Cubest 017 is yet another collection edited from a single session. When the time is right and the ensemble energetic and receptive we often produce our best music and the session on 8 July 2015 was one of those times, leaving me with an unenviable task of having to leave interesting pieces out of this album.
There was a good mix of players. Sharleena returned to contribute some great vocal narratives. David had literally run away from the circus to be with us, his drums a welcome display of inventive percussive sounds. Sammy was there with her flute and adding complimentary vocals, sometimes reinforcing Sharleena’s lines, sometimes adding her own. Daniel’s intuitive flute playing and Chema’s melodic sax create some fab interplay. Marcus was on form on keyboards, displaying his virtuosity. Jean-Michel’s on fire, his guitar sound a masterclass in controlled out of control variations. Then there’s Jon, providing crazy riffs to accompany Jean-Michel. Myself, adding echo-soaked vocals and melodica and tweaking the knobs. Add to that we had two relative newbies, Rob and Andrew, both playing bass and proving to be an interesting augmentation to the sound, though Rob showed us some lovely piano playing too. All these ingredients created the sounds you hear on Cubest 017, spontaneously and with great fun …
Get down with the groove on Cubest 017, a collection of funk-meets-jelly goodness …
Jump to Download link … Back to Cubest series …
Run Away From The Circus
2015 07 08 –
Rob Hague: Bass, Piano;
Andrew Price: Bass;
Sammy Weaver: Flute, Vocals;
Sharleena Ray: Vocals;
Chema Gala: Sax, Vocals;
David Insua-Cao: Percussion;
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Percussion;
Jon Shepherd: Bass, Guitar;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Percussion, iPad;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards;
An obvious choice for the opening track, serving as an introduction to the orchestra and proceedings. Unusually for a Cubest track it is complete and unedited, being too good to mess with. David had been touring with the Gifford Circus and I asked him what his favourite circus song was and this is what happened next … He begins with a crazed rendition of ‘Entry of the Gladiators’ by Julius Fucik and, like the trained monkeys we are, we all join in. Sammy repeats the line ‘I live in your mind’ until you believe it, while a great guitar line emerges to compliment the rolling bass line. There’s an intensity to the pace that’s exhilarating thanks to David’s incredible percussion. Flute and sax pipe across the soundscape, as Sharleena plays ring-master, explaining what the listener can expect, ‘Don’t be afraid’, she encourages, ‘come closer.’ The sound expands and the intensity grows to insanity, building, building, then crashing to a slow halt. ‘Now let the fun begin’, Sharleena announces and bursts into a manic laugh. And the show begins …
Don’t Turn Your Back On Me
2015 07 08 –
Rob Hague: Bass, Piano;
Andrew Price: Bass;
Sammy Weaver: Flute, Vocals;
Sharleena Ray: Vocals;
Chema Gala: Sax, Vocals;
David Insua-Cao: Percussion;
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Percussion;
Jon Shepherd: Bass, Guitar;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Percussion, iPad;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards;
… With a bit of slap bass for the intro, it builds gently, funky wah-wah and slide guitars, cool sax and flute, nice organ, two basses on the go, all over that funky beat. Sharleena delivers some great lines throughout. It’s all sounding hot, there’s a groove going on, everyone finding places to add their bits and the dynamics ebbing and flowing perfectly. A minute from the end it drops out, but keeps the funk, lots of syncopated beats, the sax and flute interplaying, before Chema parps up and brings it all back in for a final burst. It’s not our tidiest ending, but the elements drop out in turn as the sax fades away
One Step At A Time
2015 07 08 –
Rob Hague: Bass, Piano;
Andrew Price: Bass;
Sammy Weaver: Flute, Vocals;
Sharleena Ray: Vocals;
Chema Gala: Sax, Vocals;
David Insua-Cao: Percussion;
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Percussion;
Jon Shepherd: Bass, Guitar;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Percussion, iPad;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards;
This track fades in with a pretty crazy rhythm in place, throbbing bass and djembe, nice vibes, but it’s that mad guitar riff that makes the sound so compelling. Sharleena’s straight into her theme, the endless trudge of workloads and deadlines, perfectly fitting the vibe. The guitar riff develops and drums drop in, the track taking off. We hit a rhythm, while Sammy and Sharleena deliver some nice vocals together, the song tacking and turning along its course. There’s a drop, giving space for the vocals and some nice gospel piano work. It picks up again softly for a short while, then dissipates into feedback. Nice
New Beginnings
2015 07 08 –
Rob Hague: Bass, Piano;
Andrew Price: Bass;
Sammy Weaver: Flute, Vocals;
Sharleena Ray: Vocals;
Chema Gala: Sax, Vocals;
David Insua-Cao: Percussion;
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Percussion;
Jon Shepherd: Bass, Guitar;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Percussion, iPad;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards;
Time to chill out with an instrumental track (yes, I know you can hear Sharleena here and there). It was actually the first track of the session, but it sits better here, providing some gentle respite amongst the liveliness and chaos. The djembe is very loud in the mix, but I like it like that and David’s drumming is the perfect accompaniment. There’s plenty of room for instruments to come in and out, tinkling piano, organ, vocals (yes, yes, I know what I said), guitar, flute. Just after the halfway mark it drops out nicely, the bass sounding out and a lovely piano solo to savour. I’m tweaking Jean-Michel’s djembe through the fx here and there. At 4:25 you can hear David’s foot squeaking on a foot pedal. So nice. The piano tinkles ever lighter, as the drums echo and fade. Good ending …
Floating Through Custard
2015 07 08 –
Rob Hague: Bass, Piano;
Andrew Price: Bass;
Sammy Weaver: Flute, Vocals;
Sharleena Ray: Vocals;
Chema Gala: Sax, Vocals;
David Insua-Cao: Percussion;
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Percussion;
Jon Shepherd: Bass, Guitar;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Percussion, iPad;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards;
… Crashing straight into the madness of this sonic adventure. Everything is wobbly, slipping around the bass line. Drums roll around, guitars lose control, there’s a kazoo, the sax staggers down the scales, mocked by the vocals, and there’s an all-encompassing feeling of amusing uneasiness. Then the melodica appears with a shimmering Parisian flourish and the tune changes course, melting, setting the listener adrift in a kaleidoscopic dreamscape, where time is elastic, each step soft underfoot into the unexpected, Marcus changing the structure with some magnificent piano. David’s drums take off on a course of their own, Sharleena dropping into the space between the two paths. It has a delicious tension, merging into one cautious forward movement, the timing, controlled by Marcus, ever elastic. Sounds pop and hover in the space, as Sharleena paints a wonderful dreamscape with her narrative. Jean-Michel finds the sweet spot, his guitar wailing with barely-controlled feedback, a bass thudding like a sprung medicine ball. It’s all so wonderful in its unhurried venturing. I edited with a light touch, this track has a life of its own and deserves all the time it needs to unwind. At 6:32 Sharleena delivers a great blues line, then at 7:02 Jean-Michel delivers the greatest line of feedback you’re ever likely to hear. Gets me every time I listen. So blissed out by now
Questions In My Mind
2015 07 08 –
Rob Hague: Bass, Piano;
Andrew Price: Bass;
Sammy Weaver: Flute, Vocals;
Sharleena Ray: Vocals;
Chema Gala: Sax, Vocals;
David Insua-Cao: Percussion;
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Percussion;
Jon Shepherd: Bass, Guitar;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Percussion, iPad;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards;
Straight in here with a gentle groove, Sharleena’s voice ringing out over a bubbly bass line. It takes its time breaking in, but finally takes off and there’s a proper song going almost immediately. Sharleena’s on form, having provided narratives to each track with amazing suitability. We’re all comfortable, David keeping the beats interesting, Jean-Michel’s wah-wah dropping in just at the right moment. There’s a nice drop out near the end that builds well, vocally, then dispels, until there’s just the fretless bass
To The Bottom Of The Ocean
2015 07 08 –
Rob Hague: Bass, Piano;
Andrew Price: Bass;
Sammy Weaver: Flute, Vocals;
Sharleena Ray: Vocals;
Chema Gala: Sax, Vocals;
David Insua-Cao: Percussion;
Jean-Michel Maheu: Guitar, Percussion;
Jon Shepherd: Bass, Guitar;
Keef Chemistry: Melodica, Vocals, Percussion, iPad;
Marcus Valentine: Keyboards;
The closing track was coincidentally the final piece we played at the session and begins fully-formed, with dramatic piano chords and an instant guitar hook. Chema comes in nicely on sax, then Sharleena, then Sammy, and we’re fully running. Again, Sharleena’s narrative works so well. There are bursts of echoey melodica stabbing away. It drops out, as we often tend to do, but David picks up the beat, busying himself on the drum kit, and there’s some snappy clapping. Sharleena’s voice builds and the guitar sound grows. Then David’s beat makes a break for it and we all run with it, carrying it on, feedback wailing away, to a fab crash ending. Following which we politely thank each other
Cubest 017 blends familiar formats into elastic, madcap merriment, exploring funky adventures in sonic improvisation …
- keef chemistry