Porter Records: "Birigwa" and "Natural Food"

Birigwa - Okusosola Mukule (Porter 2007, recorded 1972)

Birigwa – Birigwa / Porter (originally Seeds 1972)

Natural Food - See See Rider (Porter 2007, recorded 1972)

Natural Food – Natural Food / Porter (originally Seeds 1972)

With today’s impressively saturated market of successful reissue labels, getting into the game with an upstart yourself is a pretty ballsy move. Crate-digging as a sport/hobby/obsession has run the gamut from being very niche based to being practically a worldwide phenomenon with the explosion of the hip-hop culture and sample-based music. Now in nearly it’s third decade of existence, you have to think that the finite amount of records made during the main period of concentration, 60s and 70s (especially 67-73), is at the very least starting to dry up. If you don’t believe me, just look at the superstars of the underground sport. Dante Carfagna for example, a Chicago-based DJ, collector, musicologist, writer, producer and contributing editor for Wax Poetics who is held in the same respect as more widely known digging luminaries like Josh Davis (aka DJ Shadow) and Eothan “Egon” Alapatt (Now-Again/Stones Throw), unearthed an album where there is only one actual LP recording in existence for Wax Poetics Records debut release, East of the Underground. Absolutely only one in existence anywhere!? Now that’s rare. This is no longer a scene where the possibilities seem endless; it’s a scene where the riverbed has to be looking somewhat shallow and if you want to compete, you have to bring the heat right from the get-go.

Enter Luke Mosling, an Orlando, FL based music lover dipping his toes in the reissue game. In fact, have him enter the record store I work in, walk him right up to the counter where I am stickering at the moment and let him hand me the first three releases from his start-up imprint Porter Records completely by chance. If I could be considered a new release digger (a shelf-digger?), consider this the easiest discovery of my career. Mosling had to do little convincing to get me on board with his endeavor; the humble, earth-toned digipaks, artist names like Birigwa and Natural Food, and especially the teaser stickers that read “jaw-dropping Afro-jazz” and “from funky soul jazz to inside and outside jazz” pretty much sold themselves. I am going to concentrate this article on his first two reissues, but I will also hopefully get to the third release, new music from one of Finland’s premiere jazz pianists, Heikki Sarmanto, in the coming weeks as well.

For the debut reissues by his newly launched Porter Records, Mosling headed up the east coast to Boston and managed to hook up with Mait Edey, the man behind the privately owned Seeds label. I attempted to do some research on the early 70s imprint but had no success, nor am I aware of the story that led to this partnership, but the standout line at the end of each of the liner notes, “Extra special thanks to Mait Edey for taking a chance”, makes me think that there was at least a little convincing involved. Either way, we should give Mosling a pat on the back, because both of these Seeds reissues, though distinctly different, are equally intriguing and a pleasure on the ears. Mosling was absolutely correct in thinking that there is an audience for this music, and hopefully Edey has a few more of these early 70s gems stored in his back catalogue.

The first album dates back to 1972 when a young Ugandan musician left his home country to study music at the New England Conservatory. Credited only as Birigwa, the then 23-year-old singer/songwriter/guitarist hooked up with Edey, an accomplished pianist and arranger himself, to flesh out a few of his original compositions along with the re-imagining of a few folk songs from the Baganda tribe in Uganda. Also in the band are flute and saxophone player Stan Strickland, who contributed his own song “Yelewa” and two members of Stark Reality, an excellent late 60s psych-funk band unearthed and reissued by Egon and Stones Throw Records about five years back, drummer Vinnie Johnson and bassist Phil Morrison. The music of Birigwa surprisingly leans much farther towards acoustic folk than the rhythmic-based styles we are used to hearing from most native African tribes. While Mosling describes it as Afro-jazz, it sounds much more like psychedelic folk to me. Birigwa’s voice is used in a number of manners, occasionally overdubbed together, ranging from a Gilberto Gil-like folk croon in his native tongue to unnerving, high-pitched yelps and surprising yodels akin to Leon Thomas. The band contributes buoyant acoustic backdrops for Birigwa to vocally adlib over: Johnson’s Billy Higgins-style of tight, circular drum patterns, Morrison’s structural bass lines, Strickland’s accentuating flute and tenor sax outbursts and a myriad of African percussion used in an excellent, subdued manner. You can almost think of it as a combination of Pharoah Sanders’ more introspective moments teamed with the more folksy side of Tropicalia. Moving, playful and weird, Birigwa is an intriguing treat for the ears; it never completely alienates itself, but refuses any sort of convention or familiarity as well.

Though the music is distinctly different for the second Porter reissue, Natural Food, there is common ground between the two releases. The first obviously is Seeds label-head Edey, but this time around instead of just arranging, the keyboardist takes center-stage as the band leader and songwriter. Morrison returns as well and is this time joined by a different Stark Reality bandmate, guitarist John Abercrombie, though only on one track. Edey leads his group of jazz, funk and blues musicians on a Wurlitzer heavy journey of laid-back psyche-funk not far at all from the Stark Reality sound, but less schizophrenic. Natural first funkifies a post-bop derived number, “Pendulum” with killer solos from both Edey and saxophonist Billy Hurd. This was recorded in 1972 though, so the psychedelic rock influence is abundant and Lance Gunderson unleashes his wah-wah pedal for a trippy outburst of his own. After a similar treatment to “Auld Lang Sine” (no doubt influenced by Hendrix), we are introduced to singer Brenda “Latifah” James. Though dripping with soulful serenity and lo-fi accessibility, Latifah’s vocal style is innately the inner turmoil of the blues, which she displays masterfully on the group’s rendition of Bessie Smith’s “Gin House Blues” and Ma Rainey’s “See See Rider.” Though shades of soul-jazz color each of the tracks, Edey and gang do the blues justice with Latifah providing all the angst needed for the genre. The band explores the same sound once again near the end of the album sans Latifah with “Wobbly Bird Blues,” and though it’s a solid tune with Thompson and Bill Hurd trading sax solos, it is not nearly as strong with out the commanding vocal presence. The disc ends as funky as it started with stand-up bassist Charlie LaChapelle leading another wah-wah drenched, Wurlitzer-driven psyche-funk number in “Granny on the Gramophone.”

Birigwa and Natural Food make for a strong pair of debut releases for Mosling’s Porter Records, and will no doubt bring some attention to Edey’s long lost Seeds imprint as well. Though I am excited to see what else Mosling can bring to the table, I can’t help but wonder how much longer the Seeds discography runs and if there are any other gems primed for reissuing. As for now though, I am plenty satisfied with these two tasty sonic morsels, and when I get the chance to discuss the third Porter release, Heikki Sarmanto’s Moonflower, you will get to see the other side of the label as well. Could this be another Numero Group, Now-Again or (enter your favorite reissue label here)? Time will only tell, but Mosling is definitely out of the gates with a strong opening sprint.