What do you get when a Trinidadian, a Jamaican an Australian and an Irishman walk into a recording studio? The answer is simple; Basquiat, the debut album by Mangoseed, a fusion of genres shaped into a record.
The title is a reference to influential artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, whose stylistic approach to his art with history and culture influenced Mangoseed in producing music that’s fresh and definitely unique like the man himself.
Opening track belongs to ‘Lioness’, great introduction to Mangoseed that fires a plethora of emotions with Nicholai Barrie and his cool laid back vocals, mixed with Karlos Coleman’s guitar riffs and Richard Hardy’s laden funky bass. The essence of what is Mangoseed begins right away.
First release from Basquiat is ‘Brix-Tone’, where the bass is so deep; a miner would have to work overtime just to dig far enough just to touch it. Check out the video below.
The bass line keeps the melody growing, guitar riff that isn’t taking over the sound of feeling on ‘Devil in the Road’. Lyrics with this soul sound “I been told what to think and taught what to drink and did it without a question, but oh my lord now I am alone now I want to know your reason” a tune with passion which brings on a peace of mind.
Melodic vocal by Nicholai Barrie enters the stream, while Sam Campbell makes the beat tight on percussion, impressive guitar sounds from Karlos Coleman that adds a tender touch to ‘She Is All’ whichfeatures actress Shavani Seth on vocals which are haunting and makes this a different dynamic to Basquiat. ‘Standing On High’ ups the game with speed and ferocity which is a favourite off their past EP.
An eclectic mix of genres is fused together for tracks such as ‘This Life’, ‘Rise and Shine’ and ‘Thief Head’. Confidence is evident within the vocal soundings, intelligent guitar riffs and a bass that just wants to be let off the leash and go all out.
Sam Campbell’s drumming on ‘Army of One’ bleeds a beat which allows Nicholai Barrie to protrude the ears with such lyrics as “I was a legend before I was born”. Poetry with rhythm pours from this Brixton based unsigned band, whose influences arrive from around the world.
The many live performances in their portfolio have brought and continues to bring life to the funk bass sound with heavy guitar riffs and poetic lyrics, proving that you don’t need a record label to be great musicians and create art.
A little Cool, A little Smooth, A little passion and a little crazy – the four elements of Mangoseed
[Rating:3.5]
Track Listing for Basquiat:-
- Lioness
- Careful
- Brix–Tone
- I Shoot My friends
- Devil in the Road
- The Soul Bird
- She is all
- Bali Men Interrupted
- Standing on High
- This Life
- Rise and Shine
- Interruption
- Thief Head
- Army of One
- Bali Men
