When it comes to powerhouse thrash metal bands of the 1980s and 1990s, precious few had as much influence on their peers as Sepultura. Founded by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, they came from Brazil, they took no prisoners, and they went on to sell millions of records around the world, but they did so while allowing their music to evolve rather than growing stagnant by being afraid to step away from the sound of their proven successes. You can follow Sepultura’s musical evolution on the new box set THE ROADRUNNER ALBUMS 1985-1996, a six-CD set which follows the band through their run on Roadrunner Records and reveals the way their sound changed over the course of those 10+ years.
Afrobeat’s rise to common musical currency has been mercurial during the last 5 years as dance music producers embrace more complex Afro rhythms and original West African pioneers like Fela Kuti and Tony Allen receive their dues. Featuring new hip hop from Ty alongside seminal house beats from Masters At Work and ultra-funky original music from Nigeria and Ghana courtesy of Fela Kuti, highlife God E.T. Mensah and more. 2 CD collection of 29 tracks then hits the groove straight away with Aslhley Beadle’s ‘Afrikans On Marz’ mix of Femi Kuti’s ‘Beng Beng Beng’, next up the classic Dennis Ferrer track ‘Funu’ which then leads us to a nicely different track with Tony Allen’sAfrobeat mix of Gigi’s ‘Gudfella’. So many more I could pick out too including DJ Food ‘Dub Lion’ and Orchestre Poly-Rhythmo De Cotonou Benin’s ‘Houe Towe Houn’. Suffice to say this does the job big time.
Brownswood are delighted to present Zara McFarlane’s, Songs of an Unknown Tongue a masterful work that underlines her continuous growth as an artist. Zara’s fourth studio album pushes the boundaries of jazz adjacent music via an exploration into the folk and spiritual traditions of her ancestral motherland, Jamaica. The album is a rumination on the piecing together of black heritage, where painful and proud histories are uncovered and connected to the present.