The Heliocentrics
Hailing from the United Kingdom, the recording and production ensemble the Heliocentrics are hard to pigeonhole, though they have most often been dubbed a psych-jazz-funk band. Led by drummer/composer/arranger Malcolm Catto, the outfit straddles hip-hop, funk, modern jazz, film and library music, psychedelic, electronica, and various world musics. They've released co-billed recordings with artists including Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke and Nigerian soul and jazz saxophonist Orlando Julius, among others. Their own recordings, beginning with 2007's seminal Out There, have had a deep influence on the burgeoning South London cross-cultural jazz renaissance. After releasing their first composed feature film soundtrack for The Sunshine Makers in 2017, the group signed on with Madlib's label for albums like 2020's Telemetric Sounds.
The Heliocentrics have their roots in the late '90s when drummer Malcolm Catto was cutting singles for Mo' Wax and Jazzman while also working with Connie Price and the Keystones. He and bassist/co-producer Jake Ferguson formed the outfit to back DJ Shadow on the 2006 singles "This Time..." and "Skullfuckery." The band issued their own debut, the psych-jazz full-length Out There, for Stones Throw in 2007. In interviews, Catto and Ferguson acknowledged James Brown, Elvin Jones, David Axelrod, Sun Ra, Ennio Morricone, Stark Reality, and Joyride as influences. The full nonet included Catto on drums and piano; Ferguson on bass and Thai guitar; Mike Burnham on modular synthesizers and effects; Jack Yglesias on flute, percussion, and santur; Adrian Owusu on guitars, oud, and percussion; James Arben on clarinet and tenor and baritone saxophones; Ray Carless on alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones; Max Weissenfeldt on vibes and percussion; and Khadijatou Silcott-Fraser (K2 Wordplay) on vocals. Saxophonist/bass clarinetist Shabaka Hutchings was also a regular contributor.
The group first appeared on wax in 2005 with the release of the Nico-sampled "Winter Song" 7" on Jazzman. After contributing to DJ Shadow's 2006 album The Outsider and subsequent 12" singles, the Heliocentrics signed to Stones Throw subsidiary Now & Again Records and released their debut album, Out There, in 2007, along with a few 12" singles. "Before I Die," featuring Guilty Simpson, appeared that year, while "Distant Star" (with Percee P and DOOM) and "Sirius B" (with Vast Aire) followed in 2008. Strut released Inspiration Information, the group's collaboration with Mulatu Astatke in 2009, and Fallen Angels: The Singles Collection in Japan later in the year. Lloyd Miller & the Heliocentrics, their collaboration with multi-instrumentalist and Middle Eastern jazz innovator Dr. Lloyd Miller, appeared on Strut in 2010.
They didn't issue another recording until 2013, when they re-emerged with 13 Degrees of Reality, The Quatermass Sessions, Vol. 1, and Helio x GLK (with the Gaslamp Killer), all on Now-Again. Two collaborative LPs appeared in 2014: Jaiyede Afro with Orlando Julius (on Strut) and The Last Transmission with American director/poet/activist Melvin Van Peebles (on Now-Again). From the Deep arrived in February of 2016.
The Heliocentrics did a slew of touring and collaborative work -- collectively and separately -- before embarking on a new phase in their musical journey. Upon re-entering the studio, the band turned their free-flowing, beat-based focus toward a future brand of psychedelic rock. To that end, they enlisted Slovakian vocalist/actress/dancer Barbora Patkova, who shared the same improvisational aesthetic as the Heliocentrics. The end result was 2017's critically acclaimed A World of Masks, their debut for Soundway. A month later, their original score and soundtrack for Cosmo Feilding-Mellen's documentary The Sunshine Makers (about LSD evangelists/ manufacturers Nicholas Sand and Tim Scully) appeared from Soundway. In February 2020, they kicked off the third decade of the 21st century with Infinity of Now, their debut album for Madlib's Madlib Invazion label. Their second album of the year appeared just months later, with the spacy, extraterrestrial grooves of Telemetric Sounds materializing in August.
© Michael G. Nastos & Thom Jurek /TiVo
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Discografia
15 álbum(ns) • Ordenado por Mais vendidos
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A World of Masks
Jazz Fusion & Jazz Rock - Lançado por Soundway Records Ltd em 26/05/2017
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Legna
The Gaslamp Killer, The Heliocentrics
Experimental - Lançado por Cuss Records em 19/05/2023
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Inspiration Information 3
Mulatu Astatke, The Heliocentrics
World - Lançado por Strut em 06/04/2009
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Fallen Angels (The Singles Collection)
Ambient/New Age - Lançado por Now Again Records em 20/04/2009
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13 Degrees of Reality
Jazz - Lançado por Now Again Records em 29/04/2013
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Punks
The Gaslamp Killer, The Heliocentrics
Experimental - Lançado por Cuss Records em 21/04/2023
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The Last Transmission
The Heliocentrics, Melvin Van Peebles
Jazz - Lançado por Now Again Records em 07/10/2014
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Infinity Of Now
Rock - Lançado por Madlib Invazion em 14/02/2020
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Jaiyede Afro
Orlando Julius, The Heliocentrics
World - Lançado por Strut em 08/09/2014
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Telemetric Sounds
Rock - Lançado por Madlib Invazion em 11/09/2020
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Out There
Funk - Lançado por Now Again Records em 25/09/2007
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Lloyd Miller & The Heliocentrics
Lloyd Miller, The Heliocentrics
World - Lançado por Strut em 20/07/2010
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The Sunshine Makers (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Film Soundtracks - Lançado por Soundway Records Ltd em 30/06/2017
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The Last Transmission (Instrumentals) (Instrumental)
The Heliocentrics, Melvin Van Peebles
Electronic - Lançado por Now Again Records em 07/10/2014
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Burning Wooden Ship
Rock - Lançado por Now Again Records em 17/01/2020
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