, Golden Triangle and The Vivian Girls. They are playing at the Echo this Thursday July 1st, one of their last shows in California before heading out for Europe on their own and then around the country and world in brief stints on tour with Vampire Weekend and MGMT. Their debut “I Will Be” has been reviewed here and remains one of my fave releases of 2010.
If you interested in going to the show, e-mail me at michael @ meltingpotblog.com and I’ll let you know if you’ve won tickets by Wednesday June 30th! Here’s a taste of what to expect, DDG performing at SXSW in all their fuzzed out glory…
Our fundraising is done for KPFK here in the summer, we raised close to $3,000 which is pretty amazing given that I’ve only been doing this show since the end of May and the first two fundraising shows were during a Laker’s playoff game and Father’s Day. Fundraising in general is a challenge, but given the above circumstances these were definitely my most challenging fundraising shifts in my radio career. After three weeks of intense fundraising, I can’t explain to you how much I am really looking forward to returning to regular programming this week.
Melting Pot Fundraising Special #3
Playlist: 6-27-2010
{opening theme} Booker T. & The MGs – Melting Pot – Melting Pot (Stax)
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Phil Ochs & the Broadside Singers – Links on the Chain – Broadside Ballads, Vol. 3 (Broadside)
Saravah Soul – Janaina – Cultura Impura (Tru Thoughts)
Quadron – Simili Life – Quadron (Plug Research)
Quantic – Te Pico El Yaibi (Version) – Dog With A Rope (Tru Thoughts)
Various artists – Selections From California Funk – California Funk: Rare Funk 45s From The Golden State (Now –Again)
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Orgone – Crazy Queen – Cali Fever (Ubiquity)
Murs & 9th Wonder – Cigarettes & Liqour – Fornever (SMC)
Flying Lotus – Zodiac Shit – Cosmogramma (Warp)
Dum Dum Girls – Rest Of Our Lives – I Will Be (Sub Pop)
Orgone – Selections From Cali Fever – Cali Fever (Ubiquity)
Bill Withers – Excerpt From Still Bill – Still Bill
Saravah Soul – Selections From Cultura Impura – Cultura Impura (Tru Thoughts)
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Vampires Of Dartmoore – Tanz Der Vampires – Dracula’s Music Cabinet (Finders Keepers)
Valerie Lagrange – Si Ma Chanson Pouvait – The BYG Deal (B-Music)
Parva – Mosem-E Gol – Pomegranates (Finders Keepers)
Sonny Hennig – 1000 Tips Zum Uberleben – Cloud Cuckooland (B-Music)
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The Black Keys – Sinister Kid – Brothers (Nonesuch)
Georgia Anne Muldrow – King’s Ballad – King’s Ballad (Ubiquity)
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Orgone – The Cleaner – Cali Fever (Ubiquity)
{closing theme} Dungen – C. Visar Vagen – Tio Batar (Kemado)
Apple & the Three Oranges – Curse Upon The World
L.A. Bare Faxx – Super Cool Brother
When the first two volumes of Luv ‘n’ Haight’s Bay Area Funk collections came out, a DJ friend of mine remarked dismissively, “they haven’t even scratched the surface.” At the time I thought that was a bit of a harsh assessment, but now I realize that it just means that there is indeed a mountain of funky gold waiting to be dug up in California. This new collection from Now-Again/Jazzman, put together by Jazzman Gerald and Malcolm Catto, gets even deeper into the vinyl archeology of rock solid funk from the Golden State.
At 21 total tracks, it is indeed quite a motherlode with a wide variety of sounds, from dance floor burners like “The Honeydripper,” and “Smokin’ Tidbits” to the super cool but cautionary “Super Cool Brother,” and “What Goes Around Comes Around” or the righteous, just let it all hang out, get loose and get together vibes of “All Bundled Into One,” “I Who Have Nothing (Am Somebody),” and the “North Richmond Breakaway.” There’s even a bit of the slightly bizarre and psychedelic in Billy Larkin & the Delegates’ “Funky Fire” and the 4th Coming’s “Cruisin’ Down Sunset.”
What’s especially interesting to me about many of the tracks on this collection is how instead of a single or specific sound (something you can hear on the more label specific Eccentric Soul series), many of the songs represent a mish-mash of soul style, a trait that’s likely because of the migratory nature of CA’s population, particularly its African-Americans. It’s pretty clearly heard in many of my favorite tracks on this comp., including Rhon Silva’s “Get It Right” with its funky drums straight out of an Eddie Bo NOLA production matched with some Memphis blues styled guitar (though according to the singer, it’s supposed to be “Hippie-style” and “psychedelic for the Haight-Ashbury”), or the straight country funk for the city in Leon Gardner’s “Farm Song.”
Perhaps best exemplifying this “soul stew” dynamic, and also probably the best track on this collection, is Apple & the Three Oranges’ stomper “Curse Upon The World.” New Orleans is all over this one, from the special and particular way “Curse” is phrased to the massively tight drumming coming from Edward “Apple” Nelson. Apparently that group recorded at least an additional 8 sides and Now-Again is thankfully working on releasing them in the near future. It’s a dynamite sound and, like so many of these obscured artists, one that deserves to be heard.
Way back in the 1990s when these types of compilations started coming out, I was convinced it meant that the original 45s/LPs on the collections would decrease in value. My thinking was something along the lines of, “now that everyone could hear the song why would anyone be willing to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for rare funky?” I couldn’t have been more wrong. Instead I think, especially because of the more recent injection of Serato and other “Digital DJ” technology into the culture, these collections work to continually raise the value of the originals by showing just how special they are. For students of crate-digging it also provides a serious tutorial on what to search for when you’re digging deep looking for lost gold, as well as giving old-timers 20+ reasons to take another look at all those 45s they’ve been keeping in storage.
U.S. 69 – I’m On My Way (A Patch Of Blue)
U.S. 69 – I Hear You Talkin’
U.S. 69 – Never A Day Goes By
First heard this at KALX back in the day back when Matthew Africa used to follow my radio show. As I was restacking my records and CDs in that glorious KALX library, I heard the opening notes of “I’m On My Way” but wasn’t fully paying attention. The massive head nod inducing sitar and heavy drums that rush in at about :45 seconds in rapidly changed all that and I made a beeline back to the studio to figure out what Matthew was playing. Turned out to be this record, the only release from this quintet that has one foot firmly in psych-rock and the other spread out into jazz, funk and Indian/African elements the hippies were fond of. Most psych records I pick up are two trackers at best. It’s rare for me to run into a psych album I can listen to, repeatedly, from start to finish but this one is one of those rare gems without a throwaway track.
In fact, the tracks most people know off of this, “Yesterday’s Folks” and “Miss Goodbody” are mighty solid, but they’re not even my favorites. “I Hear You Talkin'” definitely gets a vote, as does the aforementioned opening cut (which I love to play at the open of a set when I spin out in loungey styled places). “Talkin'” has this flighty flute and punchy drums throughout and is filled with what Matthew described as “Little Girl Leave Your Plastic World” lyrics, a theme which is picked up throughout the record.
Strangely one of the least funky songs on this record, “Never A Day Goes By” is the one that tends to stick in my mind the most. For some reason or another I always seem to visualize this song playing in the scene in Kassovitz’s film La Haine, where Hubert is in his room smoking up to Isaac Hayes, the DJ starts to cut things up on the decks and then the camera breezily floats out the window and around the area. Happens every single time I start that song, has been for years and I have no idea why…something perhaps about the dreamy though gritty quality of that scene, which is shared by this song.
Somewhere, I’m convinced of it, there is a instrumental version of this record (I’ve always been perplexed by the “Authorized Version” tag beneath the band’s emblem on the back cover, is there really an “Unauthorized” version?) If an instrumental backing track exists, I hope it doesn’t waste away in someone’s musty attic. As much as I love this record, I’d love even more to hear these tracks stand alone and have every break run clean.
2010 has really been quite a year for “girls in the garage” revivalist sounds, with records already released from LA’s Dum Dum Girls and Brooklyn’s Golden Triangle, plus new records from Best Coast and a grittier Tender Trap on the way (all that’s missing is a new record from the Vivian Girls, who, given their prior pace of output, are pretty due to join the party). Neverever have perhaps the “cleanest” sound of the bunch, though it’s pieced together with equal parts garage, girl-group, Smithian indie-pop and post-punk. It’s a sound that with each play grows on me more and more, particularly lead singer Jihae Simmons Meek.
Just as a bit of an aside, in the not so distant past the group had the rather clever name Champagne Socialists, which I was very fond of, as it reminded me (positively and negatively) of my time in Berkeley. But on second thought, perhaps it was right make the change to Neverever, after all who really wants to associate with Champagne Socialists, it’s not exactly a compliment after all…
