MC Replife finally gets the debut album out with a whole host of hot producers like Dego and Kaidi Tatham, Atjazz, RLP, Kinetic, Arch-typ and Mark De Clive-Lowe.

They say that timing is everything and although all of this album is really brilliant stuff (not at all disjointed as you’d might expect with so many collaborators), Replife (aka Daniel Gray-Kontar) and Simon S (boss of Futuristica Music) have hit on some musicians that are in doing the business at the moment.

Like Dego. he of 4hero and compiler the next Sonar Kollektiv’s …Mixing album that’s just come out. Fellow West London sound expert via New Zealand, Mark De Clive-Lowe (currently on tour with Charlie Dark’s African Beats). Marc Repson who recently excelled on Ben Westbeech’s album and Gilles bigged him up for the Sarah Vaughn remix he played the week before. Gilles was also a little excited this week about the track he played by the female singer from Malmö, Kissey Asplund, “we must get her in for a session”. Well, you’ll find that she’s The Unclosed Mind on a track called ‘Put It Down’, (far better than her single ‘With You’ of last year)

And that’s without the pairing of Deborah Jordon (last seen with Shape Of Broad Minds) and newcomer (to me anyway) Noni Limar on Elevation or DJ on the brilliant ‘Pangea’.

On a personal note, I must apologise to Cleveland based Replife as the one and only time I met him, I bent his ear about the Cleveland Browns, the film My Name Is Albert Ayler and the Pere Ubu (who are coming to Queen Elizabeth Hall next month). Thankfully this experience didn’t take his mind of delivering this great album. A marvellous companion to the equally brilliant Electric Conversation album Communication (GP played a track from that album this week, see below)

The Unclosed Mind moved Gilles to say that Replife is “One of the finest MC’s out there”. This album proves his out there and totally fine, if not the finest!

Reviewed: Replife - The Unclosed Mind (Futuristica Music) Cat. No: FMCD003 Release date: March 2008 Executive Producers Daniel Gray-Kontar & Simon S
Tracklisting:
1 Nommo (producer Eardrumz)
2 Spirit (Dilla Shines Through) (producer Dego (4 Hero) & Kaidi Tatham)
3 Change 4 A Dolla (produced Marc Rapson, Rise & Soulpersona)
4 Emerald City (producer Mark De Clive-Lowe )
5 Graduation (producer Kinetik & Replife)
6 Pangea featuring Deborah Jordan (producer Arch-typ)
7 Away (producer Arch-typ)
8 The Left Side Of Thngs (producer Eardrumz)
9 Elevation featuring Deborah Jordan & Noni Limar (producer D ‘Wyze’)
10 Do You Want To Paya MF? (producer Phinydee)
11 Put It Down featuring Kissey Asplund (producer Atjazz)
12 Keep It On Pt II (producer RLP)
13 Out Of Soul (producer Don Ray)
14 Make It (producer RLP)
15 Family Ties (Thanku’s) (producer Eardrumz)
16 R U Ready? (produced Marc Rapson, Rise & Soulpersona)

Links:
www.myspace.com/danielgraykontarisreplife
www.futuristicamusic.com All Futuristica Music releases are available to download EVERYWHERE!! You can find vinyls & CD’s at all the usual spots worldwide.
www.samurai.fm/futuristica
www.myspace.com/futuristicamusic
www.myspace.com/marcrapson
www.myspace.com/soulpersonamusic
www.myspace.com/risehiphop
www.myspace.com/deborahjordanmusic with Robert Mitchell’s Panacea 23rd May 2008. Isle Of Wight
www.myspace.com/kisseyasplund “Some dope underground soul, check out Kissey Asplund for what I consider Sweden’s best soul baby. You need to be nodding your head to these files, you really do”.
www.myspace.com/nonilimar
www.myspace.com/archtyp
www.myspace.com/KinetikBeats Cleveland
www.myspace.com/archtyp
Gilles Peterson :: 13 March 2008 :: music from the ‘There will be Blood’ soundtrack by Jonny Greenwood
Replife - ‘Change 4 A Dolla’ (Futuristica Records)
Electric Conversation - ‘Find Myself’ (Futuristica Records)
Kissey Asplund - ‘Fuss’n’Fight’ (R2 Records)
Gilles Peteson :: 6 March 2008 :: Horace Silver Living Legend
Sarah Vaughn — ‘Mystery Of Man (Marc Rapson Re-edit)’ (Test)