We're New Again - A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven

Gil Scott-Heron & Makaya McCraven

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Released on 07-02-2020 by XL Recordings
Main artists: Gil Scott-Heron Makaya McCraven
Genre: Soul
Distinctions: Pitchfork: Best New Music

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A year before passing away in the spring of 2011, Gil Scott-Heron released an extraordinary future-blues album, one of the most beautiful works of his entire discography, when even his most loyal fans had stopped expecting anything new from their idol standing the test of life, dope and paranoia. With I’m New Here, his generation’s most out-of-this-world poet, singer, songwriter and jazzman, and the man who was considered by many as the godfather of hip-hop blended his politically charged prose with a stripped back instrumentation produced by Richard Russell, patron of the XL Recordings label who went to collect him from Rikers Island prison in New York so that they could work together. A year later, Jamie xx from the band The xx made We’re New Here which cleverly remixed the entire album and became a fascinating example of top-tier minimal electro…

To celebrate ten years since I’m New Here, Russell has called on one of the most talked-about jazzmen of the moment, drummer Makaya McCraven, to ‘reimagine’ it in his own way. The result is surprising, and sheds a new light on the opus. The original simplicity has been shunned in favour of an orgy of pure jazz improvisation, paired with a huge level of groove. Makaya is the perfect candidate for finding the right level of playing to match the crepuscular flow emitted by Gil Scott-Heron. Striking a balance between honouring the departed soul brother and affirming his own voice, the drummer appears to highlight the link between Scott-Heron and percussion. Small Talk at 125th and Lenox, his first album released in 1970, was in fact only composed of vocals and percussion. Hopefully this beautiful project We’re New Again will incite the younger generation to rediscover Gil Scott-Heron’s work, some of the most underestimated music of the 20th century. © Marc Zisman/Qobuz

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We're New Again - A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven

Gil Scott-Heron

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Special Tribute (Broken Home pt. 1)

00:00:42

Gil Scott-Heron, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Guy Davie, Engineer - Brouhaha Music, MusicPublisher - Dave Vettraino, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Makaya McCraven, Producer, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, MixingEngineer - Estate Of Gil Scott-Heron/Brouhaha Music/Rumal Rackley, MusicPublisher