Influences: Kelvin Andrews

Tomita – Clare De Lune

With so many famous musical greats dying in 2016, there were some lesser known, yet equally influential artists who slipped away without a fanfare . One incredible artist some may have missed making the trip was Isao Tomita. I discovered this as a 25p charity shop special when I was 15 years old and still have the copy (Snowflakes Are Dancing LP) A sublime, synthesised version of Debussy’s love song to the moon. It just gets me every time.
There’s no doubt I’m an incurable romantic!

Dorothy Ashby – Joyful Grass And Grape

Famous harpists are a rare thing. I only know one name and that’s Dorothy Ashby. You’ll find her unmistakeable touch on Stevie Wonder’s If It’s Magic (from Songs In The Key Of Life) and she extends her jazz dexterity by playing the Japanese koto on this track from her 1970 LP ‘The Rubaiyat Of Dorothy Ashby’. She worked with giants like Bill Withers, Minnie Riperton and Bobbi Humphrey, making the harp as cool as is possible to make. Sampled dozens of times in Hip-Hop yet still largely unknown. I have to thank Andy Votel for this one. It’s been an obsession since I first discovered it in the mid nineties on a Finders Keepers compilation via Fat City.

Mary Lou Williams – Praise The Lord

In 1923, Mary Lou Williams played with Duke Ellington aged just thirteen years old!
Praise The Lord indeed! 40 years later, after a lifetime in music (and stints with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk!) she made this life-affirming piece as part of one of the most treasured albums in my collection – Black Christ Of The Andes. The more I’ve discovered about her, the more I’ve fallen in love. She was a mercurial talent. Respected by the greats and loved by all who found her. Praise The Lord possesses a wild and righteous spirit like nothing else and every home should have a copy of this song.

Lightnin Hopkins – Jake Head Boogie

My dad played me Lightnin Hopkins when I was a kid, when I was maybe 12 years old. My first thought was ‘”What a name!” Like a superhero!
I was transfixed. All that sound from one dude and a guitar! Jake Head Boogie is a brilliant example of what I’m on about. Irresistible and raw, rhythm & blues that influenced a thousand players and producers. I can hear it in Bowie, T-Rex and more but in it’s original form it remains as vital as ever.

Caetano Veloso – Alfomega

60s and 70s Brazilian music came onto my radar via the Streetsounds Jazz Juice compilations from the mid eighties. The effect those first few tunes had on a teenage me cannot be understated. They opened up a door I’ve been unable to close ever since. There’s a seemingly endless seam of incredible music to be found and enjoyed and I’ve got quite a collection these days. Sometime during the early 90s , I heard this Tropicalia masterpiece being played in a Soho record shop and it became one of my all time favourite songs immediately! Taken from Caetano’s ‘White Album’ it’s clearly been influenced by The Beatles but sails in what was yet unchartered funky waters. The acoustic guitars and strings combine like magic with a vocal that must’ve sounded so out there in 1969 . I play it to anyone who’ll listen.

The Electric Chairs – So Many Ways

From an impossibly cool 7 inch single from 1979 but only discovered for myself about 10 years ago. The original punk thing was short lived but what it did do was push the domino for alternative music which became what the press dubbed new wave. If I had a band again, I’d want us to sound like this. About as disco (not disco) as it gets!

Brian Eno/David Byrne – Help Me Somebody

Probably my favourite track from one of the coolest albums ever made.
My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts is one of those totally, must-have musical things and Help Me Somebody is the thrilling epitome of pop-art-dance- collage. I love how a country style slide guitar soars over a frenetic percussion groove and an unforgettable funk bassline. A sampled preacher pleads to the congregation in attendance. Another reason why 1981 is my favourite ever year for music.

Tom Tom Club – Lorelei

While David Byrne was experimenting with early sampling alongside Brian Eno (whilst taking a break from tensions in Talking Heads) Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz took the opportunity to reflect the incredible melting pot of art-pop/dub/Hip-Hop fusion which had exploded in New York City at the time. This instrumental /dub of the track Lorelei is just one example of how good this period was . I play this in the warm-up so very often and it never dates. Genius (of love) describes it perfectly.

Herbie Hancock – The Twilight Clone

On a DJing trip to NYC in 2008 I stumbled across this fantastic track being played in one of a dozen record shops I visited one afternoon . I couldn’t actually believe I didn’t know about it (being a big fan of Herbie Hancock for years) It seems to be an age ahead of it’s time and even today sounds incredibly fresh and futuristic for music over 35 years old. Again from 1981. Magic Windows is the album and you definitely need to own it.

Sound Signature Presents – Lights Down Low (This One Mix)

An off-kilter house bomb from the enigma that is Theo Parrish . All the accepted rules of how you mix a track get smashed to pieces here. It reminds me of first hearing those early Transmat records at the Haçienda when house and techno were new and you could hear a kind of alien, urban future in the music. Incredible tune!