On Barfod’s second release for Get Physical, he bucks deep house inclinations for a four-tracker of crisp acid and Detroit-tinged house music. The entire EP is worth the price of admission, especially “Mind the Others” and “Trancer.” A welcome change in today’s landscape of $13 one-sided singles.
Eclat I Don’t Laa
Funky West Coast house sounds coming from…Italy? It’s true. Eclat’s “I Don‘t Laa” sounds very Cali with its swinging hi-hats, bleepy melodies and walking basslines. Check the original mix, then skip right past the uninspired Honest Cars remix to the leftfield sounds of Luke Solomon’s take.
Fort Knox Five Salvador Diaspora
As usual, Jon “Palinka” Horvath and Funky Sid Barcelona have made it easy for us hard-working DJs to no longer look like the sad bunch of losers we are. There’s a top class drum & bass-ish mix from the Thunderball guys here, but it’s that funky, funky D.C. sound that’s the winner.
Danny J.Lewis Ballistica
Danny J. Lewis is the studio mastermind behind all those Spiritual South records and remixes of the last couple of years (“Green Gold,” “Jazz Room,” “Happy”). His first release on Defected has the archetypal Spiritual South percussion sound (natch) and he’s added a pretty whanging and whoomping old bassline in there too.
Jazz Juice The Kicker
Amsterdam acid jazz legend Graham B is the leading light behind “The Kicker” on the UK-based Freestyle (run by London Jazz Cafe’s Adrian Gibson). Based around a ‘60s jazz sample from trumpet man Freddie Hubbard, Graham’s rebuilt it from the foundations up with a nice acidic bassline, some neat little drum & bass-style percussion and a boogaloo twist.
Eliot Lipp Immediate Action 10: Cushman
Three succulent jazz/funk-inspired hip-hop tracks heavy on the sampler manipulation from LA’s rising talent Eliot Lipp (that’s one “l,” two “p”s). For his Immediate Action series single, Lipp sifts through his early Mo’ Wax and Ninja Tune singles for insight, then charts his own path, using snippets of old jazz records and excellent original keyboard trickery as his compass. Fat beats for a starvin’ world.
Coldcut Everything Is Under Control (Solid Groove Dub)
A good opener to a set, this starts off as a slow burner, held together by a plodding beat that grinds alongside some revving FX, vocal snippets and a steady b-line. The track holds you in suspense before letting off distinctive marching broken beats, electric guitars and dubbed out vocals.
Amadou & Martin Coulibaly (Ashley Beedle Mix)
Ashley Beedle on remix duty for West African duo Amadou and Martin. Superbly handled, it keeps the original’s charm and vocals and succeeds in pleasing the modern dancefloor. Neat, shuffling percussion assisted by an enchanting blues guitar and bassline, which heightens before breaking down and firing up again. Great Afro-funk for the box.
Al Green Love & Happiness (Re Edit)
Two very inventive re-edits from the mysteriously titled Shoes label. Both sides are great, but the flavor for me is on the b-side-a downtempo dubby re-edit/remix driven by some chopped claps, sleigh bells and drum loops. The guitar is dreamy and the stripped-down vocal equally so. A real atmospheric and imaginative remix of a soul classic.
Fantan Mojah: Ghetto Fire
Fantan Mojah is rapidly working his way through the ranks of Jamaica’s new battalion of roots reggae soldiers. Selectors from across the globe continue to drop his two biggest hits to date-the socially conscious “Hungry” and the spiritually empowering “Hail To The King”-to a reception of horns, lighter flashing and reload requests. But in a genre where one-hit wonders are idiosyncratic (remember VC’s “By His Deeds?”), Fantan has far from secured his place in the reggae elite.
Speaking from Kingston, Fantan is “holding a vibe” with his Macka Tree cohorts, his crew of artists and right-hand men. He is eating steamed fish and bean stew from a calabash, a bowl made from natural materials (such as a coconut shell), in preparation for a studio session recording specials. Specials, re-recordings of hits with lyrics replaced to big up a DJ or soundsystem, are an essential source of income for Jamaican artists, particularly new ones like Fantan.
“They ease the pressure,” he admits. “I have nuff people to tend to. While you wait for advances and royalties they keep the bellies full.”
If its sales figures correspond to its quality, Fantan’s debut album Hail To The King, soon to be released on UK reggae imprint Greensleeves, should keep his family’s belly full for some time. Produced within Kingston’s Downsound Records camp, it’s a consistent, beautiful and lyrically disarming debut with guest beats from b-line maestros Bobby “Digital” Dixon, Donovan “Don Corleon” Bennett and In Da Street.
Like many reggae artists, Fantan cut his teeth by starting at the bottom. Following his dream to do music, he moved, as a teenager, from the idyllic countryside of St. Elizabeth-where he helped his dad with farm work-to the studio-saturated streets of Kingston.
“When I come to town I knew music wasn’t going to come straight so I was a baker,” says Fantan. “Then I start lift box (speaker boxes) for Killamanjaro [soundsystem] and that how I learn the business. They were good years. Hard work but I loved watching [MC/DJ] Ricky Trooper fire up a dance.”
After four years of lugging speaker cabinets, Fantan began establishing himself as an artist, performing at street dances in Kingston’s ghetto districts Tivoli Gardens, Jungle, Seaview and Trenchtown. During this time he recorded his first hit, the rallying “Search Until You Find,” which he still opens shows with today.
“The ghetto make you sing with feeling. And it feeling make you hit,” explains Fantan. “Nuff man can sing in Jamaica but few can find the hit. Now I find it’ must give thanks, show love and life will continue to shine on me same way.”
