THE HELIOCENTRICS & MELVIN VAN PEEBLES
The Heliocentrics are a critically-acclaimed collective of musicians hailing primarily from the United Kingdom. Lead by drummer Malcolm Catto, the group has amassed an incredibly impressive resume for their distinct blend of experimental music, which combines elements of acid jazz, 70s funk, hip-hop, psychedelic music, worldbeat, and electronica with influences as varied as Sun Ra, James Brown, Ennio Morricone, David Axelrod, and Elvin Jones. In their years performing music they have served as a backing band for a slew of equally unique artists, ranging from hip-hop eccentrics like MF Doom & DJ Shadow, to jazz legends and innovators like Mulatu Astatke, Orlando Julius, & Dr. Lloyd Miller. Their albums, filled with references to cosmic activity and spacey atmospherics, has earned widespread critical acclaim, and a devoted following worldwide.
Somehow it makes sense that The Heliocentrics would team up with famed filmmaker, screenwriter & composer Melvin Van Peebles for their latest release. The Chicago director is celebrated in African-American circles as the creator of influential films like Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song, and has released unconventional spoken word albums mashed up with soulful jazz that have been cited as early influences on the development of hip-hop. Beyond the more obvious musical influences however, Van Peebles has long been a proponent and enthusiast of cosmology. (Having done graduate work in Holland during the 50s) His own interest in astronomy, combined with The Heliocentrics’ own interstellar aesthetics seems an all-too-perfect coming together of creative minds.
It’s with this in mind that Now Again Records has released The Last Transmission, a collaborative effort from the Heliocentrics & Van Peebles, and Heliocentrics’ 3rd Now Again output in general. On The Last Transmission, the band’s cosmic jazz-funk draws inspiration equally from Stephen Hawking and the Sirius B star as Sun Ra’s intergalactic jazz, and is complimented perfectly by Van Peebles, who provides spoken word poetry with themes of psychedelic experiences, vast expanses of the cosmos, and the endless, farthest reaches of outer space. The Last Transmission is shipping from Traffic Entertainment on vinyl and special deluxe vinyl and compact disc versions, which come bundled with the instrumental versions of the 12 tracks.
