Bossa Blog

Sounds From The Ground are London’s Nick Woolfson and Elliot Morgan Jones. Their debut album, ‘Kin’ came out on Waveform in 1996. The duo’s second Waveform album, ‘Terra Firma,’ released in 2000, helped secure SFTG as a satisfying and respected UK musical force. Billboard magazine called it “consistently engaging” and like all the SFTG titles, it continues to be enthusiastically received. In 2004, Nick and Elliot returned to their roots with their third Waveform title, ‘Luminal.’ A spacious and sometimes gritty release with contributions from pedal steel guitarist BJ Cole, vocalist Rachael Calladine, Canada’s talented throat singer and Bjork contributor Tanya Tagaq Gillis, dub maestro Dillinger and up and coming UK vocalist Taz. CDBaby described Luminal as “less lounge and more fat and dirty.”

Today with over a decade of sonic seasoning under their belts, SFTG serves up more fresh sounding and widely acclaimed ambient, dub, trip hop and chilled back electronic musical styles. "High Rising" is a reflective and mesmerizing future classic and yet another elevated effort - this time more laid back, with welcomed guest contributions from long time supporter Taz as well as fellow UK recording artitst, Gaudi. Listen for some exceptional tracks, including, ‘Rotorblade,’ ‘Slate Grey,’ ‘Viper Style’ and ‘Beautiful Feeling’ featuring smooth, sensuous vocals from Taz.

Posted by Mike at 03:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Washington, DC-based trio, Thunderball, are globally renowned purveyors of sophisticated, stereophonic-thrillers, and cinematic dub. Since 1997 their productions have shifted effortlessly between the genres of drum & bass, breakbeat and downtempo, building a strong following for their signature sound. Drawing from their love of ‘60s and ‘70s soundtracks, Brazilian beats and Afro-funk rhythms, Thunderball creates multi-faceted soundscapes designed for modern spy chases and late-night encounters. With their latest full-length album, Cinescope, Thunderball return from their Fort Knox Five duties in full form. URB Magazine declares, “Thunderball are back, dripping in Eastern sitar melodies and tempting drum lines.” Cinescope features 12 vivid soundscapes that fuse Latin funk, Afro rhythms, Indian Dub and Mediterranean Soul.

With this release, Thunderball broaden their scope pushing the boundaries of their music both sonically and vocally. On Cinescope they teamed up with long time collaborator Mustafa Akbar on the jazz funk thriller, “Return of the Panther” and on the soulfully introspective, “Elevated States.” Mustafa teams up with Miss Johnna M to rock the party on the ‘60s rave-up track, “Get Up with the Get Down.” Thunderball also enlisted the talents of Thievery Corporation’s MC’s Roots and Zeebo of See-I to create the dub ragga, “Strictly Rudeboy.” And the godfather of hip hop, Afrika Bambaataa, for the electro-pop anthem, “Electric Shaka.” After many delays in releasing another album after 2001's "Scorpio Rising" Thunderball has shown that a good thing should take its sweet time.

Posted by Mike at 01:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Kieran Hebden is just one of those artists whose receptive audience is without classification. And that extends into the world of musical collegues. Four Tet has commandeered fans and collaborators as wide reaching as experimental rock bands (Radiohead), massive pop acts (Coldplay), underground hip hop producers (the late J Dilla), post-punk influenced upstarts (Bloc Party), electronic mavericks (Aphex Twin), folk chanteuses (Beth Orton & Juana Molina) and jazz legends (with Kieran's ongoing collaboration with drummer Steve Reid). The first disc of Four Tet Remixes collects remixes of artists like Madvillain, Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Beth Orton, Bloc Party, His Name Is Alive and more. The second disc flips it around as it collects remixes of Four Tet’s original work by the likes of the late Jay Dee, Manitoba, Koushik, Battles, Sa-Ra Creative Partners, Boom Bip, Percee P and more!

Posted by Mike at 11:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)