Category Archives: Reviews

Concert Review: Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe… in the presence of a strong, larger-than-life personality.

Date: March 16, 2013
Venue: BAM Cafe (Brooklyn)

Review, video and photos by Dawoud Kringle

There was high energy in the packed venue. Tension rose as the musicians drifted toward the stage, making last minute preparations. Then, after the MC spoke to the crowd introducing Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe a blues pulse drew the audience into its hypnotic undertow. The band moved toward their places, and held up the rock solid pulse the bass drum invoked.

Shelley profileThen Shelley Nichole took the stage. When Shelley takes the stage, there is nothing subtle about it. You know you’re in the presence of a strong, larger-than-life personality. Her powerful voice and indomitable presence are impossible to ignore. Working the crowd like a Baptist preacher, she deftly combines the old time streetwise vibe of a blues singer with the flamboyance of the classic R&B soul funk singers such as LaBelle, Grace Jones, etc.

Continue reading →

Concert Review: Elikeh passed the field test for producing dance energy and getting a crowd going…

Date: February 22, 2013
Venue: Drom (NY)

Review by Matt Cole

On 22 February, Washington D.C.- based multinational band Elikeh played at DROM in Alphabet City. The show was a make-up for an earlier date cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. As I had enjoyed their new CD, Between 2 Worlds, I was looking forward to hearing their live performance.

Massama Dogo (photo courtesy of Massama Dogo)

Massama Dogo (photo courtesy of Massama Dogo)

Continue reading →

Concert review: Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi mixing Iranian influences with the passionate tone of a well seasoned club musician.

Date: March 6th, 2013
Location: house concert in Bloomington, Illinois
Review by Phil

Experiencing Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi (leader of NY’s SoSaLa) perform at a small-yet-packed house show was a unique night.  Not only was the audience of roughly 30 people (half of them children) different from the usual house shows, but Sohrab’s ability to combine commentary on each song and then blast into high volume horn blowing created an intimate and entertaining evening. I was moved by his personal accounts and melodic songs that mixed Iranian influences with the passionate tone of a well seasoned club musician.

Continue reading →

CD Review: Lo’Jo creating audio world cinema…?

pArist: Lo’ Jo
Title: Cinema El Mundo
Label: World Village
Genre: French avant pop/ world

The CD begins with jungle sounds, and a poem (in French, which unfortunately, I don’t understand) by singer / keyboardist / band leader Denis Péan. This led into the second track; a soft, lilting ballad with memorable melodies, seductive backing vocals, and Péan singing / reciting his story.

Lo Jo’s latest release, Cinema el Mundo is a multi-faceted recording marking their 30 year existence as a group, and proving their creative wellspring is far form dry. Péan is joined by his longtime partner Richard Bourreau (violin / kora), Kham Meslien (bass), Baptiste Brondy (drums), and the Nid el Mourid sisters Yamina and Nadia (vocals), Cinema El Mundo guest artists include Menwar, Gan Guo, Andra Kouyate, Vincent Segal, Stephane Coutable, Ibrahim Ag Alhabib and Eyadou, Niaz Diasamidze and Robert Wyatt.

Continue reading →

CD Review: Manu Koch’s debut album

320392067-1Artist: Manu Koch
Title: Triple Life
Label: self released
Genre: genre border-crossing music

I had the pleasure of attending a live performance by Manu Koch not long ago (for which I wrote a review). The concert was amazing, and I was eagerly anticipating taking the time to listen to what he and his colleagues would come up with in the studio. The results were pleasantly unexpected.

The lovely jazz poetry of a Fender Rhodes floats out of a void. It slips like incense smoke into the framework of the bass and drums. Lush chord melodies speak softly like a lover. This dreamy dialogue surrenders to a funk beat with ornaments of clavichord, synth, and vocals. Thus begins New Year’s Labyrinth, the first track on Koch’s CD Triple Life.

Continue reading →