The Floor Is Lava is Michael Mayer’s first album in 12 years, since the collaborative long player Mantasy was released on !K7.
Here he is back on home ground at the label he runs, with an album tapping into his enormous experience as a DJ, conscious of his crowd’s attention span. “It’s a DJ album by a DJ that’s easily bored”, he says.
What’s the music like?
This is a fine piece of work, Mayer always conscious of keeping the dancefloor fully populated but getting a really satisfying ebb and flow as he does so.
The beats are established immediately, The Problem grinding into gear with deep beats and jazz-infused techno. Mayer’s beats are a prime focus on this album and they work to brilliant effect on the rolling contours of Brainwave, then the driving Sycophant, or in team with a superb, booming bassline on Ardor.
So good are the beats, in fact, that they are pretty much all you need – check The Solution for confirmation of this – but with plenty of goodness piled on top of them there is as much for the home listener to tap into as there is the club dancer.
Does it all work?
It does. Mayer takes his own sweet time with his solo albums, and the reward is a meticulous attention to detail on structure and production. Both reap their rewards here.
Is it recommended?
Very much so – The Floor Is Lava is a wonderful addition to the Kompakt co-supremo’s locker. Buy it and enjoy the compulsion to move!
For fans of… DJ Koze, Gui Boratto, Moderat, Ellen Allien
Listen & Buy
Published post no.2,369 – Thursday 21 November 2024
Charles Tolliver (trumpet and director), Darrell Green (drums), Camille Thurman (tenor sax and voice), Tony Kofi (alto sax), Danny Piers (piano), Larry Bartley (double bass), Cheikh Diop (percussion) and ‘A Big Band of London’s Finest’
Barbican Hall, London, 18 November 2024
by John Earls. Photo credit (c) John Earls
In my post-punk 1980s drumming days (yeah, I know) my list of favourite drummers included the likes of Charlie Watts (The Rolling Stones), Topper Headon (The Clash), Lindy Morrison (The Go-Betweens) and Brian Downey (Thin Lizzy). But it also included Max Roach, the legendary jazz drummer, composer and activist (who most of my musical contemporaries at the time hadn’t heard of). His 1968 Members, Don’t Git Weary album (of which more later) was an important part of my record collection. It still is.
I was also lucky enough to see Roach perform live (again at the Barbican) in 1999. So it was with great anticipation and excitement that I headed to the same venue some 25 years later for a London Jazz Festival concert put together and directed by Charles Tolliver, a friend and collaborator of Roach who played trumpet on Members, Don’t Git Weary to celebrate what would have been Roach’s 100th year (he died in 2007).
The first half of a two set concert saw Tolliver (trumpet and leader) joined by Darrell Green (drums), Camille Thurman (tenor sax and voice), Tony Kofi (alto sax), Danny Piers (piano), Larry Bartley (double bass) and Cheikh Diop (percussion) in a terrific seven-piece ensemble.
It got off to a ripping start with Powell’s Prances, a piece from Roach’s days with trumpet player Clifford Brown which also featured nice saxophone solos from Thurman and Kofi. This was followed by a poignant Effi from Members, Don’t Git Weary. Then came a terrific performance of Cole Porter’s I Get A Kick Out Of You which featured on Roach’s 1954 album with Clifford Brown and his Quintet, Brown and Roach Incorporated. This maintained the fizz and dexterity of the recorded version but, unlike the album, included vocals which were skilfully done by Thurman, who went on to demonstrate what a fine singer she is throughout the rest of the evening.
This was the case with the next tune, Always Loved You, which – in a nod to Roach’s spirit of innovation and risk-taking – was a new number, starting as a lovely ballad before livening up considerably, allowing Thurman to also display her saxophone prowess. The set ended with the Members, Don’t Git Weary tune itself. It remains a potent and powerful expression for the disenfranchised with its “I’m going to feast on the milk and honey…I’m going to march with the tallest angel” refrains.
The second set saw the first set’s ensemble (minus percussionist Cheikh Diop) joined by what the Barbican website described as ‘A Big Band of London’s Finest’, assembled by Toni Kofi. Let’s name them now for they deserve nothing less (they weren’t introduced by name on stage so here’s the personnel listed from the Barbican website): Donovan Haffner(alto saxophone, clarinet), Jean Toussaint(tenor saxophone), Denys Baptiste (tenor saxophone, clarinet), Charles Rothwell (baritone saxophone, bass clarinet), Josh Short (lead trumpet), Byron Wallen (trumpet), Dan Coulthurst (trumpet), Alexander Polack (trumpet), Matt Seddon (trombone), Harry Brown (trombone), James Wade-Sired (trombone) and Richard Henry (bass trombone).
Tolliver is a renowned big band composer and leader himself; his big band’s With Love album (2006) is fabulous. The set opened with a throbbing and steaming Suspicion, leading into some scat singing from Thurman and even Tolliver himself (advising us afterwards that it was “the only time you’ll hear Charles Tolliver sing!”). This was followed by Drum Suite, with deft saxophone solos from Jean Toussaint and Donovan Haffner allied to some nice smoky organ playing, before an amazing spiritual-like piece of vocal work (again) from Thurman. The Grand Max encore was rousingly appropriate.
I don’t know how much time this band had to rehearse as a collective but it was a formidable and engrossing performance – well done Toni Kofi.
Needless to say, to be the drummer in a performance honouring Max Roach’s 100th year must be a daunting experience but Darrell Green played with considerable aplomb and flair including some magnificent solos not least, not surprisingly, on Drum Suite.
Charles Tolliver is to be congratulated and commended for putting together a concert of such entertainment, joy and poise in tribute to his friend and fellow musician. I’m sure Max would have enjoyed it immensely. Those that were there certainly did.
John Earls is Director of Research at Unite the Union. He posts on Bluesky and tweets / updates his ‘X’ content at @john_earls
The albums mentioned by John in his review can be heard on Tidal, using the links below:
Published post no.2,368 – Wednesday 20 November 2024
Earlier today we learned of the sad passing of Hungarian violinist György Pauk, at the age of 88. A fitting tribute can be found on the Daily Telegraph website
As that obituary indicates, Pauk was a specialist in the music of fellow-countryman Béla Bartók, whose violin works he recorded for Naxos. The playlist below includes a couple of those recordings, put in context of works by Schubert, Tippett (the Triple Concerto) and Brahms, whose piano trios he recorded for EMI with his regular collaborators, pianist Peter Frankl and cellist Ralph Kirshbaum. You can listen to these recordings below:
Published post no.2,367 – Tuesday 19 November 2024
On Friday the sad news of the death of Peter Sinfield was announced, at the age of 80. Sinfield was a member of King Crimson, the legendary progressive rock band, from their founding in the late 1960s. A detailed obituary can be read at the Guardian website.
He would go on to write the number one ballad Think Twice for Céline Dion, an illustration of his versatility, but here at Arcana we wanted to remember him for his part on one of the 1960s’ most dramatic songs, King Crimson’s 21st Century Schizoid Man:
On this day, 174 years ago, the premiere of Schubert’s String Quintet in C major took place in Vienna, Austria.
The string quintet was brought to prominence by Mozart’s masterpieces in the form, using the standard string quartet line-up of two violins, viola and cello with the addition of a second viola. Beethoven wrote an underrated quintet for the same instrumental combination, but Schubert chose to use a second cello. His much-loved quintet, completed three weeks before his death, is a desert island choice for many people on account of its heavenly Adagio. Here it is, played by the Borodin String Quartet and cellist Alexander Buzlov:
Arcana.fm 