Silent Street is the name of a 1981 single by the Bristol band Maximum Joy, as well as the name of a new collaborative project of Blackest Ever Black boss Kiran Sande and Chris Farrell, label owner of Bristol’s Idle Hands.
Their first outing is a compilation of singles from Maximum Joy called I Can’t Stand It Here On Quiet Nights, an exhibition of the group’s jubilant celebration of diverse influences that touch on punk, jazz, dub, funk, soul and even hip-hop. Centring around the three singles the band released on Dick O’Dell’s Y Records between 1981 and 1982, the label calls it “some of the greatest, most intoxicating pop music ever made”.
Our choice for premiering is ‘Building Bridges (Building Dub)’, a perfect example of how the group could meld funk and caribbean sounds with their instrumental competence. The heavy percussion rolls along but the instrumentation glazes it with melody and variety, occasionally interrupted with loose but tightly fitted breakdowns.
I Can’t Stand It Here On Quiet Nights is out 8th September in a double vinyl edition including sleevenotes by the band’s Janine Rainforth (who appeared on this three-hour documentary by Gilles Peterson on Bristol music), Tony Wrafter and Kevin Pearce. Buy from Bandcamp.
For more Idle Hands on STW:
Idle Hands at 5: memories and music from the extended family
Premiere: Bruce – The Trouble With Wilderness
Stamp TV: Record Shopping with Eamon Harkin & Justin Carter at Idle Hands
Premiere: Andy Mac – Horse Fly (Dub)
Chris Farrell’s top 10 tracks for after-hours listening at Idle Hands
