Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band were a band led by
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
ian poet, novelist and lecturer
Anthony Joseph
Anthony Joseph (born 12 November 1966 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) is a British/Trinidadian poet, novelist, musician and academic.
Biography
Joseph was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, where he was raised by his grandparents. He b ...
. The band was formed in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 2005 as an offshoot of his then novel-in-progress
The African Origins of UFOs. The band's musical influences include
Free Jazz
Free jazz is an experimental approach to jazz improvisation that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s when musicians attempted to change or break down jazz conventions, such as regular tempos, tones, and chord changes. Musicians duri ...
, Afro-Caribbean funk,
spoken word
Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...
,
soca,
rapso
Rapso is a form of Trinidadian music that grew out of the social unrest of the 1970s. Black Power and unions grew in the 1970s, and rapso grew along with them. The first recording was ''Blow Away'' by Lancelot Layne in 1970. Six years lat ...
,
Calypso,
Rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
and the hypnotic
Spiritual Baptist The Spiritual Baptist faith is a Christian religion created by enslaved Africans in the plantations they came to in the former British West Indies countries predominantly in the islands of a Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago and th ...
rhythms that were prominent in Joseph's childhood in Trinidad.
In December 2005, as a quartet, they recorded their first album 'The Spasm Band' in London. The album was self produced and received only limited exposure. It was heard via Myspace by Parisian producer and Jazz aficionado Antoine Rajon who signed Joseph to his Heavenly Sweetness label and released the Spasm Band's debut 12"
EP Spirit Lash, which featured songs from their initial recordings.
Leggo de Lion
Their debut album
Leggo de Lion was released in April 2007 by Kindred Spirits and the Spasm Band toured Europe and the UK during 2007 in support of the album, appearing at the
North Sea Jazz Festival, Rotterdam, Les Eurockeennes, Belfort, Roskilde, Denmark and the Blue Note Jazz Festival in Paris. They also performed at the Jazz au Chellah Festival in Rabat, Morocco.
Bird Head Son
In March 2008 they recorded their second album
Bird Head Son in just two days in Meudon, France, produced by Antoine Rajon. During the sessions, 20 songs were recorded live in the studio with no overdubs. The album features the now expanded Spasm Band line up as well as guest performers Keziah Jones, Defunkt founder Joseph Bowie, David Neerman and Jamika Ajalon. A 3 track EP La Diablese was released by Heavenly Sweetness in July 2008. It included the tracks "Vero", "Robberman" (both included on the Bird Head Son album) and an exclusive version of Poverty is Hell by the
Mighty Shadow
Winston McGarland Bailey OBE, HBM, DLitt (4 October 1941 – 23 October 2018), better known by his stage name The Mighty Shadow or Shadow, was a calypsonian from Tobago.
Career
Bailey was born in Belmont, a suburb of Port of Spain in Trinidad ...
.
The Bird Head Son Tour commenced in December 2008 at Rennes, France and continued throughout 2009.
The album was released in January 2009 by Naive/Heavenly Sweetness. As with Joseph's last album,
Leggo de Lion this album is also accompanied by a new literary work; Joseph's 3rd collection of poetry, also entitled Bird Head Son which was published by Salt Publishing in February 2009 to coincide with the UK release of the album. It includes lyrics from the album.
Rubber Orchestras
The band's third album
Rubber Orchestras was released in October 2011. It featured production from Malcolm Catto and Jerry Dammers and was named Jazz/World album of 2011 by Les Inrocks magazine, album of the year by Vibrations Magazine. A single and video 'She is the sea' was also released from the album in late October 2011.
[http://www.yearendlist.com ]
References
Discography
Albums
*
Anthony Joseph & The Spasm Band - Poison Engine Press, 2006
*
Leggo de Lion - Kindred Spirits, 2007
*
Bird Head Son - Naive/Heavenly Sweetness, 2009
*
Rubber Orchestras - Naive/Heavenly Sweetness, 2011
EPs & Singles
*"The Bamboo Saxophone (Kidkanevil Remix)" - Heavenly Sweetness, 2009
*"La Diablesse" - Heavenly Sweetness, 2008
*"Spirit Lash" - Heavenly Sweetness, 2006
*"She is the sea" - Heavenly Sweetness, 2011
External links
Anthony Joseph's Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spasm Band, The
British jazz ensembles
Spoken word
Trinidad and Tobago musical groups
Musical groups established in 2005
2005 establishments in England