Johnnie Frierson
Have You Been Good To Yourself

EM Records: ...A revered figure in his native Isan region, and indeed throughout Thailand, Doi Inthanon is a legendary producer, composer, visionary and talent-spotter, a man who combines business acumen with an unerring ability to both predict and engender new directions in Thai popular music. Fittingly naming himself after the tallest mountain in the nation, he has towered over Thai music since the early 70s, and is still active today. This compilation, the first "various artists" collection in the EM Records + Soi 48 Thai music series, is an avalanche of Doi Inthanon productions, big hits and rare treasures spanning the early 70s to the mid-80s. The songs here cover a range of genres, comprising luk thung isan, Thai funk, and molam, including examples of "lam phaen", one of several styles created by the producer himself. Doi Inthanon is highly regarded as a developer of singers, and this compilation has no shortage of greats: national icons Angkanang Khunchai and Po Chalatnoi Songsoem, second-generation molam idols such as Onuma Singsiri and Hongthong Dao-udon, soul sister No. 1 Khwanta Fasawang, and 80s-90s Isan star Thongmai Mali.Doi Inthanon is a key figure in Isan pop music, and this essential collection conveniently gathers hard-to-find tracks which have been issued on various labels in Thailand, including Double Rabbits, Apple, Uea Aree and his own private label. Available now on vinyl and CD, with most of the tracks on the CD version making their appearance in that format.

Africa Seven: ...Tim (aka Jean Marie Tiam) and the sadly departed Maurice Foty who died in 2011. The musical cousins hails from Bafoussam in Cameroon. Their signature vocal harmony sound may be the first thing you hear, however they also have produced a host of funkiest African funk around. They sing in their native language Ngomâlah, as well as Duala and English.We start the album off slowly with the scene-setting and largely instrumental "Douala By Night". Tight guitar and choppy clavi drive this song along. The groove is so deep even Missy Elliot couldn't resist a cheeky sample. "Funky Bafoussam" carries on the theme and expands it to include a kick-ass horn section. "More And More" is next and here the vocals burst forth over this up tempo punchy pop-funk track. With "Love Is Light" the pair show their versatility with a smooth English-sung soul ballad.The hopelessly upbeat "Aie" is next with its earworm keyboard riff, slice guitar and catchy falsetto vocal. "Not So Bad" brings on the boogie. "I Love Yaounde" is a smooth swinging boogie-ballad with a killer chorus hook. "Eda" is a hit from early in their career. We close of the comp with the disco funk of "Funky Boogie Love" and synth grooves of "Eya Mba".The songs on the comp represent only a 2 year period but some of the finest from the duo. These days Tim keeps the Tim and Foty flame alive. He currently lives between France and Cameroon. A musical flame that most definitely is burning bright. credits

EM Records: ...EM Record's release of little known koto auteur Kōhei Amada continues the label's tireless mapping of multi-hued human expression, sitting outside genre convention and confusing record store clerks everywhere. "Shinshunfu" is sectioned into two parts: a more recognizable duet between koto and Irish harp, and a complete 180 into an elongated vocal piece repellent with droning shō and taiko drum bass hits. This concoction brings up familiar scents: Lou Harrison's small ensemble harp pieces, or a Japanese recasting of the Medieval troubadour songs performed by transcultural-minded early music groups like Studio der frühen Musik or Hespèrion XXI. Yet these comparisons are merely abstract, "Shinshunfu" exists at a crossroads, a form both distinctly Japanese and distinctly "other", a complex blend of folk strains that is deep with emotional resonance and hard to place even for aficionados of Japanese traditional music.SUGAI KEN's rework renders the source material almost unrecognizable, pushing even further in the non-deterministic, GRM-like meta-concrète direction of his recent work, jump-cutting in high definition between synthetic birdsong, haunted vocoded voice and arresting, back-of-the-head foley. Of "Shinshunfu", only the drone of the shō and the occasional taiko hit appear in plain view. The exploration sits comfortably in the idiosyncratic sound world that Ken has been prolifically constructing for himself in the last few years (what he has come to call "Japanese electronic-folklore"), just as brilliant as one would expect.