Nana’s Sunday Jams: Buddha - Anthony Joseph and The Spasm Band

Published on 2020-09-13 00:00:00 by Nana Fani-Kayode

Banner a_rtwork by the majestic Trav, all of Nanas jams are gathered in_ this playlist.
Yes Yes Yes Sunday Jammers!

Feels like it’s been a minute. How you holding up? Hope you’re managing to stay upright in all this madness – and that these Sunday Jams have been helping light your way.\

We’re nearing the end of our label tour – just three more stops before we switch things up for the year’s home stretch. Stay tuned.\

This week’s selection comes courtesy of a sublime musician, poet, and writer: Anthony Joseph and The Spasm Band. It’s the opening track from their debut album Leggo de Lion – and it bangs, bangs, bangs.\

I had the immense privilege of interviewing them years back during my radio days. They crammed into our tiny studio and set the room on fire. They stayed nearly the full two hours, and by the end, I was wrapped in that post-gig euphoria – took me a happy while to come down. Even now, listening transports me straight back to that sterile little studio, electrified by Joseph’s poetic alchemy and The Spasm Band’s enveloping, biting, hella funky psychedelic sound.\

One of my career highlights – right up there with interviewing poetic wonderkid Kayo Chingonyi (who, sidenote, is also a monster MC – but that’s a story for another day).\

This album led me to its home: Kindred Spirits, the brainchild of musical heavyweight KC the Funkaholic. The label – named after his legendary Amsterdam club night – feels molded by love. A conduit for genius (Tony Allen, Peven Everett, Theo Parrish, Jameszoo), its whole vibe is that deliciously interconnected, organic magic that breeds next-level artistry.\

The track? ‘Buddha’ – and it’s everything. A face-melting funk odyssey, taking psychedelic detours as Joseph narrates his father’s story through patois and symbolic imagery. It’s a journey through mysticism and memory, painting a man both fluid and fixed.\

By the end, Joseph seems to close his eyes, urging The Spasm Band to funk harder as he clings to the vision – the sea’s chaos and seduction. Pure heaven. You’ll hear Sun Ra’s spirit, Fela’s fire, jazz abandon, rock-tinged bass – yet it’s wholly Joseph’s own: pure funkadelic revelation.\

Listen close: Joseph glides between personal and political, matched stride-for-stride by The Spasm Band. When I interviewed him, he spoke of crafting ‘liquid texture’ – and damn, mission accomplished.\

Dive deeper at anthonyjoseph.co.uk. Sending Sunday love – now go get lost in it.

Written by Nana Fani-Kayode