Review: Israeli funk quartet Sababa 5 and Japanese singer-cum-bellydancer Yurika Hanashima join forces again on 'Kokoro', a combination of two song suites: four brand new concoctions and four beloved older tracks. Sababa 5's unique combination of Middle Eastern funk and Mediterranean rhythm makes a surprisingly sensational combination with Japanese Jazz-fusion sensibilities. Opening track 'Empty Hands' is a string-led proposition by Yurika: When your hands are empty, you hold everything you need. The guitars are expressive without overpowering Yurika's gentle vocals - it's the perfect track for a sunny drive home. The real selling point here is the clutch of tracks from Sababa and Yurika's storied past, namely 'Tokyo Midnights, a jangly, groove-filled song describing a smoke-filled, drink-fueled night through the capital. This version is pressed on classic black vinyl, but has been in high demand on the artist's own store - so act fast.
Review: Incidentally sharing the name of a pioneering East End gangster film of the same name - one of the first films to receive an 'X' rating - Yellow Balloon was also the name of this psychedelic "sunshine pop" band from Los Angeles. Filled with brow-beaten jaunts, scatting bops and tambourine shakes, this fab fivesome's first and only album is an excellent foray into the late 1960s zeitgeist, not to mention the enduring talents of the band's leader Gary Zekley.
Review: Derya Yildirim & Grup Simsek are already renowned internationally for their signature melange of Anatolian funk, soul and psychedelic pop. With "outernational" intentions, their latest album for Big Crown is a bulbous strut down the street, marching confidently through enmity-melting backbeats and fulgurant baglama solos played by leader Yildirim - all designed to allay the worst of the world's oppressions and injustices. Connecting threads of collective resistance, longing, protest song, and hope, the album follows a progressive streak loudly taken up by the band since 2014, but the mood is endearing and softly appeasing, rather reactive to the struggle.
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