Radio LBB: Roots Vol.37

Now into its seventh year and the 37th edition. For the uninitiated, the Roots playlist showcases an eclectic range of music from across the globe of unfamiliar, forgotten, or recently discovered, to the most upfront sounds of now, all with the common theme of being rooted in Africa.

Some of the highlights this time round include:

Cassiano - Onda

Opening with a bang! Don’t be fooled by the album title, Cassiano was not Cuban, but a pioneering, though oft-underrated figure in Brazilian soul and funk music. A gifted singer, songwriter, and guitarist, he blended the smooth grooves of American soul with Brazilian rhythms, helping to create the distinctive sound that proliferated through the 1970s, influencing the likes of Tim Maia, while his rich baritone voice, sophisticated harmonies, and melodic craftsmanship left us with some gorgeous compositions and recordings. Onda is among the very best of them, appearing on his 1976 album, Cuban Soul: 18 Kilates. Laid back and groovy, replete with musique concrete production techniques, the sounds of waves and seabirds adding a languid, romantic, and sunkissed quality to the lush midtempo boogie set up. 

Shin Joong Hyun - “J” Blues 72

This is a really incredible bit of music with an incredible story behind it. Shin Joong Hyun was a Korean guitarist, who began his career in the mid-50s, performing for US troops in the wake of the 1953 armistice. While he had little English, he was able to communicate via his fluently emotive guitar playing and the wealth of diverse influences that bore on it, from American jazz and soul, to Korean traditional music, to the psychedelic pop sounds that began to make their presence known in the '60s. His voracious appetite for experimentation and radical new ideas consumed all these musical influences, as well as attracting him to the lifestyle experiments with drugs and communal living that characterised the hippy movement. Over time this ‘subversive’ attitude brought hostile attention and surveillance from the South Korean state and when Hyun refused to write a song in praise of then President, Park Chung-hee, he was labelled as unpatriotic and imprisoned, and his music remained banned in South Korea until the '80s. “J” Blues 72 is a beautiful recording, a slow, psychedelic blues jam reminiscent of Muddy Waters’ late 60s work, spangled, phasing guitar leads screaming over a gentle groove and spiky hammond organ.

Madvillain - Figaro

This needs no introduction. The Madvillainy album is widely remembered as one of the greatest linkups in hip hop history, bringing together two of the genre’s most maverick minds - MF Doom and the production wizard, Madlib. Both were independently known for their different but equally idiosyncratic and alternative approaches to hip hop, and particularly for their incredible capacities for digging up and reappropriating obscure samples into a sound that was funky at the same time as experimental and prism-pushing. While there was an unfinished second album in the works at the time of MF Doom’s death in 2020, only one album was released, 2004’s Madvillainy. Figaro is a tour de force of instrumental and vocal sampling, flipping elements of tracks from spiritual jazz legend, Lonnie Liston Smith, while Doom’s lyrics reference Rossini’s early c19th opera, Figaro, Eric B & Rakim, and the traditional folk song, ‘Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake, Baker’s Man’.

Roland Alphonso - Rent Rebate

This is a gorgeous and important piece of reggae history. The tenor saxophonist, Roland Alphonso was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1931, before moving with his Jamaican mother to her home two years later. In Kingston, he worked prolifically with the legendary producer Clement ‘Coxsone’ Dodd at Studio One, helping to lay the groundwork for rocksteady and reggae, and became one of the founding members of the Skatalites, one of the groups that pioneered ska music. Alphonso's versatility allowed him to seamlessly blend elements of jazz, rhythm and blues, and wider Caribbean influences into his sound. Rent Rebate is something of an obscurity in his oeuvre, previously unreleased until a compilation EP issued by Basic Channel’s roots reggae arm, Wackies, in 2019. It’s a sublime piece of early digi dub, combining prototypical drum machine rhythms and syncopated synth chords, in a sound that recalls late '70s and early '80s experiments by the likes of The Durutti Column. The centre piece, however, is Alphonso’s sensuous and gorgeous saxophone, improvised across the whole track and run through lush reverbs and delays.

Don Blackman - Since You Been Away So Long

Don Blackman was an American jazz and funk pianist, singer, and songwriter known for his smooth blend of jazz, funk, and soul influences. Born in Queens, New York, Blackman rose to prominence in the 1980s with his self-titled debut album Don Blackman, released in 1982. His work showcased his virtuosity on the keyboard, distinctive vocals, and knack for blending groove-driven melodies with sophisticated harmonies. Blackman collaborated with notable artists like Roy Ayers, Lenny White, and Parliament-Funkadelic, leaving a lasting impact on the jazz-funk genre. His music remains a favourite among fans of rare groove and continues to influence contemporary musicians. Since You Been Away So Long is a stunning bit of romantic slo-mo funk, the barely moving groove and sparse bass stabs opening space for the dreamlike atmosphere of synthesised strings, harps and glockenspiel, setting the template for the smoothest sounds of R&B that followed.

These are just some of the highlights in what I hope is an enjoyable musical journey that spans across continents, generations and genres…

A huge thanks go out to labels such as Now Again, Light In The Attic, Numero Uno and Luv N’ Haight, Analog Africa, Music From Memory, Africa Seven, Far Out Recordings, Strut, Mr Bongo and Soundway, who continue to unearth some of the most unique and amazing music that may have otherwise never seen the light of day.