firemusic » unified theory

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:32:34 +0000

Love to say I’d discovered this one, but the props go to our main man Theo who dropped this as part of a killer show on 1Xtra a few weeks back. It’s by Soft Machine, who I have to say I really don’t know too much about, but after hearing this I’m gonna do some digging. From ‘the ’81 LP ‘Land of Cockayne’. Feel it.

Soft Machine — Panoramania

FRIDAY FUSION (TRIPLE HEADER)

quaid — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 19:30:30 +0000

For those moments when you need a dose of pure HH. The production stripped right back so his virtuoso rhodes performance can be heard in all it’s glory. Add a slice of synth in all the right places over an analogue rhythm track, ‘Nobu’ is an essential in any Herbie playlist. Taken from the album ‘Dedication’.

Herbie Hancock — Nobu

Inspired by fusion explorers like Return to Forever & Weather Report, Caldera found their own sound by mixing jazz improvisation, soul & funk with the broad spectrum of traditional music found in their Latin American heritage. There’s sometimes a little bit too much electric guitar in there for me, but on a good day they sound like a more soulful Azymuth, which makes them well worth checking. Track I’m posting is from the ’77 LP ‘Sky Islands’.

Caldera — Sky Islands

A classic piece of spaced out disco-fusion from Palmers Green’s finest, Brian Bennett, and his legendary ’78 album ‘Voyage’. Its full of tasty b-lines and synth work, and all this from the man that was once the drummer for Cliff RIchard’s Shadows and was also responsible for all the filthy cop show funk that was the backdrop to The Sweeney…

Brain Bennett — Solstice

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 10:30:00 +0000

Been another long week. Here’s a much needed introspective fusion/prog noodler from the mighty Tim Blake to take us through the weekend. It’s actually a selection from Brother Murray, but he was too hand-tied to right any blurb…welcome to my world! Big up the Fusion massive where ever you are.

Tim Blake — Metro Logic

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:37:56 +0000

This is a heavy cut off of ‘DJ Mitsu the Beats – One more Roses’ mix CD. It’s called ‘Paltido Alto’ we don’t seem to have an artist name, though it does sounds kind of like an Azymuth track and the name/vibe suggests something Brazilian but who knows… (leave a comment if you’ve got any suggestions).

Unknown Artist — Paltido Alto

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 08:35:07 +0000

Today’s offering is a synthy nugget from Sauveur Mallia on the legendary French library label Tele Music. So many library tunes have a couple of bars of minimal sexiness before drifting off into whackness, but thankfully here he just sits on the break and lets the groove do its thing. Sounds like it was recorded yesterday and ripe for re-edit… Monsieur Quaid?

Sauveur Mallia — Double Polygone

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 11:33:12 +0000

Cheeky one from Ian Carr’s Nucleus, shame it isn’t just synth all the way through, but still a sweet groove from a UK legend.

Ian Carr’s Nucleus — Heyday

FRIDAY FUSION (MUSIC FROM THE FUTURE SPECIAL)

quaid — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:43:46 +0000

Had to have one from ‘Battlestar Galactica’ in the series. Like the previous Music from the Future post it’s once again Stu Phillips at the controls – though all the synthy tracks I can find off the score seem to have a similar feel to that ‘Something kinda Funky’ vibe from ‘Buck Rogers’, so my guess is he’s got Ian Underwood in the mix too.

And like Buck much of the soundtrack is predominately orchestral with an obligatory spacey disco track thrown in. But digging a little deeper I found this gem which is a more noodly proggy synth piece, hence bringing it back ever-so-tangentially into the fusion sphere for today’s FF post.

Overall, though there are some electronic moments in the score, particularly in the SFX, it’s hardly noteworthy when compared to the out-there futuristic vistas of ‘Logan’s Run’ or the analogue madness of Gill Mellé’s ‘The Andromeda Strain’.

But to my mind this track at least feels like something you should be hearing on a Cylon Base ship, even if in the rest of this future the music is fairly predictable.

Stu Phillips — Galactic Rock

FRIDAY (COSMIC) FUSION

quaid — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 13:19:41 +0000

Something from the mighty Goblin this week. Taken from the soundtrack to the 1980 Sci-Fi/Horror flick ‘Alien Contamination’ this track is more Prog than Fusion, but like a lot of music from this genre & era the boundaries are often beautifully interwoven. A combination of the steady build over a classic arpeggio with those cinematic choral voices put this little baby high on my ‘please sample me’ list. So until it gets completely butchered let’s give props to the original.

Goblin — Connexion

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:28:43 +0000

Promised u some synths last time & as always we’re true to our word — today’s post is from Japanese keyboard master and synth pioneer Jun Fukamachi. The track’s taken from his 1980 LP ‘Quark’ and features just himself getting busy on the keys. It’s a deep 10 minute cosmic/jazz journey and well worth putting the time in, the perfect prelude to the gig I’m going to later — watching Kubrick’s masterful ’2001′ with a live soundtrack from the Philharmonia Orchestra, shame Jun’s not about to put some synth stabs in there…

Jun Fukamachi — Perpetual (Movement)

FRIDAY FUSION

quaid — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 11:26:53 +0000

Little Polish number this week from Michał Urbaniak. It’s a fairly classic affair, but the palette feels right for today (more synths next week). Image by Ryan McGinley.

Michał Urbaniak — Strife