As the cold rolls into the UK, dumping an industrial load of sleet across the South East, we have a great issue for you that will hopefully warm you up wherever you are! We’ve been busy here getting you another month with a bonus two albums this month, as well as a visit to London’s iconic Barbican to see the London Symphony Orchestra with conductor and composer André J Thomas for an inspiring night of symphonic gospel. Check out Thomas’ reworks of classic gospel standards if that’s in your wheelhouse.
As always, if you have any feedback, or need anything from us, you can get a hold of the support team here:
[email protected].
Now, on to the vinyl:
This month’s first album is a rare first foray into a new genre for Wax and Stamp. We went back through the archives and realised we’ve never sent any Exotica out before this. For those who don’t know, Exotica is an easy-listening lounge music genre popular from the 1950s to the mid-1960s that uses stereotyped sounds of "exotic" and distant lands, like the South Pacific, Orient, and Africa. While it is a very dated concept today, we think it is important to know and contrast to where we are in the 2020s. There are also some absolute bangers of tunes to be found! Ethel Azama, Hawaiian Jazz singer, delivers plenty of these. “Exotic Dreams” is one of only two records in her discography, and delivers a loungy, kitchy experience with Hawaiian flavours.
Now, if the above is a slice of perceived exotic, far off lands in the past, our Second LP is a storm of synth-jazz from another world. The Comet Is Coming is a group featuring the mighty British-Barbadian saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings. One of the most powerful voices in British improvised music, you might know him from his other groups; Sons of Kemet and Shabaka and the Ancestors. Here, with keyboardist Dan Leavers and drummer Max Hallett, the group explores new spaces between genres as varied as psychedelic rock, earthy dub and undulating swing.
This is a dense album, with 11 songs over the two sides, the band describe it as a means to “soundtracking our epoch.” A huge ambition, but it does deliver a cocktail of emotions so they haven’t done a bad job in our opinion. Let us know if you agree!
