DJ2tee’s Top Twenty Albums 2015

As 2015 comes to a close it’s time to post DJ2tee’s Top Twenty Albums of the year. Naturally musical taste is a purely subjective thing. So if you are looking for a selection of popular albums, better stop reading now.  There is no Adele or Justin Bieber or Coldplay. Not knocking those “celebrities”, just not in my musical bag!

Hopefully, you will appreciate the music I have chosen which generally has a jazz flavour, but includes other genres. And, if you are not familiar with the artists, please check them out. Remember, this is no definitive list, I could have chosen a completely different selection, but these are some of my favourites.

I have chosen not to make comment on the individual albums, it’s best to let the music do the talking!  Lastly, the albums are listed in no particular order, they are all amazing in their own way. If you want some more information on the artist, just click on the cover picture.

1. Stretch Music – Christian Scott 

2. Choose Your Weapon – Hiatus Kaiyoti

3. The Epic – Kamasi Washington

4. Into Forever – Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra

5. Offerings – Chrenee Wade

6. The Light Years Of The Darkness – Emanative

7. The Bronx Pyramid – Carlos Henriquez

8. Search For Peace – Heads of State

9. To Pimp a Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar

10. Heartbreak Pass – Giant Sand

11. Starfire – Jagga Jazzist

12. Muriel – Sean Khan

13. Lest We Forget What We Came Here to Do – Sons of Kemet

14. The Sorcerers – The Sorcerers

15. Invocations – Nat Birchall

16. Lucky Man – Alfonso Diedda

17. III – Bixiga 70

18. Ancient Mechanisms – LV

19. Debi – Sangoma Everett Trio

20. Same As You – Polar Bear

 

 

Cosmos | DJ2tee | Mixcloud

The “cosmos” is the universe regarded as an orderly system; the opposite of chaos. The philosopher Pythagoras was probably the first to use the term cosmos to describe the order of the universe, but the term was not fully embraced until the 19th century  Prussian geographer, naturalist, explorer and polymath, Alexander von Humboldt, resurrected  it for to his study, “Kosmos”, and influenced the modern (perhaps erroneous) perception of the universe as one interacting entity.

Sometimes it’s hard to accept that there is any unity to the world we live in. Chaos, emptiness, void, chasm, abyss seems to be the defining feature of our current age. The Germans have a word Chaoskampf which roughly translated means the struggle against chaos. In myth and legend, often a hero figure is depicted as battling against the the chaos monster, a creature that takes many forms, often that of a dragon.

All this preamble, is just a way for me to suggest that in some ways music represents a struggle against chaos. Music generally imposes an order on chaos. The violinist Yehudi Menuhin puts it this way:

“Music creates order out of chaos: for rhythm imposes unanimity upon the divergent, melody imposes continuity upon the disjointed, and harmony imposes compatibility upon the incongruous.”

Although, many of these concepts tend to be quasi-religious I embrace them in a metaphorical sense. Music is my fight against chaos! For this reason alone I called my latest compilation of music on Mixcloud: “Cosmos”. My tiny struggle to impose meaning on a world that of late seems to have become dark and chaotic.

The Return of the Native

For the last couple of months I have been researching my new novel which is set in Suffolk in the nineteenth century. Consequently, the DJing malarkey has had to take a back seat. I have been totally lost in a world of country folk, agriculture and superstition. As a break from that I posted a mix called The Return of the Native, which seems to have been well received. Of course, the title is a nod to Thomas Hardy. If you like jazz colourings I hope you take a chance to check it out.

MIXCLOUD UPDATE | DJ2tee

I have been a bit lax in the last couple of months in updating this blog. Other fish to fry and all that jazz! So for anyone who is interested in my (mainly) jazz output on MIxcloud, here is a selection that you might have missed.

Eastern Blue

No particular theme with this mix. It started with a couple of tracks I liked, one by Harold Vick and the other by Stanley Cowell. If you are not familiar with these two artists, I commend you to check them out. If you like jazz you won’t be disappointed. As for the other tracks, I went for music that I felt complemented, both in tone and key. Hopefully you will agree. Special mention should go out to Kamasi Washington whose track Re Run Home is the centrepiece of this mix. It’s from his LP The Epic which is released in May 2015.

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INFINITE SPACE

This mix is for lovers of spiritual jazz.  A selection of new and old tracks guaranteed to put you in touch with your inner light.  Bookended by John Coltrane’s Love Supreme, in two modern interpretations that take differing approaches to the timeless masterpiece.  Additionally, a couple of sparkling tracks from the Northern massive of Matthew Halsall and Nat Birchall that channel Alice & John Coltrane.  Some seventies classics and, for good measure some Madlib.  So light some incense, settle on your moroccan cushion and meditate to the music.

Electric / Eclectic

At the the end of the sixties many jazz musicians wanted to become rock stars. Miles Davis with “Bitches Brew” and “Live-Evil” was one of the first to embrace the use of electronic instruments. Many others jumped on the bandwagon and distorted trumpet and saxophone became the norm. It spawned the much maligned jazz-fusion movement. This mix concentrates, for the most part, on the early experiments with electronics, before the edges were smoothed out. There’s some seriously good music on here – embrace your inner jazz-God!

Track List

Miles Davis-Gemini / Double Image
Eddie Harris-Penthology
Jean-Luc Ponty-King Kong
Joe Henderson-Gazelle
Nucleus-Echoes
Akira Ishikawa & Count Buffalos-Pygmy
Hal Galper-Point of View
Miho Kei & Jazz Eleven-Kikazaru
Wolfgang Dauner-Kabul
Donald Byrd-Estavanico
John McLaughlin-Peace One
Michael White-John Coltrane Was Here
The Soft Machine-Pigling Bland
Curtis Fuller-Maze
Don Rendell-Space Walk
Bob Downes-Walking On
Larry Coryell-Gypsy Queen

Recent Mixes | DJ2tee | Mixcloud

Last couple of month I’ve been busy trying to flog my book on Amazon, so I have neglected to update this blog. So you have probably missed some seriously interesting mixes. To rectify this error of judgement, for your musical edutainment, I list below a selection of the best.

 

 

 

 

 

DJ2tee’s Message

Marshall McLuhan famously said: “The medium is the message.” Well let me tell you the medium is jazz! This Mixcloud selection is deliberately populist, featuring some of my favourite sixties funky jazz classics. Starts quiet, then gets loud. So watch that volume knob! Oh! and any hip-hop aficionados get kudos for saying who used “Bring Down the Birds” as a sample? Not that hard really! Anyway, tap your feet, clap your hands and get down on that thing!

Masks

 

Was house-cleaning the iMac and I came across a collection of tracks I recorded in the late 1990s. Never really been available, apart from a few tracks on Soundcloud. Anyway, I decided to post it on Bandcamp. So of you are interested head on over there, or check the widget below.