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IN STOCK
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ARTIST
TITLE
First Home
FORMAT
LP
LABEL
CATALOG #
WDSCS 012LP
WDSCS 012LP
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
7/29/2022
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Soaring horns, jangly highlife guitars, Latin-Caribbean polyrhythms and politically-charged lyrics collide in pulsing Afrobeat and UK jazz conversation on First Home, the debut album by Leeds-raised ten-piece, TC & The Groove Family. Produced by Nubiyan Twist's Tom Excell (Onipa, Ego Ella May, Nerija) and following in the footsteps of fellow Leeds-grown talents, Submotion Orchestra and Necktr, TC & The Groove Family's First Home melds a divergent and international pool of influences (as heard in their fiercely energetic live sets), whilst also telling the story of a group of friends returning to the city where they once assembled, to chant down the powers that be and further widen the British jazz sound through a distinct 2022 Leeds filter. Comprising members who learnt their chops performing across Leeds's thriving live-music circuit, TC & The Groove originally formed as the brainchild of drummer/percussionist and Midlands-raised, Tim Cook. All but one member of the group studied at the renowned Leeds College Of Music and through their communion on the dancefloors/streets of Leeds's famous Subdub, Leeds West Indian Carnival and at Cosmic Slopparties, TC & The Groove Family's mixed-gender and multicultural unit bring together a stylistic range that encompasses soulful house/UKG-inspired vocals, King Tubby, post-punk/indie and DJ Shadow. Inviting such a disparate group of musicians might have seemed random at first but what was to follow was an unmatched sense of comfort and familiarity. Recorded over the course of a hot early summer's week in Sheffield at Yellow Arch Studios, First Home blends dexterous Latin percussion, Central African psychedelia, and UK soundsystem culture across eight exchanges of cross-genre exploration, augmented by Tom Excell's finessed production and studio engineering. The Arthur Verocai-inspired, "Tio" opens proceedings, it's sultry Afrobeat meets Brazilian/MPB fusion, arranged by trombonist Max Purcell-Burrows, is named after Leeds-based promoter, DJ and mentor Lubi "Uncle" Jovanovic and strikes the right balance between Latin, Afro-Cuban street parties and meditative jazz. The set takes a darker turn on "Bossfight", the grime-esque opening horn line and Pariss Elektra's impactful vocals capture a moment of collective anger towards Brexit, systemic racism and the UK government's "hostile environment" policies. For fans of: Nubiyan Twist, Kog, Onipa, Corto.Alto, Snazzback, Joe Armon-Jones, Nubiya Garcia.
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