Yearly Archives: 2007

Excellent new CD from Candido after a too long five year absence, vocally some of the smoothness has gone but developed a rawer edge which fires the music onto the dance floor. His reputation as a songwriter has led to his material being covered by Isaac Delgado, Los Van Van, Oscar D’Leon while his reputation as an improviser means he can rip it up on tracks like ‘El Granmy’. Very Good

Graham Radley

The Red Flags are songwriter Keith Mouland (vocals, acoustic guitar, harmonica, whistling) and K.C. (Harry) O’ Shea (upright bass, accordion, piano) here they bring us a very classy collection of Americana/alt. country that stands it fairly and squarely against most others of its ilk. The songs are stories of life, try and listen to ‘Down Across he Border’ to hear them at their best. Very good.

Graham Radley

A best of from 1998 to 2003 on Anonym Records, The Lion Of Zimbabwe developed his Chimurenga Music (music of struggle) style to voice his concerns over political and social issues in Zimbabwe. At the core of the music is the spiritual sound of the mbira but there’s some jit jive and wider influences contributing too to his powerful vocal style and delivery. The CD starts with a track from his latest release ‘Toi Toi’. taking us back it time to ‘Chimurenga ’98’. Good collection.

Graham Radley

When Adriana Evans’ self-titled debut was released in 1997 it impacted greatly on the newly emerging neo/organic soul scene. Although her follow up ‘Nomadic’ failed to spark the same level of interest this, her third set sees a return to form. It features all the traits of her first, strong beats, infectious horn arrangements and of course Adriana’s delectable vocal tones. She particularly shines on ‘Hey Now’, ‘Calling Me’ and ‘Undercover’ along with the mellow samba ‘Blue Bird In Bahia’ and the Latin flavoured ‘All For Love’, all of which are like a breath of fresh air.

Andy Allen

Originally released in 1973 Gary Marks’ ‘Gathering’ gets a welcome reissue by Kindred Spirits. Gary has a gentle yet mesmerizing quality to his voice and together with his band, featuring amongst others guitarist John Scofield and David Samuels on vibes, he delivers a stunning collection of folk-jazz compositions. ‘Sailing’, a tranquil piece, the blissful ‘We Free’, the funky fusion instrumental title track and ‘Him Sometimes’, a superb modal outing are all exceptional but this album is a pleasure to listen to from beginning to end.

Andy Allen

This is one I’ve been really looking forward to after hearing the snips on the Twisted Funk label website, and boy does it deliver. Marc Mac compiles the finest selection of the best broken beats you’ll hear in 2007, produced by some of the biggest players in the bruk scene. Yes they’re just about all here: Somatik, Cyberworks, Mark Force, Jonny Miller, Seiji, Hopper, Nu Era, Dr Stepper, Sonar Circle aka Domu and of course two tracks from Marc Mac. If you need any more convincing, I give up.

Simon Harrison

I’m not sure if it was the sad loss of J Dilla aka Jay Dee (R.I.P) in 2006 that sparked a new interest in beats but over the last few months we’ve seen quality albums from the likes Flying Lotus, Dr. Who Dat aka Jnerio Jarel, Hudson Mohawke and many more, with of course re-issues and new releases of Dilla material. Super Smoky Soul take the gauntlet and produce twenty heavy weight beats, that have had many beat junkies drooling. I don’t know much about these guys but once you get your ears around the likes of “After Smoke”, “Every”, “Simply”, “Smile” or “Classius Clay”, just to name a few, you’ll be hooked. The vinyl sampler will be in limited quantites, so be warned.

Simon Harrison

When I read in the press release that Lanu is a member of The Bamboos I was expecting an album with killer funk anthems but I couldn’t have been further from reality. What we have here is some of the best house, broken beats and soul, that could be easliy be mistaken for some of the top producers in those genres. It just goes to prove it makes no difference what your background is: if you’re good you can do anything and Lanu does it with brilliance. You must check out the amazing Simon Grey featuring on keys on “Rise” and Cherie Mathieson on vocals “Runaway”. This album is certain to cause a frenzy in many scenes over 2007: don’t miss out.

Simon Harrison

Bryn Griffiths is the producer behind Unity Gain Theory with partner in crime Wayne Lotek, who you may remember for his work with Roots Manuva. Of course the production is exactly what you would expect from these guys: top quality and a great selection of styles around hip-hop and down-tempo beats. My favourite tracks feature Sophie Faricy on vocals, whether it’s the lovely spoken word “Careless Talk”, “Careless” or the duo with Juice Aleem on “Grown Up”. Other vocalists include Allonymous, HKB Finn and Lyric L. whose tracks grow on you with every play. The instrumental tracks and snips make this the complete package.

Simon Harrison

After several 12" releases under their belt the Belgian duo, Jean Vanesse and Thomas Sohet, aka Spirit Catcher deliver their debut album for the Leeds based 2020 Vision Recordings. It’s packed full of quality electro-boogie house and includes both ‘Sweet Deal’ and ‘Time Emulator’ from the recent single. To these ears though the standouts are the mid-tempo grooves ‘Space Crash’ and ‘Motown Spring’, the latter featuring a rock steady bass line, atmospheric keys and dreamy filtered harmonies. Trust me this is the bomb!

Andy Allen

‘A Soulful Tale Of Two Cities’ is a two disc package which brings together a whole host of legendary Philadelphia and Detroit soul artists and sees them covering classic tracks from the Philadelphia International and Motown songbooks. Disc one features the Philly artists taking on the Motown hits whereas disc two is all about the Detroit artists getting their chops around the PIR evergreens. Although the production is a touch smooth for my tastes there’s no denying the talent on show with artists such as Bunny Sigler, Major Harris, Barbara Mason, Vincent Montana Jr, George Clinton, Freda Payne, Carolyn Crawford and Bobby Taylor. The better tracks include Jean Carne’s version of ‘Higher Ground’, ‘Ain’t No Stopping Us Now from Ali ‘Ollie’ Woodson and Lamont Dozier’s take on ‘Close The Door’.

Andy Allen

Quick on the heels of last year’s ‘Easy Livin” LP Peven Everett drops his new set for Aaron Ross’ Soul Heaven, a subsidiary of Defected. ‘Power Soul’ effortlessly blends soul and house resulting in his best set since ‘Studio Confessions’. The singles ‘Stuck’ and ‘Can’t Do Without’ are included and are definitely the better of the house cuts, but it’s on the soul tracks where Peven really shines. Try ‘Surely Shorty’, ‘Washing’, ‘This Just In’ or the amazing ‘Futuristic’ for first rate examples of twenty first century soul music.

Andy Allen

We’re only one month into 2007 and Nostalgia 77 aka Benedic Lamdin is out of the blocks with another excellent album under his belt. While some of us are still enjoying his albums from 2006, Benedic is going full steam ahead with his next idea and constantly pushing himself with new challenges. So much so “Everything Under The Sun” features wonderful vocals from Lizzy Parks and Beth Rowley, who both bring a charm and sophistication to what can be only described simply as Jazz. I can’t highlight any of of the nine tracks because they are all beautiful and you must listen to every track in its own right. This is the perfect way to start 2007!

Simon Harrison

Most of us should have seen this coming: Sonar Kollektiv have released three volumes of the ace Secret Love compilations, so it makes sense that Sascha Gottschalk and Axel Reinemer aka Extended Spirit and two members of the Jazzanova collective produce a folk style album. Even though I say folk, the productions are not a million miles away from last year’s brilliant Beauty Room album, which was also influenced by Steely Dan, rather than the fashionable folk doing the rounds at the moment. As with all Jazzanova productions, they are polished, with beautiful arrangements and lyrics. It’s not all about Gottschalk and Reinemer because Thief’s voice is something to savour and sit back and enjoy over and over again. Beautiful.

Simon Harrison

Ninja Tune have been very busy of late but it’s one label over the years that constantly stick to what they are good at and that’s releasing quality music. OK not everything maybe your thing but if you give your attention, everything is nothing short of excellent. Amon Tobin is one such artist who may not sell albums by the truckload but he does make good quality and well produced music. Not many labels would have the balls to release this album but that’s one of the things Ninja does well. I’ve been struggling to put pen to paper and describe “The Foley Room” but it’s somewhere between Dimlite, Matthew Herbert and The Cinematic Orchestra. If the thought of that has you slavering at the mouth, you will thoroughly enjoy this ace soundtrack. There may be sections where you scratch your head but keep going because it’ll all make sense once you reach the final track.

Simon Harrison