Twelve years is a long time to wait for any artist, let alone one of the most gifted artists of his generation. How many times in the intervening years had it been reported that he was back in the studio, that he was working on new material and that it was sounding great, only for that hope to be dashed? Many fans had stopped holding their breath. So too had his record label and even his musical sparring partners like The Roots drummer Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson and Grammy-winning Raphael Saadiq, who would visit a reclusive D’Angelo in his house in Richmond, VA. It seemed this musical genius might never get over his ‘Prince of Denmark phase’, as Saul Williams once described it.

Naturally, when tickets for the London show did go on sale, they were all snapped up in a matter of hours. If he didn’t show  – it seemed a distinct possibility – people could always get their money back. But if he did show, would we be treated to the same D’Angelo who exited stage right in 2000, on the back of his magnum opus, Voodoo? That was the question on everyone’s lips. That and, of course, what he looked like these days. It was public knowledge that he’d been struggling with his demons. When that infamous mug shot circulated on the web in 2005 following his arrest for a series of minor offences, it was difficult to believe this was the same man whose live shows were often drowned out in the noise of screaming female fans.

So just which D’Angelo had turned up for his Brixton Academy appearance? At first it was impossible to tell since his show began in a thick fog of red lights. The music struck up. Pino Palladino on bass, walking a groove. Rimshots clattering off the snare drum. ‘Playa, Playa’, the hook, sung in four-parts by the backing vocalists. And that voice, his voice, barely audible above the thick stew of sounds. When the red mist did clear, and the spot lights dropped down from the vaulted arches, there was D’Angelo, buried in clothing, like a pirate warlord just stepped off the mothership – hat, jacket, shredded shirt, chains around his neck – stood at the microphone, guitar hanging stiffly over his shoulder.

His band, The Tesimony, cut a motley crew. The rhythm guitarist and male backing vocalists were clad in Black Panther-era berets and leather jackets, and more than once punched the air in black power salutes. To his left was Jesse Johnson of Minneapolis funk outfit The Time, on electric guitar, bringing a new compass point to the D’Angelo sound since his last tour in 2000. If during that Voodoo tour (managed by Alan Leeds, who’d organised James Brown concerts in his heyday, and Prince’s Purple Rain tour), D’Angelo brought the funk, pure and slick, a non-stop flood of energy, this new incarnation was more varied, with both light and shade, intensity and respite.

Over the course of some two and a half hours, the band’s set-up chopped and changed, as D’Angelo jumped from the front of the stage to the raised platform at the back where he serenaded the audience from behind a Yamaha organ. At other times, the whole band left the stage, only for the spotlight to fix on the keyboard player, or a solo from bassist Pino Palladino and drummer, Chris ‘Daddy’ Dave. D’Angelo has always attracted the best talent around him, and tonight was no exception. Here was a band drilled with almost military precision. At a time when the majority of black artists signed to major labels are rappers with Jesus complexes, you forget how rare it is that you get to see a band just jam.

It’s been said that D’Angelo had been struggling to find a new direction after Voodoo, which saw him come into direct conflict with his record label which didn’t have the patience for artistic awakening. When he tested out some of his new material on the audience at Brixton, it was a fuzzier, funk rock sound, owing more to Jimi, Sly Stone, Bootsy Collins, and, on tracks like ‘The Charade’ with its offkey chords, especially Prince.

His version of ‘Shit, Damn, Motherfucker’, a track off his debut album Brown Sugar, was perhaps most indicative of the change from D’Angelo of old. The song is a vaudeville tale about a man finding someone in bed with his wife. When he performed it in 2000, it was an 8-minute litany of fury, and the song culminated in a crime of passion. This time, though, it was more ponderous, dare we say unhinged. Could we even detect a little, deranged laugh towards the end of the track? It was as if this was a devil he knew a little better today than he did back then.

As mesmerising as the show was, it was hard to refrain from attempts to judge the spiritual well-being of the artist from the figure he cut on stage. Like so many of the greats he deservedly earns comparisons to, he’s paid the price for artistic success, and tonight we had come to judge just what cost has been.

Strangely, D’Angelo had been aware this devil’s pact, even from his childhood. Interviewed in 2000 for Swedish radio, he talked about strange dreams in which he’d receive warnings from deceased artists: “Maybe in some way or another, somebody’s trying to communicate to me, to let me know that ‘Hey I’ve made some mistakes, watch out for this so you don’t make the same mistakes.’” He then went on to talk about Sly Stone –“I see him in one instant, you know, pre-Stand album, and after There’s A Riot Going On – there’s almost two different Sly’s. It’s funny how this business, this music business, can do that, can make someone go through that transformation.”

Yet, on the basis of his comeback show, the intervening years have not diminished D’Angelo’s musical prowess one bit. He’s nothing if not an extraordinary all-rounder, and not only does he write astounding songs, he’s also blessed with a voice to melt the frostiest of hearts. When he jumped behind the organ and serenaded the audience with a medley of stone cold classics like ‘Cruisin’’ and ‘Me And Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine’, ‘Africa’, ‘Spanish Joint’, he reminded us just why he’s in a league of his own.

The biggest cry that evening was reserved for ‘Untitled (How Does It Feel?)’. It’s a favourite with the ladies, not least for that infamous video where he appears to stripped down to his birthday suit. But just before launching into the first verse, he stood up from the keyboard, and a flicker of emotion crossed his face. It’s no secret that the video inflicted deep emotional wounds on a sensitive artist in his mid-20s. Whenever he took to the stage, his music would be drowned out in a sea of screams from his legion of female fans. D’Angelo began to seriously question the motives for his fans’ adulation, and sensed the price for which success had to be bought. In that split second at Brixton, as the screams rose up from the auditorium, you imagined the thought enter his head, then disappear again as he launched into the song.

What we all wanted to know, though, was how did it feel for him? What was it like being on stage again? What was it like having 5,000 people standing there waiting for an encore, nobody moving an inch? D’Angelo must have been anticipating of this day for years. Did it live up to expectaiton? Did it disappoint? Langston Hughes’ best known poem asks the question: what happens to a dream deferred? “Maybe it sags like a heavy load? Or  does it explode?” D’Angelo has carried the weight of expectation for years, and struggled to cast it aside. But on the strength of his shows, and with an album surely to follow, this dream deferred may now well and truly explode.

To download the full audio from the show visit Funk It

Join Calibre, D-Bridge, Doc Scott, Klute, Marcus Intalex plus Lynx, Dom & Roland, and Alley Cat south of the river from 10 at night til 6 in the morn. Tickets £11, available here.

If you can’t come, don’t sweat it. The night’ll be streamed live, check here for details.

To get you in the mood, here’s a dB set from earlier in the year.

D Bridge live at A Bunch of Cuts July 2011 by wefearsilence

We Fear Silence present A Bunch Of Cuts

Saturday 17th December 2011

Cable,  33a Bermondsey Street,  London,  SE1 2EG

10pm -6am

£11 Advance Tickets £14 OTD

DJs: Calibre, D-Bridge, Doc Scott, Klute, Marcus Intalex with guests Lynx, Dom & Roland, Alley Cat

MCs: SP:MC, Justyce, DRS

Wednesday 30th November 2011 / 8.00pm La Bodeguita, London SE1

Directed by Oscar winner Leon Gast (ʻWhen We Were Kingsʼ), ʻOur Latin Thing (Nuestra Cosa)ʼ is simply the greatest salsa documentary ever made.

In the early 1970s, a group of musicians were about to take salsa music to the four corners of the globe – The Fania All-Stars. Centred around an incendiary gig at one of promoter Ralph Mercado’s fantastically popular Thursday night jams at the Cheetah in New York in August 1971, the film documents the raw Nu Yorican Latin sound at its zenith. Starring certified legends including Willie Colon, Ray Barretto and “El Cantante” Hector Lavoe and directed by Oscar-winner Leon Gast (ʻWhen We Were Kingsʼ), the footage is spliced with atmospheric street scenes on rubbish-filled stoops and crumbling bodegas in Spanish Harlem, documenting a city on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

To celebrate the filmʼs first official release on DVD by Strut Records / Fania, Shook and Strut present an exclusive London screening at La Bodeguita, a vibrant restaurant and venue in Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre, on Wednesday 30th November at 8.00pm. You can eat rice and beans and drink ʻtill your heartʼs content, just like at a block party in ʻEl Barrioʼ. And try to fight your feet from moving if you can.

OUR LATIN THING (NUESTRA COSA) + DJ Duncan Brooker (Strut)

Tickets: £5 door / £4 in advance at www.ticketweb.co.uk

www.936.fm

www.weirdworldrecordco.com/artists/peaking-lights

www.peakinglights.com

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All The Sun That Shines by Peaking Lights

OK. One more comment. Two weeks until their show at Plastic People.

]]> http://www.shook.fm/content/2011/11/peaking-lights/feed/ 0 http://www.shook.fm/content/2011/10/flying-lotus-martyn-kutmah-live-pics/ http://www.shook.fm/content/2011/10/flying-lotus-martyn-kutmah-live-pics/#comments Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:18:02 +0000 keith pettinger http://www.shook.fm/content/?p=10969

Courtesy of Timmy K, who was holding it down for us on the photographic tip last night as Kutmah, Flying Lotus and Martyn tore apart Roundhouse. Promotion kudos goes to Soundcrash who continue to smash it with multiple headliners on events like this.

No doubt be more appearing on the Phomandark blog and his Flickr account a little later on, but here’s a few highlights from the full reel. To see the complete shots or get at any hi-res, as always feel free to get in touch.

Another big looking night for East London, the collaboration once more between Streets Of Beige, Nonsense and Phonica Records on the promoters tip. Happening next Friday, the production don that is Ital aka Black Eyes aka Mi Ami aka Sex Worker will be headlining a night of some of electronic music’s finest.

The Lovers Rock label boss is unleashing his live show on the UK for the first time. Supporting on the night at the yet unannounced location in East London comes Protect-U (who’s doing an instore at Phonica the day previous) and Doldrums – both of whom are also offering up their UK live debuts. Closing off the night comes Trevor Jackson, back spinning plates having had his artwork up on the wall for the RA x Exhibition series the night before.

via Resident Advisor

Ital, Protect-U and Doldrums all make their UK live debuts with Trevor Jackson joining them for a special DJ set showcasing some of the richest North American talent of 2011.

Super limited earlybirds available. More info coming soon!

Ital (100% Silk/Lovers Rock/Mi Ami)
Protect-U (Future Times)
Doldrums (NoPainInPop)
Trevor Jackson (SoulRock Recordings)

Buy tickets from RA: http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?293112

ITAL – ITAL’S THEME teaser from 100% Silk on Vimeo.

This is the sort of night London needs more. “Want to DJ? Send me a mix and if we like it we’ll throw you on.” With the town flooded by mates of mates running nights, it’s well overdue that some experienced heads step in with a desire to pull up some fresh record spinners.

As the name probably gives away, it’s Sunday afternoons in Shoreditch that The Sunday Project goes down, at the famed Horse & Groom. Free entry and heat on decks from 5:30pm to 2am, a very nice way to close off a weekend or start the week.

Get down this weekend to check it out. Playing Xbox on a Sunday is overrated.

via Resident Advisor

THE SUNDAY PROJECT is an exciting new series of events happening every Sunday at Shoreditch’s famous ‘disco-pub’ The Horse & Groom, known for epic packed out parties, pulling in major players from across the house and disco scene including Jamie Jones, Greg Wilson, Eric Duncan, Mr. C, Kyle Hall, and most recently, Todd Terje.

Expect a colourful mix of the latest music, bringing together London’s finest new talent.

+ Free entry all night!
+ Up-and-coming DJs
+ The latest sounds from across the electronic dance music spectrum
+ Sunday Specials’ – selected shots for £2.50 / two cocktails for £10
+ 2am finish for the ‘don’t give a f*** it’s Sunday’ party animals!

Don’t miss out on this sensational Sunday showcase of new and emerging talent, bringing you the finest cuts from current electronic dance and indie. You can be sure that The Horse & Groom will be your new favourite Sunday hang out, infused with a real party spirit.

This is The Sunday Project.

http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?292950
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=289945691032001

Kid Koala’s launching his new book / soundtrack - Space Cadet – next Tuesday at a rare intimate show at Material / Red Gallery in London on Tuesday 13 September. The night will run from 7pm-11pm, featuring a three hour set of “quiet time” records from Kid Koala, as well as a performance of live original compositions.

Quiet people are invited, and there will be tea, hot chocolate and cake available. Bring something to work on; drawings, knitting, sonnets, whatever floats your creative boat. Sketchbooks and pencils provided. No dancing.

The only entry fee is a £5 donation towards materials. Video trailer below, with full press release on the fortcoming book / album under that.

via Ninjatune

“He’s the guardian robot programmed to protect the sweetest astronaut on this (or any) planet. But when she blasts off on a solo mission of outer-space adventure, he is left to wonder… What now? A tomorrow-days lullaby about finding your place in the universe.”

“Space Cadet” is a 132-page graphic novel drawn entirely on etchboards. It is accompanied by a “still picture score” of music composed and recorded by Kid Koala.

This charming story of an adventurous space cadet and her guardian robot touches on the relationship between technology and isolation, and celebrates the idea of connectivity through family and the cycles that build generations. A tomorrow-days lullaby about finding your place in the universe, the use of etchboards have given Koala’s trademark pathos-drenched tales of love and loneliness a whole new depth and beauty.

The music, meanwhile, matches this mood. Built up from the Kid’s own piano playing, which sounds like a speakeasy pianist playing Satie when the punters have staggered home, Koala has added strings, horns, marimba and subtle use of his core instrument, the turntables. The results are scintillating, a suite of music that certainly reflects the moods and themes of the book, but which bear repeated listening in their own right.

To work out the accompanying live show and gallery exhibition, Koala took part in an artist residence at MASS MoCA (Massachussetts Museum Of Contemporary Art) in December 2010. The Space Cadet Headphone Concert and Gallery took shape, an immersive concept involve live visual-making, a pop-up planetarium and so much other stuff its perhaps best explained by heading to YouTube to watch the trailer!

All in all, “Space Cadet” shows a deepening of the themes and methods which have marked out Kid Koala as a musician and artist of rare quality, one for who technique is always used in the service of emotion. Oh, and one who likes robots, too….

As if hosting and broadcasting, London’s (and the world’s?) top Tuesday night of underground music wasn’t enough. The Boiler Room’s inner circle have decided to put on a 5-a-side football tournament, with teams made up of affliated labels, radio stations and regulars. Last we heard there were a few places still to fill so if you want to play, get blagging!

Garmed out in Umbro shirts, including some dotted with Peter Saville’s multi-coloured crosses, there could be some sore heads and aching limbs following Saturday night’s gigantic Boiler Room meets Rush Hour event at Cable with Virgo Four, Rick Wilhite and BNJMN.

The afternoon-into-evening will also have a BBQ and a soundsystem, plus an after party. With the forecast rain-free it should be a fun Sunday.

For more details and their video trailer (with HudMo soundtrack) visit:   boilerroom.tv/fives

Bonus football and music action:  Forget Diamond Nights, Fog on the Tyne or even the brilliant World in Motion, football-themed music tracks don’t get much better than one of Clint Mansell’s finest PWEI moments, here’s Pop Will It Itself with Touched by the hand of Cicciolina.

CHECK: Little Dragon in the Boiler Room, July 2011.