Mixtape x record club™️ 🤯 music selections and conversations. <br/><br/><a href="https://amarofpatel.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">amarofpatel.substack.com</a>
Moonbeam Levels
Claim This Podcastby Amar Patel
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Mixtape x record club™️ 🤯 music selections and conversations. <br/><br/><a href="https://amarofpatel.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast">amarofpatel.substack.com</a>
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Recent Episodes
May 23, 2026
A late 2000s beat tape
<p>Hello pod people,</p><p>How’s it all going? Summer is almost here in the UK, as is another political circus and a World Cup. What a time.</p><p>So … I’ve been thinking about the hip-hop instrumental and 2000s’ beat culture, in particular. The spark being Flying Lotus first album <a target="_blank" href="https://flying-lotus.com/1983-reissue/">1983</a>, which was released exactly two decades ago. That’s mad. I remember picking up the record on my first trip to NYC and thinking music would never be the same. The way I heard hip-hop would never be the same.</p><p>It’s also been 20 years since <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theringer.com/2022/02/01/music/40-best-j-dilla-beats-common-jay-dee-de-la-soul-tribe-donuts">Jay Dee/J Dilla</a> passed away, just three days after the release of his momentous mixtape <a target="_blank" href="https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2016/02/dilla-life-is-a-donut-feature">Donuts</a>.</p><p>This is more than a coincidence. For one thing, Lotus was interning at record Label <a target="_blank" href="http://stonesthrow.com/">Stones Throw</a> around the time of Dilla’s final days and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE1oM89dpBc">recalls</a> dropping off a cheque at his house. Though saddened by how frail this 32-year-old legend had become, seeing all his gear lit up and Dilla still so committed to creation galvanised the young artist to get to work.</p><p>I was a rookie reviews editor and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.behance.net/gallery/1142557/STRAIGHT-NO-CHASER">writer</a> at <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_No_Chaser_(magazine)">Straight No Chaser</a><a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_No_Chaser_(magazine)"> </a>in the 2000s, seeking connections between generations and genres. It was clear that Lotus and his contemporaries, both in LA and elsewhere, were part of a lineage. The torch was being passed. <a target="_blank" href="http://leavingrecords.com/">Leaving Records</a>’ Matthewdavid said as much in <a target="_blank" href="https://nutriot.com/archive/videos/all-ears">All Ears</a>, Gus Sutherland’s documentary about the LA scene in 2013. </p><p><p>“When [Donuts] came out, it was like a hit in the face. A call to action. We will not let this sound die.”</p></p><p>In truth, Dilla had been going ‘out there’ for several years prior – embracing synths, techno, the wildest samples and odd time signatures (check <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imakesense.org/blog/dan-charnas-pinpoints-j-dilla-unique-sense-of-rhythm">Dan Charnas’ book</a> on how he reinvented rhythm). Thinking back to Slum Village, the ’97 mix of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjBIgH64364">‘Players’</a> hit different, as did the raw dynamics of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kSY-cSUvHk">‘Raise it Up’</a>, which I used to skip on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/master/50736-Slum-Village-Fantastic-Vol-2?srsltid=AfmBOorgymKFHLsVGeoZ456sN_jrtn06GIGY5I650TGpIoHjW7ujOYdZ">Fantastic vol 2</a> in my neo/smooth era!</p><p>His debut studio album <a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/master/83014-Jay-Dee-Aka-J-Dilla-Welcome-2-Detroit?srsltid=AfmBOorgGTXQdp9MAoYTbQKpxUMCCUoGSQY_c31IYNvIQ24uvrumrb14">Welcome 2 Detroit</a> in 2001 featured the Kraftwerkian <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ8lhPNrMRE">‘Big Booty Express’</a>. Later came <a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/295645-Jay-Dee-Ruff-Draft-EP">Ruff Draft</a> and the new wave-y <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ncSt5xC8Uk">‘Nothing Like This’</a>. </p><p>Common’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1600691-Common-Electric-Circus?srsltid=AfmBOoorHXeWnMXSZA9vW0B5K2TZvXkJ9JyANGWYo-sH-dSj5hehMkxE">Electric Circus</a> bewildered many of us when it dropped in 2002. Dilla was an executive producer on that, programming and playing on several tracks. Today, it’s widely acknowledged as what it always was: an epochal vision of what hip-hop can be. <a target="_blank" href="https://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/03/common-electric-circus-feature">Chaotic</a> yet liberating.</p><p>This music was eons away from his work with the likes of <a target="_blank" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2ikQY6Iv3r0eawo7ZknWD4">A Tribe Called Quest</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://dailycampus.com/2025/02/03/no-skips-the-pharcyde-aced-the-lab-and-took-a-cab/">The Pharcyde</a>, and Soulquarian collaborations with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np21rH7Ldto&pp=ygULYmFkdSBkaWxsYSA%3D">Erykah Badu</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzOmUQjHQRY">Bilal</a>. Today, you can hear traces in releases on Lotus’ label <a target="_blank" href="http://brainfeeder.net/">Brainfeeder</a>, Leaving Records, <a target="_blank" href="http://luckyme.net/">LuckyMe</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://ghostly.com/">Ghostly</a> and many others.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://saracreativepartners.com/">Sa-Ra</a> deserve recognition for their experimentation, crashlanding with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeHTEUmxNT0">‘Glorious’</a> and freaking the beat as early as 2004 with remixes like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/361475-DJ-Mitsu-The-Beats-New-Awakening-Remixes-Part-4">this</a> for DJ Mitsu. Another pioneer is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/master/1225517-Dabrye-Selections-OneThree">Dabrye</a>, whose <a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/master/495900-Dabrye-Feat-Jay-Dee-And-Phat-Kat-Game-Over">‘Game Over’</a> had Dilla guesting on the mic and sounded like an enormous stargate smashing open.</p><p>At their best, productions from this era were more than wonky wormholes or glitchy portals. More than sub-busting, circuit-melting departures from the sparse boom-clap, boom-bap of the 90s.</p><p>Though it was thrilling to get blasted by these retro-future sonics in the club, the music that stayed with me had a more elusive quality to it, resonating far beyond the nostalgia of <a target="_blank" href="https://xlr8r.com/features/8-bit-eight-is-enough/">8-bit</a> frequencies that hooked a whole generation of avid gamers. It had nuance, intricacy and texture. It built a world to inhabit, conjured tension and release. Far more compelling than today’s immensely popular <a target="_blank" href="https://www.20k.org/episodes/lofi-girl">‘lofi beats’</a>, or “Starbuck music” as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/feb/19/musician-and-film-maker-flying-lotus-the-whole-lo-fi-beats-thing-has-become-like-starbucks-music">Lotus</a> likes to call it.</p><p>In a recent interview with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hearingthings.co/flying-lotus-breaks-down-8-perfectly-produced-records/">Hearing Things’</a> Dylan Greene, he described the boundlessness of the LA <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZJp_ixRBTU">scene</a> back then. “It felt like we had so much potential to the way we were turning beats away from just rappers and crafting a producer world. I was curious to see how far we could take it.”</p><p>“Dilla really opened up the possibilities of what could be done with samples,” he adds. “For so long, people were so fixated on getting a two or four-bar loop out of a sample, where he’d get little pieces of a thing and make it sound like it was a four-bar loop.”</p><p>Dilla set the trajectory and gave the next generation of producers confidence to take centre stage, to be the headliner. Soon, beat culture would become <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nts.live/shows/mrbeatnick/episodes/mr-beatnick-6th-october-2020">“part of the fabric of pop culture”</a> according to historian and author <a target="_blank" href="https://velocitypress.uk/product/bedroom-beats-book/">Laurent Fintoni</a>. </p><p>Did you know that Paul White <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8RLVvXzTLM">produced</a> for a young Charli XCX? Or that Bullion wrote one of my <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_G1_cZMpJM">favourite songs</a> of recent years with Carly Rae Jepsen?</p><p>Anyway, I thought it would be fun to go back – back to the future. So here is a beat tape time capsule of some of my favourite MC-free transmissions from around 2006 to 2010. The rules are simple. No MCs. No guest vocalists. No interruptions.</p><p>It’s compiled in the spirit of latter-day Dilla and where he was taking hip-hop: deep into the realms of electronic music. Though if you ask <a target="_blank" href="https://www.theskinny.co.uk/clubs/interviews/dabrye-ghostly-international-records-interview">Dabrye</a>, that’s where it’s been since the beginning.</p><p>Reach me [at]amarofpatel on IG or in the Substack comments with memories, favourites, thoughts… I’d love to know whose influence you see where in modern music.</p><p>Look out for part two, where I’ll be in conversation with one of the artists I featured.</p><p>Otherwise catch me for the usual runnings on <a target="_blank" href="https://radio.sistermidnight.org/shows/moonbeam-levels">Sister Midnight FM</a>, 26 May and 23 June from 2-4pm GMT.</p><p>Stay cool. Stay close.</p><p>And turn it up!</p><p>A</p><p>*****</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://theilleagle.bandcamp.com/track/fall-in-love"><strong>FLYING LOTUS </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://theilleagle.bandcamp.com/track/fall-in-love">– Fall in Love</a><strong> </strong>(c2006)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://flyinglotus.bandcamp.com/album/1983"><strong>FLYING LOTUS</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://flyinglotus.bandcamp.com/album/1983"> – 1983 [Brainfeeder]</a><strong> </strong>(2006) <strong>3m 20s</strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AumtbBjMg8">(FYI, FlyLo’s Dilla’s Still Here mix on Dublab in 2006)</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://dimlitesk.bandcamp.com/album/runbox-weathers"><strong>DIMLITE</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://dimlitesk.bandcamp.com/album/runbox-weathers"> – In Groups To The Hydrandd (Album Edit) [Sonar Kollektiv]</a> (2005) <strong>7m 30s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://contentlabel.bandcamp.com/album/the-softer-diagram"><strong>2TALL </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://contentlabel.bandcamp.com/album/the-softer-diagram">– Distant Shadows [The Content Label]</a> (2008) <strong>11m 50s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://hudsonmohawke.bandcamp.com/album/butter"><strong>HUDSON MOHAWKE</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://hudsonmohawke.bandcamp.com/album/butter"> – Fuse [Warp]</a> (2009) <strong>15m 30s</strong><a target="_blank" href="https://shop.luckyme.net/release/230934-hudson-mohawke-hudsons-heeters-vol-1?lang=en_GB">(Hudson’s Heeters vol 1 also very influential in the heyday of Myspace)</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://mikeslott.bandcamp.com/album/lucky-9teen"><strong>MIKE SLOTT </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://mikeslott.bandcamp.com/album/lucky-9teen">– Snow Birds (2009) [Lucky Me]</a> (2009) <strong>18m 25s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://bullion.bandcamp.com/track/are-you-the-one"><strong>BULLION </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://bullion.bandcamp.com/track/are-you-the-one">– Are You The One? [One-Handed Music]</a><strong> </strong>(2009) <strong>21m 30s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://flyinglotus.bandcamp.com/album/1983"><strong>PAUL WHITE </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://flyinglotus.bandcamp.com/album/1983">– unreleased beat</a> (c2007) <strong>24m 10s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://ninjatune.net/release/ammoncontact/one-in-an-infinity-of-ways"><strong>AMMONCONTACT </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://ninjatune.net/release/ammoncontact/one-in-an-infinity-of-ways">– Infinity of Rhythm (Instrumental) [Ninja Tune]</a> (2004) <strong>26m 30s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/14783817-Take-Forward-Motion-From-Behind-Tall-Weeds?srsltid=AfmBOorraJ6hi1xOTBYkNRcwu2FRpUYlhTWfAK8B-lKxZy0vjNWBiMcT"><strong>TAKE </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/14783817-Take-Forward-Motion-From-Behind-Tall-Weeds?srsltid=AfmBOorraJ6hi1xOTBYkNRcwu2FRpUYlhTWfAK8B-lKxZy0vjNWBiMcT">– In Every Way You Can [Poo-Bah]</a><strong> </strong>(2006) <strong>30m 30s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://bleep.com/release/27042-ras-g-and-the-afrikan-space-program-ghetto-sci-fi?lang=nl?lang=nl&srsltid=AfmBOoqE99B50WoazinYGY1-X68MwCxo44O16mJv7mW6cNv-lxu_00Mi"><strong>RAS G & THE AFRIKAN SPACE PROGRAM </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://bleep.com/release/27042-ras-g-and-the-afrikan-space-program-ghetto-sci-fi?lang=nl?lang=nl&srsltid=AfmBOoqE99B50WoazinYGY1-X68MwCxo44O16mJv7mW6cNv-lxu_00Mi">– El Saturn Day [Poobah]</a><strong> </strong>(2010) <strong>33m 15s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/726034-Ras-G-Overcast78"><strong>RAS G</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/726034-Ras-G-Overcast78"> – Power of Thought [Poobah]</a><strong> </strong>(2005) <strong>36m 00s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://knxwledge.bandcamp.com/track/knxwledge-dryice"><strong>KNXWLEDGE </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://knxwledge.bandcamp.com/track/knxwledge-dryice">– Dryice</a><strong> </strong>(2011) <strong>38m 05s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1160582-Muhsinah-DayBreak?srsltid=AfmBOopUfpuNZ2dZYhOvQ1SFK4RJZxXCLoG75ygjxJCNroC9ppEMLpdZ"><strong>MUHSINAH</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1160582-Muhsinah-DayBreak?srsltid=AfmBOopUfpuNZ2dZYhOvQ1SFK4RJZxXCLoG75ygjxJCNroC9ppEMLpdZ"> – Gogh [Rock Slinger Incorporated]</a> (2009) <strong>40m 10s</strong>(Tip: the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEHOB5yen7c">full vocal version</a> is one of my favourite songs of the era.)</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://ghostly.bandcamp.com/track/the-offbeat"><strong>FLYAMSAM </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://ghostly.bandcamp.com/track/the-offbeat">– The Offbeat [Ghostly International]</a><strong> </strong>(2009) <strong>40m 40s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/647726-Dorian-Concept-Seek-When-Is-Her?srsltid=AfmBOoqOQY3dy-MMZqVFEuETuQHt_0KB7TpU_0kcw1ai5DMql9OhE_RR"><strong>DORIAN CONCEPT </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/647726-Dorian-Concept-Seek-When-Is-Her?srsltid=AfmBOoqOQY3dy-MMZqVFEuETuQHt_0KB7TpU_0kcw1ai5DMql9OhE_RR">– Define Soft [Earstroke]</a><strong> </strong>(2006) <strong>44m 00s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.beatport.com/track/frthnghtsthtnvrhppnd/1023735?_gl=1*1d3uinz*_up*MQ..*_ga*NjYzODgyNzQwLjE3Nzg2ODg5NzQ.*_ga_GWHDKGPDMV*czE3Nzg2ODg5NzMkbzEkZzEkdDE3Nzg2OTA0NTIkajE2JGwwJGg4OTY0MzgxMzc.*_ga_R8MK3N94P6*czE3Nzg2ODg5NzMkbzEkZzAkdDE3Nzg2ODg5NzMkajYwJGwwJGgw"><strong>DAK </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.beatport.com/track/frthnghtsthtnvrhppnd/1023735?_gl=1*1d3uinz*_up*MQ..*_ga*NjYzODgyNzQwLjE3Nzg2ODg5NzQ.*_ga_GWHDKGPDMV*czE3Nzg2ODg5NzMkbzEkZzEkdDE3Nzg2OTA0NTIkajE2JGwwJGg4OTY0MzgxMzc.*_ga_R8MK3N94P6*czE3Nzg2ODg5NzMkbzEkZzAkdDE3Nzg2ODg5NzMkajYwJGwwJGgw">– Frthbnghtsthtnvrhppnd [Leaving Records]</a><strong> </strong>(2009) <strong>47m 30s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://dabrye.bandcamp.com/album/two-three-instrumentals"><strong>DABRYE </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://dabrye.bandcamp.com/album/two-three-instrumentals">– That’s What’s Up (instrumental) [Ghostly International]</a><strong> </strong>(2006) <strong>49m 50s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://markpritchard.bandcamp.com/album/when-machines-exceed-human-intelligence"><strong>HARMONIC 313</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://markpritchard.bandcamp.com/album/when-machines-exceed-human-intelligence"> – Köln [Warp]</a> (2008) <strong>53m 40s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://azymuth.bandcamp.com/track/mel-dos-dois-bicudos-harmonic-313-remix"><strong>AZYMUTH </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://azymuth.bandcamp.com/track/mel-dos-dois-bicudos-harmonic-313-remix">– Melô Dos Dois Bicudos (Harmonic 313 remix) [Far Out]</a><strong> </strong>(2007) <strong>57m 15s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://pursuitgrooves.bandcamp.com/album/fun-like-passion"><strong>PURSUIT GROOVES</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://pursuitgrooves.bandcamp.com/album/fun-like-passion"> – Healing Secrets</a> (2006) <strong>1h 01m 15s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://paulwhite.bandcamp.com/track/marshen-signals"><strong>PAUL WHITE</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://paulwhite.bandcamp.com/track/marshen-signals"> – Marshen Signals [One-Handed Music]</a> (2010) <strong>1h 04 50s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://hypedogcompilation.bandcamp.com/album/dust-off-the-nes-part-2-by-luigi-bo-87"><strong>WAAJEED</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://hypedogcompilation.bandcamp.com/album/dust-off-the-nes-part-2-by-luigi-bo-87"> – Tetris</a> (2009) <strong>1h 06m 35s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://mndsgn.bandcamp.com/album/funraiser-vol-2-skrayons"><strong>MNDSGN</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://mndsgn.bandcamp.com/album/funraiser-vol-2-skrayons"> – Trance Dance (featuring Devonwho) [Klipmode]</a><strong> </strong>(2009) <strong>1h 09m 55s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/master/103036-Various-Beat-Dimensions-Vol1?srsltid=AfmBOooqGggA20cX86mMD2LUiQ5mJ32FOxTR3_ysA282mESSx2hJ97Yu"><strong>THE BIG PAYBACK (BYRON THE AQUARIUS & ONRA</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/master/103036-Various-Beat-Dimensions-Vol1?srsltid=AfmBOooqGggA20cX86mMD2LUiQ5mJ32FOxTR3_ysA282mESSx2hJ97Yu">) – Cosmic Travelling [Rush Hour]</a><strong> </strong>(2007) <strong>1h 12m 10s</strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/6427272-The-Big-Payback-The-Big-Payback">Full project</a> / <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CbIHN9dtaaW/?hl=el">Backstory</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/2668518-Various-08Bar-Vol1?srsltid=AfmBOop_-0vqCEJRZJSuhw-ylV80-gbQGJN4cO3fGVuLocPu9FsKIxfI"><strong>KID SUBLIME</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/2668518-Various-08Bar-Vol1?srsltid=AfmBOop_-0vqCEJRZJSuhw-ylV80-gbQGJN4cO3fGVuLocPu9FsKIxfI"> – I’m Back [Rush Hour]</a> (2007) <strong>1h 17m 10s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://someothaship.bandcamp.com/album/olesi-fragmentals"><strong>GEORGIA ANN MULDROW </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://someothaship.bandcamp.com/album/olesi-fragmentals">– Frames (instrumental) [Stones Throw]</a><strong> </strong>(2006) <strong>1h 20m 45s</strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.stonesthrow.com/news/space-cadet/">(My interview with GAM for Straight No Chaser in 2006. Possibly her first cover feature.)</a></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://georgiaannemuldrow.bandcamp.com/album/vweto"><strong>GEORGIA ANN MULDROW</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://georgiaannemuldrow.bandcamp.com/album/vweto"> – Pad Control [Mello Music Group]</a> (2010) <strong>1h 22m 35s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://drwhodat.bandcamp.com/album/beat-journey"><strong>DR WHO DAT?</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://drwhodat.bandcamp.com/album/beat-journey"> – Deep Blaque [Viberian Experience]</a> (2006) <strong>1h 24m 05s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.beatport.com/release/sound-of-la-volume-1/49007?srsltid=AfmBOoro_tkUyiplrZ9nQRM3KDzZUIYF8Qvw4KIHe61Nx1R78B-zz6zF"><strong>SA-RA CREATIVE PARTNERS </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.beatport.com/release/sound-of-la-volume-1/49007?srsltid=AfmBOoro_tkUyiplrZ9nQRM3KDzZUIYF8Qvw4KIHe61Nx1R78B-zz6zF">– Timeless Continuum [Plug Research]</a><strong> </strong>(2006) <strong>1h 29m 30s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://shapeofbroadminds.bandcamp.com/album/craft-of-the-lost-art"><strong>SHAPE OF BROAD MINDS</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://shapeofbroadminds.bandcamp.com/album/craft-of-the-lost-art"> – Viberian Sun</a> [Lex] (2007) <strong>1h 31m 40s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://flyinglotus.bandcamp.com/album/cosmogramma"><strong>FLYING LOTUS</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://flyinglotus.bandcamp.com/album/cosmogramma"> – Satelllliiiiiiiiteee [Warp)</a> (2010) <strong>1h 33m 40s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://tectonicrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/tectonic-plates-vol-2"><strong>FLYING LOTUS</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://tectonicrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/tectonic-plates-vol-2"> – Glendale Galleria [Tectonic]</a> (2009) <strong>1h 37m 20s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://exitrecordsuk.bandcamp.com/album/exitlp001-blackpocket-the-album"><strong>BLACKPOCKET</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://exitrecordsuk.bandcamp.com/album/exitlp001-blackpocket-the-album"> – STA Simonez [Exit]</a><strong> </strong>(2007) <strong>1h 40m 10s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://ninjatune.net/release/beat-spacek/alone-in-da-sun?lf=60da896564b871c5ae2b85ec7dd47207"><strong>BEAT SPACEK </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://ninjatune.net/release/beat-spacek/alone-in-da-sun?lf=60da896564b871c5ae2b85ec7dd47207">– Alone in Da Sun [Ninja Tune]</a> (2007) <strong>1h 42 05s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.stonesthrow.com/store/burn-rubber-dam-funk-remix/"><strong>BARON ZEN </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.stonesthrow.com/store/burn-rubber-dam-funk-remix/">– Burn Rubber (Dam Funk remix instrumental) [Stones Throw]</a> (2007) <strong>1h 47m 50s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://tokimonsta.bandcamp.com/album/midnight-menu"><strong>TOKIMONSTA </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://tokimonsta.bandcamp.com/album/midnight-menu">– Lucid Waking [Young Art]</a> (2010) <strong>1h 52m 30s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://bullion.bandcamp.com/album/say-goodbye-to-what"><strong>BULLION </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://bullion.bandcamp.com/album/say-goodbye-to-what">– Crazy Over You [One-Handed Music]</a><strong> </strong>(2010) <strong>1h 55m 40s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.fatcityrecordings.com/site/release.php?rid=162"><strong>MR DIBIASE </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.fatcityrecordings.com/site/release.php?rid=162">– Keep On Runnin [Fat City]</a> (2010) <strong>1h 58m 20s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://ohbliv.bandcamp.com/album/rugged-tranquility"><strong>OHBLIV </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://ohbliv.bandcamp.com/album/rugged-tranquility">– Send it On Down [Thrash Flow]</a> (2009) <strong>2h 00m 45s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://droppin-science.bandcamp.com/album/beat-tape-schitt"><strong>DANNY BREAKS</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://droppin-science.bandcamp.com/album/beat-tape-schitt"> – inginging [Droppin’ Science]</a><strong> </strong>(2014) <strong>2h 4m 00s</strong></p><p></p><p><strong>^Go deeper^</strong></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/a-beat-happening/id1585327512">A Beat Happening</a> with Laurent Fintoni and Kutmah (whose <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Stl_uIK3WE">Sacred Geometry</a> was a landmark mix in 2009)</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://velocitypress.uk/product/bedroom-beats-book/">Bedroom Beats & B-Sides: Instrumental Hip-hop and Electronic Music at the Turn of the Century</a> by Laurent Fintoni</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZJp_ixRBTU">How Flying Lotus Redefined What Instrumental Hip-Hop Could Sound Like</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://nutriot.com/archive/videos/all-ears">All Ears</a>, a documentary by Gus Sutherland (dakim clip <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DRoEILjDrrB/">here</a>)</p><p>* Dublab’s <a target="_blank" href="https://vimeo.com/57032668?fl=pl&fe=ti">Secondhand Sureshots</a> featuring Ras G, Daedalus and Nobody</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDPcmYGPRKA">Beat Culture & the SP-404</a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDPcmYGPRKA"> </a>(Roland short)</p><p>* Mass Appeal: Rhythm Roulette (start with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfmK5VMnDLQ&pp=ygUbcmh5dGhtIHJvdWxldHRlIHBhdWwgd2hpdGUg0gcJCQQLAYcqIYzv">Paul White</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_lf-CbvLI">Dibiase</a>)</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekSvEly9iaI">Questlove Show</a> with Georgia Ann Muldrow</p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mixcloud.com/btsradio/">BTS Radio archive</a> (shout out to Andrew Meza)</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://amarofpatel.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">amarofpatel.substack.com</a>
April 12, 2026
Moonbeam Levels – March 2026 (extra time)
<p>Hello,</p><p>How are you feeling? As I write this little covering note, Lewisham is bathing in sunshine and the plants are about to bloom. My dog can roam in the park without his snood and I don’t have to whine (as much) about the daily clean-up, particularly those ears that swipe up all the street gunk like extra-large flannels. Finchy is a loveable rogue but he is work. </p><p>The tracksuit bottoms are about to come off – by popular demand – and the light is beginning to charge my cells. You see, this is why the changing seasons are so important. I haven’t managed to submit to the quirks of each one but I do get a buzz from seeing the back of winter! All this is to say that hope is in the air, which is a distant memory to any Tottenham fan. </p><p>The plan is to channel some of this extra energy into more spontaneous and frequent writing on here, especially given the dearth of freelance opportunities. In case you missed it, <a target="_blank" href="https://amarofpatel.substack.com/p/candle-lit">this</a> reflection on Chadwick Boseman’s play Deep Azure was a decent warm-up. As was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DWGRK-IDN_y/">this</a> trip to <a target="_blank" href="https://twotempleplace.org/exhibitions/the-weight-of-being/">The Weight of Being</a>, an exhibition that explores how mental health shapes creative expression. The painter and teacher John Wilson McCracken caught my attention. </p><p>I have another story lined up about my local area, gentrification and the importance of holding on to the best of a place. </p><p>To the music… Twice in one month? Confusing, I know. This is what happens when you are scheduled to broadcast every fourth Tuesday. What can I say? Take advantage. It’s a double-shot of a show.</p><p>I am still defiant in my commitment to making life online a little more genuine and convivial, so please write back with your favourite moments, or to share whatever good news has come your way. </p><p>Back at the end of April with a guest 🤞🏾</p><p>Want to come on? Message me. I’m very keen to speak to SE London dwellers. The artists, activists, writers, community builders and late bloomers. If you like talking about music, even better. </p><p>Stay close…</p><p>Amar</p><p>*****</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/10370436-Meshell-Ndegeocello-The-Spirit-Music-Jamia-Dance-Of-The-Infidel?srsltid=AfmBOop7yHHQZOC0fvVp3B1rID9VU5TEe4s71Y-PSISONJ3dfJ_FgaYC"><strong>MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO – Papillon [Universal Music Jazz France]</strong></a>Having completed the <a target="_blank" href="https://amarofpatel.substack.com/p/moonbeam-levels-march-2026">last show</a> featuring the tribute to the late great engineer Bob Power, I dug into more of his work and realised that not only had he helped make <a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/master/84541-MeShell-Ndeg%C3%A9Ocello-Peace-Beyond-Passion">Peace Beyond Passion</a> with Meshell Ndegeocello, he was also in the studio for jazz excursion The Spirit Music Jamia: The Dance of the Infidel in 2005. ‘Papillon’ features Kenny Garrett on soprano sax and Federico González Peña on keyboards. Spellbinding.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/extra-stars"><strong>GREGORY UHLMANN </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://intlanthem.bandcamp.com/album/extra-stars">– Imprint [International Anthem]</a><strong> 11m 40s</strong>Another month, another selection from Chicago’s International Anthem records, stewards of contemporary, forward-thinking jazz music. You may have encountered Gregory Uhlmann before as co-leader of the fiery SML, who have featured on Moonbeam Levels. Or in a trio with saxophonist Josh Johnson and bassist Sam Wilkes. His solo debut Extra Stars is full of harmonically rich and meditative compositions like ‘Imprint’, with Uhlmann trying to coax unusual sounds from stringed and other instruments. Alabaster Deplume and Anna Butterss are among the guests dropping in.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://byalexander.com/shop?id=3"><strong>BY.ALEXANDER</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://byalexander.com/shop?id=3"> – Bloom in Paris (featuring Charles Bukowski) [Blue Note]</a><strong> </strong><strong>14m 25s</strong>The music of By.Alexander, aka Alex Da Kid, passed me by for a minute. Perhaps it was the fashion dimension to the project. But then I started reading all the comments from fans on IG. All that appreciation got me curious, so I paid closer attention. He has a very particular conception of jazz that he’s not afraid to disrupt or agitate through sonic experimentation. Compositions like ‘Bloom in Paris’ (featuring infamous poet Charles Bukowski) access some netherland in the mind. Well, they do for me. The expanded edition of <a target="_blank" href="https://byalexander.bandcamp.com/album/memories-for-sale-at-66-greene-st-soho-ny-deluxe-edition">Memories For Sale…</a> is coming in April and his choice of guests says a lot about how wide open he is musically – Theo Coker, Rapsody and JD Reid. </p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.juno.co.uk/products/city-music-tokyo-second-definition-vinyl/1123656-01/"><strong>MIKIO MASUDA</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.juno.co.uk/products/city-music-tokyo-second-definition-vinyl/1123656-01/"> – Moon Stone [Nippin Columbia Japan]</a> <strong>19m 15s</strong>For his second Nippon Columbia compilation, Tokyo archivist and artist Kunimond Takiguchi turns his attention to jazz funk. Expect to hear the full spectrum, from orchestral and baroque movements to the nighttime frisson of city pop and fusion for the fleet-footed. Names such as Eri Ohno and Jiro Inagaki will be familiar to all you diggers out there. The stargazer in me can’t look past Mikio Masuda’s ‘Moon Stone’, which recalls Lonnie Liston Smith at his most seductive. Out to Portal records for putting me on to lots of Japanese gold via <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/portal___records/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/portal___records/?hl=en">Instagram</a>. Follow them for more like this.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://favoriterecordings.bandcamp.com/track/the-memory-feat-roxana"><strong>MYSTIC JUNGLE</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://favoriterecordings.bandcamp.com/track/the-memory-feat-roxana"> – The Memory (featuring Roxana) [Stix]</a><strong> 24m 00s</strong>Off <a target="_blank" href="https://favoriterecordings.bandcamp.com/album/disco-reggae-vol-6">volume six</a> of Disco Reggae, this is Periodica Records founder Mystic Jungle with Roxana doing a cover of Roy Ayers Ubiquity’s classic groove ‘The Memory’ (source LP <a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/985353-Roy-Ayers-Ubiquity-Vibrations">Vibrations</a> is tremendous, featuring genius Edwin Birdsong and bassist William Allen). I actually wanted to play a new track called <a target="_blank" href="https://www.deejay.de/MYSTIC_JUNGLE_AND_THE_VOICE_OF_ROXANA_Cant_Make_You_Out_Mountain_River_7_WHM10283_Vinyl__1229044">‘Mountain River’</a> but you’ll have to wait until May for that one to emerge on 7” from a very remote corner of Napoli.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://kjade.bandcamp.com/album/on-everything-i-love"><strong>KJADE </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://kjade.bandcamp.com/album/on-everything-i-love">– Virginia is for the Lovers</a><strong> 28m 20s</strong>I always fall for a lackadaisical flow over a thick bass groove, the artist rappin’ about how she “died three times and came back just to write this”. KJade first popped into my world through Spotify’s begrudgingly useful <a target="_blank" href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZEVXcQ9COmYvdajy">Discover Weekly</a> – ‘Sankofa’ off debut album <a target="_blank" href="https://kjade.bandcamp.com/album/the-sound-that-trees-make-2">The Sound That Trees Make</a>. On Everything I Love, she’s in a bit more of a hurry to unload feelings and indulge desires, bluntly stating on ’Virginia is for the Lovers’, “I need you to be all over me”. Oh, FYI KJade wants you to play her music in your local café. “OMG, I love it when people tell me that,” she tweeted last month. You know what to do.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://anneclark.bandcamp.com/track/poem-for-a-nuclear-romance"><strong>ANNE CLARK </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://anneclark.bandcamp.com/track/poem-for-a-nuclear-romance">– Poem for a Nuclear Romance [Dark Entries]</a> <strong>31m 40s</strong>Impending doom never felt so good. Anne Clark was a punk and poet who hooked up with Psychic TV affiliate David Harrow to make two albums: Changing Places in 1983 and Joined Up Writing the following year. From the latter, various versions of ‘Our Darkness’ comprise the bulk of this reissue, and you could imagine the early house and techno pioneers across the pond flipping out over the machine pulse and wanting some of that arpeggiated intensity in their tracks. But ‘Poem for a Nuclear Romance’ speaks to my plaintive heart in this moment.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://tiombelockhart.bandcamp.com/album/coming-forth-by-day"><strong>TIOMBÉ LOCKHART </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://tiombelockhart.bandcamp.com/album/coming-forth-by-day">– Strange Things [Mothertongue]</a><strong> 36m 20s</strong>LA-based Tiombé has been a name to check for since I discovered her on the <a target="_blank" href="https://pppubiq.bandcamp.com/album/triple-p">PPP album</a> back in the early 2000s and <a target="_blank" href="https://tiombelockhart.bandcamp.com/track/mr-johnnie-walker">this</a> rare song produced by Bilal, which you can find on her unofficial debut album, The Aquarius Years. She always glides and tip-toes gracefully over heavy beats and this dub rhythm, courtesy of frequent collaborator Georgia Ann Muldrow, is no exception. Coming Forth By Day<strong> </strong>came out last year and deserves wider attention.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.juno.co.uk/products/mukatsuku-presents-virgo-more-ambient-techno-classics-from-vinyl/1140309-01/"><strong>VIRGO</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.juno.co.uk/products/mukatsuku-presents-virgo-more-ambient-techno-classics-from-vinyl/1140309-01/"> – The Art Roots [Mukatsuku]</a> <strong>40m 00s</strong>Nick Weston from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/mukatsukurecords/">Mukatsuku Records </a>has collected four classic ambient techno tracks from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/label/19828-FORM-RECORDS?srsltid=AfmBOoqrA1x--VM-iADqIm7-gkz1WUDgj-BZOEDcv8FPbgMKYg6hcSuI">Form@ records</a> on one 12” for your pleasure. I adore music like this at the moment. It calms my mind and helps me to find a flow state. Virgo is the alias of Yasutaka Sato, who adopted the moniker from 1996 to 2004 before shelving it for 20 years. With its icicle melody and robotic oscillations, ‘The Art Roots’ creates a strange yet addictive sensation. For more ambient experimental business out of Japan, listen to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/label/19828-FORM-RECORDS?srsltid=AfmBOoqrA1x--VM-iADqIm7-gkz1WUDgj-BZOEDcv8FPbgMKYg6hcSuI">this</a> NTS Special on Japan’s CD-era electronic underground.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://shyone.bandcamp.com/album/mali"><strong>SHY ONE </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://shyone.bandcamp.com/album/mali">– Nort Wess [Touching Bass]</a><strong> 44m 15s</strong>Shy’s new album is rightly getting lots of attention for its adept fusion of great Black British music from the past few decades, from soundsystem and street soul to grimey, UK funky and broken. I still remember getting very excited about early tunes such as <a target="_blank" href="https://shyone.bandcamp.com/track/waterfalls">‘Waterfalls’</a> but if you look on Bandcamp, you’ll find unreleased material from as far back as <a target="_blank" href="https://shyone.bandcamp.com/album/2010-2011">2010</a> (see below). It’s not easy to make a project feel this cohesive, particularly with such a wide array of guests dropping in (George Riley, Steve Spacek, James Massiah). But Mali is just that. <a target="_blank" href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/bass-mids-tops-an-oral-history-of-sound-system-culture-brian-david-stevens/b33dd1a512a09ca8?ean=9781907222771&next=t&next=t&affiliate=2238">Bass, Mids, Tops</a> co-author <a target="_blank" href="https://joemuggs.substack.com/p/mali-generations-of-love">Joe Muggs</a> traced the roots of this record really well in his piece about lineages of sound.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://shyone.bandcamp.com/album/2010-2011"><strong>SHY ONE</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://shyone.bandcamp.com/album/2010-2011"> – Cardiophobia</a><strong> 47m 40s</strong>A precocious offering from a collection of previously unreleased beats and bleeps made between 2010 and 2011. </p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://amadeupsound.bandcamp.com/track/stranger-than-paradise"><strong>2562 </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://amadeupsound.bandcamp.com/track/stranger-than-paradise">– Stranger Than Paradise [Tectonic]</a> <strong>51m 25s</strong>Dave Huismans (aka 2562) was one of the names I would check for regularly at the dawn of what became known as bass music around 2006-7. His releases on Tectonic quietly helped to inform the sonic architecture of this nebulous and ephemeral sound, a mutation of dubstep and techno among other influences. This scurrying monster is on an EP of previously unreleased music from that period, which Dave discovered on an old studio PC.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://frustratedfunk.bandcamp.com/album/descend-to-ascend"><strong>SECOND STOREY</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://frustratedfunk.bandcamp.com/album/descend-to-ascend"> – Viper Returns [Frustrated Funk]</a><strong> 56m 30s</strong>Off the Descend to Ascend 12 by Berlin-based UK producer Alec Storey, this is reminiscent of that golden period of Hessle Audio releases in the early 2010s. Made to fry bassbins.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://jdeangles.bandcamp.com/album/nownormal"><strong>JULION DE’ANGELO </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://jdeangles.bandcamp.com/album/nownormal">– NOWnormal [Mother Tongue]</a> <strong>1h 01m 00s</strong>Julion’s been steadily building a rep for punchy and raw productions like ‘NOWnormal’ from his debut EP, as well as dynamite edits like <a target="_blank" href="https://jdeangles.bandcamp.com/album/these-hands-lebeat-12-vinyl-only">this</a>. There aren’t enough percussive trax out there these days, or afro dubs in the vein of classic MAW. The kind that DJs could use to work the crowd over with, before reeling us in with an irresistible vocal.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://rushhourmusic.bandcamp.com/album/give-it-up"><strong>KEVAN ADRIAN</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://rushhourmusic.bandcamp.com/album/give-it-up"> – Give It Up (Grusane Dub) [Rush Hour]</a> <strong>1h 08m 10s</strong>There’s a great story behind this joyous floorfiller, made by Nigerian-born Kevan Frost while working as a session man in 90’s London. In place of pay, he would be given free time to record and the self-taught musician knocked out ‘Give It Up’ in just two days using C-Lab on his old Atari, the Akai S-1000 sampler and a few instruments. Decades later, a friend of Chicago DJ <a target="_blank" href="https://chicagoreader.com/music/mark-grusane-has-forgotten-more-about-dance-music-than-youll-ever-know/">Mark Grusane</a> found a copy in the Africa Record Centre in Brooklyn and handed it to him. Mark recognised its magic and added his touch on two road-tested versions.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.phonicarecords.com/product/view/210184?srsltid=AfmBOopuWfp0duzmP2Whr0weywphzse5rU4UbYXKhI2m720KG0pTd5qD"><strong>THOSE GUYS</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.phonicarecords.com/product/view/210184?srsltid=AfmBOopuWfp0duzmP2Whr0weywphzse5rU4UbYXKhI2m720KG0pTd5qD"> – Tonite (Coloured Girls Mix) [MCA]</a> <strong>1h 13m 20s</strong>Finally, this classic Basement Boys production from 1991 is getting a reissue. You won’t find many more boomin’ house records that play with time as boldly. ‘Tonite’ is so well constructed, from girls’ chitchat about givin’ it up in a Buick and doin’ it in the dark, to the intoxicating piano-led middle section – lights down low, sweat drippin’ off the walls of Shelter or Zanzibar – into that sensual drop-down where everyone can feel just a little bit sexier. </p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://acaciaus.bandcamp.com/album/on-a-journey-album"><strong>K-HAND</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://acaciaus.bandcamp.com/album/on-a-journey-album"> – On a Journey [Acacia]</a> <strong>1h 22m 05s</strong>Out to my old <a target="_blank" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_No_Chaser_(magazine)">Straight No Chaser</a> colleague Andy Thomas for puttin’ plenty respect on the names of Detroit’s house/techno queens in his <a target="_blank" href="https://daily.bandcamp.com/lists/women-of-detroit-house-feature">Bandcamp</a> article. Among them, <a target="_blank" href="https://ra.co/features/2823">Kelli Hand</a> was someone I’ve looked up to for many years for her staunch independence (Acacia was her label, started in 1990) and work ethic. Gone too soon. It felt right to put a little K-Hand in the air so let’s go straight to my favourite from her debut album. Jungle pressure by way of Innerzone Orchestra. As deep and heavy as anything ever released “from a well-known place” as Kelli put it, regardless of gender. Don’t ignore <a target="_blank" href="https://acaciaus.bandcamp.com/album/the-art-of-music-album">The Art of Music</a>, though, particularly ‘Messenger’ and ‘2 Low Key (12-inch mix)’ off <a target="_blank" href="https://acaciaus.bandcamp.com/album/fantasy-album?search_item_id%3D1921243536%26search_item_type%3Da%26search_match_part%3D%253F%26search_page_id%3D5277721419%26search_page_no%3D0%26search_rank%3D1">Fantasy</a>. <a target="_blank" href="https://mixmag.net/feature/k-hand-best-tracks-detroit-house-techno-first-lady">Mixmag</a> gave us their top 20 a while back, which collates her signature swing and how she could move your body in all types of ways.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="http://xylitol.bandcamp.com/album/blumenfantasie"><strong>XYLITOL</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="http://xylitol.bandcamp.com/album/blumenfantasie"> – Falling [Planet Mu]</a> <strong>1h 26m 10s</strong>Taken from Catherine Backhouse’s second album on Planet Mu as Xylitol, ‘Falling’ brings the propulsive force of jungle together with the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thevinylfactory.com/features/the-sound-of-moderne-kosmische-musik-10-artists-pick-their-favourite-tracks">Kosmische</a> drift and Mitteleuropean melancholy of influences such as minimal synth composer <a target="_blank" href="https://miaux.bandcamp.com/">Miaux</a>. It was the Sarajevo-born Belgian musician’s directness and lightness of touch that Backhouse felt a deep kinship with on this project. A paradox she sought to emulate on Blumenfantasie. Mission accomplished.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/349688-Urban-Jungle-Back-In-The-Days?srsltid=AfmBOooSXIAMipi-1DZuuvzMXBwb85STfQYF76cvgGxo34T0cgkcCpgC"><strong>URBAN JUNGLE</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/349688-Urban-Jungle-Back-In-The-Days?srsltid=AfmBOooSXIAMipi-1DZuuvzMXBwb85STfQYF76cvgGxo34T0cgkcCpgC"> – Back in the Days (Sexy Ladys Mix) [Jungle Mania]</a> <strong>1h 32m 05s</strong>I was having a jungle Sunday, as you do, and this one bubbled up to the surface. Originally made as a dubplate for the ravers in 1994 by a young Mark Ryder, using a vocal sample from Lil Louis’ <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KlutVbCsVA">‘The Luv U Wanted’</a>, this is the definition of a roller.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://milesawayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cant-you-see-sunshine?search_item_id%3D4246554773%26search_item_type%3Da%26search_match_part%3D%253F%26search_page_id%3D5277310742%26search_page_no%3D0%26search_rank%3D1"><strong>FREEDOM</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://milesawayrecords.bandcamp.com/album/cant-you-see-sunshine?search_item_id%3D4246554773%26search_item_type%3Da%26search_match_part%3D%253F%26search_page_id%3D5277310742%26search_page_no%3D0%26search_rank%3D1"> – Can’t You See [Miles Away]</a><strong> 1h 38m 35s</strong>Uplifting soul boogie bangers like ‘Can’t You See’ are truly priceless. Made by a group who met at Jackson State University in 1975, their 1977 debut single has a killer arrangement and may have been inspired by The Emotions. They would go on to wow crowds across the American South and record four albums on Malaco records.</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://amarofpatel.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">amarofpatel.substack.com</a>
March 15, 2026
Moonbeam Levels – March 2026
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://kwesmusic.bandcamp.com/album/kinds"><strong>KWES</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://kwesmusic.bandcamp.com/album/kinds"> – Orange Blue [Warp]</a>I consider one-time Lewisham resident Kwes a singer-songwriter at the root, because that’s how I first met him in 2009 with the track <a target="_blank" href="https://open.spotify.com/track/41cs8PuJgfJo2hHslrG4C8?si=22d6600a253644cf">‘Tissues’</a>. On more recent Warp releases he’s been experimenting with an ever-widening palette of noises, creating these little idiosyncratic universes of sound, tuff but sweet. ‘LGOYH’, last heard on his <a target="_blank" href="https://kwesmusic.bandcamp.com/track/lgoyh-let-go-of-your-hurt">Rye Lane Soundtrack</a> a few years ago, showed his earnest lyricism could still tug on the heartstrings in a very British way. But instrumental snippets like ‘Wave at Boats’ hinted at where he might go next – ambience with a featherlight touch. Latest album Kinds offers nine colour-coded variations on a theme, for all the synesthesiasts out there.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://duvaltimothy.bandcamp.com/album/my-fathers-shadow-original-motion-picture-soundtrack"><strong>DUVAL TIMOTHY & CJ MIRRA</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://duvaltimothy.bandcamp.com/album/my-fathers-shadow-original-motion-picture-soundtrack"> – Passing On [Carrying Colour]</a><strong> 4m 50s</strong>The kind of score that has you rushing to the cinema for full audio-visual immersion, this is Duval Timothy and CJ Mirra with ‘Passing On’ from Akinola Davis Jr’s debut feature film My Father’s Shadow, which was written by his brother Wale. I’ve yet to watch it but it’ll happen. Always interested in complex father-son stories. Aren’t they always? Set over a single day in Lagos during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, Akin’s debut follows an estranged father guiding his two young sons across the city as political unrest threatens their journey home.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.juno.co.uk/products/sulah-jordan-lady-bug-vinyl/1140481-01/"><strong>SULAH JORDAN</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.juno.co.uk/products/sulah-jordan-lady-bug-vinyl/1140481-01/"> – Leaves in the Trees [Test Pressing Arts]</a><strong> 11m 00s</strong>Happy to see that Oakland artist Sulah Jordan’s EP Lady Bug from 2023 is getting the vinyl treatment on Test Pressing’s offshoot label Test Pressing Arts. I included ‘Musee Melancolique’ in a previous edition of Moonbeam Levels after being seduced by the iridescent beauty of that debut, which transported me to some cove shaded by tropical leaves. So why not this track next?</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://fabianodonascimento.bandcamp.com/album/vila"><strong>FABIANO DO NASCIMENTO & VITTOR SANTOS ORQUESTRA</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://fabianodonascimento.bandcamp.com/album/vila"> – Trenzinho Imaginário [Far Out]</a><strong> 15m 05s</strong>VILA is the very classy collaboration between guitarist Fabiano Do Nascimento and trombonist/arranger Vittor Santos, who leads a 16-piece orchestra here to breathtaking heights. It’s inspired by the former’s upbringing in a Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood called Catete and exudes a beguiling mix of grandeur and homeliness. The swirling strings of melody, to me, represent the best of big band Brazil.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://tilayegebre.bandcamp.com/track/tizita"><strong>TILAYE GEBRE & THE DAHLAK BAND</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://tilayegebre.bandcamp.com/track/tizita"> – Tizita [Muzikawi/Mr Bongo]</a><strong> 18m 00s</strong>The product of one-take live sessions that Tilaye would conduct with his band at the Ghion Hotel in Addis Ababa in the 70s, ‘TIzita’ is the saxophonist, composer and arranger at his most winsome and romantic. The lo-fi haziness of the recording lends a little eeriness to proceedings. Check the extensive liner notes for more about his path in music.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.brentfaiyaz.com/"><strong>BRENT FAIYAZ</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.brentfaiyaz.com/"> – Butterflies [ISO Supremacy/UnitedMasters]</a><strong> 27m 35s</strong>Brent is one of those artists from the post-MySpace era that I would discover almost daily on blogs and YouTube. I think it was the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw1u5npyZHw&list=PLRjGAZ0PA0NRKC8IbDLOpGSZrx1Y-x4wL"> Black Child EP</a> that hipped me to his use of heavy atmospherics in the pleasure centre of R&B and rap. He’s now ascended to the realm of pop superstar (man’s got more than five million IG followers), making tracks such as ‘Pure Fantasy’, which, as one commenter wrote, has him “fully in his MJ bag”. Others are in disbelief that the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jul/09/one-to-watch-brent-faiyaz-wasteland"> same guy</a> who wrote ‘Wish You Well’ is now falling in love with superwomen on ‘Butterflies’, which I had to include for that audacious intro alone. There’s a whole team<a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DUypeLDEnDP/"> that produced</a> this track, but the project is executive produced by Mr Instant Vintage, Raphael Saadiq.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://charlottedaywilson.bandcamp.com/album/patchwork"><strong>CHARLOTTE DAY WILSON</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://charlottedaywilson.bandcamp.com/album/patchwork"> – Selfish [XL]</a><strong> 31m 30s</strong>Let’s stay in song mode with something from Patchwork, the latest self-produced album from Charlotte Day Wilson, who just has this undeniable gift for aching melodies. All it took was one guest spot on a<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PCauQozne0"> BADBADNOTGOOD</a> record way back to know she’s a ride-or-die artist. An old soul with a unique tone. Tempos shift across this project but the writing is rock-solid, from the refined slow jam ‘If Only’ to the doo-doodoo two-step that propels ‘Selfish’ and then evaporates.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://genagenagena.bandcamp.com/album/the-pleasure-is-yours"><strong>GENA</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://genagenagena.bandcamp.com/album/the-pleasure-is-yours"> – Douwannabwithastar [Lex]</a> <strong>35m 10s</strong>The Pleasure is Yours, the full-length remote collab between <a target="_blank" href="https://o-liv.bandcamp.com/">Liv.e</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://karriem-riggins.bandcamp.com/music">Karriem Riggins</a>, is out now. As satisfying and uplifting a collection of boomin’ ditties as you will hear this year. There are styles for miles, so it’s almost impossible to pin down. All I will add is that it’s soul-deep top to bottom and sounds like Karriem’s workin’ the kit right next to you. God Energy, Naturally Amazing, uh huh. Fun fact: the project name is inspired by Tisha Campbell’s <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/shorts/F3xR92HpVlw">character</a> in the TV show Martin. “Specifically how Martin Lawrence would say Gina [Payne’s] name”, Liv.e told Hearing Things. “That’s how these songs make me feel.”</p><p><strong>** Tribute to </strong><a target="_blank" href="http://discogs.com/artist/67370-Bob-Power?srsltid=AfmBOoqt2sn6Dq8GBQEobuzg6YurKYmzhXCBinIuFprULlqVkL5Bid_y"><strong>Bob Power</strong></a><strong> **</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/2093860-A-Tribe-Called-Quest-Rare-Unreleased-Instrumentals-Vol1"><strong>A TRIBE CALLED QUEST</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/2093860-A-Tribe-Called-Quest-Rare-Unreleased-Instrumentals-Vol1"> – Rhythm (Devoted to the Art of Moving Butts instrumental) [Not on Label]</a> <strong>38m 00s</strong>We recently lost one of the great mixing engineers of the past 30 years plus. You may not know the name but you will definitely have savoured Bob Power’s work if you were raised on a similar diet to me. First up, A Tribe Called Quest’s Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders. On the back of the former, he’s given the nickname “LOCKED”. No doubt, a nod to his powers of precision, focus and the ability to get sh*t with finesse.</p><p>Then there was De La Soul’s Bulhoone Mindstate and De La Soul is Dead, The Roots’ Illadelph Half Life and Things Fall Apart, Baduizm, Brown Sugar, Dee-lite, Meshell Ndegeocello’s Comfort Woman and Peace Beyond Passion, Common’s Like Water For Chocolate, Ozomatli’s Embrace The Chaos, India Arie’s Acoustic Soul…</p><p>His mastery of dynamic range, pitch, timbre, clarity and frequency balance ensured the artist’s sonic vision was coming through just as clearly as their musical one. And he also knew when to get out of the way. Let’s hear from man himself and then run through a few underappreciated moments of his greatness. Plug in your best phones or speakers and listen closely.</p><p>For more on Bob, check <a target="_blank" href="https://tapeop.com/interviews/60/bob-power">this</a> interview where he gives a very telling anecdote about recording Chaka Khan. Chip Fu, who worked with Bob on Fu-schnickens’s first Jive album, breaks down what made him so good in the studio <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVdcQc5DMxu/">here</a>.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/master/45947-A-Tribe-Called-Quest-Midnight-Marauders?srsltid=AfmBOopcJH7Aim4CABee-FfTfUuZabV_s9mFsXR5cJi1JKutLmH_7ZD0"><strong>A TRIBE CALLED QUEST</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/master/45947-A-Tribe-Called-Quest-Midnight-Marauders?srsltid=AfmBOopcJH7Aim4CABee-FfTfUuZabV_s9mFsXR5cJi1JKutLmH_7ZD0"> – The Chase Pt 2 [Jive]</a><strong> 42m 40s</strong>“Bob Power, you there? Adjust the bass and treble, make my s**t sound clear!”</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/636229-A-Tribe-Called-Quest-The-Jam-EP"><strong>A TRIBE CALLED QUEST</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/636229-A-Tribe-Called-Quest-The-Jam-EP"> – Same Ol’ Thing [Jive]</a><strong> 46m 01s</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/14815787-The-Roots-Do-You-Want-More?srsltid=AfmBOoqLNGGwIPdzYH9aCcOFMpPtF4fDkgd3w0k9gP5aJjtKxr0Rwse8"><strong>THE ROOTS</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/14815787-The-Roots-Do-You-Want-More?srsltid=AfmBOoqLNGGwIPdzYH9aCcOFMpPtF4fDkgd3w0k9gP5aJjtKxr0Rwse8"> – Distortion to Static [Geffen]</a> <strong>50m 05s</strong>“Redder than pork, comin’ to New York to mix, It’s Bob Power with the snares and kicks to fix.”</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1810134-Meshell-Ndegeocello-Comfort-Woman"><strong>MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1810134-Meshell-Ndegeocello-Comfort-Woman"> – Andromedia & The Milky Way [Maverick]</a><strong> 53m 58s</strong></p><p><strong>** tribute ends **</strong></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://strut.bandcamp.com/album/oblivion-express"><strong>BRIAN AUGER’S OBLIVION EXPRESS</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://strut.bandcamp.com/album/oblivion-express"> – Total Eclipse [Strut]</a><strong> 75m 55s</strong>It’s been a while since I’ve listened to anything Brian Auger-related. In my early loop-digging days I would stumble on<a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/9752671-Julie-Driscoll-Brian-Auger-And-The-Trinity-Indian-Rope-Man?srsltid=AfmBOorYSr-LwqjGViTYJEToLcqpMD1C5_jqYseG3SJ6fwDwnEhkG12S"> some</a> of his 60’s releases with Julie Driscoll and Trinity. In the next decade, the British organist and composer strode confidently into the age of jazz rock, forming the Oblivion Express. Strut has reissued their self-titled offering and on there is one of the group’s finest grooves (‘Total Eclipse’), which we’re gonna ride for the full 11 minutes to appreciate the rhythm section of bassist Barry Dean and drummer Robbie McIntosh. Though guitarist Jim Mullen is all up in this track, saying don’t forget about me.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://rolandbrival.bandcamp.com/album/cr-ole-gypsy"><strong>ROLAND BRIVAL</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://rolandbrival.bandcamp.com/album/cr-ole-gypsy"> – Créole Gypsy [Soundway]</a><strong> 1h 09 20s</strong>Osunlade introduced me to the resonant timbre of Roland Brival with his<a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/master/262923-Osunlade-The-Yoruba-Soul-Mixes?srsltid=AfmBOooCWWEN5mSFmvMeZpnVy1htjSuBPoghiL0n55LEGl62DGLU_Jn7"> Yoruba Soul remix</a> of ‘Sakitayo’ in 2004. The Martinique poet and painter’s Jon Lucien x Leon Thomas incantations instantly put me in a trance and hinted at a rich musical heritage. And so it was that in 1980 he made a spiritual jazz opus about his Créole identity, love and colonial injustices that became a private press obscurity. Until now…</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://hunee.bandcamp.com/album/hunee-hunch-music"><strong>HUNEE</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://hunee.bandcamp.com/album/hunee-hunch-music"> – The World [Rush Hour]</a><strong> 1h 17m 05s</strong>I think it was Rush Hour who served me this flashback to 2015 Hunee. I knew of his reputation as a marathon DJ and selector at the time, but I skipped over his album Hunch Music. Listening more than ten years after its release, there is a nagging sense of unease or introspection in tracks like ‘Bruises’ and this one, which samples June Tyson on Sun Ra’s ‘After The End of The World’, beckoning us into whatever comes next. A track for precarious times, right.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://samshackleton.bandcamp.com/album/euphoria-bound"><strong>SHACKLETON</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://samshackleton.bandcamp.com/album/euphoria-bound"> – The Dream in Fragments [AD93]</a> <strong>1h 23m 00s</strong>After dropping one of Shackleton’s many versions of Saagara in<a target="_blank" href="https://amarofpatel.substack.com/p/moonbeam-levels-february-2026"> the last show</a>, I couldn’t resist giving the trance master a little more airtime with this, ‘The Soul of Everything’, taken from AD93 album Euphoria Bound. The PR blurb for it chooses some very apt words to describe its mood … or should that be mode? Dissolution, erasure, disintegration… Yes, something is being shed or cast off in this set and it all feels necessary. To make way for renewal.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://nondi.bandcamp.com/album/nondi"><strong>NONDI</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://nondi.bandcamp.com/album/nondi"> – Tree Festival [Planet Mu]</a><strong> 1h 27m 15s</strong>Coming out of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Nondi makes these very raw but melodic rhythm trax that draw from juke, footwork and IDM among other sources. Think Aphex, Actress, Rashad… Ringing, rumbling, clattering into your ears and down the spine, it’s a full-body experience. ‘Tree Festival’ is my eargasm of choice. Check out Nondi’s first Planet Mu release<a target="_blank" href="https://nondi.bandcamp.com/album/flood-city-trax"> </a><a target="_blank" href="https://nondi.bandcamp.com/album/flood-city-trax">Flood City Trax</a> as well.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://mrbongo.bandcamp.com/album/luke-una-presents-soul-cultura-vol-3"><strong>DJ FOOD – </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://mrbongo.bandcamp.com/album/luke-una-presents-soul-cultura-vol-3">Peace (Harvey’s 30 Something Mix [Mr Bongo]</a> <strong>1h 30m 25s</strong>A standout track from Luke Una’s third volume of É Soul Cultura. A psychedelic coolout track that I haven’t heard since picking up Harvey’s<a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/46779-DJ-Harvey-Late-Night-Sessions?srsltid=AfmBOorBND27GpgN8tCBR5qIAbSkORKQQDS94kgC5hRS9csAvCyMZzlH"> </a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/46779-DJ-Harvey-Late-Night-Sessions?srsltid=AfmBOorBND27GpgN8tCBR5qIAbSkORKQQDS94kgC5hRS9csAvCyMZzlH">Late Night Sessions</a> mix years ago. Always open to some gratuitous shredding, especially when it pops up in unexpected places. Luke’s been playing some <a target="_blank" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DVgqa-3jCl9/?hl=en&img_index=1">proper parties</a> around the world recently, restoring my faith in the floor. Go dance with him.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1089188-Willie-Col%C3%B3n-Set-Fire-To-Me?srsltid=AfmBOoot2aZg_wPPYqzEFGD0XLsy5rykpOQEFKlkWDAJJ8sRI4RpFxto"><strong>WILLIE COLÓN</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/release/1089188-Willie-Col%C3%B3n-Set-Fire-To-Me?srsltid=AfmBOoot2aZg_wPPYqzEFGD0XLsy5rykpOQEFKlkWDAJJ8sRI4RpFxto"> – Set Fire To Me (Inferno Dub) [A&M]</a> <strong>1h 38m 25s</strong>Pure Afro-Cuban sounds rarely make an appearance on Moonbeam Levels. We should rectify that because I do love heavy brass sections and tuff percussion. When it comes to 70’s Nuyorican artists, the<a target="_blank" href="https://fania.com/artist/fania-all-stars/#prev"> Fania All-Stars</a> still wear the crown because watching<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5LAEYGuERo"> </a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5LAEYGuERo">Our Latin Thing</a> was my initiation. Chief among them was the late trombonist, producer and singer-songwriter Willie Colón, a fierce proponent of the Puerto Rican community, who wasn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. I could have chosen something from his Rubén Blades collaboration<a target="_blank" href="https://williecolon.bandcamp.com/album/siembra"> </a><a target="_blank" href="https://williecolon.bandcamp.com/album/siembra">Siembra</a>, the biggest salsa record of all time. Or barrio badboy groove<a target="_blank" href="https://williecolon.bandcamp.com/track/calle-luna-calle-sol-2"> ‘Calle Luna Calle Sol’</a>. But the first track I associate with him is the outlier ‘Set Fire To Me’ – an NYC Loft classic from 1986. An eyes-closed, deep-in-the-dance masterpiece.</p><p><strong>** Tribute to Ebo Taylor ** 1h 48m 15s</strong></p><p>Where to begin with someone who has been a standard bearer of Ghanaian music for more than half a century? The late<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thevinylfactory.com/features/ebo-taylor-interview"> Ebo Taylor</a> took the music of<a target="_blank" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p03183vr"> ‘King of Highlife’ ET Mensah</a> and traditional<a target="_blank" href="https://music.apple.com/cz/album/fante-folk-music-vol-1/1657920695"> Fante rhythms</a> into dynamic new territory with his jazz-informed conception of afrobeat and funk.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://music.apple.com/cz/album/fante-folk-music-vol-1/1657920695">Miles Davis and John Coltrane</a> were big influences on those horn lines that became hallmarks of his arrangements for the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/label/130154-Essiebons?searchParam=ebo+taylor&page=1"> Essiebons label</a>. But then so was the propulsive sound of James Brown who was making intense, emphatic statements in black music using the minor mode. (<a target="_blank" href="https://soundcloud.com/afropop-worldwide/hip-deep-ghana-1-ebo-taylor">This</a> Afropop Worldwide radio special on the deep funk connection in Ghana is very informative and entertaining.)</p><p>Taylor attended Eric Gilder School of Music in 60’s London, where a certain Fela Kuti, studying at <a target="_blank" href="https://felakuti.com/gb/story/1958?srsltid=AfmBOoq9VxD5BPCunhY4qQM8_TJuVhfjaBqPZDSMGtT0uuQrrHopAM5T">Trinity College</a>, would reason with him on harmony. At the same time, he would be studying<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qut5e3OfCvg"> Dvorak’s “From the New World” Symphony No 9</a> in detail. Taylor wanted to both honour the past and stride ahead, drawing inspiration from warrior songs, nursery rhymes and political events… To do it his way, like Fela insisted they should as West Africans.</p><p>As recently as 2024, he was in the studio<a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/master/3728706-Adrian-Younge-Ali-Shaheed-Muhammad-Ebo-Taylor-Jazz-Is-Dead-22"> recording</a> his 16th album with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammed.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.artdontsleep.com/news-1/treasuring-the-moments-that-matter"> This</a> tribute, published by their management company Art Don’t Sleep, paints a tender portrait of “Uncle Ebo” – a warm, humble, dignified elder who was still “commanding stages at 89”.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xwtVBQpjCE"> ‘Love & Death’</a> is foundational music and often the first pick from his catalogue. Here are some other favourites to close the show.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://ebotaylor.bandcamp.com/album/ebo-taylor-2"><strong>EBO TAYLOR</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://ebotaylor.bandcamp.com/album/ebo-taylor-2"> – Amponsah [Strut]</a> <strong>1h 49 43s</strong>I always get swept up by the brassy fanfare on this closing cut from Taylor’s self-titled debut album in 1977. A more muscular and full-blooded incarnation of highlife, bolstered by a resounding chant. I wish I knew who was in the band.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://ebotaylor.bandcamp.com/track/egya-edu"><strong>EBO TAYLOR & THE PELIKANS</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://ebotaylor.bandcamp.com/track/egya-edu"> – Egya Edu [Strut]</a><strong> 1h 56m 35s</strong>An all-too-brief collaboration with a 12-piece band from the Cape Coast region of Ghana. It’s one of the first to feature Taylor on vocals (in a mixture of English and Fante) but it’s his guitar playing that adds a little extra electricity to this number.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://strut.bandcamp.com/album/simigwa"><strong>GYEDU-BLAY AMBOLLEY </strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://strut.bandcamp.com/album/simigwa">– Fa No Dem Ara [Strut]</a><strong> 2h 03m 45s</strong>Another Essiebons classic with<a target="_blank" href="https://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/gyedu-blay-ambolley-living-the-highlife"> Ambolley</a> purveying his James Brown-inflected Simigwa sound with Taylor on co-writing and producing duties. The horn arrangements, in particular, are infectious and life-giving.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/track/odofo-nyi-akyiri-biara"><strong>EBO TAYLOR & THE SWEET BEANS</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://analogafrica.bandcamp.com/track/odofo-nyi-akyiri-biara"> – Odofo Nyi Akyiri Biara [Analog Africa]</a><strong> 2h 08m 20s</strong>Taylor was Essiebions in-house arranger and producer for several years, hooking up here with one of the label’s deadliest backing bands for a fiery 10 minutes of afro-funk. I think that’s Pat Thomas on vocals.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://ebotaylor.bandcamp.com/album/life-stories/"><strong>EBO TAYLOR</strong></a><a target="_blank" href="https://ebotaylor.bandcamp.com/album/life-stories/"> – Peace on Earth [Strut]</a><strong> 2h 18m 55s</strong>There’s something both ominous and reassuring about this simmering standout from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.discogs.com/master/431475-Ebo-Taylor-Twer-Nyame?srsltid=AfmBOoqTNGJCJob9XE4hrXJpgItnWFHfj2gXEmYVjjCWyxoXr8X4TGix">Twer Nyame</a> in 1978, with its undulating bassline and pitter-pattering percussion. Taylor meandering all over the session as the chorus repeats in come-what-may fashion, “Don’t know where we’re going…”</p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href="https://amarofpatel.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_1">amarofpatel.substack.com</a>
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