Radio LBB: Roots Vol.41

Now into its ninth year and the 41st 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.

Ley Soul - Intergalactic Janet

A really gorgeous piece of neo-soul here from 2023. Neo-neo-soul?... Ley Soul was just 18 when she recorded Intergalactic Janet and yet the track resonates through decades and her voice carries it with incredible maturity. Her sound draws on the sweet and wistful sounds we associate with the Soulquarians, the constellation of artists recording in the late 90s and early 00s that fused hip hop and modern R&B production with a deeper and more introspective sound derived from soul music. There are notes of Erykah Badu here in Ley Soul’s vocals and harmonies, which smoothly span registers, switching from sweet soprano to dusky lower notes with ease, while the slowly grooving instrumental, redolent with smooth rhodes, twinkling reverbs, and liquid bass, recall J Dilla and D’Angelo.

The Ballistic Brothers - Blacker

A lovely bit of dance music history here. A late '90s work that sits on the cusp of acid jazz, big beat, and the emergent broken beat scene. Ashley Beedle first began DJing in the late 1980s during the heyday of acid house, and after hearing Norman Jay on KISS FM, became more interested in deep disco. The Ballistic Brothers emerged from this shift, a collective project with Rocky & Diesel of X-Press 2 and David Hill of Nuphonic Records. They became a unique product of mid-90s London club culture, pooling their influences into something that mixed vintage soul, drum 'n' bass, and hip-hop sampling. Blacker is built on the string riff from Herbie Hancock's "Chameleon" and also samples Gil Scott-Heron, taking jazz fusion and spoken word poetry and transforming them into something to ignite the late night dancefloor.

Taxie - Rock Don’t Stop

This once obscure slab of modern soul has become a contemporary classic in certain circles. Falling at that intersecting point where funk & soul meets the more linear, club oriented sounds of disco, Rock Don’t Stop was the A-side to Taxie’s only 7” single, originally released in 1979. At least, until 2023, when Epsilon Records reissued Dance / Taxie Band, a pair of demos from the same year that had previously gone unreleased. Original copies of Rock Don’t Stop were gold dust for collectors, selling for up to £650 on the used market, and the track became a notable feature of Floating Points’ sets in the early 2010s, when he was exploring a re-popularising these sounds. He went on to reissue the record as the first release on his Melodies imprint, making it available to us all.

Nightlife Unlimited - Peaches and Prunes

A Canadian band originally composed of Tony Bentivenga, Johnny D'Orazio, Louis Toteda and Peter Sciascia, Nightlife Unlimited arrived on the scene in 1979 with "Disco Choo Choo", riding the tail end of disco's commercial peak. Peaches and Prunes emerged from this era as disco’s organic grooves fused with elastic synth basslines and sfx, inspired by the italo disco sounds emerging from Italy. The track became influential in the origins of house music in Chicago, through an edit made and played by The Warehouse’s resident DJ, Ron Hardy, as well as being a regular fixture in sets by his New York counterpart at the Paradise Garage, Larry Levan. The track exemplifies that moment when disco was mutating into something else, its electronic instrumentation and relentless groove pointing towards the dancefloor innovations that would define the decade to come.

João Bosco, Angela Maria - O Bêbado e a Equilibrista

Composed by João Bosco and Aldir Blanc, this song was famously interpreted by Elis Regina in her 1979 album Essa Mulher, becoming an informal anthem about the period of amnesty and the decline of the Military Dictatorship in Brazil. In Regina's consummate interpretation, it became the anthem for the political amnesty law passed on August 28, 1979, which allowed for the return of a wave of political exiles. The title translates to "The Drunk and the Tightrope Walker", a metaphor for the precarious balance of life under authoritarian rule, and the lyrics capture the struggle of staying hopeful during a dark period in Brazilian history. This later rendition by João Bosco himself alongside Angela Maria brings a more energetic and optimistic perspective to a song that has remained deeply embedded in Brazil's collective memory.

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.