By James Hale | Published December 2021
This seems like an odd move for a U.K. artist seeking to establish herself outside her native country. Presumably released to capitalize on the nomination of Source (her 2020 release) for the 2021 Mercury Prize, Source We Move is ultimately a more effective showcase for the eight DJs represented than for Garcia’s considerable talent.
The original album provided a fulsome view of Garcia’s ability to blend the influence of Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane with her experience as a person of deeply rooted African/Caribbean cultures. Sources also offered an expansive introduction to Garcia’s working quartet, particularly drummer Sam Jones.
Source We Move is more aggressively propulsive and less probing than the original material, but let the remixes speak for themselves.
Several of the DJs push vocals to the front, with Blvck Spvde using choral voicings and a strong lead to transform the pulsing “Inner Game,” and Suricata creating an effective call-and-response between the blended voices of the Colombian trio La Perla and Garcia’s tenor on one of two versions of “La cumbia me está Ilamando.” A vocal trio is also used as counterpoint to Garcia’s sax on the Dengue Dengue Dengue remix of “Source,” rendered here with an unrelenting, stabbing rhythm bed. Most successful is Nala Sinephro’s version of “Together Is A Beautiful Place To Be,” an atmospheric haze with Sheila Maurice Grey’s trumpet as a blurry presence.
Source We Move: La cumbia me está llamando (Kaidi Tatham remix); Together Is A Beautiful Place To Be (Nala Sinephro remix); The Message Continues (DJ Harrison remix); Inner Game (Blvck Spvde remix); Boundless Beings (Georgia Anne Muldrow remix); Stand With Each Other (KeiyaA remix); La cumbia me está llamando (Suricata remix); Source (Dengue Dengue Dengue remix); Pace (Moses Boyd remix). (31:56)
Personnel: Nubya Garcia, tenor saxophone; Cassie Kinoshi, tenor saxophone (8), vocals (6); Sheila Maurice Grey, trumpet (2), vocals (6, 8); Joe Armon-Jones, keyboards, piano; Daniel Casimer, bass; Sam Jones, drums; Akenya (5), Ritchie Seivwright (6, 8), Giovanna Mogollón (1, 7), Karen Forero (1, 7), vocals; Diana Sanmiguel (1, 7) vocals, maracas.
Ordering Info: concord.com
