Extended Sleeve Notes
TRACKLIST
Sanza Mibale Ya Bo Pemi feat. Felix Ngindu
A1. Original Mix)
A2. Flash Dub
B1. Bosq’s Boogie Bounce Remix
B2. Bosq’s Boogie Bounce Dub
THE BACKGROUND
Starting as a dyed-in-the-wool indie kid hooked on Spacemen 3, The Pixies and guitars in the 80s, acid house activated a hand-brake turn on my musical education. The DJ bug took hold, and over the past 30 years, my sets have evolved from the relentless 4/4 kick of house and are now a free-for-all melange of disco, afrobeat, bass, Balearic and anything else thrown in the rave pot, as I have continued a voyage of digging and discovery.
THE IDEA
When it comes to making music, my first release was in 1996 as part of Shaboom (Wild Ride on Pleasure Records), and I’ve been producing music ever since under various guises, including Del 5 with Dick ‘Magik’ Johnson, and Stubb, all with mainly electronic beats and lots of programming. But I’d never done anything fully live, and it’s been an itch that’s long been wanting to be scratched. Maybe I could do a tribute to the golden age of afro disco, when the sounds of 70s New York found their way to Africa and fused with local musical styles and rhythms? I’ve always loved the juxtaposition of a cover in a different genre and Underworld’s 2 Months Off had been in mind to do something with for a long time…and so the idea was born.
THE PLAYERS
A few years ago, ‘Paper Pete’ Jenkinson arranged a session at Manchester’s Futureworks (where he lectures on music business) on their Neve VRL desk. I got a brilliant local drummer, Conor Lawrence lined up and he knocked out a variety of styles, tempos and beats that I’ve been mining ever since. It always starts with the drums, so I took his 120BPM disco 4/4 backbeat and we were off.
Next up, killer bass man and proprietor of the local watering hole, Ben Adey came the studio and got the memo with a relentless disco bass.
For the guitar, I had been working with Charlie Sinclair, who was living in Manchester, attending the Royal College of Music and is also an incredible songwriter and vocalist (see our collaboration That Hit and All Night Long). I wanted something a bit Nile (obvs) plus some lead, so he covered the rhythm and solos.
Then to Japan, the Paper Recordings nu-Brit house network kicked into gear as Cal Gibson, once of Nottingham Balearic types Neon Heights but now The Secret Soul Society was friends with Jules Brennan and they had released an EP as The Boogie Brothers together on Paper. He is also an amazing keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist who leans heavily into jazz and soul. A session came back with more bass, Rhodes, analogue synths and atmospherics and I might well have punched the air when it landed, as he’d knocked it out the park.
I wanted a brass section (for a bit of Fela) and after some asking around, more local action came via sax player Atholl Ransome who plays with the Haggis Horns, that Mark Ronson called ‘the best f****g horn section in the world’. After a chat about using the main synth riff in 2 Months Off as the jumping off point, he drafted in Malcolm Strachan on trumpet and trombone. What came back was a cousin of the riff and the track was no longer a cover, but it had morphed into its own thing.
As all the sessions came in, I had been mixing, tweaking, cutting, pasting, deleting, distilling and arranging in the studio. Finally, it was pretty much done with all the elements working together just right.
But the magic missing ingredient was a vocalist. I wanted an African singer, and the Paper family / Facebook hive mind kicked into gear with Gary Cooke (Kooky & Damoon) recommending the singer, percussionist, and, it turns out, absolute star, Felix Ngindu (more of whom later), who had moved to Liverpool from the Democratic Republic of Congo about 25 years ago. He signed up, singing the lyrics in his native Lingala, adding his own melody along with congas and shakers.
With the last parts added, the arrangement finalised and a final mix, it was handed over to Dave Connally (Daco) for the final mixdown, for that little bit of extra EQ, compression, polish and zing.
THE REMIX
The final piece of the jigsaw was to get a remixer on board, someone who would get the vibe and add their own spin. First choice was Bosq, of whom I’m a massive fan; his take on disco, afro and tropical beats feature in pretty much every set I play. I got in touch and he was up for it, with the added bonus of being an absolutely lovely chap. He delivered a masterclass in the art of the remix, keeping the parts and spirit of the original but imprinting it with his own fresh and funky stamp.
THE EP
The finished four tracker has been road tested on dance floors throughout the North and Norway and rocked it every time. It has been a thrill to make and the thought of it going out into the wild to be played in bars, discos, living rooms, kitchens and headphones fills me with joy.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Out of the project, Felix is now in the electronic afro band BOM Nation I started with Tom Lonsborough (2 Billion Beats). We released our debut album Àşę on vinyl and digital earlier in the year and are hitting the road live in 2025/6. Meanwhile, the All Stars EP2 has started to bubble in the studio with a heavy afrobeat, horns and bass idea lined up in logic.
Watch this space.
Get it on BANDCAMP
CONTRIBUTORS
Ben Adey – Bass
Julian Brennan – Keys / Synths
Dave Connally – Keys
Ben Davis – Synths / Percussion
Conor Lawrence – Drums
Felix Ngindu – Congas / Percussion / Vocals
Atholl Ransome – Tenor & Baritone Sax
Charlie Sinclair – Guitar
Malcolm Strachan – Trumpet / Trombone
Produced and Arranged by Ben Davis
Written by Ben Davis & Felix Ngindu
Mixed by David Connally
Mastered by Alain Paul
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