A product of the not-so-underground, genre-bending melting pot that is Naarm (Melbourne, Australia). producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Don Glori (AKA Gordon Li) unleashes his brand new album ‘Don’t Forget To Have Fun’ via DeepMatter Records.
Following the release of his much-heralded 2022 LP ‘Welcome’, a subsequent sweep of the Australian festival circuit and an EU / UK tour, Don found himself straight back in the studio but coming up short this time around. He explains: “Don't Forget To Have Fun was initially recorded in mid-2022 after several months touring my first album Welcome and at a semi-tumultuous time in my life. Add in a tough 3 days in the studio - broken equipment, illness, burnout from the touring, 40-degree Australian summer heat, a bike accident, and I was left finding it quite hard to enjoy the music. All these things combined made me decide to put the DFTHF session recordings on ice indefinitely.”
Following his relocation to London, UK in 2023, Don managed to tap into a potent creative current, by taking himself to a place of discomfort, and taking his creative back to basics - allowing additional room for experimentation. He says “I revisited the album after moving to London in May 2023, I was living in a tiny room with barely any equipment and my only income was from the slight bit of touring I was doing which was all going towards rent and groceries. It was a good opportunity to redefine the songs from the DFTHF sessions and inject some new life into them. I had just finished touring Europe, moved to a new city, didn’t know anyone, and had all the free time in the world to experiment with wacky, zany ideas. In the end, I re-recorded a lot of the parts on the record in the kitchen of my Whitechapel flat while my housemates were at work. (You can hear the ambulances in the background when you isolate some of the tracks)”.
This invigorating approach helped distill the initial album sketches into a compelling and intoxicating listening experience - with all tracks sharing similar subtle themes and commonalities running throughout. Album opener ‘Pause’ pairs psychedelic influences with a cyclic loping groove and focuses on recognising a safe space that can act as a refuge. Taking inspiration from Steely Dan, Brian Bennett & Azymuth, ‘Emerald’ channels Jazz rock, 70's LA studio energy, with the faster funk sections featuring an unruly amount of mouth percussion, synth lead lines, and vocal melodies that weave in and around the tight horn arrangements. ‘All Seeds’ is a heady blend of samba and Brazilian street soul, with field recordings of Don’s old house in Melbourne providing additional seasoning. ‘First Touch’ is a downtempo 80’s boogie-infused gem, keeping proceedings nice and sleazy. The final three movements move through one fluid composition, charting the disorientating course of a fever dream, through beguiling astral travels, unexplainable occurrences, and transcendent moments.
On the album’s title, Don explains: ‘The name Don't Forget To Have Fun is a nice reminder to myself about the journey of the album. How you can change the narrative by keeping a positive attitude, trusting the process and continually experimenting.’ A true work of art, traversing jazz, funk, soul, RnB, samba and beyond, this record is hard to describe, but even harder to forget.
credits
released June 7, 2024
Written, produced, composed, and performed by Gordon Li.
Mixed by Lewis Moody & Gordon Li
Mastered by Mo Hausler
Don Glori is an anagram for producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Gordon Li.
Traversing jazz, funk, soul, RnB, samba and beyond, his music is hard to describe, but harder to forget.
supported by 27 fans who also own “Don't Forget To Have Fun”
Even at 80 years old, Pharoah Sanders played his tenor sax with the conviction of a gospel preacher. Every second of this album is arrestingly beautiful. As far as I'm concerned, this is essential listening for anyone who considers themselves a fan of music. 3sidesinasquare
The opening track on Maulawi’s 1974 LP for the legendary Strata Records gets its funky grooves turned inside-out in these remixes. Bandcamp New & Notable Dec 19, 2021
supported by 27 fans who also own “Don't Forget To Have Fun”
"Automatic" couldn't be a better sequel if you tried - it delivers on what made "Phase" great, but also expands on that psych-funk-jazz fusion to give a couple new hints of flavour.
The title track has a great synth beat with those vocoded vocals, 'Downstream' is perfect for a poolside lounge, but 'Memory Palace' is hands down my favourite here - that 90s house-style piano man, it's so upbeat, righteous and makes for a perfect rhythm for the lads to jam over.
Flawless album, cover to cover. Xtra Happy
