Bacao Rhythm & Steel vs. El Michels Affair

El Michels Affair has a better video for "Murkit Gem" but the Bacao boys have a plinkin' steel pan edge on the tune. 

B-Side Wins Again: Liam Bailey feat. Lee 'Scratch' Perry

Hidden on the flipside of Liam Bailey's "Champion" remix is the wicked "Ugly Truth" with vocals from Lee 'Scratch' Perry.  

About Liam Bailey...

Back before the world knew of Liam Bailey's crooning, acoustic Reggae, or his comparisons to an Otis-Redding-type soul sound, or even the depth-of-texture his vocals provide the occasional UK Drum & Bass track—Liam was just another lad in Nottingham, England, being raised by a single mom with a heavy record collection. 

Being the son of an English mother and British Jamaican father who wasn't around, Liam will admit his childhood was fairly chaotic and filled with "all the cliches that happen when people start mixing up in the '80s in England." Those records he'd listen to, sitting cross-legged in front of the speakers, not only provided some solace for a young Liam then. With names like Bob Marley and Dillinger, Stevie Wonder and The Supremes, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix on their dust jackets, those records would eventually carve into shape the singer/songwriter we know today. 

Fast-forward to 2005, Liam is in London and doing the whatever-gig-you-can-get musician hustle, ideally looking to land a record deal. And it was through this time that Liam first teamed up with Leon Michels, musician/producer luminary, and the co-founder of Brooklyn's own Big Crown Records.

In 2007, Liam's management introduced him to Sounding Out the City, the first record from Leon's El Michels Affair. It blew him away. Liam jumped at the chance to connect with them and collaborate on some writing sessions. Within a week, Liam flew out to New York, met and vibed with Leon and the group, and began writing and recording songs. "It was an amazing first trip to New York," Liam recalls of meeting Leon. "And I've been working with him ever since."

That trip helped kick off what was to follow next for Liam: a slew of record releases, label deals, and working with some wildly-notable mainstream producers. Even a just-famous Amy Winehouse heard one of Liam's apartment-made, lo-fi recordings through a friend and liked what she heard. Regardless of the audio quality, Liam's particular sound shone through—all guitar, warm-rough and genuine soul. She signed him to her label shortly after.


But, as the story can go with major labels, they already had an idea of the Liam they wanted to make, promote, and push. With the typical pay-day enticement, Liam did his best to fit into whatever shape they put him to. "'Maybe I can make it work,' that's what you're thinking," Liam remembers. "But, you quickly find out that you can't." The prospects of trying to maintain for these labels became quickly apparent: you may win, and then lose yourself—or you just lose.  

Still, Liam considers himself lucky. "I always knew that I wasn't defined by the deal that I was in," Liam reminisces. "I had this feeling that I'd just keep going..." Liam confirms it was this youthful arrogance that both contributed to those past prospects going pear-shaped, but then also helped him to save himself. "It taught me the value of listening to your instincts, the importance of believing in yourself—and not trying to find that self-empowerment through something you don't understand." 

But the work accomplished and captured from that 2007 NY trip continued to linger. The evident chemistry of Liam, Leon, and the group produced something else lasting from that 2007 NY trip: the 7-inch "When Will They Learn/I'm Gonna Miss You." Released five years after it was recorded, "When Will They Learn" was a near-instant roots classic and still bangs up club Reggae nights to this day. With a strong relationship established, Liam would regularly reconnect with Leon and collaborate. Finally, in 2019, the time was right to do a full-length album together. And this time, it would be free of any restricting major label presumptions and opinions. 

Liam Bailey – Ekundayo (Big Crown)

His debut album on Big Crown Records is called Ekundayo. And the word's meaning may be all you need to know to get to the essence of this project. It means "sorrow becomes joy" in Yoruba, a language spoken mostly in Western Africa. Liam's potently unique voice has always had to fight against label agendas to get through. Now, teaming back up with Leon and his production, that restraint has given way to a pure, liberating freedom that trusses up the entire record like a spine.  

"This is the record we always wanted to make," says Michels, nodding at those past projects, where they bottled a spark of lightning in a studio session. But then there always was the slightly deflating feeling of whether or not Liam's label situation at the time would like it. 

On the surface, Ekundayo is a weighty Reggae record, full of new and old textured riddims. But listen more in-depth, and you'll find subject matter that's more recognizable from a modern-day R&B record. 

An example of the former is the first single off the album. Sung to the most beautiful woman at the nightspot, "Champion" is a joyous anthem powered by a silly-thick Juno-bass throb and 808-proof drums. In short, "Champion" is dancehall-ready. But then there's a song like "Don't Blame NY." Moody and sparse with a somber drive, you might have to resist the urge to compare it to a Frank Ocean-ish type vibe. Liam's voice is in a different but fitting element here, showing stripped-back emotion and soulful restraint. And then, anyone who has lived and tried to thrive in New York won't have a hard time relating to the lyrics. 

Credit to Leon's hand, elements of Jamaican production are everywhere, peppered across the record. Like the pitch-perfect organ stabs that push through the authentically positive "White Light," or the muted, percussive guitar strums that chug along in the back of "Fight."


In the same vein of any fantastic singer/songwriter album, Ekundayo is a reflection of who Liam Bailey is, a portrait of him for us to consider and take in. And what we see is an artist growing into himself, taking on topics and approaches he never would think of just a few years ago. Some evidence: "Ugly Truth" is about reconnecting with his biological father, a subject he once thought would be too personal to address. Sometimes we can't express ourselves before we're ready to. 

The journey from conforming to major labels to this latest record has been a long one for Liam, and a bit of a struggle. But struggle may be the only way we truly grow and evolve. With a new clarity of purpose, sound, and life, Liam has found joy out of those struggles. And it's called Ekundayo. 

Watch Liam Bailey's recent Tiny Desk (Home) Concert for NPR right here. 

Harps weigh heavy on first single off The Olympians debut LP for Daptone

The Olympians
Sirens of Jupiter b/w Apollo's Dream (Daptone Records)

The Olympians' first single on Daptone Records exudes mystery, rhythm and soul with each groove of the record. Produced and engineered by keyboard player Toby Pazner, the two tracks are emblematic of the sound he created for the bands self-titled debut LP out now. After traveling to Greece to play at the foot of the Acropolis and swimming in the Aegian sea, Pazner was visited by a toga-cloaked figure who tasked him with telling the story of the ancient Olympians through song. After the vision reappeared night after night, Pazner had no choice but to fulfill the calling, and work on the LP began.

The A-side, "Sirens of Jupiter" features every instrument at Pazner's disposal right out of the gate. Dueling harps, tough drums, low octave piano and percussive bass are all met with shrill strings that descend into the entrance of the horns played by Daptone session regulars Neal Sugarman, Leon Michels and Michael Leonhart. The B-side, "Apollo's Mood" embodies what Pazner thinks would be playing while Apollo sits in the blazing sun on the beach sipping some wine and watching the waves go by on a day-off. Check out both tracks below.

The Arcs @ Massey Hall, Thursday

Watch Dan Auerbach and his Arcs crew perform Stay In My Corner and Outta My Mind (below).   

Dan Auerbach launches "The Rocket"

The Arcs' Dan Auerbach tests "The Rocket" in the green room of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

You don't need to be an obsessive Black Keys fan to know that Dan Auerbach has a thing for unusual guitars. Not the sort of glitzy numbers favoured by metal casualties, nor the weirdly constructed devices that look like they could be played by aliens at Chalmun's Spaceport Cantina but rather the oddball pawn shop finds which have a sound and character all their own.  Yet even for someone like Auerbach – who can run through a rack full of vintage Supros, Harmonys and goofy-looking Guilds over the course of a single show – the strange white rocket-shaped axe he was playing for The Arcs' network television debut on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Friday (September 25) left many seen-it-all-before guitar geeks gobsmacked.

EKO Rokes (left) and Kawai Flying Wedge.

What first appeared to be either a late 60s Italian EKO Rokes model or Japanese Kawai Flying Wedge decked out with a nasty old Bigsby vibrato tailpiece a la Lonnie Mack turned out to be neither upon closer inspection of the headstock, neck and body shape. Although the Kawai guess may not have been too far off the mark according to Auerbach's longtime guitar tech Dan Johnson who custom built the instrument they now call "The Rocket" with some suggestions from his boss.

"This all started with the design Dan liked of an old Japanese guitar that he'd bought online," explains Johnson over the phone.  "I'm not sure if it was a Kawai because the logo was missing but it seemed like it might be in the Teisco family. From the pictures, it looked like 'wow, this could work' but when he got it, he was very disappointed.  The neck was really narrow and short-scale, the pick-ups sucked and the tremelo just wasn't right – everything about it was wrong except that it looked cool. He called me up saying, 'I just got this guitar and I don't know what to do with it because it's short-scale – really short – and I hate short-scale guitars.' So I told him maybe we could make another neck for it – I've done similar things before.

"The Rocket" in progress.

"When he forwarded me the guitar I started sizing up the project of making the body work with a new neck and new pick guard to accommodate the replacement pick-ups... and then Dan came up with the idea of a Lonnie Mack-style mounting of a Bigsby which would've exposed a big hole where the original tremelo was mounted. I thought, 'this is really gonna suck unless I do it all myself.' So I went ahead and started making my own version of it but I didn't say anything to Dan.

"After awhile he started poking around for details about how things were coming along and at first, I wasn't sure if I should tell him or surprise him with the finished guitar. Eventually we began exchanging more ideas about how we could elaborate on the original design to make it look even more 'rocket-y' without getting too blingy like a Paul Reed Smith. It needed to be the opposite of that. Not that Paul Reed Smith guitars are bad but with Dan, it's all about patina not the shine."

Building a playable vintage-looking instrument from the ground up is much more of a challenge than your average guitar tech would be willing to tackle but Johnson is not your typical stagehand with tuner and change of strings. In fact, Sigur Rós fans will be thoroughly impressed to learn that Johnson  built the axe that Jónsi bows on stage and metalheads have Johnson to thank for the six-stringed weaponry he added to the Judas Priest arsenal of K.K. Downing. But more than just being handy with wood working tools and a soldering iron, what makes Johnson so good at his job is knowing exactly what his clients want before they ask for it.  

"There's a lot of people building custom guitars these days and many of them do gorgeous work but when I look at the components it's often just like browsing a parts catalogue. Personally, I prefer using pieces that are uncommon or things that you've never seen before which is why I try to fabricate as much stuff as possible. So this guitar is a one-off. I used a few machines but it's totally made by hand. I carved the neck shape and body contours by hand after a conversation with Dan about how much he liked the look and feel of how a Gibson SG hangs off him. He asked me if I could do something similar so I gave the neck and body an SG feel. He has also been loving the Gretsch that he bought off Mike Wolfe from American Pickers with these awesome original 1958 Filter'Tron pickups. So I suggested we use some TV Jones Power'Tron pickups which have the appearance of Filter'Trons but don't look so obviously Gretsch.

"He bought a crusty old Bigsby – he loves them – so to match that I used an aluminum Bigsby bridge and I made the inlays on the fingerboard out of aluminum and then bound the ebony fingerboard with aluminum so it's all grey and black. Having metal down the sides of the neck really slowed the whole process down because the aluminum binding had to be shaved with a file and then the wood had to be addressed separately. I spent a lot of tedious time picking at it but I love the way it turned out. The finish on the body is sort of a limed mahogony or a "TV" finish – essentially black and white. After making the pickguard, I made a second, clear plexiglass layer – almost like a porthole – for no good reason other than it gives it a 'futuristic' look in a late-60s kinda way. The headstock is based on the guitar Dan got online that I overlayed with the same material I used for the pickguard. It's not totally done. He's got ideas about things he wants to add to it. He's looking at old fender emblems from cars or cool stickers from bikes that might look good on the headstock."

From start to finish, the entire project took Johnson about a month to complete. With all the meticulous work that needed to be done and various stylistic suggestions to incorporate on the fly, it's amazing that Johnson was able to deliver a fully operational version of the work-in-progress to Auerbach in time for The Arcs' scheduled appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert last Friday. According to Johnson, there wasn't much time to spare.

"Nothing about this build was easy because the design was constantly changing – typically you know from the start how everything is gonna come together. I actually finished 'The Rocket' – it doesn't officially have a name but that's what we're calling it – just in time. My flight to New York was Thursday and earlier that same afternoon I was painting it. I gave it just a few coats of laquer – not shiny or buffed – so it has a matte finish. Because it was such a beautiful sunny day, I held it outside in the sunlight to let it set. It was dry but still smelling kinda fumy when I put it in my suitcase for the flight. Then I wired it up in my hotel room and handed it to Dan with paint on my thumbnail. That was the first time he'd ever seen the guitar. The next day the Arcs had a six-hour rehearsal and Dan played it the whole time. Then it was straight onto Colbert (watch below).


"To my ear, I hear a Filter'Tron-y sound but it's coming off a solid body guitar which is a bit unusual because you normally hear it with a hollow body. It's pretty bright. He was playing a Telecaster before and this is doing much the same job only the pickups are better. It's not quite as bright as his Telecaster but it's a twangier tone than usual for Dan who has favoured darker sounds in the past. He's not the sort to settle on one thing for too long, that's just what he happens to be into now."

It seems like that sweet late 50s vintage Gretsch Chet Atkins model he picked up from Mike Wolfe of American Pickers may have had more of an influence on his current taste in tone than anyone may have anticipated – Auerbach included.

"I don't think Dan expected that Gretsch to sound the way it does," chuckles Johnson. "He's always been the kind of guy who goes against the mainstream flow of what other guitar players are doing. What's cool to Dan is a very complex thing. If everybody likes something at a given time, he generally won't. And you know, a Gretsch 6120 is a hot guitar – it's orange and badass – everyone loves it. So naturally, that's something Dan probably would avoid. He probably never even tried playing one until Mike Wolfe put that Gretsch in his hands and then he was like 'whoa, this is awesome.' Heh heh."

The Arcs rock Massey Hall on Thursday, December 10th at 7 pm and tickets are on sale now. Check out The Arcs' debut album Yours, Dreamily at their site or wherever records that don't suck are sold.