King Britt has covered most of the musical bases over the years with aliases Sylk 130, Scuba, Oba Funke and Firefly, and now he moves to the dark side- techno. With Carl Craig’s remixes causing a stir around the world at the moment, it’s the perfect time for “Interpretations” to be heard. You get the impression that Britt dug out and listened to all the classic techno tracks, digested the best ideas and then took them into the studio mixing pot to create some beautiful electronica that will keep the heads happy. It’ll be interesting to see what’s next: drum and bass maybe?

Simon Harrison

The first thing that stands out in the tracklistings for this album is that “Get Live” features Erykah Badu. It’s as good as you would expect and the perfect selling point for those who reside behind record counters. The Strange Fruit Project have been missed in the past and judging by both their previous albums there’s just no explanation. They’ve stuck to their guns and kept their effective sample-based beats and basslines. There is only one slight difference to their previous long players in that they have brought in a few guests: these include Little Brother, Bavu Blakes, Darien Brockington, DeLoach and of course the lady of soul mentioned above. I really hope this gets them the attention they thoroughly deserve, but only time will tell.

Simon Harrison

It was well over a year ago that Kirk Degiorgio came to DJ in Leeds and told me about a new project he was working on for Peacefrog which would be in the style of Steely Dan. I’ve been waiting in anticipation ever since and when I received a copy of the brilliant cover of Jan Hammer’s “Don’t You Know” I knew we were going to be in for something special. Kirk’s previous work covers most styles of electronic music and his DJ sets have become legendary. I’m not sure how to describe this style but it’s certainly heavily influenced by Kirk’s soul and jazz history, with beautiful harmonies and strings and stunning vocals by Jinadu, which will blow your mind. Comparisons will be made with Zero 7 but with a backing band of Ian O’Brien on guitar, Chris Witten’s drums and the involvement of The Heritage Orchestra, this has massive mainstream potential and the purists will love it too. So next time you’re watching TV and your mum changes the channel to watch Gardeners’ World, don’t be surprised if you end up singing along to The Beauty Room.

Simon Harrison

Finally, we have the debut album from the man behind Red Astaire who is responsible for many releases on Gamm, Jugglin, Swedish Brandy, and here is yet another alias for Freddie Cruger: 3 Foot People. For a producer who has covered most styles over the last few years, this is basically downbeat with a mix of hip hop, dub reggae, soul and jazz. It’s great to hear more from Linn whose vocals always work a treat with Freddie’s productions. Make sure you hunt down Freddie & Linn “Keep on Playing” which was one of the best tracks from 2004. Great album to compliment Freddie’s label.

Simon Harrison

Yes, The Baker Brothers are back with another fine selection of all things funky. Vocals again are supplied by Vanessa Freeman, who always sounds great with whatever productions are thrown at her. Ensure you give “Winding Rhythm” a listen for proof. On the first few listens, I’m not quite convinced that “Bakers Dozen” is in the same league as their debut “Ten Paces” but there is more than enough quality here to ensure that you give it a listen and add it to your wants list.

Simon Harrison

I bought this album on the strength of hearing one track which we know can be a little risky nowadays but “Way In Jazz” is as good as I was hoping. Things kick off with the well known “Favourite Things” which is, yes, a little obvious but it has to be said it’s a great version. The rest of the tracks are a damn fine selection of Jazz that is not a million miles away from Nicola Conte and Five Corners Quintet, with an amazing array of guest vocalists and the exceptional Nathan Haines on sax and flute plus a top notch horn section featuring Ingrid Laubrock. Here is another ace soundtrack for the summer.

Simon Harrison

Since the beginning of house music there has always been compilations that try to capture the early days and as time goes by some tracks do sound dated, but maybe it’s a “you had to be there” kind of attitude that makes sense. DJ Deep’s series started in early 2005 with some downright house classics and I’m glad to say the quality continues with Vol.2. Some of the big producers are on here but thankfully nothing too obvious: these include Mr Fingers, Jovonn, the underrated Romanthony, Mike Dunn, Pleasure Control and Risque 3. If some of these don’t mean much to you, you should definitely give this a listen. Vinyl junkies will be pleased that 3x vinyl package is in the shops now.

Simon Harrison

The Broken Keys are a collaboration between friends Nostalgia 77 and Natural Self. With a background between them that spans all manner of styles, this was always going to be interesting, especially if you’ve been checking out their solo projects. As with all collaborations you never quite know what will come out of the mixing pot but here these guys have gone for funk which captures soul, rock and hip hop. I’ve never been a huge fan of rock but the influences in “Gravity” work in so many different ways, that you just can’t help being sucked in. There are tracks for DJs and for home listening, so don’t miss out.

Simon Harrison

I first picked up on DJ Spinna back when he was producing hip hop and it was a great surprise to me and probably the house heads: that all of a sudden he was knocking out quality house productions equal to, if not better than some of the masters of the 4/4 beat. This was strengthened by the release of “We Can Change This World” featuring Heavy, which has been blowing dancefloors apart for a few months now and set to be a massive summer hit. It’s not all uptempo with guests like Little Brother’s Phonte, N’Dea Davenport, Eric Roberson and Lizz Fields these tracks just ooze soul. The latter half picks up the tempo with yet more quality vocalists including Trish Angus, Christian Urich from Tortured Soul and the Free Radikalz. Spinna proves yet again his versatility with a cracking second album.

Simon Harrison

Dabrye will be known to most people because of “Game Over” featuring Jay Dee (RIP) which had the darkest beats know to man. Part two of Dabrye’s three part album series takes influences from his home town Detroit and continues to push the boundaries with not only hip hop but also electronic music. With a massive list of top of their game MCs aka Waajeed, MF Doom, Wildchild, Beans amongst others, this is the kind of music the masses need to hear, rather than the jiggy nonsense that is featured on our air waves and blasting out of young kids car speakers. Forward thinking and all the better for it.

Simon Harrison