Man Power, aka Newcastle-born, Mexico-based DJ/producer Geoff Kirkwood, has turned out a steady stream of excellent house, techno and weirdo pop records since coming to prominence in 2014, releasing on John Talabot’s Hivern Discs, Jennifer Cardini’s Correspondant, JD Twitch’s Optimo Trax and his own Me Me Me label. His latest project, the nu-disco-tinted Man Power Presents Tropical Bastard, is out now on Not An Animal, and includes remixes by Lord of the Isles and Frank Butters. To mark the release, we asked Kirkwood to tell us about the five tracks he can’t stop listening to right now.
Morphine – The Saddest Song
I’d love to claim I’ve been a fan of Morphine since I was a teen, but I actually only discovered them recently while surfing Youtube, and I’ve become a bit obsessed with their album Good, from 1992. There’s a real Walker Brothers feel to it, but with some 1990s indie and Sonic Youth DIY elements, as well as trad jazz arrangements. It’s pretty spectacular.
Dr John – Loop Garoo
Psychedelic Voodoo from Dr John, channelling his upbringing and heavily channelling Screamin’ Jay Hawkins.
Holger Czukay – Persian Love
Holger Czukay died this week. His importance in modern music can’t really be overstated, so i’ve picked Persian Love from his first album after leaving Can, as it’s a great example of his pioneering work in sampling.
Steely Dan – Babylon Sisters
The other great musician to leave us this week has been Walter Becker from Steely Dan. I doubt I need to give much of an introduction to the band, but they’re one of those groups I was exposed to as a kid and who I’ve developed a new appreciation for as I’ve grown up. It’s the CD I have in the car when I go to see my mother.
Nino Ferrer – Looking for You
Another album I’m listening to a lot at the moment is Nino and Radiah by Nino Ferrer. He was an Italian-French artist and legend has it that he hated his own music – he very sadly shot himself in the end. There’s a rich cinematic vein through this whole album, and I think you can hear his internal conflict in a lot of his music.
Man Power Presents Tropical Bastard is out now on Not An Animal
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