Various Artists from Modern Urban Jazz - Works.

Various Artists from Modern Urban Jazz - Works (Modern Urban Jazz).
This time we are doing electronic music again because I am doing a various artist compilation called Works that has been done by a electronic music label called Modern Urban Jazz. I have reviewed Modern Urban Jazz stuff before and I liked it and I was pleased that they sent me this one too. One thing that is interesting is that this compilation is for Modern Urban Jazz's Birthday because they have been going for 18 years so the music off it is tracks from when they started in 1995 and loads of stuff from then up to now. I thought it was interesting it was Modern Urban Jazz's birthday because my birthday is coming up soon and I will be 70 on the 7th of January and we are going to have a big birthday party here at The Gate with two bands playing and all my friends coming. I am looking forward to the party very much though I am a bit worried about getting to 70 because it means that I might die soon but I don't suppose dying will be too bad because I won't know nothing about it because I'll be dead.
                The sort of music that Modern Urban Jazz do is very good party music because it is electronic music that they play in the dance clubs called Drum and Bass. I never been to a club playing this sort of music because I've never asked anyone to take me but I have seen these sorts of clubs that play electronic music on the television and they always look like fun.
                 The first song on Works is by someone called Icons and it is called Time Undefined and I thought this was a quite spooky one because it made me think of wolves coming out at night and then after that there was another one that sounds a bit faster but which also sounds a bit spooky and the noises in it behind the fast drums made me think of ghosts. The thing that find interesting about this music is that it has the fast drums on all of the songs but slow music on top. The drums on it sound like fast drumming like you might hear in Africa or Trinidad only electronic.
                Next is one by Paranoid Society that starts off with slow robot noises and then goes all fast and it made of an old film called Them! about giant mutant ants; I think it made me think of ants because of the way the drums are. I liked this one very much.

A poster for the film Them!

                After that there is nice one by Justice which is another name for Tony who runs MJazz and who sends me the music. I would like to thank him here for sending me it and to say that I think he makes very good, fun music.
                The next one after Tony's one is called Divers by somebody called Seeka and this one sounds a bit less electronic than the old ones and it reminded me of James Brown's music a bit, only faster and without the singing. There is a nice quiet bit in the middle of this one where the drums stop and you can hear people diving into a pool and I liked this very much indeed because I thought this was an interesting sound to put into some music.
                For all the other songs after this we listened to them in our last time doing record reviews at The Gate on the day before Christmas and me and Arlo (who helps me with the record reviews) had mince pies and coffee and turned the music up and we thought about why this label was called Modern Urban Jazz and who this music might be for. When I learnt that urban means things in cities then I was thinking about London and how busy it with all different things in it and I thought this made sense and so I thought that Modern Urban Jazz must mean funky jazz music for everyone in the city because I think that this music is not just for listening to in clubs because you could listen to it in the care if you were a couple driving around or you could listen to it at home because even though it is fast music it is still quite relaxing because of the slower instruments. I very much enjoyed listening to this record on the last record review of the year and would like to thank Tony again for sending it to me and to wish him and anybody reading this a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. I would give this record 10 out of 10.

A Christmas thumbs up to MJazz and everybody else.

Various Artists - Modernists 4 (and an interview with Tony from Modern Urban Jazz).

VariousArtists - Modernists 4 (Modern Urban Jazz)
This time I am reviewing a cassette tape that I was sent by Tony from Modern Urban Jazz who also agreed to answer some questions for me so I would like to thank him for both sending the tape and also for answering the questions. Here are the questions that I asked and the answers:

Can you tell me a bit about your label; things like how long have you been doing a record label and why did you start it? Why did you call it Modern Urban Jazz? Do you sell much or do you have to have another job as well?
I first started the record label back in 1995, so a fair few years ago now. I started it initially as somewhere that myself and other artists I was working with could release some of the more challenging or experimental drum and bass that we were making at the time, and it also let me have control of what I was releasing and how or when I wanted to release it. I called it Modern Urban Jazz because I felt the music that we were making was akin to jazz in its non-conformist and no rules approach. I like jazz and had always been influenced by it so it felt right to use the jazz name. The modern bit was all about bringing our own futuristic take on jazz, making it modern and the urban because well it's the music of the cities and towns it was being made in and listened to in. It just seemed to fit together as a name and summed up what the music was about. The releases we do on the label in the physical forms, the records, tapes, cd's etc are always in a limited amount and we release digitally as well. The label does make some money which we usually invest back into the next projects. I work in education as well and do mentoring and teaching with 11-16 year olds.

I have reviewed a few tapes recently and enjoyed them very much, why did you decide to release this on tape as well as CD and do you listen to tapes at home - if so can you tell me about them?
When you have a label, you find yourself in a position where you are able to release music that you like and you can release it in lots of different formats. Tapes really seem to be making a comeback at the moment and this really appeals to me because as a kid I used to have loads of tapes with different music on. A lot of it was hip hop and then house and the developing rave scene. I used to walk round taping stuff when i was young so I have always had a love of tape, and wanted to put one out. I still have many of those same tapes at home and lately I have been listening to a hip hop mix tape by DJ Premier from New York from the mid 90's , a tape by Bobby Womack and the Valentinos and another tape we did in collaboration with Rawtrachs, called Jump and accept the power, which we put out a while back.

Modernists 4 is a compilation with lots of different people on it, how did you find the people to go on it?  
When I put something together a project or an LP, things often happen quite organically or naturally. This LP is the 4th in the Modernists series and I wanted it to be more varied and different musically from the others we had released in the past. Rawtrachs has a track on there and I met him because he interviewed me for his fanzine, I found out he also did music so got him to do a track. I met Burlish as he had also been interviewed for the same fanzine and I also DJ-ed at his night in Birmingham and I liked the tracks he sent me. Critical resistance I met via twitter and soundcloud via the internet which is a really useful tool for artists getting in contact or being able to network with different people. We have people who we work with regularly like Jason oS from Canada, so it’s a nice blend of people we have stumbled across, established artists and my own work or collaborations like Just in from Michigan with Metro.

I'm a Londoner and like living in London because there's plenty of things to see and do so I never get bored. Where are you from and do you like it and if so why? 
I am from Luton, which is not far from you, and yes I don’t mind it, it’s my hometown and base. I don’t really get bored as I have a wife and two boys who keep me entertained in between doing music and running the label. But if I want to I can hop on a train or drive and be in London in about half an hour which is good because we do the mastering for our music in London, plus I like London as well so enjoy a visit to different record shops or pubs, to get some food or have a look about, I never get bored there either.

           I thought that was all very interesting because it is interesting to learn a little bit about how record labels work and I was surprised to learn that running a record label doesn't make you enough to live on. I think it's a shame that Tony doesn't make a living out of it but being a teacher is a good job to have, education is very important because if there were no teachers then children wouldn't be able to learn anything. I also thought it was interesting that Tony comes from Luton - I went to Luton once when I lived in Leavesden Hospital and we had a day trip to go all round the town and to the cinema where we saw Basic Instinct and I thought it was a very nice place and the people there were very friendly people.
            Another thing that I thought was interesting was how Tony talked about getting the different artists together to put on the tape. I've got a few compilations at home but they are mostly 50's and 60's rock and roll ones and not electronic music like this is, I think compilations are a good thing to have because they have a lot of different people on them and it is good to listen to different people.
             The person who starts off side one of the tape is the Burlish person that Tony talked about in his answers and his song starts off with electronic drums which sound a bit like fast marching drums and then over the top comes synthesiser bits which sound like long echoes in a tunnel and then there are bits which sound like a big bell being hit softly - I thought this was quite a relaxing tune even though the drums are quite fast and I thought it was a nice way to start the tape.
             After the Burlish tune is a tune by Icons called Time Undefined and this is another quite relaxing tune which I thought was perfect for a sunny day like today and would be nice to listen to in your garden having a drink and a sandwich and just taking it easy. I'm not in my garden though because I'm at The Gate doing record reviews but I don't mind being in here because I like doing the reviews.
              The next song on the tape Betamax Heard which is a funny name because I've not heard the word Betamax for ages because I don't think you can buy Betamax's anymore because they are out of date so I thought it was interesting that a person has called themselves after them. The music doesn't sound out of date though because it is electronic party music and it sounds modern to me because electronic music is quite new - when I was young the music at parties always used to be rock and roll because electronic music wasn't invented then. I like this song very much, it seems quite a happy and cheerful song  which I thought was another one which is perfect for the summer weather.
             Next up is a song by somebody called Rawtrachs which is another party tune with drums in it which reminded me of marching drummers and I thought of them parading down the street. I didn't think this one was as summery as the last two because  it's not as happy sounding but I still liked it a lot.
               After that tune is a song by Deep Blue and Justice and I liked this a lot too. Justice is the name that Tony who sent the tape uses when he's making music - I think he is very good at making music and have heard his music before when I reviewed a record of his before that I liked very much, this song is another one which sounds quite relaxed even though the drums are quite fast on it.
                The next song is called Cope by somebody called fume and this one I thought was great, it has a big, jazzy drumbeat and keyboard space sounds and I thought it sounded a bit like it could be the music for a space film about astronauts who go into orbit and come back and go to a jazz club; I think this would be a very good film indeed.
                 On the B-side of the tape it begins with a song by Milestone and it starts off with a lovely piano bit which goes over and over and then the drums come in and it gets very funky and different piano bits come in - I thought this was another nice relaxing tune which would be good to chill out too.
                  The next song has piano in it too but it is faster piano because this is a faster type of song. I liked this one because it had that nice Jazz singing in that just goes "ba ba baba ba" instead of having words.
                   After that song is a song by Consumer which is another one that made me think of space. It is quite a noisy one with metal clanking sounds for drums that made me think of the robot dancing that you used to see on the telly in the eighties. I used to enjoy seeing the robot dancing because it was a very different way of dancing and I also thought it was a bit funny so it was good to be reminded of it.
                  Next up is another one by Betamax heard and like his other one it another tune that would be good for a summer party maybe on a beach somewhere like Brighton or Southend - I'm going Southend this weekend but I don't think there will be any music there because I'm not going to a party there.
                 Then there is another song by Tony but this time with somebody called Metro which I thought was very good and quite spacey again and after that is the final song which is really nice because it is very mellow with a drumbeat that sounds a bit like a heartbeat and I thought this was a very nice way of ending the tape.
                    Overall I would say I enjoyed this tape a lot and I definitely think it is a good tape for the summer especially if you were going to have a party in your garden. Another reason that i liked it was because there are lots of different things to listen to on it and they are all very interesting and nice to listen to. I would give this tape 10 out of 10.

Various Artists - Piko's Yodelin' Beat Presents: Rock 'N' Roll People Vol. 2

Various Artists - Piko's Yodelin' Beat Presents: Rock 'N' Roll People Vol. 2 (Piko's Yodelin' Records)

This time I am reviewing Rock 'N' Roll People Vol.2 which is a record with a lot of people on it because it is a compilation record. The bands on it are mostly from Munich, Germany which is where Seb is from who works at The Gate and Seb is on it and so are a lot of his friends. I'm looking forward to reviewing this record very much.

          The first song on this record is by Box Codax who I have reviewed before - Box Codax are a band that has Manuela in it who comes to The Gate to help people do art, she is a very nice person and good to talk to and we all like her at The Gate. This song is not like the other songs I've heard though by Box Codax because this one doesn't have any singing on it and instead has violins and other instruments on it doing a tune which reminded me a lot of the music in Donna Summers' Hot Stuff which you can hear here:

              I don't know why the music on the Box Codax song reminds me of Hot Stuff, it just does and this is funny because it also sounds like a song from the Middle East and Hot Stuff is a disco song, I liked this one a lot.
              The next song is by a band called Smokers which is a funny name for a band - I am a heavy smoker so I like this band name; I smoke twenty cigarettes a day and I'm still around and I don't think I have cancer so I think I will carry on, I like smoking anyhow and I'm too old to give up because I'm 68. This band sound a bit like Kraftwerk who were also from Germany and who made keyboard music about trains and cars. When we were looking for Kraftwerk songs to listen to at the Gate while we were doing this review we ended up getting distracted and singing The Model instead - here is a video that my friend Francis took on his phone: 

 I liked the song by smokers because it reminded me of Kraftwerk and I like Kraftwerk.

              The next song on the record is by Mr. Vast featuring Pacífico Boy. Pacífico Boy is also sometimes called Piko Be and he is the person who got all the bands together to do this record, he also came to The Gate once to play a concert for us which was very good, I like Pico Be - I don't know who Mr. Vast is though. The song that Mr. Vast and Pico do here starts off with an instrument which sounds like a ukelele or something and then the singing starts and other instruments, It is a very good song but I didn't understand what was being sung about because the singing is in spanish (I think) but I still thought it was good.
             After this is a song called Untitled Rock 'N' Roll People but it doesn't tell you who the song is by. The song is lots of music and somebody who sounds a bit like John Lennon saying Rock 'N' Roll People Vol.2 over the top so I guess it is a bit like an advert for the record or something, which is interesting.

The inside of Cafe Montparnasse
where Pete ate snails for the first time.

              Next up is the Lunsen Trio doing a German reggae song called Babylon Must Phalle. The Lunsen Trio are Sebastian who works here at The Gate and his friends Nick and Hank. When I was doing this review Seb explained that the song is about the Pompidou Museum which is a Museum in Paris and since I was going to go to Paris I decided to see if I could go to it but unfortunately I couldn't make it which is a shame.  I did get to go on a bus tour though and I saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up at night and went to the Cafe Montparnasse and had snails for the first time - I thought the snails were very nice indeed. Back to the song though and I thought it was very nice indeed and especially liked the shouty vocals which reminded me a bit of how people sing in pubs when they are a bit drunk.
              After this song is a song by Das Weisse Pferd who are a band that I have reviewed before and liked very much and which also has Pico in it doing the singing. The song is very lovely and I liked it a lot and for some reason it reminded me of seagulls at the beach but I don't know why.

              The next song is called Gran Ganga and is by Pedro Almodóvar and Bernardo Bonezzi and it starts off with a noise like the waves at the sea-side before the music starts properly. This song is a Spanish type song and you you could imagine a flamenco dancer in a long white dress dancing to it. This song ends side one of the record and is a very good, fast tune that I liked a lot. We found a video for this song when we were looking it up to see if it was a famous Spanish song so here it is so you can see it:               

             On the other side of the record the first song by Tom Wu is a cover of the song Venus in Furs. I have heard the song Venus in Furs before because it was on an advert for Dunlop tyres, it is a very good song and I think Tom's version of it is very good indeed because he has made it sound a bit like a disco record. 

              After Venus in Furs is a song by Hans Platzgumer feat. Pacífico Boy called Pieces of our Minds and it is a very soft, slow song with Pacífico Boy singing "this is a masterpiece" with an echoey voice and after this is a song by Angela Aux called Oha Le Huliah. This song starts off with a woman screaming and then starts up with a funky little tune with voices going "aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh" over the top and then some great electric guitar and then it ends.
              The next song is an Instrumental by a band called Majmoon and is called "My Neighbour Doesn't Have A Cat" which is a funny name for a song and it started of reminding me a bit of The Shadows but then got a lot more rocky with loud guitars and big drumming. This is a great song that I like a lot.
            Next up is a song by a band called The Marnies who sound a bit like one of those sixties girl bands like The Supremes or Bob B.Soxx & The Blue Jeans who did Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah. I like these sorts of bands a lot so it is good to be reminded of them. The Marnies song is called Apartment and in it the singer is asking somebody to come to her house. I like having people over to my house too and when they do we usually sit in the garden and have a cigarette and a coffee and a chat, it's always nice to have visitors.
               After The Marnies is a track by Parasite Woman called Honk. This is another instrumental track played on what sounds like an organ and it reminded me of Cherry Wainer who was on Six Five Special which is a music program that was on in the fifties which I used to watch with my mother and father when I was a teenager. Here is some video of Cherry Wainer so you can hear who Parasite Woman sounds a bit like: 

          After Parasite Woman there is another instrumental by a band called Electronicat which is an electronic music track. I don't know too much about electronic music but it is very good to listen to because it is different from other music I usually listen to. This track would be very good to dance to with your girlfriend at a disco or at a party.
           The next song is by Tagar and it is a bit different from the other songs because it is a noisy, fast, shouty rock song with squealing guitars - I liked this one very much.
            The final song on this record is called Rasta In Da Tekke and Seb told me a Tekke is where Greek people used to go to smoke hash and that makes sense because this is a very Greek sounding song. I liked this one because it is a noisy, fun song that I could imagine people doing quickstep dancing too, I liked it and thought this was a good way to end the record.
            Overall I thought this was a very good record with all sorts of different things on it that were all very good indeed. I would give this record 10 out of 10.

To buy this record E-Mail Piko here.