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Review: On their debut album, 2016's the Tony Allen Experiments, Naples twosome Nu Guinea re-invented tracks by the legendary Afro-beat drummer as synth-heavy chunks of deep jazz-funk and nu-Balearica. For this follow-up - their first full length entirely made up of their own compositions - the duo serves up a set of jazz-funk, disco and boogie cuts rich in both their trademark colourful analogue synthesizer sounds and live instrumentation. It's a formula that guarantees a string of memorable highlights, from the sun-kissed peak-time brilliance of "Disco Sole" and rubbery, funk-fuelled "Je Vulesse" (a killer vocal number), to the wobbly downtempo trip of "A Voce E Napule" and Mizell Brothers fizz of closer "Parev Ajare", the album's most synthesizer-heavy cut.

Notes: Control the expression inputs of your effects with Old Blood Noise's clever Ramper. Glide or step between two adjustable expression settings. A cheap and effective way to expand creative options.

Supplier's Notes:
Expression Ramper - Parameter Mover

Simplicity is the heart of innovation. This is exactly what the Expression Ramper from Old Blood Noise Endeavors offers - a super simple, yet highly innovative way to automate expression control, letting you conjure sounds you never thought possible from any pedal with an expression input. It's time to release your Inner-Ramper!

The Expression Ramper allows you to pick two expression settings and move between them, either in one motion or as a continuous LFO activated by a single footswitch. Just hook up the Expression Ramper to your expression-enabled effects pedal, simply pick your first expression setting in the A position, then your second in the B position and you're good to go.

From here, you can set Expression Ramper to move between A and B in three different ways. In TRI mode, it glides in a linear Triangle wave sweep from A to B, while in SQR mode it will make instant Square Wave jumps. Both TRI and SQR are LFO modes - you start the LFO when you hit the footswitch once, then stop it as you press the switch again. Alternatively, A<>B mode triggers a cool one-shot sweep, where every press of the footswitch jumps from one position to the other. The speed of the LFO and One-Shot movement is set via the Rate knob.

These simple and intuitive features can unlock worlds of sound. For instance, if you have Expression Ramper hooked up to a pitchshifter, you can create classic Whammy-like octave glides in one-shot mode, stretchy modulation in Triangle wave mode or hypnotic pitch sequences in Square wave mode. Got an expression-enabled phaser? Turn it into a step-filter with Expression Ramper's square wave. Or maybe an expression-enabled delay pedal? Use Expression Ramper to create swelling Feedback waves in Triangle mode or jump between two preset delay times in one-shot mode. The list goes on and on and the possibilities are basically endless.

While it should suit most effects pedals right out the box, Expression Ramper can easily be configured for different polarity or types of expression pedal simulation by using the internal jumpers. Plus, you can even change the supplied internal 50K digital socketed potentiometer and replace it with one of 10K or 100K values if needed. This enables the pedal to be specifically tailored for whatever expression-enabled devices you might have like keyboards, synths, vintage gear or more esoteric sound devices. All of this goodness is packed into a highly compact enclosure, ensuring that you can fit the Expression Ramper (or several Expression Rampers) into any setup.

Notes: Open up your signal routing options with this neat and simple pedal. Split one signal into three, run effects in parallel, mix three signals together, set up ABY routing or set levels. Versatile.

Supplier's Notes:
The Signal Blender provides a number of parallel routing solutions through its use of a pair of send/returns, primary input and output, switching, and volume control.

Signal Blender can be used as a:
Parallel effect blender
3-to-1 mixer
1-to-3 splitter
Active ABY in either direction
Volume level setter

and more.

A courtesy 9V power outlet and phase correction switches for both Sends add further versatility to this box. Clever switching allows for latching or momentary on/off action.

The Signal Blender uses standard 9V center negative power, and has a current draw of 31 mA.

Notes: Dynamic hold effects are the aim with this creative reverb pedal. Three reverb modes (tape, comb filtering and resonant bandpass filtering) can be frozen and triggered to create infinite sustaining textures.

Supplier's Notes:
Dynamics. It's the shifting ebb and flow of the tide. It's the ups and downs of life. It's witnessing night turn into day, as the sun attacks and sustains through the nightly veil, making the darkness release its gloomy grasp and decay. It's where you'll find the Old Blood Noise Endeavors Sunlight Dynamic Freeze Reverb. An envelope triggered multi-mode reverb with the ability to dynamically freeze and sustain your notes forever, seeing you create truly mesmerising sunlit soundscapes.

Building on what made OBNE's top-selling Dark Star such a stellar early-chain pad reverb, Sunlight twists it into the other dimension as a reverb pedal centred around the idea of a dynamic hold. When you play, your new notes are let through and old notes are allowed to fade away, but when you stop playing, old notes have the chance to repeat forever.

A dead simple to use interface of just two knobs controls the nature of this relationship. In addition, there are three sonic modes that highlight modulation, comb filtering and resonant bandpass filtering, each of which takes their own spin on the reverb signal. The Mix, Input and Decay controls work exactly the same across each mode, as they help control the dynamics.

Mix sets the loudness of the reverb, which goes from all dry to all wet and anywhere in between, allowing you to create everything from subtle reverberations to deep ambient textures. Now, the interplay between Input and Decay is where the real Sunlight magic starts to happen. Decay determines how long the reverb trails will sustain, which will go from quick ephemeral evaporations to infinite reverb pads. On the other hand, Input controls how much of your signal is allowed into and fed back within the reverb. At zero, no new input will be added to your reverb, but as you increase it, more signal is let through, letting you create gently evolving ambient textures or drastically changing synth-like pads.

Rate and Depth are mode-dependent controls. TAPE Mode is a modulated reverb inspired by the unexpected shifts of a tape machine wobbling. Here, Rate and Depth set the speed and intensity of the lopsided vibrato applied to the reverb signal. COMB Mode is a combination of reverb and delay. Four delay lines are placed after the reverb, and the emphasis on stacked short delays creates comb filters like a fixed flanger. Rate sets the time of all four delays, and Depth sets the feedback (or resonance) of the delay section. PASS Mode is a bandpass filter applied between two reverb paths, where a random sample-hold function sets the cutoff frequency of the bandpass. Rate sets the timing of the sample-hold and Depth sets the range of possible cutoff frequencies. If Rate is set to 0, Depth sets a fixed cutoff frequency.

But the sound shaping adventure doesn't end here. Sunlight also contains a bunch of expressive capabilities performed through the on-board ALT switch, which can be set to change control settings either momentarily or latching. It can be assigned to the Rate, Depth, Decay or Input controls or any combination of the four. You can also control them externally via an external expression pedal, the OBNE Expression Slider or even the OBNE Expression Ramper, which will open up even more creative possibilities.

Dimensions:

Product Height (cm): 5.800
Product Width (cm): 6.600
Product Depth (cm): 12.000
Product Weight (kg): 0.300

Box Height (cm): 7.800
Box Width (cm): 8.200
Box Depth (cm): 14.400
Boxed Weight (kg): 0.453

Review: The Dutch folks at Kalahari Oyster Cult sure like to serve up music that melts minds at 5 am, or they do if this new one from Olsvanger is anything to go by. It is a futuristic techno exploration with 'Grand Slamming' opening up with a mix of sleek linear drums, pulsing sonar synths and supersized hi-hats that bring the energy. 'Paranoweed' is a pure and unadulterated looper that undulates with a subtle funk and 'Bubble Toy' brings some deft sound designs and minimal synths to sci-fi effects and more sweet rolling beats. 'Quadi B' closes out and sounds like a tense and paranoid underwater search for malevolent aquatic life forms.

Notes: ***B-STOCK: Box opened, product in perfect working order***


Microphone absorber system for studio and live applications

Portable absorber/diffusor for studio and live applications
Reduces unwanted room reflections, echoes and ambient noise during vocal and instrument recordings to a minimum
Extendable table tripod
3 folding segments
Sturdy steel frame with high-density acoustic foam

Technical specifications:

Attachment system: 5/8 inch thread
Type (general stands): Microphone stand (desk)

Dimensions
Width: 21 cm
Depth: 20 cm
Height: 38 cm
Weight: 800 g

Notes: The eleventh issue of We Jazz Magazine, "Oni Puladi" for Carla Bley. 128 pages, 170 x 240 mm in size and printed on 140g Edixion paper with laminated 300g Invercote covers. All articles presented in English. Carla Bley by Stewart Smith, Gondwana Records by Debra Richards, [Ahmed] by Seymour Wright, Amirtha Kidambi by Ayana Contreras, Ruth Goller by Daryl Worthington, Abdul Wadud by Pierre Crepon / David Neil Lee, Francois Jeanneau by Bret Sjerven, Mette Henriette by Debra Richards, Nduduzo Makhathini by Rob Garratt, Discaholic column by Mats Gustafsson, We Jazz Festival 2023 photo essay by Julius Toyryla, album & live reviews, plus more.

Review: This a unique release that features a song that was released by two different bands during within the same year. The song 'Meshkalina' was by a psychedelic and prog band from Peru called Traffic Sound and then, soon after, by Latin duo Paco Zambrano and Reynaldo Murrieta under the name Paco Zambrano Y Su Combo. The latter version is more traditional and Latin while the Traffic Sound version is more psychedelic garage rock band-like. Two formidable and very different versions featured on limited splattered 7" vinyl.

Review: "I would beg listeners both animal and human to allow these beautiful landscapes I've created in collaboration with Mark Nelson to sing and speak and weep for themselves. Please. Forget about words. Just LISTEN," says Kramer of this latest exploration of sounds less familiar. Meanwhile, Nelson quotes the legendary Arthur Russell for his take on things: "If I could convince you these are words of love, the heartache would remain but the pain would be gone". The Chicago-based composer and performer certainly summarises this listening experience. There's pure bliss running through these serene ambient, almost New Age-style tracks, but within that a certain reflective sadness. Crystalline melodies refract and develop, ebb and flow, at times making pure harmonies, in other moments more atmospheric refrains. They make us long for things that were or may be, although there's still space here for taking stock and acknowledging what is.

Review: Jeff Parker - best known as the longtime guitarist for the Chicago-based quintet Tortoise, and for being part of The New Breed - is one of the many jazz innovators in the International Anthem ranks, and as a result the Chicago based label has become one of the most innovative and essential out there in recent times. His own last album was in part responsible for that and now comes a follow up full player that is made up exclusively of his own solo guitar works. The composer and multi-instrumentalist draws on his love of Coltrane here as well as experimenting lots and pursuing ideas that took him outside of his comfort zone.

Review: The Pressure Beat crew throw it back to the heyday of roots reggae here with a superb pair of tunes from 1969. One of these in original for will cost you a few quid so it's nice to have good sounding copies on fresh wax available once more. Ken Parker's A-side cut 'It's Alright' is short at under three minutes but boy does it hit a super sweet spot with his delicate falsetto vocal over rickety roots low ends and rolling, warming bass. On the flip, things get more upbeat and energetic with some raw horn work on Johnny Moore & The Cobbs's 'One Love' with its off-balance chords.

Review: Ilan Pdahtzur is as obsessive a record digger as any of his more visible peers. His particular niche is early to mid-eighties club music, and now he gets a platform to show off his skills thanks to the Spacetalk label. "Night City Life" is about music to match that exact setting - nocturnal urban metropolises with glowing neon lights shimmering in the darkness. There's a lot to love across four sides of vinyl here, from Italo disco to steamy boogie cuts and iridescent synth jams. It will make you nostalgic for a time and place you've never experienced (at least not as perfectly as this) and no doubt get plenty of dance floors on their feet.

Review: Here's a Record Store Day 2020 special that all Pink Floyd fans will want to take a look at: an etched, single-sided seven-inch single featuring a previously unreleased version of Piper at the Gates of Dawn-era favourite 'Arnold Lane'. It was recorded at The Madcaps Last Laugh concert in 2007, a tribute to band co-founder Syd Barrett. It features three Floyd members - David Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright - alongside vocalist Jon Carin, whose singing is very similar to that of Barrett, and bassist Andy Bell. It's a fairly faithful rendition all told, and one with added weight given the travails of Barrett after he left Pink Floyd in the late 1960s.

Review: Gregory Porter's beautifully buttery baritone has won him plenty of acclaim, fans, and Grammy nominations. How up to his sixth album, the jazz and soul singer is back to uplift you with his heart-felt, joyful celebrations. Of course, the whole affair is perfectly smooth and seductive, but also mighty powerful. Tracks like "Faith in Love" are string laced and upbeat songs to get a wedding crowd in a spin, "Long List Of Troubles" is a dramatic, dynamic jazz anthem and "Modern Day Apprentice" is a trend, stripped back song from, and to, the heart. This is another record that spans the ages in some style.

Review: Jessica Pratt's third solo album is a blessing from the start, with opener, "Opening Night", setting the album's tone as a sojourn through a fresh but solemn memory, like strolling through a mist swept pasture. With Pratt's unique vocal ranging tied up in a mix of space, crackle and forgotten reverie, her vocals at times sounding as if they're lost somewhere in a wireless ether. With softly played chords and delicate strumming sitting in tune with dreamy interludes and folky motifs, City Slang have arguably dropped their best record for 2019 first.

Review: On this reissue of a Mighty Two instrumental classic, Prince Far I rides the rhythmic hand dealt by 'The Deck Of Cards', making for a dazzling reminder of the collaborative synergies between dub legends Michael Williams, Joe Gibbs and Errol Thompson. Released under Gibbs' contemporary imprint, which lends posterity to his work, 'Deck Of Cards' is a shockingly well-shuffled suit (not skimping on the jokers, either), with many trademark quirks and idiosyncrasies, such as an on-beat trumpet bubble, abounding on the infectious instrumental version. Far I's vocal, which captures our immediate attention, is just as righteous and steadfast as its backbone.

Review: Prince Fatty makes a triumphant return with the Artikal Intelligence LP, recorded alongside The Supersized Band in South London. The album boasts 10 tracks spread across two sides, featuring an impressive lineup of vocalists including Cornell Campbell, Big Youth, Marcia Griffiths, Earl 16, Winston Francis, Omar, Shniece, Nina Miranda, Horseman, and Fatlip. With a stellar cast, heavy low ends you would expect and plenty of infectious energy, this album demands to be played loud and promises to captivate with its blend of reggae, soul, and inventive rhythms.

Review: Plenty of dark disco's finest practitioners come together on this new 12" on Iptamenos Discos, with Psycho Weazel serving up the original tune. They are two producers from Switzerland who mix up indie-dance, cold wave, breakbeat and EBM. Here they offer 'Mains D'Argile' featuring Curses which has sweeping, widescreen synths bring a retro feel to a stiff, kinetic beat. The wonderful Marvin & Guy offer an extended mix for extra long club fun and then it is Local Suicide who guests on 'Matra Murena' which brings a perfect mix of light and dark to stark grooves, and Rafael Cerato remixes to close out the package.

Review: Purple Disco Machine is the alias of Tino Piontek, a German DJ and producer who has become quite the staple of Aussie label Sweat It Out! in recent years. Exotica is his third album to date, and features a bunch of scorching disco numbers all delivered in his renowned style; from the infectious vocoder funk of 'At The Disko' with Lorenz Rhode, the neon-lit Italo euphoria of 'Dopamine' (feat Eyelar) as well as a collaboration with Italian deep house heroine in the form of 'Loneliness' and bonus track 'Twisted Mind' featuring Agnes.

Review: Established by the late DJ Ajax, Australian label Sweat It Out is back with a new release this week by label staple Tino Piontek aka Purple Disco Machine. Originally releasing under the aliases Stereofreak and Stereofunk, Piontek debuted on the Sydney-based label with his acclaimed Soulmatic LP back in 2017. The Dresden-based producer serves up some typically neon-lit night moves on the scorching disco inferno of 'Dopamine' that's sure to set the dancefloor alight on the A side. Over on the flip, Piontek streamlines the groove into a more functional and bass-driven affair for DJ use on the handy club dub.

Review: Billed as the official follow-up to their career defining high point And Out Come The Wolves, the fourth full-length from Los Angeles punk legends Rancid marked their only work to that point not to feature producer/engineer Brett Gurewitz (Bad Religion) in any capacity, with Tim Armstrong and Lance Frederiksen opting to handle production duties themselves. This likely is where the project's deeper embracing of reggae and ska began to seep into the compositions, with cuts 'Hoover Street' and the essential title-track 'Life Won't Wait' both being recorded in Kingston under the tutelage of several essential reggae artists such as Buju Banton, leading to the definitive outlier in the Rancid canon.

Review:  Mental Groove offshoot Music Pour La Danse knows a thing or two about tieless techno. And they don't come much more vital than the self titled 1994 debut album from Jonah Sharp (aka Spacetime Continuum) and David Moufang (aka Move D). It never quite got the props it deserved back then and has been an underrated gem ever since but this reissue should put paid to that. It is a holy meeting of lush ambient design, cavernous dub spaces, hints of glistening IDM melody and deeper than deep techno drums that leave you feeling cleansed inside and out.

Review: While their trademark sound has always been flourished with plenty of nods to the past - think jazz-funk, disco, acid jazz and boogie - Reel People's career has been forged on crafting new songs and instrumentals. For their latest album, "Retroflection", they've decided to flip the script, serving up a set of covers of classic cuts with the assistance of some notable vocalists. It's a neat twist and one that results in a string of superb revisions. Check, for example, the Mica Paris-fronted take on Alicia Meyers' "I Want To Thank You", their starry version of electrofunk staple "Don't Stop The Music" (complete with sublime Angie Stone vocal), an Incognito style take on Willie Bobo's "Always There" and a riotous, scene-stealing romp through Pleasure favourite "Joyous".

Review: Positivesource unveils a thrilling new chapter here with Berlin-based producer Regent's brilliantly eclectic new Aphid Riot EP. Having contributed several previous releases to this label, Regent's anthemic tracks have become staples in DJ sets by label founders Blue Hour and Philippa Pacho. The EP kicks off with the hypnotic 'Occult,' featuring infectious bass-lines and blissful atmospherics then 'Khmera' follows in the form of a relentless percussive anthem with nostalgic vocals. 'Aphid Riot' brings bold UK flavours and mashes up vocals, breakbeats, and classic basslines then a 'broken' version of 'Aphid Riot' brings things to a close with a more introspective take. Regent's versatility is on full show here,

Review: Much as it may surprise some, this isn't a new and wryly political band putting the climate crisis front and centre. Instead, Relatively Clean Rivers are a relatively poorly remembered band in the annals of mid-20th Century tunes, although digging a little deeper makes you realise just how much mythology and mystery surrounds this, the one album they gave to the world.

Headed up by Phil Pearlman, of The Beat of The Earth and The Electronic Hole fame, RCR takes you on a peyote-laced trip into the Californian desert to explore more experimental, dream-like ends of 1960s folk rock 'n' roll. Vivid enough to ensure you can pretty much smell the hemp, it's crucial to note this isn't just another one of those stoned hippie albums. The quality of what's on this (originally privately released) record is so good it went on to inspire the likes of Wilco.

Review: Mikkel Rev presents UTE 013, a captivating sonic journey through the realms of trance music. This four-track EP on the Norwegian label UTE. REC showcases the artist's versatility and mastery of the genre. 'Zygo' pulsates with a frenetic energy, its psychedelic trance rhythms evoking an otherworldly sci-fi ambiance. 'Tone Control' leans towards Goa trance, its alien basslines and science fiction aesthetics creating a gripping narrative. For the second side, 'Whorl' offers a more uplifting and ethereal experience, transporting listeners to vast cosmic spaces. The piece of wax concludes with 'Tension', a 90s-style German techno track that showcases Rev's ability to fuse classic elements with modern innovation. Overall, a very strong window into a current artist's views of the history of the genre.

Review: It's been a while since we last heard from former Ubiquity Records modern soul starlet Jeremy Ellis. Despite his mid-2000s success, the man with the golden tonsils has been off the radar since 2010. He's sounding as smooth and soulful as ever on this surprise return to action, lending his impeccable tones to a chunk of lilting deep house from Sandman and Riverside. Kai Alice handles remix duties on the A-side, delivering a tactile chunk of heavily electronic deep house with fluid chords and extended solos aplenty. That musical fluidity comes to the fore on the flipside KZREKchampa Club Dub, which peppers a shuffling, glassy-eyed groove with selected snippets of Ellis's brilliant vocal.