Author Archive: dereksmusicblog
ROBBIE BASHO-ZARTHUS.
ROBBIE BASHO-ZARTHUS. The last time I wrote about Robbie Basho, I described him as a trendsetter and innovator. That was the case throughout his career. However, some of the most innovative and groundbreaking music Robbie Basho released was at Vanguard Records. Robbie’s Vanguard Records debut was The Voice Of The Eagle, which was released to …
FIRE! ORCHESTRA-ENTER.
FIRE! ORCHESTRA-ENTER. The origins of Fire! Orchestra can be traced to Fire! It’s a trio consisting of bassist Johan Berthling, drummer Andreas Werliin and saxophonist Mats Gusfasson. They’re three of Sweden’s finest jazz musicians. Their speciality is free jazz. However, there’s much more to the members of Fire! than that. They’re far from purists when …
PEE WEE CRAYTON-TEXAS BLUES JUMPIN’ IN LOS ANGELES.
PEE WEE CRAYTON-TEXAS BLUES JUMPIN’ IN LOS ANGELES. Musically, Pee Wee Crayton was a late developer. He only started playing the guitar seriously in 1935, when he was twenty-one. That just so happened to coincide with Pee Wee Crayton moving to Los Angeles. He’d moved to Los Angeles from Rockdale, Texas. That had been home …
KEB DARGE AND LITTLE EDITH’S LEGENDARY WILD ROCKERS 4.
KEB DARGE AND LITTLE EDITH’S LEGENDARY WILD ROCKERS 4. A lot has happened to Keb Darge and Little Edith since the release of Keb Darge and Little Edith’s Legendary Wild Rockers 3, in June 2013. The village in the Philippines, where Keb Darge and Little Edith live, was destroyed by a typhoon. Nothing was heard …
MORE LOST SOUL GEMS FROM SOUNDS OF MEMPHIS.
MORE LOST SOUL GEMS FROM SOUNDS OF MEMPHIS. During the sixties and seventies, Gene Lucchesi’s Sounds Of Memphis label was one of the most important Southern Soul labels. It was one of two labels Gene founded. The other was XL Records, which he founded in 1964. A year later, in 1965, his nascent label released …
MESTRE CUPIJO E SEU RITMO-SIRIA.
MESTRE CUPIJO E SEU RITMO-SIRIA. Recently, things have been quiet with Samy Ben Rebjeb’s Analog Africa label. Samy is very much a believer in quality rather than quantity. Analog Africa have only released sixteen compilations since 2008. Their sixteenth release, and first of 2014, is SIria, a compilation of fourteen tracks from Mestre Cupijo. Sirio …
THE DOORS-WEIRD SCENES INSIDE THE GOLD MINE.
THE DOORS-WEIRD SCENES INSIDE THE GOLD MINE. By 1972, The Doors were history. Their charismatic frontman Jim Morrison had died on the 3rd July 1971. The Lizard King became the latest entrant into the twenty-seven club, where he joined Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Alan Wilson and Jimi Hendrix. This meant that The Doors’ career ended …
THE HERBALISER-THERE WERE SEVEN-REMIXES.
THE HERBALISER-THERE WERE SEVEN-REMIXES. Twenty months ago, The Herbaliser released the seventh album of their career, There Were Seven. It was released to widespread critical acclaim and marked a welcome return from The Herbaliser. They’d been away too long. Four years to be exact. That’s a long time in music. Music is constantly changing. As …
TRICKY D-EQUANIMITY.
TRICKY D-EQUANIMITY. Dean Bagar has done just about everything in music. He’s managed bands, founded record labels, owned a record shop, DJ-ed and worked as a producer. Back in 2000, Dean collaborated with General Electrick and DJ Deckar as Fab Factory. They released several singles and an album. However, the one thing Dean hadn’t done …
THE NASHVILLE SOUND-COUNTRY MUSIC’S GOLDEN ERA.
THE NASHVILLE SOUND-COUNTRY MUSIC’S GOLDEN ERA. By the mid-fifties, music was changing. Rock ’n’ roll had been born. This was a game-changer. Some genres, including blues and country, were no longer as popular. They were struggling to survive. It was a case of adapt or die. Country music realised this and changed. Production values changed. …
DAVE MASON-IT’S LIKE YOU NEVER LEFT.
DAVE MASON-IT’S LIKE YOU NEVER LEFT. There aren’t many musicians who’ve played with everyone from Jimi Hendrix, Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, David Crosby, George Harrison, Joe Walsh, Graham Nash and Paul McCartney. Dave Mason did. He played on numerous classic albums. This includes Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Ladyland, the Rolling Stones’ Beggar’s Banquet and George Harrison’s …
DONNIE AND JOE EMERSON-STILL DREAMIN’ WILD: THE LOST RECORDINGS 1979-81.
DONNIE AND JOE EMERSON-STILL DREAMIN’ WILD: THE LOST RECORDINGS 1979-81. Back in 1979, Donnie and Joe Emerson’s parents spent $100,000 buying equipment for their two son’s home studio. That wasn’t enough. Donnie and Joe weren’t going to settle for second best. Not when it came to the equipment for their nascent studio. The synths, drum …
KASAI ALLSTARS-BEWARE THE FETISH.
KASAI ALLSTARS-BEWARE THE FETISH. Nearly six years ago, in December 2008, the Kasai Allstars released their critically acclaimed debut album In The 7th Moon, The Chief Turned Into A Swimming Fish and Ate The Head Of His Enemy By Magic. On its release, critics were won over by the Kasai Allstars’ music. They hadn’t heard …
MIDNIGHT RIDER-A TRIBUTE TO THE ALLMAN BROTHERS.
MIDNIGHT RIDER-A TRIBUTE TO THE ALLMAN BROTHERS. Earlier this year, Cleopatra Records released what was one of the best compilations of 2014, so far, A Psych Tribute To The Doors. The latest instalment in the “Tribute To” series is The Allman Brothers, one of the founding fathers of Southern Rock. Midnight Rider-A Tribute To The …
MOEBIUS-STORY-LEIDECKER-SNOWGHOST PIECES.
MOEBIUS-STORY-LEIDECKER-SNOWGHOST PIECES. One of the most eagerly awaked recent releases is Snowghost Pieces, a collaboration between Dieter Moebius of Cluster and Americans Tim Story and Jon Leidecker. This might seem like an unlikely collaboration, given how different the three musician’s pasts are. That’s not the case though. Each of the musicians have one thing in …
JARIBU AFROBEAT ARKESTRA-JARIBU.
JARIBU AFROBEAT ARKESTRA-JARIBU. Over the last few years, the JariBu Afrobeat Arkestra have established a reputation as one of the most exciting live bands in Japan. That’s been the case since the JariBu Afrobeat Arkestra released their debut album Afro Sound System in 2009. Released to critical acclaim, Afro Sound System won over DJs and …
dereksmusicblog
dereksmusicblog 