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The original Shaft movie that saved MGM and earned Isaac Hayes’ an Oscar for the soundtrack (see HERE from more Blaxploitation and watch out for the Sky Art Channel repeating the The Soul of Stax documentary that heavy features Hayes) but who would have thought that the short instrumental ‘Bumpy’s Lament’ would form the inspiration nearly 40 years on for Richie Phoe’s dubwise reinterpretation?

I can’t believe it’s been the best part of a year since Canadian label Balanced released Northern Faction 4 that featured Mr. Phoe and it’s easy to see why they’d have faith in this upbeat dubby extension in bassness with it’s Augustus Pablo leanings that’s far more interesting than the Hayes original.

Flip onto the b-side, ‘Electric Boogie’ updates the reggae dub mix of the 70s producers with 80s dancehall via the digital keypad; very clever stuff indeed.

You may recall that Phoe was already a favourite of Radio 1’s Rob da Bank (“Ritchie is Brighton’s Lee Scratch Perry”) before the release of last years’ ‘Eye On The Prize’ that featured veteran Tippa Irie. That track also got plays from Huw Stephens, Mark Lammar and an interview on Steve Lamacq’s Radio 2 show. Not only that, MTV used a couple of tracks from the EP on Dirty Sanchez and Richie played California’s ‘Reggae Rising’ festival and this year’s Big Chill Festival; admittavley in one of the most difficult time slots I seem to recall (but Richie will tell you I was there!)

And whilst it’ll always be best to see Richie live, just to show how good Balanced are, check out their podcast page for a hour long Phoe reggae mix to download.

Reviewed: Richie Phoe - Bumpy’s Lament / Electric Boogie (Balanced Records) Cat. No. BS2009-14 Release date: 1st December 2009
1 Bumpy’s Lament (4:21)
2 Electric Boogie (3:58)

Links:
www.myspace.com/richiephoemusic
http://www.last.fm/music/Richie+Phoe
myspace.com/phoeillustrations
twitter.com/RichiePhoe
www.bigchill.net
isaachayes.com
http://balanced-records.com/podcast/
http://balanced-records.com
Sky Arts 1
Friday 15h January 2010
22:40 The Soul of Stax The rise and fall of the Stax record label
Saturday 16th January 2010
21:00 SOUL WEEKENDER! Soul Power : This film follows the three-day music festival in Zaire, headlined by BB King and James Brown, that provided the prestigious soundtrack to Ali and Foreman’s 1974 Rumble in The Jungle.
22:35 SOUL WEEKENDER! Black Wax: Gil Scott-Heron : With a seductive fusion of soul, funk, jazz, pop and Afro- ethnic roots, Gil Scott-Heron glows with passion and sincerity. Examine his long-standing influence on rap.