Articles by David Dacks

The Funkees

"Slipping Into Darkness"

PUBLISHED Feb 25, 2010

TRACK OF THE DAY: Anybody with a passing interest in vintage African funk has likely played the Funkees' music. Featured on such relatively...

Ngoni Hero <b>Bassekou Kouyate</b>

PUBLISHED Feb 20, 2010

In the end, shredding is shredding. That's surely the reason why Malian ngoni wizard Bassekou Kouyate's I Speak Fula arrives on Sub Pop: he...

Gil Scott-Heron

Pioneering Poet

PUBLISHED Feb 20, 2010

Gil Scott-Heron's voice has been described as a mixture of "mahogany, sunshine and tears," but recent decades have worn it down to a weary...

Martyn / Various

Fabric 50

PUBLISHED Feb 20, 2010

Martyn's productions are hard to pin down to a single style, so it's no wonder his Fabric mix doesn't default to a single genre either. Tho...

Joe Cuba Sextet

"Bang Bang"

PUBLISHED Feb 16, 2010

TRACK OF THE DAY: With apologies to She & Him, this might be the most successful song ever posted to Click Hear. Joe Cuba was at the foref...

Dusk & Blackdown vs. Grievous Angel

Margins Music Redux

PUBLISHED Feb 16, 2010

The original Margins Music was a kaleidoscopic trip through London's contemporary bass byways. Its samples of South Asian elements, grimy t...

The Souljazz Orchestra

Rising Sun

PUBLISHED Feb 16, 2010

This isn't a change in direction so much as a reaffirmation of their many influences. Having perfected an Africa 70-inspired party vibe wit...

Baloji feat. Konono No. 1

"Karibu Ya Bintou"

PUBLISHED Feb 9, 2010

TRACK OF THE DAY: Konono No. 1 may well turn out to be an army of Harvey Masons and Rod Tempertons - hardcore session musicians who bring a...