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Artist - Two Banks Of Four
Title - Junkyard Gods LP
Label - Sonar Kollektiv
Released - TBC
Posted 30.04.08
Junkyard Gods is a fine blend of jazz and electronica that is rooted in funk and never lets go of the soul. Influenced by all the styles of music that I love whilst sounding like nothing else on the planet. Playing through like a proper LP should, and as you would expect from 2bo4 the music gets better and better with each play.
The title track starts the LP off with a crackling effect that gives way to voices that drift over a cool detroitian soundscape until 2 minutes in when the vocals breaks like the sun at dawn. Mesmerising from the off.
The warm jazz vibes of 'Queen Of Crows' takes off with double bass and gorgeous vocals. This sits somewhere between Kyoto Jazz Massive, Jazzanova and Nicola Conte. Definitely one for the Giles Peterson heads, one of the many stand out tracks, this has Dig Deep written all over it.
'Go' is one of the more obtuse tracks, fusing darker bubbling electrofied beat and bass with muted horns and in places almost operatic vocals. Think Sun Ra for the 21st Century and you're on the right track...dark, tribal and hypnotic.
'Shadowlands' is another favourite. A beautifully blissed out wind, piano and bass mix that slowly builds with percussion, before dropping into a wonderful set of vocals that makes the whole piece sound like a modern day answer to 'Black Land Of The Nile'. A future classic that will give any real music lover goose pimples time after time..
'Dead Afternoons' is a chirpy nu jazz killer that is perfect for lazy Sunday afternoons when all you want to do is tap your foot as lovely vocals take you into a dreamy land.
'Flags & Words' quite possibly my favourite, but that does depend what mood I'm in, basically it's just rude! It starts with a gentle intro, that is full of the little edits that give 2bo4 their edge, before launching into an infectious vocals arrangement with political lyrics that come at the world like an angry swarm but flow over a drum beat that makes your neck do the funky chicken. You need to turn this one up to get the full effect - a brilliant broken jazz sound with beats that pack a punch alongside the already powerful bass and horns. Genius!
'Wake Me 5.30' is another gorgeous piece that starts off with soft instrumentation before morphing into an almost majestic but gentle soundtrack that soars and drops in all the right places and could have been written on Venus.
'Paper Planes' is a tearing electronic cut. What I would call techno but with the 2bo4 trademark sound intact. 4/4 drums, a driving bassline with lapses into ambience, mad jazz piano and haunting vocals make this another to turn up. This will be lapped up by fans of Moodymann, Carl Craig and Theo Parrish and is definitely one of the stand outs.
'Lights On A Satellite' is an almost ambient mix of wind instrumentation over a gentle backing that is very reminiscent of Build An Ark and a lovely way to end the LP.
An astounding mix of electronica and instrumentation matched with superb production thoughtout makes sure this LP smacks you over the head with it's brilliance then grows on you with every play.
Rating - 10/10
Reviewer - PT
Press Release
Two Banks of Four are producers Robert Gallagher a.k.a. Early
Zinger & Dilip Harris a.k.a. Demus, two friends who have a
long-standing passion of music, denim and Soviet constructivist design. Zinger
was a former member of nu-jazz collective Galliano, who rode the wave of
Gilles Peterson’s wonderful Talkin’ Loud label in the 90s, and
more recently the force behind the many moods of Early Zinger, whose reggae
rockers cover of Blur’s “Song Two” was an underground hit on his own
Red Egyptian label. Demus is a very respected London producer whose work
includes the Young Disciples‘ debut LP, Ig Culture, Zero 7
and founding the Co-Op club.
It all started in 1997 in an unheated flat in West London. The first few
sessions were interrupted by power cuts and the heavy noise of trains leaving
the city. They enrolled Valerie Etienne (former Galliano stalwart
and recording artist in her own right) to become the leader of the vocal troupe,
and she promptly recruited Paul Jason Fredericks and Bembe Segue
to create a powerful trio of voices who would command the front of any stage.
Their first long player, City Watching, received props from the likes of Gilles
Peterson and Jazzanova, and was remixed by class-A music producers such
as Herbert and Derrick L. Carter. The critically acclaimed second
album, Three Street Worlds, came out 3 years later on Red Egyptian
Jazz. During this time, Valerie Etienne and Zinger got to know
the Jazzanova crew, and sang on “Mwela Mwela (Here I Am)” from
Jazzanova’s illustrious In Between album. They became good friends and it
seemed natural that they should release their 3rd album on Jazzanova’s Sonar
Kollektiv imprint.
Junkyard Gods is an epic tour de force that cruises effortlessly through
the twisted labyrinth of modern music genres - from soul to funk over to house
and broken beat. Demus and Zinger put the emphasis on interaction
and improvisation between all the musicians involved in the project, peppering
it with their own electronic experimentations. This mix of influences,
individual ideas and collective thinking is centred by Valerie Etienne,
whose presence shines through the record from beginning to end. The whole album
is a wonderful journey made of quirky electronic beats and sounds, flute solos,
saxophone, trumpet and piano, strangely chaotic harmonies and intricate drumming
sequences. It’s easy to listen to, yet extremely rich and complex in its
structure, with uplifting and energetic tracks such as “Paper Planes” and
“Flags and Words” that could easily make it into the box of many a club
DJ, poppy numbers like “Dead Afternoons” and “Queen of Crows”, and
more experimental tracks such as “Wake Me 5.30” and “Go”, where
electronic beats and layers of warped, dirty synths challenge musical logic.
Junkyards Gods will teleport you kicking and screaming into another
dimension of music. With Demus and Zinger as your space-captains
and Valerie Etienne as your personal hostess, you can be sure you’ll be
taken on a trip that you’ve never heard before.
