Eric Hilton’s Babylon Central: Washington, D.C. Release Party on July 25!
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On July 27, ESL Music and Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation bring us Babylon Central, a dramatic film written and directed by Hilton himself. Here’s the synopsis:
Gonjasufi
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Photo by Alex Rapada
Gonjasufi is the name the dreadlocked, dark-eyed, Mojave Desert-dwelling Sumach Ecks assumes for his current musical incarnation. It’s more accurate to describe him as a vocalist than a singer, as the sounds that he disgorges on his debut album, A Sufi and a Killer, travel rapidly from warbling notes to gravelly wails and dry-throated cackles.
Grupo Fantasma: New Album and NYC Release Party on July 20!
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Grupo Fantasma, the ten-piece Latin orchestra best known for its blistering live sets and work with Prince, is back with its fifth album, the fiery El Existential. With horns blasting, guitars grooving, and special guests like the Meat Puppets’ Curt Kirkwood and Fania piano man Larry Harlow, El Existential is poised to top the massive success of GF’s last album, the Grammy-nominated Sonidos Gold.
Teenage Mutant
The Brazilian bassist and producer Liminha looks back on his early work with Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, and Os Mutantes
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Photo by Mario Luiz Thompson/Arquivo
Arnolpho Lima Jr., aka Liminha, is one of the multi-talented individuals responsible for shaping Brazilian music over the last forty years. Everyone in Brazil knows Liminha for his production work with Gilberto Gil—it spans about thirty years—but Mr. Lima is a versatile and influential musician in his own right. When I reach Nas Nuvens, the esteemed studio he and Gil established in the 1980s, I find that there are so many gold and platinum discs saluting Liminha’s talents that the walls of his office are not able to hold them all. And in addition to the array of instruments that seem to lurk in every corner, I was pleased to find the analog reel-to-reel that remains Liminha’s preferred method of capturing his magical productions. It is this old school sensibility, coupled with an open-mindedness and willingness to try new things, that has resulted in hits for everyone from João Gilberto and Jorge Ben to younger innovators like Ed Motta and Nação Zumbi.
Demon Fuzz
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Photo courtesy of Paddy Corea
Stylistically, Demon Fuzz’s single album, 1970’s Afreaka!, is hard to pin down. But then, I guess that’s the point. Demon Fuzz went out of their way to keep people guessing; at gigs, they’d let people assume they were a reggae band, only to launch into some African-influenced jazz/rock number. Jaws hit the floor and feet started tapping. “We were different, totally different,” says Demon Fuzz trombonist Clarance Crosdale.
