A1 - Jua Kiss
A2 - Let I Go feat. Anthony Joseph
A3 - Kamakumba
A4 - Heritage feat. Anthony Joseph
A5 - Phantom Of The Panther
A6 - The Golden Bamboo
B1 - Run Around feat. Fred Wesley and Anthony Joseph
B2 - Loa Chant feat. Sara Sayed
B3 - Black Ivory
B4 - Damballah
B5 - Mojomamy
B6 - Afro Jojo Part One
B7 - Afro Jojo Part Two
*The Sunday Times*
“Breathtaking, simply breathtaking. The most exhilarating cross-border raid since the Ethiopian composer Mulatu Astatke teamed up with that wayward London collective the Heliocentrics.Hallucinogenic.”
*The Financial Times*
“Mop Mop conjure an impeccably retro island retreat for themselves and for an array of friends. 4/5 stars”
*Mojo Magazine*
“Martial rhythms, spooky grooves and out-there atmosphere make this a spirited, spellbinding set. Put that in your gris-gris. 4/4 stars”
*The Crack Magazine*
(Album Of The Month)
“An organic, percussion-led contemporary world jazz masterpiece”
*Monocle – On Record*
“An inspired suite of voodoo-jazz, Afro-funk and soul that sounds like a lost masterpiece from 1960s Addis Ababa.”
*KCRW Radio*
(Kamakumba Today’s Top Tune)
“Their use of cool vibes and warm marimba is what has captured our hearts. Today’s Top Tune is “Kamakumba”
*Nova Planet*
(Phantom Of The Panther “Le Son Du Jour”)
*Splinters & Candy*
“Mop Mop’s wide variety of instruments create a musical world unlike anything you’ve heard before.”
*Gozamos*
“This is the first truly trans-tropical album to make me smile from start to finish.”
*World Music Central*
“Mop Mop takes you on a wonderful international trip full of irresistible rhythms from Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America.”
*The Pop*
“Isle of Magic is a gorgeous record that has so many kinds of instrumentation and so many styles at play here the whole thing is somewhere south of mesmerizing”
*Nonobot Rock*
“Mop Mop proves that the evolution of music does not mean antiquating styles; but rather, infusing them and giving them a haven for which they can continue to be heard.”
Anyone familiar with Mop Mop will already know that their refined style has already lend them a unique place somewhere between the worlds of jazz, funk, latin and the Italian Postmodern style allowed the band to achieve the International film business as part of Woody Allen's 'To Rome With Love' movie soundtrack. But with this latest LP 'Isle Of Magic', Mop Mop digs even deeper to bring us one of their most engaging and organic records yet.
Mop Mop's fourth studio album has come together over the course of a couple of years where producer Andrea Benini has been searching for new directions with the band.
Collaborations in the album include Funk legend Fred Wesley, Trinidad-born poet/singer Anthony Joseph and Finnish-Egyptian vocalist Sara Sayed. Over fifteen musicians were involved during the production of the album including Andrea Benini’s co-arranger Alex Trebo on piano, Pasquale Mirra on vibraphone and marimba, Guglielmo Pagnozzi on clarinette and flute, Johannes Schleiermacher (Bajka, Radio Citizen, Woima Collective) on baritone sax, Lorenzo Ternelli and Salvatore Lauriola on bass and Danilo Mineo on percussions-- just to name a few.
'Isle Of Magic' contains 13 tracks of pure Voodoo Jazz, Caribbean flavours, Afro-Funk, Exotic rhythms and Soul music. The album has been recorded between Germany and Italy with the use of vintage analog equipment to achieve a sound with all the “warm” qualities of vintage analog tape recordings; sessions have been recorded during the period March/August 2011. Isle Of Magic is an imaginary land populated by musicians who spend their time fishing, cooking, playing and practicing Voodoo rites at night. The whole album represents the soundtrack of this imaginary life.
Personnel :
Andrea Benini - drums, percussions, vocals
Alex Trebo - piano, prepared piano, electric piano, clavinet, moog
Pasquale Mirra - vibraphone, marimba
Guglielmo Pagnozzi - clarinet, flute
Salvatore Lauriola - electric bass
Lorenzo Ternelli - electric bass
Danilo Mineo - congas, surdo, karkabou, bendir, udu drums, cowbells, shakers
-- With --
Fred Wesley - trombone
Anthony Joseph - vocals
Sara Sayed - vocals
Bruno Briscik - double bass, electric cello
Johannes Schleiermacher - baritone sax
Lutz Schlosser - acoustic guitar
Simon Rainer - electric guitar
Lorenzo Gasperoni - congas, bongos, talking drum, djembe, kenkeni, dununbà, shakers
Max Castlunger - steel pan, kalimba, shakers
Emanuel Valentin - hang
credits
released March 4, 2013
arranged and produced by Andrea Benini
mastered by Kelly Hibbert
artwork by Gianni Rossi
released by Agogo Records
AR029VL
Difficult to name a favourite track, however if I was forced to choose an all time favourite album this would certainly be up there at the top. I'm in the UK but it was a friend in South Africa that introduced me to Gondwana. Absolutely beautiful album from start to finish, amazing musicians and composition both. Thank you, it inspires me to become a better musician. rai scott
At the intersection of jazz and hip-hop sits Geneva group L’Orage, whose latest LP is a feast of bleary horns & big beats. Bandcamp New & Notable Jan 22, 2022