Jimmy Regal & The Royals – Can’t Cry No More: Video Premiere

By At The Barrier on 13th March 2021 • ( Leave a comment )

Back in September of 2020, Jimmy Regal And The Royals were responsible for kicking up a chicken-inspired storm of blues and grooves.

We covered the Late Night Chicken extravaganza (our review here) and are dead chuffed to premiere their new video for Can’t Cry No More. It’s a real appreciation of cross-cultural musical collaboration, so, without further ado, check out what happens when South London meets Senegal.:

South London’s finest old school R’n’B band go global on Can’t Cry No More, their latest single from acclaimed album, Late Night Chicken. Guest kora maestro, Diabel Cissokho adds his multi-stringed Senegalese skills. This version is a special radio edit, available from March 12th, the day before the band’s appearance on BBC Radio 4 as they make an appearance on Loose Ends with some socially distanced World Blues.

Here’s the link to the Loose Ends show – some might even say the new version is better that the recorded version…

Joff Watkins, Jimmy Regal’s harmonica-player exaplins Cissokho’s involvement: “I first met Diabel back in 2015 when I recorded a session for his Tambacounda Express album. I had been recommended to Diabel by the great guitarist Ramon Goose. We instantly hit it off. Since then, I’ve played a lot of gigs with Diabel and recorded on Rhythm Of The Griot, his follow up collection. Diabel is a phenomenal musician and singer. He plays traditional styles but brings them into a modern context. It has a blues feel but was very different to what I had done before. It required a lot of listening. Diabel spends much of his time in Senegal so we got him to record his part there and we put it together back in London.”

Guitarist, CJ Williams adds: “I wrote this song with Diabel in mind, as ‘urban desert blues’. The rhythm and harmonies are influenced greatly by kora music from Senegal and Mali, where the blues comes from. The lyrics are about travelling, loss and discovery, with a small nod to Wordsworth’s Splendour in the Grass.”

The inclusion of Alan Hughes on Djembe has drummer, Sammy Samuels commenting: that: “One of the pleasures of Jimmy Regal… is the broad range of influences and rhythms we play with. Bringing in Alan allowed for a live recording of the percussion parts with a genuine groove and interplay that dubbing can’t achieve. He’s is a joy to play with.”