PLANETMAN AT PASSING CLOUDS- MUSICIAN AND INNOVATOR

Saturday night a couple of weeks ago...

I and a few friends are here to have a good time, one of the best clubs- not in the centre of London- but up town, in remote Hackney, a borough filled with musicians and artists from almost every corner of the world.

This is Passing Clouds and it is April 13^th....2013.

The beers we are drinking seems to have  a Swahili name, but Mongozo does not come from East Africa, who cares?   Mwongozo  ( not “Mongozo” )means guidelines, in Swahili, mind you. Which might fit our theme today.

“Tastes good,”  Angolan, world travelled bon vivant, Antonio Mamede, a  jazz enthusiast who plays Trumpet says with relish.

As we sip  Mongozo and swing to the house DJ's  blues and jazz and the Afro and the funk and the reggae... Passing Clouds  suddenly unleashes its melodic tsunami.

 Band on stage is doing the most beautiful sound-check I have seen for ages. I will tell you why in a second.

On keyboards is confident looking Cyrus Richards (UK/Grenada), who I am told has just been touring with Culture and Abyssinians while Gabriele - Italian and newest member of the band - stands tall on Sax ;  Kit drums? It's Juba who also plays for Sam and the Womp, Tumbaito etc.  Bass bassing bass, is the swinging and tingling  rhythms of Caswell Swaby...

“We will sound check and play you something...” Says the man with the red guitar, long dreadlocks and a very pleasant vibe. Passing Clouds vibe.

The vocals "welcome" everyone to dance and enjoy themselves and by the time we start to move, the guys, these artists, have balanced their sound. There is no "testing one two three", that old fashioned, monotonous rivulet....

This is Planetman in action.

PASSING CLOUDS- A PRIDE AND RIDE OVER LONDON'S HACKNEY CLUBS...

Hackney is buzzing. Why? Two words...

Passing Clouds...

I had heard about this small intimate venue for many years... but never ventured in. So on 13th October, three Saturdays ago I popped in to see two amazing acts.

First was the five man percussion- led by visiting Mali Djembe master-drummer Djembe Thunder  with Siemy Di (Congo) on Kit drums, Williams Cumberbache (Venezuela) on Congas, plus another Mali player and wizard musician...Abdullah Samfo, all on fire. 

Or should I say fire and water...for the sound was very balanced.

Idriss made the crowd crazy. He was energetic and the team played along with him. The best thing about this set was the way ... experienced and technically able quartet let one another play. No-one showed off or competed. A master class of dynamics. This made the rhythms audible, clear and easy to hear. Which made all of us in the audience enjoy being at Passing Clouds.

Next set was the host himself. Always positive in the way he presented other musicians and how he spoke to the warm and receptive audience. Planetman (shown on his new CD below) is an example of the entertainer, educator and artist musician all rolled into one.