Berly's Bandcamp

  With Bud Ross by Steel Tipped Dove In the 1960s and ‘70s, Bud Ross carved out a role for himself at Philadelphia’s Sigma Sound Studios, the legendary recording facility associated with the city’s soul movement. As a prolific songwriter and producer Ross, now 78, estimates he was involved in the recording of more than 200 songs at Sigma Sound, many of which were characterized by honeyed melodies, lush organ lines, and gritty drums. Ross holed himself up on the fifth floor of the building, while the influential production duo Gamble and Huff worked out of the floor below. Despite never scoring a hit under his own name—he eventually left music to focus on a business selling cars—the 7-inch vinyl releases Ross worked on now fetch big bucks on the U.K. northern soul circuit, making him something of an unseen cult figure. Fifty years later, Ross’s music is now set to be introduced to a new generation thanks to With Bud Ross. It’s a hip-hop project unfolding in two stages. The first inv...

  Every Nigger Is A Star by Boris Gardiner Yes, you heard this first on a Kendrick Lamar track.  Boris Gardiner’s legendary Every Nigger is a Star, the long-lost soundtrack to a near mythical Jamaican film! Long a grail-status LP for reggae and funk aficionados alike, Gardiner’s OST for Calvin Lockhart’s mysterious movie has eluded any official or unofficial re-release since 1974.  Presented in its original format and with its original cover art, Every Nigger is a Star is a dose of the finest conscious Jamaican music, generously laced with blaxploitation-style heavy funk. The Boris Gardiner Happening present a deep, cross-genre constellation of sounds that spans sweet reggae to soul balladry, and stretches from the magical carib-funk-jazz of Negril, through the gold standard funk classic Ghetto Funk, to the deep acoustic cut of the title track. An essential release for fans of funk, blaxploitation OSTs and reggae.

  Brian Ellis & Sven Atterton - Life Sentence / Driftin' Off by Brian Ellis & Sven Atterton Two of the modern funk scene’s most agile musicians and producers team up on this irresistible two-tracker. Based in Southern California and Cornwall respectively, Brian Ellis and Sven Atterson embarked on a transatlantic collaboration, resulting in the politically and socially charged “Life Sentence” and “Drifting Off.” Both tracks are undoubtedly influenced by the golden age of boogie, but the execution is so precise, creative, and funky that it steers well clear of being just another throwback record. “Life Sentence” chronicles injustices in modern-day America over a spritely instrumental backing, while “Drifting Off,” which is sonically gentler with pensive chords and a solid synth bass providing the basis for Brian Ellis’ soft vocals, explores how we tackle depression and mental health issues in society. - Sean Keating, Bandcamp Daily

Control by Natalie Slade Control is the incredible debut album from Sydney based vocalist Natalie Slade, produced by Hiatus Kaiyote’s Simon Mavin and featuring contributions from other members of the Grammy Nominated group. Combining Soul, Jazz, Folk and RnB, Natalie’s timeless vocals dazzle across 10 stunning tracks, perfectly complimented by rich, live instrumentation and Mavin’s vibrant production. The album is classic to its core, whilst taking a fresh and energetic approach to a long tradition of Soul/RnB long players. Familiar broken rhythms and jazz heavy motifs, notorious with Hiatus Kaiyote’s writing and arrangement style are present, reminding us throughout that we are in the hands of true masters. The result is a kaleidoscopic reimagining of sounds and styles from an exciting new vocal talent. Recommend for fans of Hiatus Kaiyote, Rosin Murphy, Fatima, Yasmin Lacey, Khadja Bonet.

  Neon Lights 2020 In Homage by Jono Ma, Itsi, Stella Mozgawa, Jonti, Ewan Pearson, Nick Maybury “After learning the news of Florian Schneider’s passing, I felt compelled to put together this cover of Neon Lights in honour of Kraftwerk’s music. Earlier in the year, we lost another pioneering giant of electronic music, a dear friend, mentor and inspiration, Andrew Weatherall. The back half of this 15-minute interpretation of Neon Lights organically took on the form of something I’d want to send to Commander Weatherall in the hope he’d play it at one of his ALFOS parties. It was made in a day and has contributions from some close friends and loved ones, Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, Ewan Pearson, Jonti, Nick Maybury and Itsi.”   Neon Lights was originally performed by Kraftwerk and published By Kling Klang Music Inc. in 1978. As one of the chief architects of the electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk, Florian Schneider, who has died of cancer aged 73, helped revolutionise popul...

  UN DANDY EN EXIL - Algérie / France - 1969/1982 by MAZOUNI 1958, in the middle of the liberation war. While the rattle of machine guns could be heard in the maquis, in the city, the population listened at low volume to Algerian patriotic songs broadcast by the powerful Egyptian radio: “The Voice of the Arabs”. These artists all belonged to a troupe created by the self-proclaimed management of the National Liberation Front (FLN), based in Tunis and claiming to gather a “representative” sample of the Algerian musical movement of the time. 1960, cafe terraces were crowded and glasses of anisette kept coming with metronomic regularity, despite the alarming music of police sirens heard at intervals and the silhouettes of soldiers marching in the streets. The mood was good, united by a tune escaping from everywhere: balconies, where laundry was finishing drying, windows wide open from apartments or restaurants serving the famous Algiers shrimps along with copious rosé wine. Couples spo...

  Onism by Photay Nature documentaries of the 1970s used synthesizer music to score messages about species endangerment and environmental disaster prevention. Electronic instrumentation was in itself an ominous warning of the reckless advancement of technology and an effort to audition a utopian harmony between people and machines and nature. Photay’s debut full-length ​Onism​ inherits the same historical tension in an age of climate change and social media addiction. It is also a reflection of personal conditions, a meditation on place, community, and its creator’s own embodied history. The word ‘onism,’ invented by John Koenig, means the frustration of being stuck in just one body that inhabits only one place at a time. To grasp onism is to be apprised of how little of the world you have experienced, are experiencing, or will ever experience. Photay (Evan Shornstein) composed ​Onism​ in the heart of Brooklyn and shrouded by the silence of national parks or on trips home to the wo...

  METAGROOVE by J-MUSIC Ensemble An ultra-polished studio tribute three years in the making, METAGROOVE is J-MUSIC Ensemble’s monument to the 2016 JRPG “Persona 5” and its iconic score by Shoji Meguro: an intricate blend of jazz, electronic and R&B widely regarded as one of the best video game soundtracks ever made. To give non-gamers an idea of the kind of phenomenon we’re dealing with here, think of it as the video game equivalent to Steely Dan’s Aja. Adored by audiophiles and nerds alike, the “Persona 5” soundtrack is currently ranked on Rate Your Music as the fifth-best video game soundtrack of all time, as well as the sixth-best album of 2017; vinyl pressings have been highly limited, so an LP version will set you back an average of $300 on Discogs.) As a cadre of established session musicians and improv jazz upstarts, NYC’s J-MUSIC Ensemble treat Meguro’s compositions with the respect they deserve, balancing the songs’ now-iconic grooves with unique embellishments and sid...

The Clearing by The Twilite Tone The Clearing showcases a sound that Twilite Tone describes as “trans-genre” — a mixture of house, electronic funk, and instrumental hip-hop that continues Stones Throw’s beat-maker legacy — informed by the musical history and spirit of his home town.

  Sawtuha by Various Artists A little less then three years ago the political situation in many countries of the Arab world changed dramatically. Uprisings started in rural areas of Tunisia and from there spread to various countries in the region. Millions gathered in the streets united by their demand for more democracy, rights and participation in the political process. In most cases the reaction of the governing dictators were relentless and severe towards every form of protests. Violence in the streets of Cairo, Tunis and Bengasi escalated and resulted in the overthrow of the governments in Tunisia, Egypt and Lybia. A year later a group of female singers and musicians from Tunisia (Nawel Ben Kraiem, Badiaa Bouhrizi, Medusa, Houwaida), Libya (Nada) and Egypt (Donia Massoud, Maryam Saleh, Youssra El Hawary) met in Mohsen Matri Studio in Tunis to sing- against corruption, despotism, patronization and narrow-mindedness. The song with Syrian artist Rasha Rizk was recorded some month...

  The Edge Of Everything by Krust On 6th November Bristolian master Krust presents ‘The Edge Of Everything’ – his first album in 14 years. The pre-eminent electronic icon – who continuously prolifically blew minds throughout the 90s and 00s – has now fully returned from a long break, rejuvenated and artistically liberated. The album appears if beamed-in from the edge of the universe, way beyond the precipice in a metaphysical netherworld. This is Krust as futurist revisionist, making exhilarating, standout music of depth and substance, which is unlike anything else, above-and-beyond floor-focussed confines. Krust’s music is more individualistic; closer to the vivid brushstrokes of a fauvist painting, and less like a diagram on a grid. The sound is unmistakably Krust, but now wider, deeper, freer, more intense and more fully-realised. If past anthems like ‘Warhead’ and ‘Soul In Motion’ gave you a peek through the creator’s doors of perception, here they are flung wide open, pulling ...

  Trees (50th Anniversary Edition) by Trees It’s now over fifty years since Trees’ formation, a band who helped define ‘Acid Folk’, creating a sub-category in the lexicon of record dealers and music critics alike. Earth’s new Trees collection brings together both albums adding shiny alternate mixes of key tracks along with a selection of radio sessions and demos, all sounding brighter and cleaner than ever before. Trees first album, ‘The Garden of Jane Delawney’ (1970) snuggles nicely into contemporary nu-folkies’ idea of the genre, and shares some of the pastoral-whimsy that characterised The Incredible String Band or Donovan, offset by some stunning interpretations  of traditional material and Bias’ own songs, which were somehow part of the tradition Trees had adopted. Readings of ‘Lady Margaret’, ‘Glasgerion’ and the old standard ‘She Moved Thro’ The Fair’, and the extended fade of the group’s own ‘Road’, presage the explosive instrumental duelling that would...