Category Archives: Reviews

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

‘Early Morning Hush’ continues where ‘Gather In The Mushrooms’ left off and further explores the music of the British acid-folk scene of the late 60s, early 70s. Simple but beautifully crafted songs such as the string laced ‘Peacock Lady’ from Shelagh McDonald, Pentangle’s ‘Sovay’, ‘Sheep Season’ by Mellow Candle and John Renbourn’s ‘The Cuckoo’ featuring some wonderful sitar work, all standout. I’m currently hooked on Keith Christmas’ ‘Forest And The Shore’ though, an orchestrated folk-funk trip with haunting yet alluring backing harmonies.

Andy Allen

Compiled by Richard Searling, the 2nd instalment of ‘You Better Believe It’ features 23 (22 on vinyl) rare and modern soul gems from the vaults of Atlantic, ATCO, Cotillion, Reprise and Warner Bros. 1967-1979. It opens in fine style with Al Hudson & The Soul Partners’ up-tempo ‘I’m About Loving You’, before moving through to Darrow Fletcher’s version of ‘Rising Cost Of Love’, Johnny Bristol’s ‘Strangers In Dark Corners’ and ‘You’re All I Need In This World’ from Prince Phillip Mitchell. The Chicago soul sound is represented by Frankie Newsome’s ‘We’re On Our Way’ and Windy City’s ‘Hey It’s Over’ which are both pure class. Other standouts include the haunting ‘Signed, Miss Heroin’ by the legendary Sam Dees, presented here with an alternative mix, the heart wrencher ‘I Want Sunday Back Again’ from Bettye Swann, and Betty Lavette’s ‘Waiting For Tomorrow’, both of which are previously unreleased recordings. Further evidence, should you need it, of why after all these years Searling is still held in such high regard on the soul scene.

Andy Allen

Kindred Spirits launch their new imprint, Free Spirits Series, in fine style with this much sought after rarity. ‘Alborada’ was originally released on Trova Records in 1976 by The Prime Element, a band formed by Argentinian musician / composer / arranger, Carlos Franzetti shortly after his move from Buenos Aires to New York. It fuses spiritual and modal jazz with soul and a heavy dose of Latin, to take us on a truly satisfying musical journey, with delights such as ‘Southamelodic’, ‘In The Dawn Of Time’, ‘The Prime Element’ and ‘Lola’. One not to be missed!

Andy Allen

Paolo Fedreghini and Marco Bianchi together with Schema’s co-founder Luciano Cantone are The Invisible Session. There are no real surprises here just the type of solid Italian jazz we have long come to expect from Schema. Jenny B handles most of the vocal chores throughout this set and particularly shines on the stunning mid-tempo groove ‘Til The End’ and the single ‘To The Powerful’, a deep and mystical affair.

Andy Allen

Nomo’s 2nd album continues the heavy percussion and horn laced Afro-jazz vibe established on their 1st self-titled outing from 2004. ‘New Tones’ is a consistently good set throughout but pay special attention to ‘Hand And Mouth’ and the title track (spelled ‘Nu Tones’ for some reason) which has a bass line reminiscent of that on Lonnie Liston Smith’s ‘Expansions’. This one is destined to mash up the dance floors in the coming months. Also look out for the recent 12" on Kindred Spirits which features 4 tracks from the 1st album.

Andy Allen

Geoff Wilkinson is back with US3’s fifth album with a live jazz flavour with live musicians contributing on trumpet, double bass, jazz guitar, piano and saxophone. Vocals come from two new rappers Akil Dasan and Gaston, both of whom were found by Geoff in New York’s Nuyorican Poets Cafe. This style may have been done many times before but "Schizophonic" has a real sense of fun in the lyrics and in the Brazilian/Jazz rhythms and grooves. Not sure this will appeal to the hiphop heads but it will certainly find a home with Nu-Jazz and modern thinking Jazz heads. Give it a listen – you’ll be hooked.

Simon Harrison

At the end of 2004 the four track limited 12″ sampler was released and all the tracks blew me away, proving Omar had not lost his touch. Two of those tracks are included here and still sound as good as ever. “It’s So” became a massive broken Beat anthem and is still heard here, there and everywhere. What we have here are fourteen tracks and proof that Omar is at the top of his game. He’s covered all the bases with heavy Hiphop beats featuring Common and Rodney P, hints of R&B with Sing and “Stylin”, Latin Jazz on “Be A Man” and of course “Feeling You” with Stevie Wonder back on top form. The quality never lets up and to finish the album off is the simply brilliant “Ghana Emotion”, which I just can’t get enough of. The standard has been set for album of 2006.

Simon Harrison

2006 is certainly going to be quite a year for Max Cole, with three projects being released over the following months. First we have Max’s excellent debut for the ever consistent Wah Wah stable. Max has a lovely if unique voice which just gets better and better with every play. The single “Mo High” which was released in 2005 stood out to be that little bit different, but those not convinced will find a slightly different vibe here and it’s a pleasure to listen to. Initially a bedroom producer who knows that it’s not all about electronics he is also a dab hand at various instruments, giving this the live feel suited to Max’s vocals and wonderful guest vocalists Deborah Jordan and Lucy May. The next two projects from Max are Moto Tengu and Other Worlds: can’t wait.

Simon Harrison

Yet another corking compilation from Tru Thoughts and it features all their heavyweight artists including Alice Russell, The Nostalgia 77 Octet, The Bamboos, Diesler and more. If you’re a vinyl junkie there is a chance you may have picked up a few of these tracks: if not this is a must. Tracks worthy of your attention are Quantic & Nickodemus’ "Mi Swing Es Tropical", Diesler’s remix of Nirobi & Barakas "Bungee Jump Against Racism", Polar Pair v Maddslinky’s "Over My Head" and DJ Vadim’s remix of Alice Russell’s "A Fly In The Hand". Check out the Tru Thoughts website now because you can purchase this for a bargain reduced price.

Simon Harrison

Mr Peterson is currently churning out compilations at an alarming rate but you’ve got to give it to him, they are always quality selections. Here is the second instalment of all things Brazilian and it keeps with the same formula as the first. CD1 is old school from the 60’s and 70’s, and CD2 features tracks from the last few years and of course includes various big name remixers. My preference is CD1 but I’m not convinced we needed to hear another version of ‘California Soul’. The other thirteen tracks are an excellent mix up with sprinklings of funk, samba and jazz. My current faves from CD2 are tracks by Bugz in the Attic, Zero Db, Bruno E Sexteto and some ace drum & bass from Drumagick.
Gilles is recording 6 podcasts to cover the different aspect of Brazil’s music culture. Check them out here: www.brahma.com/gillespeterson

Simon Harrison

Just before I received ‘Unreleased’, I found out that Jocelyn had been on a reality TV show and even though this may well boost sales of this album, I was a little unsure what to expect. Of course I have no idea how well she did, but with a voice as good as Jocelyn’s it was unlikely the real world would vote for a real talent, rather than some second-rate pop star. One thing for sure is that Jocelyn has an amazing voice and had featured on far too many tracks to mention here. All fourteen tracks here are certainly aimed at the modern soul scene and a pleasure to listen to. The standout track for me is the excellent ‘She’d Called’, which is Jocelyn at her best. Ensure you give this a listen.

Simon Harrison

Introducing us to a stable of new artists from ‘down under’, the debut compilation from this Sydney-based label guides us seamlessly through Future Jazz and Broken Beat territory, Click-House, twisted Electro, and poppy Nu-Disco, whilst maintaining a techy, synth-driven feeling throughout. Despite a plateau in the middle, the CD starts and finishes strongly and, with nods to labels like Dialect and 20:20 Vision, there is some high-quality electronic music here that will have you dancing round your bedroom in no time.

Tom Breslin

With his status as a leading light of independent Hip-Hop already cemented, Boston-bred MC, Mr. Lif returns with a bang, delivering an explosive, but cerebral commentary on the state of US society. It is unfortunate then, that his immense lyrical talent is often drowned-out here by a relentlessly tough, speaker-puncturing production style, courtesy of Def Jux honcho El-P. It’s not all bad news, but the chaos of the Funk and Rock-fuelled soundscape makes it tough to appreciate the presence of a gifted vocalist.

Tom Breslin