I met an aspiring DJ and Graphic Designer called Trevor Jackson when we worked in Loppylugs Record Shop in Edgware together as teenagers.
We bonded over a love of rap music, particularly anything British we could get our hands on.
To celebrate that moment, a few months ago Trevor and I chose the records to go on an Eighties UK Rap mixtape. We did this live on uStream.
We went into the early 90’s also as that period was especially good for British rap, leading into hardcore and rave.
Since then I mixed everything, Trevor did the cassette inlay artwork, and we made a handful of tapes.
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Here is the first track from the new Bobby Womack album, “The Bravest
Man In The Universe”, which I co-produced with Damon Albarn at the end
of last year.
We recorded 16 songs in 3 sessions, 10 of which will be on the final album.
It didn’t take us long to make, but it felt like all of our lifetimes
of musical enthusiasm went into the record.
Everything seemed to happen naturally. At the start of the first
session, Bobby came up with the song “The Bravest Man In The Universe”
about the importance of forgiveness, which gave the album it’s title,
and we noticed Bobbys double-jointed thumbs and painted nails, which
gave the album its cover image.
There are a handful of unusual guest appearances on the album; Bobbys
mentor Sam Cook, appears on the song “DayGlo Reflection”, sampled from
an interview on YouTube; Lana Del Rey is the featured guest vocalist
on this song.
Gil Scott-Herons magical voice also shows up in sample form; an
excerpt from a monologue he delivered at a gig at The Tin Angel in
Philadelphia provides the intro to “Stupid”.
And Fatoumata Diawara is on a track called “Nothin Can Save Ya”,
singing for the first time in English.
Bobbys musical history is so spectacular, from writing the Rolling
Stones first number one hit, playing guitar for Sly Stone and Aretha
Franklin, to making some of the best soul music ever as a solo artist,
that it was hard to believe how free of ego he was, and how open to
new ideas.
But Bobby seemed to relish the opportunity to make something modern
and original, and embraced and encouraged the use of unusual sounds
and techniques.
We had a blast making this album; its a platform for one of the
greatest voices ever heard.
Trevor Jackson and I making a UK Rap Mixtape in the XL studio, Nov 7 2011
DRC Music “Hallo”
Our fixers in Kinshasa, Florent and Renauld, were deeply immersed in the musical culture of Kinshasa (they made the film “Staff Benda Bilili”), and they gave us access to the ghetto, and to the best musicians. Without them what we achieved in a week- recording a whole album from start to finish- would have taken us years.
Within 2 hours of landing in Congo-Kinshasa, we were in a club called Cabaret Sauvage in Ndjili District Number 7, recording a band called Tout Puissant Makalo.
Once we got set up in Studio La Belle Kinoise, Damon and Steve looped up a vocal sample from that recording and gave it to me, along with some synth parts Damon had overdubbed.
I started messing around with it, making a beat using the home-made kick, snare and hi-hat sounds i’d sampled that day, chopping up bits of vocal, using a sample of a local wind instrument called an M’fung to make the sound you can hear in the intro.
I wanted us to make a tuff Afro-Electronic R&B song, and I wanted Damon to sing on it. He said no, as singing wasnt part of what he was there to do, and he didnt want the project to be about him.
I persuaded him to record a guide vocal though, and we then got a local singer named Nelly Liyemge to come in; the chemistry between her and Damon was tremendous, and it naturally evolved into a duet.
One of my favourite vocalists when I was growing up was Brenda Fassie, I was in love with the song “Weekend Special” by her group Brenda And The Big Dudes.
I didnt realise when I was listening to Brenda that she was African (from Soweto in fact). Brenda Fassie passed away in 2004. Nellys voice for me echoes Brendas voice in a way thats beautiful.
The song we all made together is “Hallo”, from the album “Kinshasa One Two” by DRC Music.
Hallo (featuring Tout Puissant Mukalo and Nelly Liyemge) by DRC Music
i just got back from Kinshasa. we were there to record with the outstanding local musicians to make the album “DRC MUSIC” for Oxfam, due on Warp later this year the idea was Damon Albarns. i was there as one of six producers alongside Kwes, Actress, TEED, Jneiro Janel, Rodaidh Macdonald, and Dan The Automator making an album completely removed from your normal reality worked. it felt like we got an almost super-human amount done in a week. here is a brief clip of a track i did with Kwes called “if you wish to stay awake”, it features Serge “Lambunda” Mulambo from Kasai Tribe playing Ditumba, a sort of conga with a built in distortion unit made of lead.
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The last conversation I had with Gil Scott-Heron was on March 19 2011.
He rang me on a Saturday, the day after my birthday, I answered his call whilst browsing in Foyles bookshop in London.
We spoke for an hour. Conversation like this with GIl were a gift.
He was a father figure of sorts to me, and I learnt a huge amount of him.
Gil was not perfect in his own life. But neither is anyone else. And he judged no one.
He had a fierce intelligence, and a way with words which was untouchable; an incredible sense of humour and a gentleness and humanity that was unique to him.
Gil shunned all the trappings of fame and success. He could have had all those things. But he was greater than that.
He seemed wholly uninterested in money.
To my knowledge he never accepted an award. He always wanted everyone else to receive credit for their work.
He is the only artist I’ve ever worked with who requested that the studio engineers photo be given equal prominence to his own on his website.
(Lawson White, who engineered “I’m New Here”, shared many amazing moments with me and Gil.)
Gil meant a massive amount to me, as he did to so many people.
His talent was immense. He was a a master lyricist, singer, orator, and keyboard player.
His spirit was immense. He channeled something that people derived huge benefit from.
He was incredibly generous in how he dealt with me, encouraging me to write and
produce with him and rediscover my own creativity through him.
He never questioned my ability to do these things, even when i did.
I have shared some of the best experiences of my life with Gil, and I feel so priveleged to have known him.
In that last conversation we had, he advised me not to change who I was just because I had the opportunity to.
With that I spent the rest of the day vinyl shopping.
Rest In Peace Gil
UK pirate radio music to me is one big genre: rave/ jungle/ garage/ grime/ dubstep & beyond. Sound system music that evolved from reggae and soul. Bass music.
I made a mixtape called “Fuck The Legal Stations” (after the 1990 Rum n Black song on the Shut Up and Dance label) containing my personal favourite UK Pirate Radio tunes, ‘90 to now. I did the mix live at home off vinyl and CD. I gave the original tape away. Then we copied up a few more and sold them at the Independent Record Label Market
The title is historical really; when Rum & Black made that song, you’d never hear any underground music on legal stations. Now a lot of ex-pirate DJ’s are on legal stations, and in the UK at least, underground music gets represented. But you still cant beat tuning into illegal pirate radio.
download: “Fuck The Legal Stations” - mixed by richardXL
tracklisting…
here’s me and gilles nattering and playing tunes
download: gilles peterson’s worldwide, 25th May 2011