The Yard Act

The Overload is a record of great dexterity and curation, the output of a band who were raised on a 00s digital-revolution buffet of wide musical influences. Growing up on US MTV Hip-Hop, minimal 70s No-Wave and sharp-witted British indie, Yard Act benefit from this rich tapestry of musical near-history, using it to create something that feels like more than a trendy pastiche.

The world’s first ever truly complete collection of these works, curated in association with world authority on Tchaikovsky, Tchaikovsky Research, Tubingen. 10 CDs (over 11 hours) of music, which includes: 2 hours of premiere international recordings, such as Tchaikovsky’s earliest surviving work “Anastasie-valse” and some of his solo piano transcriptions of his orchestral works, including the Festival Coronation March and the 1812 Overture (complete). A piano transcription of the complete Nutcracker Ballet – The first recording on a major international label. Valentina’s most ambitious undertaking in the recording studio to date.

THIS MONTH’S COVERMOUNT CD compiles the best new music around right now, with 15 tracks from Yard Act, Curtis Harding, Anaïs Mitchell, Arooj Aftab, Working Men's Club, Binker & Moses, Imarhan, Billy Strings and more.

A quick internet search brings up some extraordinary footage of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry producing a session at the Black Ark. Taken from the film ‘Roots, Rock, Reggae’, directed by Jeremy Marre, the sequence shows Junior Murvin collaborating with members of the Congos and the Heptones on a song improvised on the spot for the film crew. Before the vocals are recorded, the Upsetters lay down the backing track. The musical director of the session is the afro-haired bass player, Boris Gardiner; unusually, it is he who counts in the band to start each take. After a long conversation with Boris a few years back, I asked Lee about his contribution to the Black Ark sound.

Charlie Parker - Intégrale Charlie Parker, Vol. 1, "Groovin' High", 1940-1945 (2010) {3CD Set Frémeaux & Associés FA1331}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 517 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 405 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 398 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1940-45, 2010 Frémeaux & Associés | FA 1331
Jazz / BeBop / Bop / Saxophone

Charlie ‘Yarbird’ Parker should need no introduction; recognised as one of the twentieth century’s true musical greats, he revolutionised saxophone playing in the forties. The recordings on these three CDs capture him in the very act, and additionally present jazz at a crucial time, when swing was shortly to give way to bebop, and when the blues could be played with a big band before r&b took over. Many of the recordings here were not made commercially - some are from radio broadcasts, some were made in concert, and a few, such as the fascinating opener, just Bird and his sax tackling ‘Honeysuckle Rose’ and ‘Body And Soul’, were never intended to be heard outside of the immediate circle.