kid frostbite weekly top ten

updated Sep 18, 2006

  1. Hugh Masekela Presents The Chisa Years LP (BBE) » more info A beautiful, ear-opening document of Hugh Masekela's ill-fated Chisa label. His plan was to blend jazz and soul with more traditional African forms, and the result goes way beyond what might later be termed world music. Deep funk abounds, with crack playing from the likes of The Crusaders and the cream of the Nigerian and Ghanian scenes. Letta Mbulu's vocals are always on point, and the stylings of Miatta Fahinbulleh (a new name to me) are mind-blowing. Simply essential stuff.
  2. The Life Force Trio - Living Room LP (Plug Research) » more info We love just about everything we hear from LA producer/musician Carlos Nino, and this album is no exception. Pitched somewhere between Sun Ra and Shuggie Otis, this smooth album takes the whole cosmic jazz thing to a whole new level with rhythmic suppleness and sparse electronic soundscapes. Definitely a bit farther out than the Build An Ark album, but still in the pocket enough spread the soulful vibrations.
  3. Moodymann - Moodymann Collection CD (Mahogani) » more info We plug Moodymann a lot around here, but what else can you do when the guy just keeps hitting it like this? A smooth mix of 30 tracks from his extensive back catalog, including classics like "I Can't Kick This Feeling," "Don't Be Misled," "I'm Doin Fine" and so many others. The key is the great pacing and immaculate selection. Hearing all of these tunes togther is a great reminder of what a player KDJ is -- his tracks just have so much soul, groove and flavor. A great introduction to a critical talent.
  4. John Cameron Quartet - Troublemaker 7" (Jazzman) » more info Gilles Peterson "Impressed" compilations introduced a lot of us to the deep jazz that came out of the British Isles from the 50s-70s, and it's great to see the reissues continue. Jazzman is an always reliable label, and this single is a corker. John Cameron Quartet dish up a solid groover on the a-side featuring Harold McNair on flute. Mike Westbrook Concert Band's "Original Peter" on the flip could be a mod club classic. Genius stuff.
  5. Anne Briggs - The Complete Topic Recordings 2xLP (Bo'Weavil) » more info Anne Briggs was one of the leading lights of the 60s English folk revival. Like Shirley Collins she preferred traditional songs and styles, and like Collins she was actively involved in collecting and reviving songs in danger of being swept sway and forgotten by the tide of modernism. A few sentences here can't possibly do justice to her pure, incredible voice and the influence she had on the folk world. Her body of recorded work is tiny but thankfully mostly in print. And now boutique UK reissue label Bo'Weavil has filled a huge gap with this double LP (on 200g vinyl even) covering all of Briggs' Topic Recordings. If you're a vinyl fan grab this now, as it's limited to just 500 copies.
  6. Burial - Burial CD (Hyperdub) » more info Right around the time that Rephlex's "Grime 2" comp came out, a friend and savvy musical associate made the assertion that dubstep was to grime/garage what techstep was to jungle -- an attenuated, funkless reduction of an urban dance music for people who don't like to dance. At that time I agreed, but as dubstep moves farther away from grime it actually seems to be getting more interesting. This Burial album bears hardly any resemblance to grime at all, instead constructing tracks from ghostly percussion and analog sputters that sound more like Pole than Wiley. It's utterly seductive stuff that really burrows under your skin with repeated listens, as familiar snatches of melody or vocal sample filter up through the hum and burble. Top quality.
  7. Jackie Edwards - I Feel So Bad CD (Castle/Sanctuary) » more info An early star in Jamaica's home-grown R&B/Ska scene, Jackie Edwards moved to England in 1962 and recorded a long string of hits in the prevailing Ska, Rocksteady and Lovers styles. He also recorded straight soul, and is revered for a string of mod/northern soul classics from the mid-60s. This comp covers that era and it's a real gem, as these tracks can be pretty tough to find. "I Feel So Bad" is a killer northern anthem and still sounds thumpingly great today. "Keep On Running" is obviously well known from the Spencer Davis Group version, but Jackie offers a smooth take that's well worth checking. At a generous 22 tracks this party disc is a no-brainer.
  8. London Is The Place For Me 4 LP (Honest Jon's) » more info Honest Jon's has been absolutely killing it lately on the reissue front, with the Lago Chop Up and Lagos All Routes comps still demanding much turntable time and their spectacular London Is The Place for me series going from strength to strength. Documenting the music of the Afro-Caribbean immigrant communities in London in the 1950s, the styles range from calypso to mento, highlife and even straight jazz. Heavy hitters like Lord Kitchner, Young Tiger and Shake Keane are well-represented and the liner notes are exhaustively informative. I love focussed reissues like this series that give you a real window into a particular time and place, and it's labels like Honest Jon's, Soundway and Soul Jazz are doing just an amazing job with research, documentation and presentation to keep this underground music alive for us today. Nuff respect.
  9. Bugz In The Attic - Back In The Doghouse LP (V2) » more info I know good things come to those who wait, and you can't rush perfection and all that, but this has been almost ridiculous. This West London collective has been dropping serious future dance music for almost ten years now, always bringing cutting edge pressure to their lengthy series of remixes and smattering of singles. Featuring heavyweight champions like Afronaught, Seiji and Daz-I-Kue you just knew that they'd eventually drop an album to be reckoned with. And here it is. A brilliant synthesis of squelchy P-Funk, gritty modern R&B and broken soul, there's something here for everyone. It's a rare record that can kill it on the dancefloor *and* in the living room, and cross the gap between white-label trainspotters and straight-up Friday night groovers. This album is all that and more, and surely one of the finest of 2006.
  10. Sic Alps - Soft Tour In Rough Form 12" (Mt St Mtn) » more info Fierce lo-fi garage from the SF underground. Featuring Mike Donovan (Sounds of the Barbary Coast, Dial Records) and Matt Hartman (Henry's Dress, The Coachwhips, Total Shutdown, The How), Sic Alps work a dark early 70s proto-punk groove, bringing to mind The Stooges or The Electric Eels but with a post-mod pop sense lurking somewhere beneath the fuzz and hiss. A lot of thought has been into the production, with lots of interesting guitar sounds to keep it fresh and tense. Super limited edition wrapped in a snazzy multi-fold sleeve, miss this at your peril.

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