sound+vision
on the radar
Philip Owusu
musician / vocalist
words by Trudy Follwell
Famous for its design legacy and HC Andersen, Denmark is not well recognised for a tradition of soul music. But Danish duo Owusu and Hannibal’s debut album, Living with Owusu & Hannibal, released last year, has put the country squarely on the global map of soul, in the ears of the most discerning of music cognoscenti.
Having enjoyed airplay by eclectic audiophiles such as Gilles Peterson on his BBC Radio 1 Worldwide Show, Rainer Trüby, Trevor Jackson and numerous outings on LA radio station KCRW, the album has garnered a large following, helped by stellar reviews in specialist press such as groove mag Straight No Chaser, and by the fact that listening to the duo’s music is akin to slipping into a warm sonic bath.
However, it’s the word-of-mouth action that warms the cockles for laid-back Philip Owusu. “We were glad to hear how well the album was received by some of the musicians and DJs we’ve listened to ourselves,” he explains. “But we also appreciate the feedback on our MySpace page, from people all over the world who are into the album. This guy from France wrote to tell us that he’d listened to Caroline No several times in a row on his metro ride home and was reduced to tears – and he was a tough-looking guy too.”
Defying straightforward categorisation, Owusu’s hot-buttered vocals meld in with the sonic beats he creates with Robin Hannibal, on music that runs the gamut from smoky down-tempo numbers such as the electro-reworking of the Beach Boys’ classic to funky upbeat pieces like Lonnie’s Secret and Delirium, the hook that initially caught the attention of US indie label Ubiquity when they received it as an emailed mp3. “About 30 minutes later their A&R, Andrew Jervis, wrote us back that he loved the track and could he play it on his radio show that night. When we sent them Blue Jay about three weeks later, they offered us the album deal,” recalls Owusu.
Such a rapid sign-up is not so surprising in the light of a fresh and innovative sound that builds from an array of diverse influences into an entirely original and unexpected urban soundtrack. With his Ghanaian and Danish heritage, Owusu grew up with a variety of classic soul influences, from Stevie Wonder to Sly Stone, and spent a few disillusioned teenage years convinced that he was a reincarnated Jimi Hendrix. Having previously lent his smooth yet husky voice to a variety of tracks including a Naked Music EP, Nevermore, he is currently working on a solo album, as well as a track for New York electronic duo Metro Area’s forthcoming album
This is Danish home-grown soul to be proud of.
Living with Owusu and Hannibal is available now on Ubiquity. www.myspace.com/owusuhannibal
wacky races
In Budapest this August, look to the skies for a sport that has to be seen to believed
words by Sophy Grimshaw
It was in 2001 that Red Bull first approached two-times World Aerobatic Champion Péter Besenyei to help them develop an obstacle course for pilots, “a type of slalom race in the air”, as he puts it, between enormous inflatable pillars. This August the race returns to his native Hungary, with Budapest – where Besenyei once made history by flying upside down under a suspension bridge – one of 12 cities to stage an Air Race in 2007. Last year over a million spectators gathered on the banks of the Danube to witness the cartoon-like spectacle of pilots weaving skillfully through a series of inflatable gates, some vertically and others horizontally. Join them on 20 August to find out what all the fuss is about.
Red Bull Air Race in Budapest – 20 August 2007
See it from the banks of the Danube, where the Chain Bridge will mark the start and finish points. www.redbullairrace.com
CD review
Pull Tiger Tail – Pull Tiger Tail
“I’m addicted to electric pulses,” sings Marcus Ratcliff on Let’s Lightning, and you might soon be, too. A power surge of perky indie-rock from Pull Tiger Tail, it’s the stand-out on their eponymous debut album, released on the same label as Kaiser Chiefs. The London-based trio’s clever, kinetic tunes combine Weezer’s geeky songcraft with Bloc Party’s urgent yearning, and they’re unstoppably hummable. Adding hard-rock rhythms and three-part harmonies to their hysteric stomp, this band bursts with snap, crackle and pomp.
Pull Tiger Tail – B-Unique, released 20 August
Film preview
The Bourne Ultimatum – directed by Paul Greengrass
Amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) would give anything for a quiet life. No matter where he hides – London, Paris or Morocco – his former masters want him eliminated. Will the third movie to be adapted from Robert Ludlum’s muscular spy thrillers let him stop running? Input from Tom Stoppard, the British playwright, should heighten the script’s political content and Damon is joined by ace character actors David Strathairn and Paddy Considine.
The Bourne Ultimatum – Universal, released from August
Art preview
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol’s screen impersonators have grabbed more attention than his screenprints lately – Guy Pearce’s turn in Factory Girl being another movie portrayal of pop art’s Pied Piper. Warhol, the original celebrity obsessive, would enjoy that irony. Yet, 20 years after his death, his work has immense purchase on the way we live now. From Brillo boxes to Liza Minnelli – his consumer icons are all here. We project our desires onto their hypnotically colourful blankness
Andy Warhol runs 4 August to 7 October at the Royal Scottish Academy Building, Princes Street, Edinburgh, + 44 (0)131 624 6200, www.nationalgalleries.org
Also out this month…
After South Park beat them to it, Homer and his brood make it to the big screen in The Simpsons Movie. Can creator Matt Groening raise his game? Meanwhile, Judd Apatow, writerdirector of The 40-Year-Old Virgin, gets in the family way with Knocked Up. His new comedy – about an accidental pregnancy – looks even funnier than his last.
Keeping you entertained…
Throughout July and August, Music and Lyrics and The Pursuit of Happyness are being shown on selected Sterling flights. Turn to the back of this magazine for more information.
Have you been watching our inflight films? Test your knowledge here
1. Who gives Chris and his son a brief nod at the end of The Pursuit of Happyness?
a. Martin Lawrence
b. Alfonso Ribeiro
c. The real Chris Gardner
2. In real life, who taught Hugh Grant to play piano?
a. Andrew Lloyd Webber’s mother
b. Elton John’s mother
c. Whistler’s mother
Answers 1. c – The real Chris Gardner 2. a – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s mother
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