As the temperatures soar to about 28 Celsius here in London town, we’ve got the hottest day of the year so far, droptops are coiled in, barbecues are notched up to ‘char’ setting and legs are back in fashion. Meanwhile fellow earthlings east of longitude 30E and south of latitude 30N are saying “28, what heat? Get […]
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At the sad news of the passing of yet another music legend in Bobby Womack, we see the inevitable timelines filled with eulogies about the greatness of the man. He truly was a talented man who lived a colourful life, I still remember my amazement at discovering that he played the guitar upside down. Being left-handed and with only one […]
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A one-hit wonder is defined as an act (singer or band) mainly known for a single success. It’s a tough business, it’s hard getting a record deal, even harder getting a hit and a herculean task to come back and do it again. Just ask Simon Cowell’s past X-Factor winners. This is not to diss […]
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So I was driving home tonight, music blaring and ‘Square Biz’ by Teena Marie came on the car blaster, so I thought: “how the hell could I have left this out from the baddest basslines list (earlier blog post)?”! Sure, over the last couple of weeks, i’ve heard many a track that I thought I […]
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It’s a question i’ve often asked myself over the years. So the other night I went into a nostalgic frenzy on Woofer Radio, playing Heatwave and Michael Jackson songs, many of which were written by Rod Temperton. So again I googled him and again, I came up short. Wikipedia shows him as still being alive […]
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The text of Shack E’s chat with with The Stand Up In It man, Theodis Ealey. Depending who you’re talking to, you’d be called The Bluesman Lover, Blues guitarist, vocalist, songwriter, producer, entertainer. Which describes you the best? I’m a songwriter, performer, producer and arranger, i’m just a Bluesman. I just love to play the […]
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If you were listening to Down 4 Whateva last Saturday afternoon, you would have heard the big beats special where I ran through some old school songs with nice beats. A couple of weeks ago we had the wicked basslines show so it was time for the other half of the rhythm equation. Music of […]
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Today, February 18th, marks the anniversary of the date that Fela Anikulapo Kuti’s Kalakuta Republic was razed to the ground. Kalakuta Republic was the home of Fela, his family, band members, singers and numerous hangers-on. It had a free health clinic and a free recording studio and welcomed the outcasts of society with open arms. […]
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Here’s a props give to a very under-rated species, the Brit Soul & Funk acts from the 80’s. The period from the late 70’s to late 80’s was no doubt a golden period with so much talent and fantastic music. These acts faced a lot of discrimination in their own backyards as they competed with […]
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There was a time when New Jack Swing (NJS) ruled the air. Everybody was at it and back in the late 80s and early 90s, everything on the chart was New Jack Swing. The trademark ‘triplet’ hi-hats over a hip hop beat, over an R&B groove. Nowadays we take the fusion of R&B and Hip […]
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