45 RPM | 11 July 2024
Featuring Sampa the Great, Jackson Mathod, Kyoto Jazz Massive, Saul Williams and much, much more. Noisy. Even when it's quiet.
When he’s the next Ed Sheeran, she’ll regret being so patronising to Liam C and his ukulele.
That’s right, in the week in which Dua Lipa went viral at Glastonbury for looking at a shite Ed Sheeran-on-a-ukulele rip off act like… he was a shite Ed Sheeran-on-a-ukulele rip off act, 45 RPM returns with 10 new Future Jazz tracks, none of which are shite, sound like Ed Sheeran or feature a ukulele. Though one is called Lulelule. Which is a word that sounds like ukulele.
So get ready to dance the night away because training season’s over, as give you a quick run-down of what’s on the mixtape this week.
SIDE A
FranKo + Jackson Mathod: Go Ahead
FranKo are a UK four-piece who are yet to release their debut album. ‘Go Ahead’ sees the funksters channeling early Jason Mraz but with even more self-love (this time of the carnal - rather than the metaphysical - kind), a little more back pain (apparently related to the, ahem, self-lovin’) and a very welcome guest appearance from trumpeter and long-time 45-favourite, Jackson Mathod.JessB + Sampa the Great: Power
New Zealand rapper JessB mixes afro-futuristic musicianship with a hit of the whole hip-hop. Her debut LP, ‘Feels Like Home’ dropped this week and, with it, the single ‘Power’ which pairs her up with the whirlwind that is Sampa the Great. the track inspires and energizes, encapsulating the spirit of defiance and independence that both artists champion, highlighting their skills and setting a high bar for empowering, thoughtful hip-hop.Lucky Daye: HERicane
Last week, 45 RPM featured Omar Apollo who somewhat unfairly always gets compared to Frank Ocean. This week, it features Lucky Daye with a track that could, equally, be straight out of either of the other artist’s canons. In ‘HERicane’ (he probably didn’t need to draw attention to the play on words quite so strongly) the LA artist has laid down a track that masterfully illustrates the intense, sometimes destructive impact of love.Arjuna Oakes: Motel
Another Kiwi (this time residing in London) Arjuna Oakes is an artist whose star has been steadily on the rise ever since his track ‘Future Lullaby’ was featured on 45 RPM in 2022. I’m not saying the two are connected. But I’m also not saying that they’re not. ‘Motel’ is a much more slinky affair than it’s more electronic / ambient predecessor but where it gets really crispy is when it dissolves, half way through, into a D’Angelo / John Mayer-esque soulquarian blues breakdown.GeeJay: Oh My
There’s something a bit hipster about GeeJay (comprising of dating couple Gee and Jay, who met while both working as baristas in a Harringay music café). But we can forgive them that ‘cos they kick out the jazzy jams like an acoustic Nubiyan Twist. ‘Oh My’ is a perfect tune to accompany your Sunday morning oat milk flat white.
SIDE B
Chanpan: ooweeooweeoo
What we’re now about to embark upon is a string of tracks that have either a musician’s name or song title that is fucking unpronounceable. Thank god 45 RPM is no longer a podcast is all I can say. ‘ooweeooweeoo’, by the always-brilliant Chanpan, lives up to its crazy name, combining drum’n’bass with flamenco-flavoured guitars and Grace Dumdaw’s ever-enchanting vocals.YHWH Nailgun: Castrato Raw (Fullback)
… and fellow New Yorkers, YHWH (apparently it’s pronounced ‘Yahweh’) Nailgun take the general Chanpan vibe and add extra punk oomph. ‘Castrato Raw (Fullback)’ is an audacious and intense sonic assault that embodies the underground ethos of experimental electronic music; a collision of harsh, industrial sounds with unrelenting rhythms, creating a dystopian soundscape that’s both jarring and mesmerizing. Think Sepultura with keyboards.Baba NtchR + Saul Williams: Mind Your Diet
When the algorithms are recommending you listen to people who have exactly 8 (eight!) monthly listeners (hailing from locations as exotic as Berlin, Toronto and, um, Sunderland no less) you know you’re probably pretty close to completing Spotify. So you’ll forgive me if details on said artists are limited. Baba NtchR appears to be the brainchild of an artist known as SalvadorAudi who makes mostly ambient, meditative stuff. However, on ‘Mind Your Diet’ he’s managed to enlist the support of the prophet, Saul Williams (he of 250,000 monthly listeners) who gives more advice on ways to feed the mind than the mouth. Spoiler alert: strip clubs and TV aren’t part of Williams’ recommended five-a-day.Kyoto Jazz Massive: Impulsive Procession
If you’re not familiar with the story, Kyoto Jazz Massive started in the early 90s when brothers Shuya and Yoshihiro Okino started DJing together, insodoing kickstarting the Japanese nu-jazz movement. All these years later, ‘Impulsive Procession’ proves the Okinos still have it, delivering one of the most undeniable, most danceable tracks of the year as well as a devastating multi-drum solo a full seven minutes into the track. Bosh.The Zawose Queens: Lulelule
Pendo and Leah Zawose are the daughter and granddaughter, respectively, of the late Dr. Hukwe Zawose, who was a renowned exponent of the Gogo musical tradition. Coming from the Wagogo people of Tanzania, the women of the Zawose family have historically been forbidden from performing. However, with some assistance from producers Oli Barton-Wood and Tom Excell (Nubiyan Twist and Onipa), the Zawose Queens’ debut record ‘Maisha’ was recently released. ‘Lulelule’ was one of my personal highlights.
And on that note, I’m off to listen closely to Liam C’s lyrics to see if I can work out what the fuck “AYE tol mesef ge-ohn *incomprehensible* betah i to meh *guitar slap*” actually means, leaving you to enjoy this week’s collection…