jazz / soul / funk

When this album arrived last week I had no idea what to do with it.  Before I even started listening to it, I was scratching my head and wondering what to write about this.  After all, this is not our usual cup of tea.  So last night, I brought this album with me when we were going to visit a friend. He is a jazz fan and has a bit more knowledge about jazz and related genres.  In the end we ended up getting quite drunk and reminiscing about music history. Result: I still didn't know what to write about it, but I am going to try anyway.

Yves Peeters is a Belgian drummer who has been fascinated by the rich musical history of New Orleans.  With his project Gumbo he tries to blend jazz, gospel, blues, funk and parade bands music together.  He also got help from some well-known musicians, including Francois Vaiana & Bruce James (vocals), Nicolas Kummert (tenor sax); Dree Peremans (trombone) and Nicolas Thys (bass).  

The album opens with the groovy 'My Gombo's Free', a warm and soulful song which somehow reminds me of world music festivals in the midst of summer.  That feeling continues throughout the first three songs.  It is as if this band is playing, much to the enjoyment of a big smile wearing audience, while the sun is heating up all the souls in attendance.  Funk, groovy, soul and jazz are being blended into a joyful Mardi Gras.

'Force Of Nature Part 1' takes on a full-on jazz approach with solos and complex rhythms while 'Part 2' suddenly comes up with what seems like African chants and immersive percussion.  I guess this second part is my favorite tune on this album.  Both songs also show the versatility of this project, making music that sounds familiar but never hesitates to experiment a little, I quite like that about this album.

'Lighthouse' suddenly goes a lot darker, driving on piano, bass, lingering wind instruments and minimalistic soundscapes. It nudges towards the darkjazz scene, which I like a lot.  Perhaps this is also the most radio friendly song on this album, but to be honest, I have no idea about the music they play on the radio nowadays.  I prefer to ignore that medium.  Nonetheless, this is a strong piece of music.

'Masquerade' shows the big band approach and 'No Hero' is a calm ballad, driving on almost droning bass.  Both are again two quite different songs on an already highly varied album.  But the key question is, 'who am I going to recommend this to?'  Well, if you're into jazz, funk, soul and groove, this certainly is something that you want to check out.  If not, do it anyway, it wouldn't be the first time you're pleasantly surprise by something beyond your own scene.


​Serge

singer / songwriter / soul

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In my opinion, there's two different kinds of music: music that irritates me and good music.  I really do not care about genres, techniques or other points of discussion.  When the music doesn't annoy me, it has the potential to be played often in this household.  Besides, usually I look beyond the music, I listen to the heart, mind and soul of the artist and try to capture the story he or she is trying to tell me.  

Today I found a gem that will probably find the way to the media player a lot from now on.  It's way different from most things you can find on this website but it has a lot of heart and certainly a lot of soul.  The artist's is named Angéline. She hails from France but studied music in England.  This record was initially composed from sounds from everyday activities, like tapping on desks and such.  From their she recorded the demos and eventually the e.p. was gradually being born.

The e.p. opens with the beautiful song 'Black Butterflies'.  This song fits perfectly in the current wave of female electronic artists like Banks, Austra or Emika.  However, as I mentioned before, there's a lot of soul in here and names like Lauren Hill or Mary J. Blige aren't far away.  'Si J'avais La Choix' repeats that quality, be it in a darker, eighties electronic fashion.  Mainly because of the French vocals in this song, I'm reminded of Lara Fabian.

'Aama' is a beautiful song, seemingly borrowing from trip-hop or at least perfectly fitting in that genre.  The song was initially recorded for a Nepal relieve charity fund and features a lengthy ocarina solo.  Well, I think it's an ocarina, it reminds me of an ancient tape I bought for my father decades ago.  'Ghost Dance' then takes things down to a calm, intimate level and quickly becomes one of my favorite electronic ballads in a while.  'Kohly' is a strange intermission, consisting of recorded bird sounds.  

Closer 'While I Was Away' returns the earlier soul-feeling with very strong vocals and a dubby bass line.  It feels even more organic than the previous songs and shows hints of traditional African and Caribbean music along with the droning electronics.  This is the stuff heard on world music festivals around the world and I'll be sure to keep an eye out for when Angéline appears on one of those places.  This is beautiful music with the heart in the right place.  Respect!


Serge