'II' by Magro

In a swift - and incredibly welcome - follow-up to last year's 'Trippin' album, drummer and producer Magro unveils his new album release, 'II'.

As a debut project, 'Trippin' already had a lot of promise to live up to for the Berlin-based artist.  With a series of standalone single releases dating back to 2019 and the first of two Beat Tape projects available through his Bandcamp page, Magro's full-length was starting to seem long overdue; thankfully though, the versatile artist's perception of contemporary jazz meets hip-hop meets neo-soul fused exquisitely into a bold and inspired project that far exceeded expectations.

And the time since the album's release has led to some great opportunities and further successes including a healthy amount of touring this summer gracing stages at Skandaløs Festival and Festival de Jazz St Moritz.  And then of course there was production for Leona Berlin's sophomore album from last year, 'Change' - another incredible project from the R&B vocalist which was exemplary of, both, her talents as an immensely creative and continually evolving artist as well as being exemplary of the incredible chemistry she continually exudes alongside partner Magro evident through their numerous collaborations.

As an album, 'Trippin' absolutely introduced more far-reaching concepts into Magro's music than he had ever previously explored.  Through darker, broader and more experimental sonic landscapes, Magro carved a path out all of his own and the groundwork established through 'Trippin' is masterfully developed upon through its successor, 'II'.

While absolutely continuing many of the themes established through 'Trippin', the sophomore effort steers the music into new directions, drawing upon fresh inspirations.  Just analysing the album's opening three tracks is enough to demonstrate the progressive and all-encompassing scope that 'II' is striving to achieve: the cosmic and ethereal 'Fly Thru' kicks the project off before segueing to the disco-tinged, neo-soul gem, 'Never Let You Down' (featuring Leona Berlin), and then to the off-kilter hip-hop number 'Stagelife' (featuring TwizzMatic).  It's become the type of unpredictable nature that Magro's music has started to thrive off of - this article has cited terms like "hip-hop", "neo-soul" and "jazz" but the terms are irrelevant here and perhaps only serve to restrict the music's overall intentions of being free to simply be what it wants to be.

BIGYUKI, the New York-based Japanese pianist, features on one of the album's standout moments with the explosive collaboration, 'Flow', which also serves as the album's second single.  BIGYUKI, himself no stranger to far-reaching and experimental jazz-inspired compositions, soars over the sonic playground that 'Flow' presents.  R&B vocalist, Kenny Wesley, guests on 'Teacher' which acts as a nice call-back to their past collaboration for Magro's single, 'Jupiter' (2020).

Rarely short on inspiration, Magro unveils another phenomenal offering in his ever-burgeoning catalogue.  Progressive, beaming with creativity and forging his own path, 'II' absolutely warrants your attention.

'Days Past' by The Peter Franks Group

Available for the first time on CD, The Peter Franks Group's debut full-length 'Days Past' finds its re-introduction three years after its initial release.

Acting as one of the guises of Futuristica Music founder, Simon S, The Peter Franks Group provides a further aspect in the DJ and producer's continual explorations into the intrinsic union of hip-hop and jazz.  As a music fan first, it was the architects of hip-hop's Golden Era and its flag wavers including A Tribe Called Quest and Gang Starr that guided Simon S towards the jazz greats that much of the genre was built upon.  An affection for artists like Sun Ra, Herbie Hancock and Ronnie Foster soon followed and have remained as inspirations for the multitude of projects he has been involved with going forward.

The first foray into the relationship between hip-hop and jazz came in the form of the Jazz Chronicles project which spawned three full-length albums and some fantastic collaborations with the Futuristica faithful in Deborah Jordan, La Note and Jack Jones.  But like those aforementioned Golden Era classics, Jazz Chronicles relied heavily on the art of sampling to recreate its own gems before inspiration would ultimately inspire a further development within Simon S' musical explorations.

Much like Guru opted to veer away from sampling jazz records (most famously as a part of the hip-hop collective, Gang Starr, with DJ Premier) and actively collaborate with musicians including Donald Byrd, Ronny Jordan and Roy Ayers in 1993 with the first of his beloved 'Jazzmatazz' series of albums, Simon S too directs his focus on live instrumentation to bring his own vision towards reality.

Through a series of lush, nostalgia-driven compositions, 'Days Past' serves as a loving tribute to those inspirations while boldly, and enthusiastically, forging ahead within its own untraveled path.  Some incredible musicians are enlisted to inject life within the project including the revered composer, trumpeter and founder of Gondwana Records, Matthew Halsall, who guests on the album's opening and titular number; yana vibraphonist Corey Mwamba performs on two of the album's tracks along with further collaborations with flautist Rachel Crennell, trumpeter Andy Urquhart, saxophonist Claire Manners and pianist Nathalie Maffei.

Digital versions of the album were bolstered by an accompanying remix suite that is thankfully also included within the CD package in its entirety providing an exciting completion to the 'Days Past' project.  A dream team of remixers jump on board to provide wonderful new perspectives to the ten track originals featuring reinterpretations by Quiet Dawn, Mecca:83 and Electric Conversation alum, As Valet and Gus La Temp, amongst others.

Just as 'Jazzmatazz' was Guru's logical next step, 'Days Past' is Simon S'.  Creatively, Peter Franks has enabled Simon S to push forward, carving his own path with innovative new spirit that we can only hope will lead to further releases in time to come.

New singles round-up ::: August 2022

'Everything I Do' by Amy Gadiaga

The debut single from the multi-talented bassist and vocalist Amy Gadiaga comes as a real treat.  Born in Paris until ultimately moving to London in her teens to explore the instrument further, as well as to immerse herself within the city's eclectic and thriving jazz community, Gadiaga has notched up accolades at an incredible rate - a student at Trinity Labans Conservatoire of Music & Dance plus she is able to boast performances at the Jazz Cafe and the EFG London Jazz Festival in advance of having released her first single.  Some YouTube videos of Gadiaga performing for jazz re:freshed and for Belmont Villa make for fantastic viewing and offer a thrilling insight into the charm and personality that Gadiaga effortlessly exudes on a stage.  'Everything I Do' is a sublime listen offering up a glimpse of that warmth found during her live performances over some brilliant production that tips its hat to a quintessential vocal jazz aesthetic while still introducing listeners to an exciting and innovative new artist with a staggering career laying in wait. The single finds its official release on the 12th August.

'RUNNING' [Marc Rapson Remix and Simon S Re​-​Edit] by Deborah Jordan & K15

The full-length collaborative album from vocalist Deborah Jordan and producer K15 arrived earlier this year in the form of the twelve-track gem that is 'HUMAN'.  A project created by the two long-term collaborators undoubtedly lived up to the incredibly high expectations that came along with it when considering the extensive body of work accumulated between the two.  An exquisite and versatile project that veers between off-kilter jazz, twinges of broken beat and Futuristica's signature future-soul; the album's well-deserved and raptuous reception has thankfully resulted in more life left to give with the revisiting of the album's opening track, 'RUNNING', courtesy of the architects of Futuristica's soundscapes, Marc Rapson and Simon S.  Rapson, once again, takes the time to demonstrate his affection for the genius of Jay Dee with his sensational offering, akin to his 90's-inspired remix of Jordan's seminal 'I'll See You Again'.  Simon S on the other hand looks to expand upon K15's beautifully-produced original extending the track but an additional two glorious minutes.  

'Nobody Else' by Abi Farrell

We were initially introduced to Abi Farrell via her anthemic single, 'Don't Follow Me', which would serve as an excellent introduction by anyone's standards.  Firmly embedded amongst the line-up of Big AC Records along with artists Carmy Love, Nick Corbin and Emma Noble, the indie soul label has continued its rise to prominence thanks to its immensely talented and closely-knit team of front line stars, backed by some incredible musicians to bring their vision to life.  For Farrell's latest single release, the exquisitely sweet soul offering is once again produced by The Milk's Mitch Ayling who really does work wonders in helping to construct much of Big AC's overall sound.  'Nobody Else' provides a further exciting facet to Farrell's music and demonstrates her ability to shine just as brightly through a soul-drenched ballad as she does through the socially conscious 'Don't Follow Me'.

Blue-in-Green:PODCAST #111: MISTA VEE

Welcome to Episode #111 of the Blue-in-Green:PODCAST which this week sees Imran reconnect with the creator and host of CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND and VEE'Z JOINT, MISTA VEE.

Joining us from Sydney for this episode, over the usual home of Melbourne, Australia, Vahe and Imran side step their usual forays into their fandom for 90s R&B and musical geekdom, this time opting for a lengthy and in-depth analysis into Marvel's Phase 4.  Conversation also turns to additional creative ventures from Vahe including his upcoming graphic novel title, 'The Dark Southern', and his watch party YouTube series 'An Evening With Nuts' which is particularly interesting if only for discovering the overwhelming popularity for 80s classic 'American Ninja'.

Always a pleasure to catch up with VEE so we very much hope you enjoy the episode and will catch up with 'An Evening With Nuts' episodes and older episodes of VEE'Z JOINT and CONFESSIONS OF A CURLY MIND here:

https://www.youtube.com/c/ConfessionsOfACurlyMind

Blue-in-Green Sessions · Blue-in-Green:PODCAST_#111_MISTA VEE