Reginald Omas Mamode IV Rivière Noire Vinyl LP 2025
1. Black River (Introduction)
2. It’s Out World
3. Make It Right
4. Through Our Veins
5. No Harm (Intermission)
6. I Can’t Believe
7. No Maybes
8. Message From A Creole (Interlude)
9. Freedom Song
10. Grandmamaland
11. Can’t Let Them
12. Throw Your Woes Away
13. Free (Interlude)
14. Just Keep On
15. More Love
16. Whole Hearted
17. Rivière Noire Decolonise Your Mind
18. No Time To Waste
‘Rivière Noire’ is Reginald Omas Mamode IV’s first album on Cologne imprint, Melting Pot Music and his first solo project since 2022. Reginald Omas Mamode IV is an Anglo-Mauritian vocalist, producer and musician, born and raised in Britain whilst maintaining a firm connection to his father’s African island. From South London to the Mascarene Islands where Reginald’s family roots lay. Music runs deep in the Mamode family, with his brothers being recording artists and also their relatives contributing to the ‘Electric Sega’ recordings in Mauritius during the 1970s. Reginald’s music is informed by golden era Hip-Hop, Jazz, Soul, Afro, Funk, Sega and Maloya, Africa, the Caribbean, South London and the Blues of The States, with echoes of J Dilla and D’Angelo, as well as clear influences from Sly Stone, Shuggie Otis and Lee Perry – four solo albums on Five Easy Pieces and a string of collaboration projects. Reginald has been instrumental in shaping the UK beat and jazz sound / scene of today – 2012 marked the start of Gilles Peterson’s ongoing support, playing Reginald’s music for over a decade now. Along with his brothers Mo Kolours and Jeen Bassa and friends and collaborators Al Dobson Jr and Tenderlonious, Reginald has helped forge the 22a co-operative that The FADER called “a kaleidoscopic patchwork of hip-hop, house, and groove investigations bound by one thread: a timeless belief in rhythm as a universal language.” ‘Rivière Noire’ is somewhat of a rebirth or an evolution for Reginald. The album sees him take a step back from sampling records and rather performing all the instrument and vocal parts himself. He creates his sounds and grooves with a vast array of instruments, performed, recorded and mixed in his modest studio, with live drums, drum machines, various percussion instruments, guitar, Fender Rhodes and synths. In his music, Reginald attempts to evoke feelings of universal love and compassion. It draws influence from the current state of the world as much as it does from everyday life. As we witness rising poverty, global events, political and ethnic divisions, these factors prompt some of Reginald’s themes and call for humanity to recognise we are all interconnected. “We are all related. We’re all brothers and sisters with common ancestry, common history and a common origin regardless of race, geographic location or belief systems. Love and compassion are universal feelings / practices we all should embrace and apply to all aspects of our lives, our interactions and our relationships, regardless of the kinship.”