{"id":4675,"date":"2022-06-03T04:38:33","date_gmt":"2022-06-03T04:38:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/?p=4675"},"modified":"2022-06-03T04:38:36","modified_gmt":"2022-06-03T04:38:36","slug":"album-review-battle-lines-cable-street-collective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/2022\/06\/03\/album-review-battle-lines-cable-street-collective\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: &#8220;Battle Lines&#8221; &#8211; Cable Street Collective"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Cable-Street-Collective-Profile-Photos-Tristan-KennedyIMG_6970-Smaller-Res-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4676\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Cable-Street-Collective-Profile-Photos-Tristan-KennedyIMG_6970-Smaller-Res-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Cable-Street-Collective-Profile-Photos-Tristan-KennedyIMG_6970-Smaller-Res-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Cable-Street-Collective-Profile-Photos-Tristan-KennedyIMG_6970-Smaller-Res-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Cable-Street-Collective-Profile-Photos-Tristan-KennedyIMG_6970-Smaller-Res-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Cable-Street-Collective-Profile-Photos-Tristan-KennedyIMG_6970-Smaller-Res-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Cable-Street-Collective-Profile-Photos-Tristan-KennedyIMG_6970-Smaller-Res-450x300.jpg 450w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Cable-Street-Collective-Profile-Photos-Tristan-KennedyIMG_6970-Smaller-Res-90x60.jpg 90w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-spotify wp-block-embed-spotify wp-embed-aspect-21-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Spotify Embed: Battle Lines\" style=\"border-radius: 12px\" width=\"100%\" height=\"380\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/album\/2Qq4ulg0ZeVqURXhQd3I41?si=dT4sQa9zQn-uJxAU1rOOTw&#038;utm_source=oembed\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s been a strange kind of day.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I have watched the first two episodes of the new Obi Wan tv series, Stranger Things season 4 just dropped\u2026<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>And Cable Street Collective sent me their album to review.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m blessed right now and it\u2019s not even 9am yet.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>So what did they send me?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Well, it\u2019s a 13 track banger!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s do this\u2026<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Oh wait&#8230; First a word about them from the band themselves&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Three of us (Fi, Ash and Tristan, on vox and guitars) went to Nottingham Uni together, and used to play the occasional open mic night. But it wasn\u2019t until we were living in London after Uni that we started making music together more seriously. We started playing the festival circuit, Bestival, Boomtown and so on, and gigging at places like Passing Clouds (RIP) and Hootenanny in Brixton.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Aaron and Sam joined on bass and percs \/ loops in 2016, and we put out a second EP which got picked up by BBC 6Music, and various other places \u2013 and it just kept growing from there. Matt &amp; Dom on the horns were regular \u201cspecial guests,\u201d and in the end we just thought \u201clet\u2019s get trumpet &amp; sax in all the time\u201d, cos we were playing with them more often than not.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Right. Time to get the party started&#8230;<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>The Wolf<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This brings such sunshine\u2026 Fi\u2019s voice is uplifting and she hits the ground running you can almost see her dancing at the mic as she sings her joy out on this one\u2026<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The guitars &#8211; both bass, rhythm and lead are playing riffs that were birthed deep in African history\u2026 hi life\u2026<\/p>\n<p>The horns fuse Afrobeat melodies with a bit of Latin American flavour, and\u2026 it tastes good!<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Those drums are insane by the way.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li><strong>Bells And Whistles<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This is what I wrote about this song last year.<\/p>\n<p>Bells And Whistles has hi-life written all over it with a carnival vibe. The guitar riff in the intro makes you want to break out the supermalt and jollof rice (note: I HATE Supermalt) and dance a little bit\u2026 Shout out to CSC\u2019s bass player, because I can hear influences of Abraham Laboriel (my favourite bass player ever) and Jaco Pastorius with his melodic playing and rhythmic lines. I cannot wait to see them play live. They\u2019re seasoned musicians and this shines through in their sound, as this is almost written with festivals and carnivals in mind. We shall live this life again.<\/p>\n<p><b>Cable Street Collective<\/b> are a London band who have been championed by Tom Robinson, they are a seven piece who took their name from the uprising in east London against Oswald Moseley\u2019s black shirts, they\u2019ve been hot on the festival circuit and have even collaborated with Osibisa\u2019s Gregg Brown.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"3\">\n<li><strong>Life on Repeat<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span>Continuing with the Latin flavour, and the horns coming blasting through, the bongos keep it upbeat, this like the rest of the album is festival ready, even carnival ready\u2026 this is probably my favourite song on the album. The song is in Ab and because of that \u201chappy note\u201d range it brings a smile to my face.<\/p>\n<p>Nice work.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"4\">\n<li><strong>Americana<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>What I like about this is the way that a tube train rolling along is incorporated into the intro, it makes use of the sounds around them, and if you listen to the lyrics it gives you a clue as to where that was recorded.. somewhere on the Northern line.<\/p>\n<p>Nice.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The guitar playing had me jaw dropping by the way.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol start=\"5\">\n<li><strong>Throw Down Your Feather<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The horn stabs are tasty on this\u2026 You could just imagine people dancing in a line to this\u2026.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The ever present percussion takes it up a notch on this, and it\u2019s got a catchy chorus to it. One of my favourites.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"6\">\n<li><strong>Power Is Out<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This track is slightly slower and if I might say so without a pun\u2026. This is slightly darker.<\/p>\n<p>All the elements are there but it\u2019s got a slight menace to it in the bassline, this is almost bluesy if not all the way. But it\u2019s a banger still! Shows the versatility of this band\u2026<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol start=\"7\">\n<li><strong>Tant Pis Mon Cher<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The title means \u201cToo Bad My Dear\u201d, no I have not become bilingual! But this takes the tempo back up again and it\u2019s skilful, the drums are just kick and snare where the snare does a roll at the end of ever second bar\u2026<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a catchy bit where the breakdown is at 1:20 and you could hearth ohhhhs. This is a top notch performance!<\/p>\n<ol start=\"8\">\n<li><strong>Sew Up Your Lips<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>In my church we have a Congolese branch, and they love their guitars and this style of drumming, it\u2019s slightly slow in tempo but it certainly gets you grooving, I haven\u2019t seen their musicians in a long while but this made me miss them &#8211; that with the combination of \u201cTant Pis Mon Cher\u201d &#8211; Fun times pre covid.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>That bassline is simply beautiful.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol start=\"9\">\n<li><strong>Interlude<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This is just a little bit of an instrumental outro to what \u201cSew Up Your Lips\u201d and<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>it\u2019s a gorgeous idea, nice sequencing on this album so far. I am willing to lay a bet that Sew Up Your Lips is probably their favourite track and just needed a little bit more to tie it up.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"10\">\n<li><strong>Speaking In Tongues<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This song is how I came to know about Cable Street Collective, via Fresh On The Net. This song features Gregg Kofi Brown, he\u2019s a bit of a legend in these parts for many reasons, one being that he\u2019s a renowned musician and songwriter in his own right, another being that he\u2019s also the bass player of Osibisa.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Yes that Osibisa.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s also the father of Aaron, the bass player in the band.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, this song brings joy to my soul.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>That bass line is so fluid and the percussion just makes you naturally want to dance! The hook involves chanting, and it\u2019s infectious\u2026.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"11\">\n<li><strong>Above Or Below<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>This deviates from the usual flavour and adds a trap beat, but when it gets to the chorus there\u2019s a dub reggae influence &#8211; back to the dark flavours again too\u2026. The horns are present too making it very punchy, and the way it switches grooves fluidly makes this song a sure fire hit potentially live!<\/p>\n<ol start=\"12\">\n<li><strong>Do It Again<\/strong><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The BOUNCE. Oh the BOUNCE! This song is so playful, shifting gears, and well thought out in its arrangement &#8211; at the beginning there\u2019s a drum fill around the bass, guitars, noodling comfortable then BAM! Into a shuffling beat that just\u2026<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Bounces.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This is easily my favourite song on the album, interesting arrangements, it\u2019s like you can\u2019t help but want to dance\u2026.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Such a great tune.<\/p>\n<ol start=\"13\">\n<li><strong>1000 Cuts<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The sigh at the beginning didn\u2019t go unnoticed.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This song starts off with an acoustic guitar, and is a ballad, among dance worthy songs &#8211; this shows the band\u2019s versatility, and while I sit here at 5am with my cuppa, this is just what I need. The djembes tap out the rhythm along a hint of distorted guitars.<\/p>\n<p>The horn arrangement on this is spot on at around 1:50, simply giving the nice little instrumental break.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This is the way to send folks home with a smile on their faces after a carnival feel.<\/p>\n<p>Quite frankly, I\u2019m glad that this has come out, I needed this, and I\u2019m glad to see that Cable Street Collective are still doing it and bringing the party back!<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"764\" height=\"745\" src=\"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/IMG_361835FC72E1-1.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4677\" srcset=\"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/IMG_361835FC72E1-1.jpeg 764w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/IMG_361835FC72E1-1-300x293.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/platinummind.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/IMG_361835FC72E1-1-62x60.jpeg 62w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 764px) 100vw, 764px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s been a strange kind of day.\u00a0 I have watched the first two episodes of the new Obi Wan tv series, Stranger Things season 4 just dropped\u2026\u00a0 And Cable Street Collective sent me their album to review.\u00a0 I\u2019m blessed right now and it\u2019s not even 9am yet.\u00a0 So what did they send me?\u00a0 Well, it\u2019s &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4676,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[161,221,191,42,118,157,129,52,139,31,143,132,30,153,150,175,126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-acoustic","category-afrobeat","category-alternative","category-band","category-bass","category-brass","category-drums","category-guitar","category-jazz","category-keyboards","category-london","category-lyricist","category-music","category-percussion","category-songwriter","category-soul","category-vocals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4675"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4678,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4675\/revisions\/4678"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4676"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/platinummind.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}