The Heliocentrics are an English,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
-based musical collective that combines
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, psych, and library influences. The group is based around drummer and producer
Malcolm Catto
Malcolm Catto is an English drummer and record producer. He is the co-founder and producer of the English psychedelic/jazz/experimental music group The Heliocentrics. They have so far released four of their own albums but have also issued colla ...
, bassist Jake Ferguson, guitarist Adrian Owusu, and multi-instrumentalist Jack Yglesias.
History
The Heliocentrics released their debut album ''Out There'' in 2007 on
Now-Again Records
Now-Again Records is a Los Angeles–based music imprint that specializes in reissues and compilations of funk, soul, and psychedelic rock from the 1960s to the 1980s. Founded in 2002 by Eothen "Egon" Alapatt as a subsidiary of Stones Throw Recor ...
. This was followed by collaborations with Ethiopian musician
Mulatu Astatke
Mulatu Astatke (; French pronunciation: Astatqé; born 19 December 1943) is an Ethiopian musician and arranger considered as the father of "Ethio-jazz".
Born in Jimma, Mulatu was musically trained in London, New York City, and Boston where he ...
on the album ''Inspiration Information'' (2009), which was awarded that year's
Gilles Peterson Worldwide Winner Album of the Year award, ''Lloyd Miller & The Heliocentrics (OST)'' (2010), and
Orlando Julius
Orlando Julius Aremu Olusanya Ekemode, known professionally as Orlando Julius or Orlando Julius Ekemode (22 September 1943 – 14 April 2022) was a Nigerian saxophonist, singer, bandleader, and songwriter closely associated with afrobeat music.
...
.
The Heliocentrics appeared on the track "Skullfuckery" on the UK release of the
DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972 in San Jose, California, San Jose, California), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ and record producer. His debut studio album, ''Endtroducing.....,'' was released in 1996.
He uses l ...
album ''
The Outsider'', which was released in 2006.
In 2013, they released their second full album, ''13 Degrees of Reality'' also on Stones Throw. The 2009 album with Astatke was included in a list of 'Five Essential Jazz Albums' chosen by pianist
Jamie Cullum
Jamie Paul Joseph Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, pianist, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He h ...
in 2013.
In 2017, they released ''A World of Masks'' with vocals by Barbora Patkova,
as well as ''The Sunshine Makers OST'', the score they wrote for the 2015 British documentary ''
The Sunshine Makers'', directed by Cosmo Feilding-Mellen. Both records were released on
Soundway Records.
In 2020, they released ''Infinity of Now'' and ''Telemetric Sounds''.
In 2023, they released ''Legna'' which is a full length collaboration with
The Gaslamp Killer
William Benjamin Bensussen (born November 7, 1982), better known by his stage name The Gaslamp Killer, is an American alternative hip hop producer and DJ based in Los Angeles, California.
Career
He grew up in San Diego, California, where he beca ...
.
Discography
Adapted from Discogs.
Studio albums
EPs
Singles
Compilations
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heliocentrics, The
English funk musical groups
Musical groups from London
Now-Again Records artists