– THE QUIET RIOT –

Finally, pianist Kevin Hays and guitarist Lionel Loueke’s acoustic 2017 debut album, Hope (originally released on vinyl only) has been remastered for CD and Digital.

Since its release the record has been held up as a paradigm of two musicians totally in tune with each other, defying the two-day recording time the whole album was afforded.

“Sometimes we would look at each other during a playback and just laugh at the remarkable synchronicity we were hearing” says Hayes. “It’s something you can’t plan out. It’s either there or it isn’t.”

Aziza has always stood out as a particular highlight; its West African rhythms almost artfully disguised under the happy-go-lucky piano line and wandering guitars.

But on top of that, there’s the subtle extra layer provided by Loueke’s voice. The guitarist always performs with a microphone in front of him to pick up his various clicks, mumbles and hums.

And it is these that lend the songs an additional layer of fundamental warmth and humanity.

Thank goodness (and Edition Records) that now a whole new audience will have a means of stumbling across them.

MORE FROM THIS WEEK’S MIX

JULIEN CHANG: OF THE PAST
SNARKY PUPPY: EMBOSSED
ROBERTO FONSECA: AGGUA
DAYMÉ AROCENA: PARA EL AMOR: CANTAR!

P.S. You can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the 45 RPM Playlist on Spotify itself.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), please engage in dialogue with me @45rpm_Reviews on Twitter. And, if you’d like to receive updates weekly, please subscribe to the email list to get these recommendations sent to your inbox weekly.

– SV –