Review: It would be fair to say that Anthony Joseph is an artist of many talents. Over the years he's collaborated with a multitude of top-notch musicians and producers, performed some breathtakingly good poetry and written some damn fine books. "People of the Sun", his latest album, is another triumph. Inspired by Port of Spain's legendary annual carnival, the set sees Joseph wrap his own politically charged spoken word vocals around some joyously positive music bristling with Caribbean musical references. There are naturally nods towards calypso and soca, not to mention plenty of typically tropical instrumental flourishes (steel drums, pedal steel, chiming metallic percussion), though the influence of soul, jazz-funk and, most notably, contemporary jazz is arguably much stronger. Either way, it's a terrific
Review: Happy birthday Heavenly Sweetness! 10 years deep into their explorations, excavations and curations, French label Heavenly Sweetness look back over the decade and hand pick some of their favourite moments. With such a fine ear for timelessness and vibe, the whole collection runs with a soul and spiritual fluidity as one cohesive body of work; from the incredible-yet-so-gradual momentum of Chickenwing All Stars "Celestial Blues" to touching homages to the one and only Coltrane from both Patchworks and Byard Lancaster via slick spacebound feminist hip-hop from Sly Johnson and a stacks more, this is the type of collection you can lose entire weeks of your life to. Here's to another 10 years.
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