If I was a betting man I would have put money on Natalie’s single with TY “That’s the way I like it” being a massive hit and maybe even hitting the charts. In reality I’ve seen it playlisted on a few radio shows but I think that’s it. It may have appeared on MTV but I think this proves that nothing is certain and that real talent more often than not gets missed nowadays. Natalie has featured on a number of projects recently, including the Heritage Orchestra album and many live shows in and around London. “Secret Garden” may not grab you at first but tracks like “Butterfly”, “Secret Garden” and “That’s the way I like it” will stick in your head for days, due to the catchy chorus and lyrics. I found it rather funny that Tony Blackburn was mentioned in the press sheet for playing Natalie’s tracks but if her music gets played on radio, it can only do good.

Simon Harrison

A few years ago Will Holland went in search of Spanky Wilson to feature on his 2001 album “Mishaps Happening”, and of course the anthem “Don’t joke with a hungry man” bowled everyone over. I would have loved to have seen his face when she agreed to record an album with him: he must have been smiling for weeks. The Quantic Soul Orchestra side of Will’s productions is funk at its best and with Spanky on vocals it was never ever going to fail. The tracks are not obvious and do take a little getting used to but to me it’s another classic Quantic collaboration.

Simon Harrison

After two ace singles the Deeper Wider Higher collective deliver their debut album and what a treat. With a whopping 17 tracks in total which includes a few remixes thrown in for good measure, this keeps up the quality we’ve come to expect from Counterpoint records. “Follow Me” mixes soul and jazz with beautiful vocals from Genifa Edwards, a name I’ve not heard of before but I’ll certainly keep my eyes pealed for future projects. This is a must for fans of Fertile Ground and The Rebirth and given time will easily generate as much hype and respect. I hope these guys get on the road soon and show us what they are made of.

Simon Harrison

When writing reviews sometimes I will listen to an album two or three times to try and find the words to describe my thoughts and come up with new ideas of how to say an album is worth buying. I’ve had “Positivity” for a few weeks now and even though I love this to bits, I’ve really struggled putting pen to paper. Positive Flow is the brain child of Jesse Reuben Wilson and features lovely vocals from Donna Gardier and Zena Edwards. Soul shines through at the heart of all the productions whether the beats are broken, 4/4 or the more traditional smooth sound. A 12″ sampler was released with four corkers and don’t be thinking they were the best tracks because there’s another seven to blow you away.

Simon Harrison

This debut release from People Tree Records, appropriately entitled ‘Welcome To The People Tree’ focuses on folk flavours from the past to the present. Over fifteen tracks we’re treated to tripped out delights such as Linda Perhacs’ ‘Paper Mountain Man’, John Martyn’s ‘Glory Box’, ‘Swallow’ from Circulus and a version of the evergreen ‘Corn Riggs’ by Marked & Joff. Joy Jones contributes ‘Troubles (Cure Me)’ but the real standouts are ‘Pure English Honey’ by former Mother Earth front man Matt Deighton, the poetic ‘Where The River Bends’ from Cry Earth and the outstanding jazz-folk sound of Grand Union’s ‘Morning Brings The Light’.

Andy Allen

Arision again dig deep to bring us a welcome re-issue of Gruppo Jazz Marca"s Italian rarity "Mitteleuropa". Here pianist Roberto Magris extends his usual trio to accommodate a horn section giving the compositions a much fuller sound than that found on their "Comunicazone Sonora" album (also re-issued on Arision), which is most effective on the immaculate "Dedalus".

Andy Allen

Already off to a flying start with the likes of Ben Westbeach and a UK issue of Soil & Pimp Sessions, Gilles Peterson and Simon Goffe’s new Brownswood label now unleashes the outstanding debut from The Heritage Orchestra. The forty plus collective in collaboration with Chris Bowden present a selection of beautifully crafted cinematic jazz-funk arrangements. From the set’s opener ‘Mothers And Daughters Now Mothers’, a nine minute epic, you know you’re in for a treat. The drama continues with breathtaking moments such as ‘Sky Breaks’ featuring vocalist Liz Swain and ‘Tell Me Stories’ with Natalie Williams on lead but this is an album that really needs to be savoured in its entirety.

Andy Allen

It’s always a pleasure when an album comes along that you weren’t expecting and completely blows you away. It was hip-hop bands like Public Enemy that got me into electronic music and it’s been very interesting over the years to see how things have progressed and gone wider afield. The Recluse Crew are from Helsinki and produce some of the funkiest heavy bassline beats you’ll hear. Perfectly suited lyrics are from Dirty Smarts and LLC. It sounds like these guys have been honing their skills for years and getting tips from the masters. Finnish hip-hop may not have sprung to mind previously but this is heavy weight stuff. I’ll be keeping an eye on Kool Kat in the future.

Simon Harrison

It was only a few months ago that part 1 was released and it goes to show how much excellent music Tru Thoughts have up their sleeve when they can release part 2 so soon. You may be thinking ‘not another compilation’, but wait- this has some wonderful gems. Nostalgia 77 is releasing albums almost as quick as Quantic and two of his tracks are here. Nativeland, which was recorded live at the jazz cafe is brilliant, and the track with Wah Wah 45s Capstone is beautiful. Also featured are the ace first instalment of the collaboration with Quantic and Spanky Wilson and ace remix of Alice Russell’s "Mirror Mirror on the Wolf" by Bonobo. Hip-hop is covered by Simpson, Dirty Diggers and Phi-Life Cypher, with some funk by The Broken Keys… Pheew.

Simon Harrison

Those of you who have been on the ball will have noticed that a number of tracks from “All I Can Provide” have been released on 12″ over the last few months. With productions from Vikter Duplaix and King Britt, those guys gave Clara the exposure she deserved but it’s the tracks with Slope, Atjazz, Sandboy and Meitz that really make this album worthwhile. These four producers cross broken, boogie and soul to make Clara’s voice sound her best yet. S.K continues their domination.

Simon Harrison