Monolith Cocktail Social Playlist XXXIV
July 31, 2018
Playlist Selection From Dominic Valvona
Our imaginary radio show, a taste of our DJ sets, the Monolith Cocktail Social is a playlist selection that spans genres and eras to create the most eclectic of soundtracks. Placed in a way as to ape a listening journey, though feel free to listen to it as you wish, each playlist bridges a myriad of musical treasures to enjoy and also explore – and of course, to dance away the hours to.
Volume XXXIV of this intrepid voyage begins with a musical traverse of the Sudanese and Ghanaian Highlife and funk scenes, with short intermissions from the all-too forgotten Psychedelic R&B and bluesters on the 6os West Coast, Electric Flag, and jazz explorations from the Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet. After that we’re off into calypso, kosmische, prog, golden era hip-hop, gangly post-punk love songs and alternative American rock music from the 90s, via Laba Sosseh, Thee American Revolution, Adam’s Castle, Novalis, Frick And Frack, Asher D, Archers Of Loaf, Ludus, Dunkelziffer, Grace Jones and many more. Plenty more genres pop up, with a few surprises from artists we feel have been neglected. The full track list can be viewed below.
Tracklist:-
Kamal Keila ‘African Unity’
Sweet Talks ‘Akampanye’
Pasteur Lappe ‘Dora’
The Electric Flag ‘See To Your Neighbour’
Invisible Astro Healing Rhythm Quartet ‘Praise One’
Vis a Vis ‘Obi Agye Me Dofo’
Pratt & Moody feat. Cold Diamond & Mink ‘Words Words Words’
Laba Sosseh ‘Maria Elena’
Marvin Pontiac ‘Small Car’
Lionlimb ‘Turnstile’
Les Variations ‘Silver Girl’
Thee American Revolution ‘Electric Flame’
Adam’s Castle ‘Dark Party’
Novalis ‘Dronz’
Ihre Kinder ‘Stunden’
Just-Ice feat KRS-One ‘Going Way Back’
Frick And Frack ‘Go Southside’
She Rockers ‘Give It A Rest’
Special Ed ‘Think About It’
Boogie Down Productions ‘Stop The Violence’
Asher D ‘Brutality’
Daddy Freddy feat Tenor Fly ‘Go Freddy Go’
The Cutlass Dance Band ‘Hwehwe Mu Yi Mpena’
N’Ghare Hi Power Band ‘Campus Rock’
Clive Zanda ‘Chip Down’
Tapes ‘n Tapes ‘Just Drums’
These Animal Men ‘You’re Always Right’
Subcircus ‘Shelly’s On The Telephone’
Archers Of Loaf ‘Wrong’
Exploded View ‘Summer Came Early’
Family Fodder ‘Deja Déjà Vu’
Ludus ‘Let Me Go Where My Pictures Go’
Josef K ‘Sorry For Laughing’
Dunkelziffer ‘Give Me Your Soul’
Ray Brown And The Whispers ‘Go To Him’
Joanne Grauer ‘Who I Am’
Grace Jones ‘I’ll Find My Way To You’
Michael Nesmith & The Second National Band ‘Bonaparte’s Retreat’
Graham De Wilde ‘Stratus’
Dominic Valvona
Playlist: The Monolith Cocktail Social #29
July 21, 2017
A PLAYLIST FROM OUR IMAGINARY RADIO SHOW OR ‘SOCIAL’
Chosen by Dominic Valvona
In danger of repeating myself, but for newcomers to the site here’s the premise of my playlist selections. Previously only ever shared via our Facebook profile and on Spotify our regular Monolith Cocktail Social playlists will also be posted here on the blog itself.
With no themes or demarcated reasoning we pick songs from across a wide spectrum of genres, and from all eras. Reaching edition #29 and still as eclectic as ever, this latest playlist chosen by me, Dominic Valvona, features Canadian Hollywood tipping rock glory from Neil Merryweather, the funk, the whole funk and nothin’ but the funk from Bernie Worrell, Afrobeat garage from Wells Fargo, beautiful flighty jazz transmogrifications of The Beatles via Ramsey Lewis, and experimental peregrinations of fantasy from Nicole Mitchell. There’s also tracks from Monomono, Gurumanix, The Stepkids, Trane, Leland, Sensations Fix (a regular at the Monolith over the years), Syrinx and many more (see full tracklist below).
Tracklist:-
Neil Merryweather ‘Hollywood Blvd.’
Birth Control ‘Hope (Single Version)’
Sensations Fix ‘Substance Of U’
Bernie Worrell ‘Woo Together’
Soul Explosives ‘Tryin To Get Down’
Rim Kwaku Obeng, The Believers, KASA ‘I’m A Song Writer’
Tee Mac ‘Nepa Oh Nepa’
Shintaro Sakamoto ‘死者よ’
Tommy Mcgee ‘Come On’
Peace ‘I Don’t Know’
John Holt ‘Help Me Make It Through The Night’
Buckley ‘My, My, My’
The Beach Boys ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’
Peter Giger ft. Trilok Gurtu, Family Of Percussion, Archie Shepp, Wolfgang Dauner and Albert Mangelsdorff ‘Trans Tanz’
Goran Kajfes Subtropic Arkestra ‘Dokuz Seki/Esmerim’
Marco Di Marco ‘Le Mors Aux Dents’
The Last Poets ‘It’s A Trip’
Wells Fargo ‘Love Of My Life’
Monomono ‘Get Yourself Together’
Jesse Davis ft. Eric Clapton ‘Washita Love Child’
Gurumaniax ‘Voodoo Touch’
Min Bul ‘Champagne Of Course (Instrumental)’
Ramsey Lewis ‘Black Bird’
Ahmed Malek ‘Les Vacances De L’inspecteur Tahar’
Joe Maneri ‘Paniots Nine’
Shirley Nanette ‘All Of Your Life’
Eduardo Araujo and Silvinha ‘Sou Filho Deste Chão’
The Stepkids ‘Sweet Salvation’
Autumn ‘Goblin’s Gamble’
Pretty ‘Mustache In Your Face’
Trane ‘Still Burning Bright’
Hard Stuff ‘Jay Time’
Leland ‘I’ve Got Some Happiness’
Boots For Dancing ‘Salt In The Ocean’
Family Fodder ‘Savoir Faire (Single Version)’
Gabor Szabo ‘Song Of Injured Love’
Nicole Mitchell ‘Dance Of Many Hands’
Syrinx ‘Syren’
Playlist: The Monolith Cocktail Social #27
February 10, 2017
PLAYLIST
Compiled by Dominic Valvona
Continuing in 2017 with the first of, we hope, many Monolith Cocktail Socials, Dominic Valvona presents another eclectic playlist. In case you don’t know the drill, previously only ever shared via our Facebook profile and on Spotify, our regular Monolith Cocktail Social playlists will also be posted here on the blog itself. With no themes or demarcated reasoning we pick songs from across a wide spectrum of genres, and from all eras. #27 includes thoughtful post-country evocations from Bruce Langhorne; southern-drawled, Steppenwolf-esque, roadtrip musings from Circuit Rider; a rebooted live version (with friends) of I Have Known Love by Silver Apples; diaphanous soulful rays of Africa from post-punk outfit Family Fodder; a Malian jazz odyssey from Le Mystere Jazz de Tombouctou; desert rock yearnings from Mdou Moctar; exquisite balladry from Drakkar Nowhere; the sweetest of soul takes from the felonious The Edge Of Daybreak; and 23 other equally evocative, stirring, foot-shuffling and sublime tracks from across the decades.
Bruce Langhorne ‘Opening’
Circuit Rider ‘Forever Angels Proud’
Trance Farmers ‘She’s Made Of Rainbows’
Mistress Mary ‘Dance Little Girl’
Elyse Weinberg ‘Your Place Or Mine’
Sensations Fix ‘Grow On You’
Silver Apples ‘I Have Known Love’
Family Fodder/Vic Corringham ‘Walls Of Ice’
Diane Coffee ‘Never Lonely’
Black Peaches ‘Chops On Tchoupitoulas’
Le Mystère Jazz de Tombouctou ‘Leli’
Khiyo ‘Amar Protibaader Bhasha’
T.P. Orchestre Poly-Rythmo ‘Finlin Ho’
Mdou Moctar ‘Iblis Amghar’
Black Hippies ‘Love’
The Beach Boys ‘Here She Comes’
Dr. Lonnie Smith/George Benson/Ron Carter/Joe Lovano ‘Apex’
Mongo Santamaria ‘In The Mood’
Volta Jazz ‘Air Volta’
The Frightnrs ‘Trouble In Here’
The Olympians ‘Sirens Of Jupiter’
King Tubby ‘King Tubby’s Special’
SOMA ‘Deepa’
Moloch ‘Dance Chaney Dance’
Takeshi Terauchi (Blue Jeans) ‘Tsugaru Jongarabushi’
Los York’s ‘Facil Baby’
The Critters ‘Blow My Mind’
Pierre Cavalli ‘Cacador’
The Edge Of Daybreak ‘Your Destiny’
Roy Wood ‘Songs Of Praise’
Drakkar Nowhere ‘Any Way’
Monolith Cocktail Blog 