The Electric Disco.
Everything Above The Sky - Astral Travelling with Luke Una
Luke Una returns with a spectacular new compilation, taking the listener on transcendental journey through the genres
Words by Mark Limb • October 14, 2024
DJ, promoter, raconteur.... Luke Una has been a key figure on the scene for the best part of the last 30 years.
From his legendary night 'The Electric Chair', which he co-hosted with Justin Crawford, leading to their first compilations and remixes as the Unabombers, the hugely influential Electric Elephant festival, which helped ignite the ongoing love affair with Croatia, to the most recent success of both his Homoelectric night and the massive Homobloc festival, both of which have become hugely celebrated fixtures of Manchesters internationally renowned LGBT nightlife...
Luke has literally been there, done it and even released a few t-shirts along the way!! #PIUYJC.....
Luke Una
It was during lockdown, though, via his Friday evening show on Gilles Peterson's Worldwide FM, that Luke found himself digging into the deepest corners of his collection, playing to an ever growing audience of avid listeners, often for up to six hours at a time, rediscovering and sharing a deep love for music in all its eclectic forms.
The overwhelming success of these shows led to the release of the two critically acclaimed "E-Soul Cultura" compilations on Mr Bongo, showcasing Lukes unique blend of "Afro-spiritual jazz, cosmic Brazilian celestial grooves, and machine street soul"
Lukes new compilation, "Everything Above the Sky", picks up where E-Soul Cultura left off, continuing his eclectic musical journey but this time adopting a more contemplative and spiritual approach to the selections.
"A tracklist of songs and music that have transcendental properties, making astral travel a possibility from wherever you may be situated."
Geared less toward the dance floor, this new compilation offers, in Luke's own words, "a tracklist of songs and music that have transcendental properties, making astral travel a possibility from wherever you may be situated."
Our spiritual journey begins with the ambient folk of John Martyn’s "Small Hours," a standout track from the classic Phil Brown produced LP One World.
In his book "Are we still rolling", Phil Brown talks about the techniques adopted while producing the album, and how during the early morning sessions, the sound from John's guitar was fed through a PA and across a lake before being captured to tape.
The resulting natural ambience and reflection heard in the recording is nothing short of magical and is the perfect introduction to a compilation whose intention is for the listener to "detach and let go amongst the stars"
The folk theme continues with Stephen Whynott's "A Better Way" from his 1978 Grammy nominated album Geography.
It's a stunning CSN-esque track that after a short vocal introduction dissolves into a hypnotic interplay of guitars and percussion that gently builds and loops for the remaining 10 minutes, taking the listener deeper into a state of tranquillity and relaxation.
Side A finishes with 'Sunlit Horizon,' a sun-soaked folk-rock gem by April Fulladosa taken from her elusive Home Base LP.
April sings about seizing the moment and 'running away to a place on the horizon,' making her inclusion on a compilation that invites the listener to "escape the big bad modern world" all the more relevant.
It's a beautiful track that has that unquantifiable, dusty charm of a 70s private press and is the perfect way to end the first side.
Side B leaves the folk behind and embarks on a new voyage, starting off with the French avant-garde Jazz of Sylvain Kassap's "Plancoët", a mesmerising trip into an experimental world of reed instruments, sampling, overdubbing and musical transformations.
This is followed by the Afro-funk of Manu Dibango’s "Night in Zeralda", a track that lures you in with its looping tribal rhythms, chants, and hypnotic saxophone.
Next up is "Hococka," a personal favourite of mine from Henri Texiers 1978 album A Cordes Et A Cris. The droning double bass and percussion create a deep, trance-like feel alongside Texier's trademark vocal harmonies, possibly influenced by his lifelong interest in Native American culture, sound like some kind of primal ceremonial mantra.
The jazz selections continue with the spiritual fusion of Nivaldo Ornelas’s "O Que Há De Mais Sagrado."
This is the sort of track that in the right setting, through the right system, I imagine truly has the power to provoke an otherworldly experience. It is a stunning piece of music, from an increasingly rare album, making its inclusion here all the more valuable.
The side finishes with the compilation's first trip to Manchester and Graham Massey's lesser known remix of his 808 State hit, "Pacific State". It's a downtempo, conga backed take on the much loved Balearic classic, available here for the first time on vinyl.
The second record in the double pack opens with the epic "Eliphas Levi" by the French jazz-rock ensemble Magma - a truly awe-inspiring composition and one of the most breathtaking pieces of music I've ever heard.
Over the course of 11 minutes, delicate kalimbas, pianos, and flutes intertwine with choral chants and ethereal voices, taking the listener on a transcendental journey that would be a fitting inclusion on any classic Mancuso playlist. It's a glorious piece of music and my highlight of the compilation
The tempo dips slightly with the next track, "Strangers" by Homelife. A hauntingly cinematic, steel guitar led ballad, which although might sound at home on an obscure 1970's soundtrack is actually the second appearance from 808 States Graham Massey, alongside another Manchester legend, Paddy Steer, perhaps better known for his work with Lionrock and Yargo.
The side then wraps with the wonderful "Unspoken Magic" by Michael Gregory Jackson, a delicate finger-picked guitar track accompanied only by Michael's vocal scats and harmonies.
As the journey enters its final leg, we travel back to Brazil, starting the side off with Dora Morelenbaum's enchanting track, "Avermelhar."
An acclaimed contemporary singer / songwriter, and one of the most exciting new talents coming out of Brazil in recent years, Dora's delicate voice and guitar playing have a timeless quality that bely her youth.
Like many of her peers, Dora's style is hard to distinguish from the classic Música Popular Brasileira artists of the 60's and 70's, which is exactly where Luke takes us with his next selection from Simone with her cover of the Milton Nascimento classic - "Tudo Que Você Podia Ser," .
There are a few notable versions out there, a personal favourite is the wonderful take by Quarteto Em Cy, but Simone's version included here, although perhaps less well known, truly lifts this classic track to another level.
The final few selections on the compilation sees us heading out to America, firstly with the Experience Unlimited's "People", from their classic 1977 album Free Yourself.
Experience Unlimited are perhaps better known for their more uptempo 80’s Go-Go LPs, but this track, featuring the heavenly vocals of Donna Marie Taylor cuts far deeper... six minutes of pure unfiltered soul, played and sung from the heart.
It's no surprise that Experience Unlimited sound as polished as they do when you see Bernie Grundman's name on the credits. A man responsible for mastering some of the greatest talents of the last five decades, Letta Mbulu, Prince, Steely Dan and Earth Wind and Fire to name a few.
Like so many of the tracks on this compilation, it is so good that you feel compelled to immediately play it again the moment it finishes.
The next track from Otis G Johnson is just as magical, but originates entirely from the other end of the production spectrum.
Self released on his own private press, Holy Spirit Records, "I Got It (Holy Spirit)" is the kind of incredibly lo-fi, psychedelic obscurity that you'd be hard pressed to discover outside of a compilation like this.
The stripped back simplicity of Otis evangelising about the Holy ghost accompanied by just an organ and the looping patterns of the onboard drum machine is exactly the kind of "machine soul" that Luke sets out in his manifesto for this compilation.
The LP closes to the soulful sound of classic 1970's Stax, with Mel and Tim's joyous "Keep the Faith", an uplifting and magnificently orchestrated celebration of life, faith and positivity, and the perfect track for us to finish our spiritual journey on.
Everything Above the Sky truly is an incredible compilation. The message in the music is clear, and the selections and sequencing have an incredibly cathartic effect, taking the listener (this one at least) on a voyage of contemplation, rejuvenation and joy!
This is definitely one of the albums of the year and a trip worth taking again and again....
Everything Above the Sky is available now from all good record stores.
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