“When I last moved, I was going through a spiritual cleanse. I was getting rid of what I didn’t really need. So in the process, a few thousand records were given away. I would Tweet where I was leaving piles around the city and people would hunt and take them. Became a fun project. I now only have what I need.”
This week has been an absolute field day. King Britt’s collection is a source of great envy, with gem after gem cropping up in his archival interview with Eilon back in 2012. Britt spoke about how his parents influenced his tastes, with his father being into funk, and his mother a jazz enthusiast. His parents “didn’t believe in babysitters, so they would take me to all the shows. I saw every funk and soul act.” Evidently, this led to, quite frankly, one of the best collections in the world, and the creation of a musical genius. In this column, I’ll walk you through a few of my favorite tracks from King Britt’s top albums. I have also created a playlist of 20 tracks so you can dive right in. Enjoy!
Aitro Moreira is a Brazilian percussionist, with influences in samba, bossanova, and jazz. All the good stuff. “Wind Chant” is a wonderful showcase of golden balances in the craft of composition. This song has perfect amounts of excitement, beauty, and experimentation. It’s almost impossible not to move to this one, so politely warn your fellow subway passengers.
“[Sister Gertrude Morgan was] a famous folk painter and evangelist who thought she was the bride of Christ. She would stand on a corner and preach with a tambourine, Preservation Hall went on to record her in 1970 and released Let’s Make a Record,” King Britt informed Eilon. In 2005, Britt went on to reproduce this minimal album in a more contemporary context. The result of this features “God’s World”, which is a sublimely cool trip-hoppy track, polished off with a beautiful, gently distorted guitar solo. It has a real “looking out of a rainy window and thinking about sorting your life out” vibe, so if you need to do that, stick this on.
Three Days of Condor is a 1976 detective film, a date which Dave Grusin’s soundtrack unreservedly represents, whilst still feeling refreshing. “Out to Lunch” is my favorite from the album, mainly because of the insanely crisp drums, like, insanely. The wah-wah is present in perfect measure, making for pure stereo delight.
Hold on to your hats, folks, as “Was a Donut a Dog” from Stevens’ 1977 Izitso is an adventure into an upbeat, electro-experiment. Collaborating with Jean Rousel and Bruce Lynch to create loops, which made the perfect base for improvisation. The inclusion of keyboard extraordinaire Chick Corea on the track proves this pretty well; he elevates the sound to an intriguing tip-toe around what Steven’s could sound like with his hair let down. Who would have thought? Cat Stevens a party boy?!
King Britt described Talk Talk’s The Colour of Spring’s “Life’s What You Make It” to be “one the illest breaks ever.” He’s right, of course, but for this curation, I’ve decided to highlight the opening track of the record, “Happiness Is Easy”. It’s such a good opener, a display of Talk Talk’s greatness, teasing the quality of the rest of the record, without being an overstimulating boast. The instrumentation is subtly expansive, and the groove carries you effortlessly through the song, think of a goddess being lifted by a row of well-statured men. It makes you realize that maybe happiness is easy after all.
Here’s the playlist, and King Britt’s tracklist below. Check them both out—enjoy!
Album List | Playlist:
Cat Stevens – Izitso
Heatwave – Central Heating
Talk Talk – The Colour of Spring
Ramsey Lewis – Mother Nature’s Son
Herbie Hancock – Mwandishi
Sun Ra – The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra
James Brown – “Super Bad (Part 1 & 2)”
Tears for Fears – The Hurting
Sylk 130 – What Happened Was…
Monnette Sudler Quartet – Live in Europe
Flora Purim – Butterfly Dreams
Sister Gertrude Morgan – Lets Make A Record
King Britt & Sister Gertrude Morgan – King Britt Presents: Sister Gertrude Morgan
Jah Wobble – Snake Charmer
Jerry Goodman & Jan Hammer – Like Children
Eberhard Schoener – Flashback
Dave Grusin – 3 Days of the Condor
Mañuel Göttsching – E2E4
Vladimir Cosma – Diva
Doug and Jean Carn – Higher Ground
Airto – Fingers
Portishead – Sour Times
Photo collage by Morgan Jesse Lappin. Grab yourself a limited edition collage print. Only 25 pieces made. Click Here
