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joseph



Sunset Jam 8 ( 2008 )
Sunset Jam / Soulways Groove / Bwesha Ichalo / Highridge Pt1 / Mayo We / Slow Motion DJ / Put It Away / Yambeji / Highridge Pt2 / Panyama / Sunset Jam Outro

Knowing nothing about Joseph doesn't mean I can't approach his album with an open mind. Indeed, it means that I can listen without any preconceptions. 'Slow Motion DJ' pops up then with delicious African guitars and a toasting kind of MC over the top. It's a mellow kind of gentle groove and very tasty indeed. 'Soulways Groove' has a deep, deep 'loverman' kind of semi-spoken vocal under which guitar sounds sexy and a repeated refrain of 'soulways' groove appears. The kind of music that would be great in a cafe in York overlooking the canal, you know, one of those places with chairs outside and it costs like, £4 for a pint of lager. Expensive but nice. Not something you'd listen to at home, but the music is for a time and a place and when you reach that time and place, it really works. Well, this album is unassuming and nice and all those non-committal yet still positive words. 'Mayo We' for example perfectly captures lovely African grooves and open spaces, sunshine and general loveliness.

'Slow Motion DJ' is lovely then, 'Mayo We' is good - what else do we have? Well, a couple of things are irritating, but I won't mention them, suffice to say the album isn't all lovely African guitar things, some modern London influences seem to permeate the album, although I might be widly off the mark there. 'Bwesha Ichalo' is a superb five minutes, as is 'Highridge Part 1'. What's frustrating isn't the album or the music which is largely exceptional, what's frustrating is no press-pack, no idea at all who this guy is. Can somebody fill me in? He deserves to be heard! Think the kind of music Andy Kershaw would play, Zambian type stuff and give it a go.

PS : I have some info now. Medical consultant by day and world musician by night, Joseph Yikona releases his debut album ‘Sunset Jam’. Using money granted to him by The Arts Council, Joseph has set about producing a spell binding album of world music in a particular style known as Kalindula. On a mission now to raise the awareness and popularity of this style, the 11 tracks here are a reflection of the joyful memories Joseph has of his native Zambia - or more accurately the region of Kabure. A dedicated and able musician, the album has been 3 years in the making. Joseph’s professional career as a consultant has, over the last decade, lead him through Sheffield, Manchester, Cornwall, Nottingham and Cambridge but he has always had the desire to deliver an album.

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