The VF editorial: What we’ve been listening to in May

Musings on spiritual jazz, partying with parents and how London’s club scene is bringing live music to the dance floor like never before.

Read VF and you’ll know we like to put you onto good music, whether in our weekly recommendations, artist-focussed introductions or forthcoming release lists.

However, once a month, we’d like to give you a different perspective on what rattles around behind the gentle hum of our embattled ear drums. Ditching our monthly retrospective round-up in favour of something a little more personal, the VF editorial is a diary entry of sorts – a bite-size overview of everything we’ve been moved by in the last four weeks, from new releases and reissues, to live performances, and radio shows.

---

Anton Spice

Where you place an artist on the continually shifting spider diagram of music history often comes down to context and experience. In the month where we published Chris May’s wonderful interview with saxophonist, educator and astral jazz sage Idris Ackamoor, I was reminded of a conversation I had with him several years ago. Ackamoor was one of the first musicians I ever interviewed while working for a small, sadly now defunct music magazine in Berlin. Somewhat naively, I had asked him how much the theatricality of his and The Pyramids’ stage presence and afro-futurist exhalations had been influenced by Sun Ra, only for Ackamoor to very politely put my historical revisionism straight – The Pyramids were not so much influenced by Sun Ra (and what would later be termed ‘spiritual jazz’), but emerged, in his words, “in the same breath”, contemporaries that were stimulated by the same environment that had helped shape Ra. Colossus that he was, Ra has come to own that space in our collective imaginations, and hearing from Ackamoor, then and now, was a timely reminder of the many artists who were pursuing similar ideas of black consciousness and emancipation through music, poetry and philosophy. (Several others can be found in our introduction to independent label Strata-East, which was also published this month).

All narratives have dominant characters, but as archivist Johan Kugelberg told me in an interview last year, “the history of a hundred nameless 1965 British RnB groups is more interesting than the history of the Rolling Stones.” Having finally started reading Tim Lawrence’s 600-page exploration of three-years of downtown NYC underground culture Life and Death on the New York Dance Floor in May, this idea of a scene as the sum of thousands of overlooked parts, seemed particularly important.

Perhaps my most revelatory musical moment this month also came in the form of an artist overshadowed by circumstances. The last minute support for Greek jazz-funk unit Valia Calda’s Methexis album launch at Total Refreshment Centre, Nina Harries and her double bass Nancy fought against the seeping vibrations of a rehearsal upstairs to deliver a breath-taking, virtuoso performance that erred between Arthur Russell-esque avant gardism, acoustic drone and the fragile observational musings of folk singer Linda Perhacs. Apparently there’s an album on the way, but for the time being you’ll have to take my word for it, or watch this recording of ‘Icarus’ below:

Staying at TRC for a moment, anyone familiar with the place will probably also be familiar with Alabaster DePlume, whether you know it or not. A fixture by the bar, on the door (and at monthly Peach nights), the poet and multi-disciplinary artist released The Corner Of A Sphere this month, a piece of London’s jazz-influenced puzzle that should not go unnoticed. Meanwhile, other under-the-radar releases that I’ve revisited time and again this month are Lord Tusk on MIC, Naphta & The Shamans on Astigmatic, and, of course, Sudan Archives new EP Sink. Look out for an interview with Sudan in the next few weeks. Her set at Field Day was also probably my favourite of the weekend.

Elsewhere this month, the office is in near-unanimous agreement on the brilliance of Tirzah’s debut album, which, although not out until August has been a fixture on the stereo. Less unifying, but just as crucial is the latest EP on Diagonal – Smacker by Handy – a mangled 4-tracker of fidgety electronics somewhere between Iglooghost and SOPHIE from the depths of the Vauxhaul club circuit.

The party that resonated with me most was in a rather different space – the attic of a church in Clapton – where Sao Paulo’s DJ Tahira dipped and dived through a livewire selection of percussive Afro-Brazilian records, in the vein of his Levanta Poeira compilation earlier this year (also check his brilliant VF mix). While Marcos Valle is ten-a-penny in London, it felt rare and exciting to witness the sound of a Brazilian dance floor imported directly from its capital city.

Finally, something we don’t speak about publicly very often. One of the continuing challenges sharing a name (and a desk) with a record label is covering our own releases in a way that doesn’t undermine the editorial integrity of the magazine. It’s a job that has been made a little harder in the last month by the quality of the music (kudos for which should be directed wholeheartedly to Vickie who runs the label). These are records we’d have no problem covering regardless, and it’s been particularly exciting to witness the flourishing of Emma-Jean Thackray’s Ley Lines first-hard. A record she recorded entirely herself (with an imagined cast of almost 30 musicians), she’s an artist with a truly original voice operating in the fissures between south London jazz, West Coast hip-hop and Fela’s afrobeat legacy. We also saw the first of Roísín Murphy’s four-part 12″ series with Maurice Fulton explode into life, while Soundwalk Collective’s rummage through Jean-Luc Godard’s personal archives represented the culmination of a fascinating project at the intersection of multiple disciplines. Keep a look out for more to come in the next few months too.

---

Gabriela Helfet

This month deserves a big ole shoutout to Floating Points and Mafalda’s Melodies International label, who brought levels on levels of joy in both 2 and 3D formations. On a personal note, May also kicked off with a bang when I hit the town with my parents during the early bank holiday weekend. (And I swear these thoughts are related.) To celebrate the occasion of my mum’s birthday – and because my rents love a boogie, especially when the music is soul, afrofunk, jazz, Brazilian MPB and the like – I brought them to M.I.’s You’re A Melody soirée.

Filled with disco sass, as the two are wont to be, they strutted across all corners of the Lion & Lamb’s dance floor. Mighty Helfet moves aside, the most adorable and heartwarming moment of this year came when, a few songs after our arrival, my mother turned to me and said: “do you think the DJ would mind if I ask what song this is?” “Of course they won’t mind. It’s called a track ID and I’m sure they would love to help.” She then proceeded to sashay her way over to the decks countless times, leaving my father shimmying along the sidelines. Sadly mum’s ID requests were lost in the Campari wind that day, too excited was she to note anything down, but oh does the joy remain. Special thanks to DJs Layla Rutherford, and a homebro whose name is still unknown, for laying down superb tunes. The rents bowed out right before Floating Points and Sadar Bahar hit the decks.

As mentioned earlier, Melodies also brought elation via 2D, in this case thanks to the reissue of Frankie Knuckles’ Womack & Womack ‘M.P.B.’ reworks. I’ve banged on about the record – with its Paradise Ballroom Edit A-Side and beatless, beaut Folk Version B-Side – all month, with no signs of ceasing any time soon. It seems as though the rest of the city feels similarly. On one single afternoon last week I heard the track four times, on NTS radio shows and playing through the speakers at Soho record shops Phonica and Sounds of the Universe. The power of Knuckles endures.

Another highlight came in the form of saxophonist Binker Golding’s Jazz:refreshed gig, with Joe Armon-Jones on keys, Daniel Casimir on bass, and mesmerising drum styles courtesy of Sam Jones. Forthcoming track ‘Fuck You’ and the explanation of how it came about were particular highlights. Jazz:refreshed hosts a party at Mau Mau with live music every Thursday for a mere fiver, so if you haven’t frequented it, go at once. Speaking of UK jazz and its shining lights, Emma Jean Thackray’s Ley Lines EP has been on rotation since it dropped. Thackray assumed the role of 30 musicians to create its many instrumentals, making it that much more impressive, and live the tracks traversed into new realms. Echoing Anton’s sentiments, big ups are very much due to VF Label’s Vickie Amiralis for one helluva month of VF releases, and no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

In case you’ve been living under a (soundproof) rock over the past 6-12 months: the UK jazz scene is vibrant. Case in point, Steam Down rung in its one-year anniversary at Deptford’s Buster Mantis venue, a fiercely energetic stomping ground for young independent musicians. Yet another weekly live spot very much worth checking out. And Brownswood released its documentary to accompany the We Out Here 2xLP compilation which came out earlier this year – a cinematic encapsulation of London’s dynamic jazz community in its many forms.

To close out what has been the finest May in recent memory came the second bank holiday of the month, aka the siren song of summer. Relative newcomer Gala festival descended on Peckham Rye Park, on what turned out to be an absolute scorchio of a day. Special mentions go to Rhythm Section for holding down the sunshine jams through the extremely schvitzy solar rays, as well as Horse Meat Disco who brought Honey Dijon alongside a bevvy of fierce dancers in tow. That said Derrick Carter’s killer main stage finale set was proof as to why he’s been reigning supreme for decades, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. It’s official, sound the klaxons, summer has well and truly arrived.

Until next time, I leave you with Carter’s closing tune: