Curtis Mayfield
Curtis

Renowned indigenous soul singer and powerhouse vocalist Emma Donovan and critically-acclaimed rhythm combo The Putbacks have released their much-anticipated new album Crossover, defining a new flavour in the feast of Australian music.With nostalgic songwriting delving into Emma’s childhood, family and her late mother, Crossover is a beautifully honest soulful ride through the past, with relevance to the now.The personal, yet powerful lyrics throughout Crossover are emphasised by The Putbacks sharp, dynamic and funky rhythms, delivering a swag of soul-defining songs with sentimental hints of Stax and classic Atlantic recordings the whole way through.Emma Donovan & The Putbacks first burst onto the scene together with 2014’s epic Dawn which won fans all over the world. Since then, Emma Donovan has toured and recorded with Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter, Paul Kelly and Spinifex Gum, while The Putbacks released their debut self-titled album in 2018.Following on from the successful collaboration with Dawn, Crossover highlights the band’s shared love for classic American soul and the protest music of indigenous Australia, with a uniquely Australian accent.Growing up singing church songs with her grandparents on the North Coast of New South Wales, Emma’s grandmother is the focus of the first single off the album Pink Skirt, whilst her mother forms the yearning and heartfelt masterpiece of Crossover; a tribute to memories made, connection and ongoing spirit.Five-piece combo The Putbacks are veterans of the recording studio, having performed across a variety of festivals and major events for over a decade, establishing themselves as Melbourne’s go-to instrumental funk ensemble.

When it came to recording ‘Kidayu’, the new album from Vaudou Game, released 7th October on Hot Casa Records, Peter Solo did not need to consult the oracle, instead relying on the voodoo rhythms and raw afro-funk and soul that has served him so well.Solo immersed his Lyon companions in the flourishing Afrobeat rhythms of the 1970s along with those of traditional song. But far from being backward-looking, together they deliver an original style of music, dynamic and jubilant. Marked at times by James Brown-style shouts, ‘Kidayu’ pairs voodoo harmonies with funk and blues.Born in Aného-Glidji, Togo, the birthplace of the Guin tribe and a major site of the Voodoo culture, Peter Solo was raised with this tradition’s values of respect for all forms of life and the environment. At an early age, he made a makeshift guitar, and his music propelled him into the spotlight, his undeniable talent earning the respect of renowned African artists. Mastering traditional percussion instruments, his desire to discover the world and to carry his practice forward led him to England, where he became immersed in gospel music and then eventually to France where he calls home today.The idea of integrating the haunting voodoo lines, sung in honour of the Divinities, into energetic 70s afrofunk, is, in Solo’s mind, an obvious extension of the analogy he found between this voodoo tradition and trance inducers such as the soul, funk, and rhythm ‘n blues of James Brown and Otis Redding.Solo had a vision of codifying the musical scales that are found in sacred songs of Beninese and Togolese vodun music. The terms “vadou” and “voodoo,” which come from the word “vodun,” refer to spirit and name a blended culture of voodoo practices from different West African ethnicities.Entirely produced, recorded, mixed and mastered using vintage material and instruments produced in the 70s, old cassette tapes were the “grigris” (or lucky charms) which proved most effective to ward off digital corruption of their music and allow them to thrive as a tight-knit group with a solid groove.Kidayu means “sharing” in Kabye, the language spoken in northern Togo, and sharing, is the philosophy of Vaudou Game – both in their recorded music and on stage.In songs like ‘Natural Vaudou’, ‘Cherie Nye’ and ‘La Vie C’est Bon’, the unbeatable trance rhythm inherited from James Brown and Fela Kuti, icons of Funk and Afrobeat, are evident.Across ‘Kidayu’, Vaudou Game sound like the big bands from the golden age of Ethiopian dance music but it’s in songs like ‘La Dette’, ‘Revolution’ and ‘Elle Decide’ where they show their greatest inspiration; the rumbling soul and funk of James Brown. Raw funky basslines let Solo’s lyrics bounce back and forth until the result is so pulsating and mesmeric you just have to move your feet.The ecstatic voodoo rituals that Solo grew up with are used as a fertile basis for Vaudou Game’s sound. In using the original form, he decorates his songs with guitars, keyboards, bass, rhythms and counter rhythms, and a steaming pair of brass.Since the release of their debut album ‘Apiafo’ in 2014, Vaudou Game have never turned down the heat on over 130 stages across Europe, Africa, America and Asia and can count BBC Radio 6 Music’s Gilles Peterson as a fan, voting the album ‘Record of the Week’ on his show.On ‘Kidayu’, Solo is joined by Vicente Fritis on keyboards/backing vocals, Jerôme Bartolome on saxophone/percussions/backing vocals, Guilhem Parguel on trombone/percussions/backing vocals, Simon Bacroix on bass/backing vocals, Hafid Zouaoui on drums, and sound engineer Stephane Pauze.