When i sit and write reviews the hardest part for me is the comparisons with other music i’ve heard. It’s not that i think everything sounds like something else and has little originality, i just feel that if the reader has something to compare it too then it makes thing a little simpler and more understandable. Well, with this Coloma album on Austria’s Klein label i’m not even gonna think who they sound like for one second because they sound like no one else. Two Brits now based in Germany recording some elegant vocal tracks backed with some sublime music throughout the whole album. It’s definitely pop music, it’s definitely electronic music, it’s definitely electronic pop music. ‘Dovetail’ is the duo’s third album outing and they’re most mature to date. Likeable to the fact that the vocals are clean, the production is simple and tight and the combination of both provides a stunning piece of music from two musicians who deserve more credit outside their adopted land.

Jax

As the subtitle suggests, Harmless’ latest compilation selected by Bill Brewster focuses on the influence of black American funk and soul on the rock scene. There seems to have been a growing interest in this genre, folk-funk, funk-rock etc over the past few years and I for one am slowly but surely opening my mind to it. Not all here is to my tastes but it’s nice to see the inclusion of Chicago’s percussive ‘Happy Cause I’m Going Home’ along with Odyssey’s infectious horn driven soul sensation ‘Battened Ships’. Other standouts are the album’s opener, a great version of ‘Spooky’ by Classics IV, the Steely Dan influenced ‘Hesitation’ by Honk, the crossover soul sound of Elkie Brooks’ ‘Spiritland’ and the one I’m currently playing, Gino Vannelli’s ‘People Gotta Move On’, which comes off like a Stevie Wonder track. The CD features a bonus disc mixed by Brewster under his Fat Camp guise and includes some tasty re-edits.

Andy Allen

Following on from last year’s brilliant ‘The Soul Of Disco’ compilation, Joey Negro and Sean P again put their heads together, this time coming up with a selection of 20 boogie rarities. To these ears some of the tracks really haven’t aged well and suffer from the crashing drum machine and synth effects so prevalent during the 80s. However there are some real delights contained within, namely Mid Air’s ‘Ease Out’, C Brand’s epic ‘Wired For Games’ and Lowrell Simon’s sought after masterpiece ‘Love Massage’. Other worthy inclusions are Vera Brown & The Rich Girls’ ‘Living Too Fast’, ‘Am I Gonna Be The One’ from Colors, Samson & Delilah’s ‘I Can Feel Your Love (Slippin’ Away)’ and the gospel flavoured ‘I Am Going To Love Him’ by Sanctuary. Takes me back to the days of wet look perms, headbands and formation dancing!

Andy Allen

These latest offerings from Ryota Nazaki follow a similar path to that walked on his previous sets, seamlessly fusing elements of jazz, Brazilian, house, broken beat etc. The Flora Purim fronted ‘Dentro De Mim’, ‘Dentro Mi Alma’ featuring Sonia Santana and the title track on ‘Cannibal Rock’ all shine brightly, as does the twisted broken cut, ‘Beeping’. ‘En:Code’ opens with the spiritual vibes of ‘Pathways (Jazztronik Theme)’ with Valarie Etienne and Rob Gallagher, a track 4 Hero would have been proud of. It then passes through the Marcos Valle blessed ‘Rio. Sol E Mar’, ‘Little Tree’, a violin led waltz and the epic tech-jazz title track. I hear through the grapevine that Pantone are soon to release the best tracks from this pair on a single CD album for the UK market.

Andy Allen

Here we have the first collaboration between Roger Eno and Will Thomas aka Plumbline, both of whom have released projects on All Saints and Hydrogen Dukebox. This is a beautiful cinematic album with a whole host of influences, which literally include sounds from clocks, cars and church bells, the kind of thing you would expect from Matthew Herbert. In fact the first track “Transparency” could easily be the work of Herbert himself. The recording “Transparencies” began with joining the dots of various churches and buildings among the beautiful landscape of East Anglia. Things then moved to New York to be manipulated by Will, which gives the album the gritty rhythms, melodies and soft tones. Lovely stuff.

Simon Harrison

I’ve been holding back buying this album for a few months hoping that vinyl copies might appear but in the end I just couldn’t wait any longer. Nicole Willis has been on the scene for years but I still get the impression that she still hasn’t received the attention she fully deserves. Not many people can say they’ve worked with Brand New Heavies and Curtis Mayfield and that they were one of the original members of Dee-Lite or recorded for the legendary Mo’ Wax. As I’m sure you’ve guessed, this time Nicole teams up with Finland’s funk band The Soul Investigators, who have built their own reputation over the years. The final result is a wonderful 70’s funk mash-up that could easily fool any music purist into believing this was recorded back in the day.

Simon Harrison

It’s been around five years since Grupo X broke through with their debut album "X-Posure" and it’s great to have them back, even though they’ve never really been away, with an extensive live schedule. "Food For Your Latin Soul" continues where they left off, with a mix of Salsa, Bugalu, Latin, Brasilia and Jazz. All eleven songs have been written by bandleader Jonny Enright and Jimmy Le Messurier, and once again on lead vocals we have Lisa Millett, who’s caused quite a stir on the house scene, but the six tracks she features on here are much better suited to her vocals. Five years is a long time in the music industry but it’s been well worth the wait.

Simon Harrison

Most people will be interested in this compilation because it features Carl Craig’s excellent remix of Theo Parrish’s ‘Falling Up’, which featured on a limited 10", and has been seen going for silly money on Ebay and played by just about every DJ across the land. This isn’t just about one track because this is a damn fine compilation, with ten more quality remixes, six of which were unreleased until now. Twiddling the knobs are Amp Dog Knight, Marcellus ‘3 chairs’ Pittman, Gilbr and Beatdown Brothers, to name a few. In fact just about every Detroit producer is on here. A mix cd will also follow shortly compiled and mixed by Norm Talley. Third Ear looks after its punters.

Simon Harrison

Here’s the next instalment to ?uestlove’s compilation for BBE, and as the title suggests, it is no surprise this was released on 14th Feb. He again digs back with more classics from Al Green, Delfonics, Natalie Cole, Delfonics and Bobby Womack. If you’re after romantic lyrics for Valentine’s Day, then you’d better give this a miss today, but what it does is give you is a small insight in to the good old days of real soul music, and lyrics which a number of current bands could take some pointers from. BEE never fails to impress.

Simon Harrison

I believe this will be the last release on this excellent and constant label, and what a way to finish its reign of everything soulful. Here is a mix of unreleased and essential tracks from the back catalogue. Of course Break Reform appears, but here are the essential remixes by Domu, Unknown Quality and Yam Who? Nanar sounds so, so good on unreleased tracks with Low Budget Soul, Kamara and the classic, but rare, Aztec Productions. Other tracks worth mentioning are Low Budget Soul featuring Marcia Escoffery and the Break Reform remix of Alison Evelyn’s ‘Found A New Thing’. This may be the end of Abstract Blue, but Simon S and collective will be back with new label Futuristica very soon: roll on 2006.

Simon Harrison