Sons of Kemet

The music is composed by an old soul in the young body of a younger than they look, mixed heritage, 32yr old. When I say mixed heritage, I don't mean in terms of the colour of skin but in the fact that they was raised in the UK and the Caribbean. A truly international entity who seems to have travelled and created music on every continent, in a wide swathe of countries in their exploration of an undoubtedly exceptional talent as both a musician and a person.

The music of the sons of Kemet is deeply based in African rhythms and all their derivatives, Latin, Caribbean and much touted use of the Arabic music scale but you can read or hear about the structure and forms of the music from people far better qualified than I am in their other reviews.

I had been wanting to dance madly since the middle of December, it was my sadly thwarted wish for New Year. I had attempted on at least five occasions from the 26^th onwards to find some music that took me to the space – where my body and feet take over and I just don't care – The one place I never expected that to happen was the Bimhuis!

The space is small and pretty inappropriate for dancing and I having moved to sit near some friends and 'watch' – like you're supposed to – was in completely the wrong place for it. But once they started playing I could not remain seated. The music carried me away, it is soulful, energetic, intricate, complex, deeply melodic in a strange kind of sense. There is a feeling of watching the creation take place. It is composed yet, you can feel and see the band members 'playing' and communicating with each other as the rhythms fly you away. Each member of the band brings a shining facet to the interlaced layering, that is so individual to the way the music is played/created).

I checked them out before I went – obviously. The videos of 'In the Castel Of My Skin' recorded in Gauteng, South Africa, (this clip is impressive, none of the band appear in it, it is as if the music has been handed over to the expression of the song) 'Play Mass' (disappointed in the unnecessary objectification on this vid cos the rest of it is stunning), and their live recording at the Vortex Club in London of 'Beware' and Inner Babylon are now regular playing/viewing in my home!

In the latter my one criticism is I think fairly clear, which is Shababka's tendency to speak indistinctly – which may not be a problem to your average London audience but I would be very surprised if more than a few of the audience in the Bimhuis understood his invitation to dance to their music!

Though not all the pieces were introduced, they all clearly have names. This music is like listening to and encapsulates time, a space, feeling, a happening.

I was lucky enough to be able to engage three of them in conversation,which was lots of fun and quite exhilarating. When speaking as with watching the band, each member brings a facet, an interlaced layer, that is so individual to the way the music is played and created

Tom is currently the oldest in the band and the best kind of autodidact. He's been playing drums since he was 9 and jazz since the age of 14. I asked him if he had been to music school or hand any kind of jazz training his answered that his music is part of him, indivisible from the whole. He just lives and embodies everything that training aims to give. Theon and Shabaka both went to Guildhall.

The commucation on stage and off between them is a privilege to behold. The music is so much the best of what the 21^st century can offer. Dancing jazz, rhythmic, varied, soulful. They have to be HUGE and soon I cannot imagine anything else.

In the last two years they have played often in Europe (worrying a bit about Brexit). They work in different combinations of extraordinary music creation. I heard many people talking about having seen the various band members in different line ups all over the NL Jazz and festival scene. My companion had seen Tom playing with Seb Rochford (who was absent for the Bimhuis gig) in Polar Bear for instance.

On top of being superlative musicians, these are also some of the most friendly, pleasant, warm, engaging and engaged young men I have met in a very long time. Unspoiled, completely bereft of the arrogance of many jazz musicians and very talented, moderately successful young people. They are walking compliments to their parents, teachers and environment

On this cold, bitter winter evening to be cocooned in the rhythms, feeling and warmth of Africa within the knowledge, luxurious comfort and safety of a European context was magical.

I cannot recommend this band highly enough for listening, dancing, watching and talking to

If you love to dance – this is the band for you, If you are a proponent of an admirer, a lover of new experimental, shape forming, mind travelling jazz this is it. If you love drums and rhythm – don't look any further!

This is music of the best our mixed, matched, integrated and mash up society, deeply rooted in the learning, pain and lessons of the 20^th century reformed for the 21^st.

Sons of Kemet – Rock! - If you get what I mean, it is great jazz!!

Berlin Burgers International

My photography skills and camera are severely challenged!

http://www.berlinburgerinternational.com/

This place is so tiny I walked past it twice!

For some reason after checking the website I was imagining a large, windowed, airy space with WiFi and a well thought out Scandinavian style interior.

Let's be clear, it is not cheap, so if that's your primary requirement, this is not your place. It is in a street that is inundated with a wide variety of international cuisines most of which you can get a plateful of food (and a half if not two!) for the cost of one of the burgers.

However, if you want BIG(190gr-1/2lb) drop dead, gobsmacking, (vegetarian options,) heavily laden, kick ass burgers, with drool worthy extras and toppings, this is the place to be!

Quite literally the best effing burgers I have tasted in YEARS, I kid you not!

This tiny little place gets smoky with the grilling of burgers, halloumi, and toppings, the sweet potato chips are delectable. There is a sumptuous choice of cheeses and sauces. Everything prepared fresh while you wait.

Did I say the boys are super friendly, patient and really good at making burgers! 

At least one of them is an Ozzie - love 'm usually, this one very much so! He was jokey, smart, engaging. It felt like he went out of his way, without being obvious and made me feel really safe and welcome in a pretty white, pretty male city. 

When I went in the place was empty and I could dither over the menu, they were cool about it. Suddenly the place was chocka with three groups of young men arriving within seconds of each other. Most clearly return customers who knew what they wanted and couldn't wait to order

I drank one beer while I waited. The choice was limited, luckily I had had one of the expensive beers a couple of days before. In a city filled with stunning beer, theirs was over priced, fake posh, independent or cheap and nasty unfortunately.

BUT I am particular about my beer, and the three groups of young men were much more enthusiastic over the beer than me - so as far as that goes I won't say buy your beer elsewhere (but I would next time!)

http://www.berlinburgerinternational.com/

Enoki, Julia's Pasta, La Place - Utrecht Central Station mini foodhall

It is December, it's cold, it's around 20.00, I'm hungry.

I am on my way home but can't wait another 40 minutes with nothing to eat since midday except a few glasses of bad, sweet bubbly wine with only 5% alcohol.

A quick something small should stop me biting anyone's head of or getting into a fight.

Julia's pasta - no spaghetti, tagliatelle or linguine! That's not possible surely. The Dutch don't eat their pasta al dente and the last thing I need is a dish of soggy white carbs.

There's a queue, it's made to order but the prices are so cheap I don't trust it.

Next La Place - cold sandwiches, cold pizza, cold smoothies on offer - all have clearly sat there for some time. No way I am putting cold food from a chiller unit inside me in temperatures not much above freezing.

Enoki, last option.

It says Fresh Asian Cuisine

In the time since I walked in, thought "Nah", then checked the other two, they are getting ready to close so it's now or nothing.


The sushi has no time signatures on it - a very bad sign - so that is a massive "No effin way!" Clearly it has been kept for far longer than it should be. Which is what happens often when non Japanese make it. They charge the same prices without the meticulous, time connected 'wastage' that ensures the safety of the consumer and the deliciousness of the sushi and sashimi. I also notice that the temperature is way to low, meaning that the rice will be hard and tasteless.

I choose gyoza's they only have prawn ones left.

The filling, shown in the picture is exactly what I wanted to avoid in Julia's, a soggy mass of some pappy, filthy, carby mass, with not even a tiny structural likeness of anything like a prawn anywhere to be seen or tasted. You can see the texture on the chopsticks. The gyoza's are truly horrible, inedible, even, actually, especially with the super, sweet, also carby (cornfloury), tasteless, dipping sauce.

I also ordered a Thai green curry soup

As portion is less that a half cup, it was also tepid, the green leaves in it were tasteless, definitely not (Thai) basil or kafir lime.

I didn't expect the soup to be very spicy (it wasn't at all) but there are none of the flavours you would expect - lemongrass, galangal, garlic, coriander, lime. There were 5 prawns and a large amount of enoki - small thin clumps of fungi - which I love but, they are totally misplaced in a Thai green curry soup and so limp and separated I thought at first they were noodles.

The fact that it is still operating and that pretty much everything was sold out is another sad testament to either disdain so clearly felt here for good food or people being too lazy to complain.

And by the way, those two things in the picture cost just under 10 euros!