Finders Keepers compiles best of Belgian prog-jazz crew COS

The 14-track COSMIX collection is wisely weighted towards the Brussels anti-pop ensemble's first two mid-70s albums.  

ZIP! POW! POP! CAN? ZAO? NEU? EGG? PIL? AND NOW COS. 

COS might not be the first genre-defying progressive music group you’ve heard of who share both wordless onomatopoeic vocals and a snappy three-letter name (complete with philosophical leanings and alchemic penchants) but on listening to this first-ever custom COS compendium you might have just discovered a potential favourite! Perhaps it’s no coincidence that COS share close spiritual, stylistic and social connections with the aforementioned bands, as one of the few long withstanding single-sylable ensembles to remain utterly idiosyncratic and incomparable in their hyper-focused and impenetrable creative bubble. As a group that effortlessly MIX head-nod prog, synth driven jazz, dislocated disco, archestral operatics and high-brow conceptual anti-pop grooves, it’s easier to just remember the name COS than to thumb the vast amount of genre dividers in your local record shop in which COS could occupy. With the crème de la crème of Belgian jazz, prog, psych and funk within their ranks (Daniel Schell/Placebo/Marc Hollander/Alain Pierre/Brussels Art Quintet), their combined idea-to-ability ratio litters the COSography with concepts that aficionados, future fans, collaborators and critics still haven’t begun to unravel...

Get a copy of COSMIX via Bandcamp right here. Check out a few tracks below. 

COS – COSMIX

1. Oostend, Oostend

2. Postaeolian Train Robbery 

3. Flamboya

4. Nog Verder

5. Mein Maschine Ist Schön

6. Boehme 03:20

7. Halucal

8. Good Wind

9. L'Idiot Léon

10. Babel

11. Einstein, j't'aime

12. Achtung TV-Watchers

13. Amafam

14. Perhaps Next Record

That time Louis Armstrong made a movie with Billie Holiday

Back in 1947, Billie Holiday appeared alongside Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory & Barney Bigard in the film New Orleans. 

Happy Birthday Major Holley Jr.

Remembering bassist Major Holley Jr. with his outstanding work on Kenny Burrell's Midnight Blue album from 1963. 

Lydia Lunch vs. The Remains

Lydia Lunch's 8 Eyed Spy knocked out a great version of "Diddy Wah Diddy" in '79 which would've impressed The Captain. 

Robot uprising alert: Calibro 35 joined by "Sophia" for Post-Momentum EP

Italian funk crew Calibro 35 feature the unsettling humanoid voice of "Sophia" on their new EP out today via Record Kicks. 

Here's the scoop...

Record Kicks is proud to present POST-MOMENTUM, the new EP by Italian cult combo Calibro 35 released on limited edition 12” vinyl July 9th. The extended-play comes 17 months after Calibro 35's acclaimed 2020 album MOMENTUM, which – as the band stated: “represented a look at nowadays and a reflection about making music right in the time that we’re living”. A tour began right after the album release in January 2020, but was soon interrupted when the whole world suddenly stopped because of the Pandemic. POST MOMENTUM represents a re-start – the first step towards the future, picking up where they left off. 

Among the six tracks of the EP, while “Digi-Tails” and “Stars and Stripes, Chirps and Bleeps” express the unique musicianship of Calibro 35 as we have come to know over the years, “Being a Robot is Awesome" and "Artificial Black Moon" feature the participation of a guest from the world to come: Sophia, the humanoid developed by Hanson Robotics capable of interacting autonomously with everything around it. The EP opens with an alternate version of the single "Stan Lee" enriched by two heavyweights of Italian rap: Ensi and Ghemon. The EP ends with another alternate version of “Stan Lee,” this time in all its instrumental glory. 

During their thirteen-year career, Calibro 35's music has been sampled by Dr. Dre on his Compton album, Jay-Z, The Child of lov & Damon Albarn; they've shared stages worldwide with the likes of Roy Ayers, Muse, Sun Ra Arkestra, Sharon Jones, Thundercat and Headhunters and the group members have collaborated with PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish and Stewart Copeland amongst others. 

The band started back in 2007 when Grammy award winner producer Tommaso Colliva (Muse), invited some of the best musicians from the Italian indie scene – keyboardist/saxophonist/flautist Enrico Gabrielli (PJ Harvey, Mike Patton, John Parish), guitarist Massimo Martellotta (Stewart Copeland, Adrian Younge), bassist Luca Cavina (Retox, Zeus!), drummer Fabio Rondanini (John Parish, Daniel Johnston) – to record some Italian golden age soundtracks. What started as a studio b-side project evolved in a full time band able to release seven acclaimed albums. 

Get a copy of Calibro 35's Post-Momentum EP via Bandcamp right here. Listen to "Artificial Black Moon" and "Being a Robot is Awesome" featuring Sophia the robot below. 

Brian Jackson previews new Jazz Is Dead album with Adrian Younge

Legendary Gil Scott-Heron collaborator Brian Jackson releases his long overdue new album Aug 6th. Check out two tracks below.

Here's the scoop from Jazz Is Dead...

Brian Jackson JID008 is the first full album released by the great man in 20 years and it's a testament to his multifaceted talents that while there are moments throughout that hint at his game-changing history and track record, for the most part it reveals a musician whose considerable lessons learned from the past only serve to keep his eyes firmly fixed on the future. It's a masterclass in unbridled and open-minded creativity, no different from what Brian did half a century ago. The ease and comfort with which his ideas integrate with those of musicians a generation younger than him bears this out. To listen to this album is to hear a hot up-and-coming musician who also happens to be a major jazz-funk legend.

Brian Jackson's Jazz Is Dead 008 is out August 6. You can pre-order it via Bandcamp right here. Check out "Mars Walk" and "Nancy Wilson" below followed by an interview with Adrian Younge's chat with Brian Jackson. 

For Further Listening:

One For The Weekend: Fadoul

Check out "Ahl Jebda" by Morocco's Fadoul, the lead track off a new Habibi Funk compilation due August 1. 

Here's the scoop from Habibi Funk...

This compilation of songs is not meant as a historic reflection of popular music of the “Arab world.” It is a very personal selection of songs we grew to like at Habibi Funk. It is music that historically never existed as a unified musical genre. We think it’s important to make this distinction and to have the listener understand that the majority of the music on this compilation does not come from the highly famous names of the musical spectrum of North Africa and the Middle East. Instead, the final body compiled for this record consists of some – at least for us – nichey pearls and often overlooked artists; resulting in a diverse range of styles from Egyptian organ funk, disco sounds from Morocco, an example of the lively reggae scene of Libya, political songs from Lebanon, soundtrack music from Algeria, a musical union between Kenya and Oman, and much more. 

The photo chosen for the cover could be seen as an allegory for the sounds featured on the label. It depicts Algerian composer Ahmed Malek at an ice cream bar during his stay in Japan for the World Expo in Osaka, 1970. He later said that his visit to Japan and especially the manga culture left a distinctive mark on the way he created his own compositions. With this in mind, it feels as a suiting visual representation for the music on this compilation. 

Accordingly, the compilation offers a much wider range of music than just funk influenced sounds. Sure, it brings back Fadoul, who we have already dedicated a full length album to. He was the mystical Moroccan singer – influenced by the sounds of James Brown – who created his own musical vision full of energy but also still very intimate. 

Another artist we have featured before is Ahmed Malek, the grand Algerian soundtrack composer, whose music is largely connected by a distinct feeling of melancholic beauty or Hamid Al Shaeri, the Egyptian hit producer whose track “Ayonha” was the most widely appreciated track off our first compilation. But we have also learned that the compilation format can serve as an introduction to artists who we plan to dedicate full length releases to in the near future, such as Ibrahim Hesnawi. Hesnawi is the father of reggae music in Libya – a genre still widely popular in Libya – and whose presence in the country is commonly connected to the rhythmic similarities of reggae with some form of Libyan folkloric music. Nahib Alhoush is another Libyan artist, whose musical output we will spotlight in the near future. In the 1970s, he was the co-founder of Free Music, one of the first Libyan bands introducing western influences into their music. After the band stopped performing together he started an at least equally successful solo career under his own name. 

Pre-order a copy of the 2LP compilation right here.  Check out the Fadoul whumper below.