Not only is flugelhornist / trumpeter Jukka Eskola an integral part of The Five Corners Quintet but he’s also worked with other top Finnish artists such as NuSpirit Helsinki, Teddy Rok Seven, Quintessence and Jimi Tenor. On this his self titled debut solo outing he’s accompanied by Jukkis Uotila on electric piano, along with fellow TFCQ contributors Antti Lotjonen, Teppo Makynen (Teddy Rok) and Timo Lassey on bass, drums and saxophone / flute respectively. He impressed earlier this year with the 12″ for Ricky-Tick, which featured the jazz dancers ‘1974’ and ‘Buttercup’. Both tracks are included here and on first listen are the standouts. However spend a little time with this disc and you’ll discover the delights of the Freddie Hubbard influenced ‘Kulo’, as well as ‘Duudamdej’ and ‘Timber Up’, two funky fusion pieces. The later features some awesome drum breaks and keys reminiscent of those on Roy Ayers’s ‘Everybody Loves The Sunshine’.

Andy Allen

This is one debut that I’ve been waiting for ever since I first heard the now classic ‘Wesley Music’, which rocked just about every dancefloor back in 2003. Some three years later and a few more singles in the shops ‘Every Preston Guild’ sees the light of day. The three man team that make up RSL create a nice mix of old and new, fusing Jazz, Latin, House and Soul into the pot. If you already have the singles, the main reason for buying this album is certainly what should be their next single, ‘Every Preston Guild’, another anthem in the making.

Simon Harrison

Milwaukee’s Jason Todd, Lunaversol9 and Epicenter are back with their second Def Harmonic album which of course features more mad, yet damn funky beats and quality vocals. Jason’s voice is not only unique but he switches between rapping and singing seamlessly and works a treat with Lunaversol9’s verse. As with all their previous work there is a real fun factor to their lyrics, and the track this style peaks with is the 2005 anthem ‘Spaced Out’, a track I’ve been hammering for months. Having checked these guys live at Cargo earlier this year, they are going to be a force to be reckoned with over the coming years. With ‘All These Worldz’ being the sound of now, why on earth haven’t these guys been signed to a major?

Simon Harrison

Kirk Degiorgio’s New Religion has been releasing some of the best UK Techno and Electronica for over five years, and Kirk has never been restrained by any musical boundaries in his DJ sets or productions. Here we have New Religion’s latest offering with a whole host of artists doing what they do best – producing quality music. The single with Domu’s ‘Quarantine’ and Stacy Kidd’s ‘Liquid Letter’ has been getting some serious attention over the last month. Other artists include: Kirk’s very own As One project, plus Blue Binary, Beetlejuice, 69 and Balil, who haven’t released anything in over ten years. Fans of Sheffield’s Warp Records will love this to bits.

Simon Harrison

Here’s another beautifully packed CD. Attention to detail makes all the difference and you even get a free CD-R in there as well. Riovolt is a real mixed bag of Funk, Jazz, Drum & Bass, Samba and Electronica. The killer track for me, and the reason you need to buy this album, is ‘Starjive’, a brilliant Brazilian flavour jazz funk bomb brought up to date for 2005 and not a million miles away from Azymuth. Norbert Küpper, the producer and composer behind Riovolt, grew up with Soul, Fusion and Funk, and these influences shine throughout ‘Sambarama’. Vocals are provided by Zuco 103’s Lilian Vieira and Ju Cassou, which completes the package perfectly.

Simon Harrison

I’d been looking forward to this coming out a long time before its general release. The combination of one of my favourite rappers with one of the World’s hottest producers surely wouldn’t fail? I was right.

This album has more of an up-tempo vibe for old Metal Face with the addition of some superb guest MC’s:- Ghostface appears on ‘The Mask’, Cee Lo’s on ‘Benzie Box’ and Talib Kwali features on my favourite track on the script – ‘Old School’, which does exactly what it says on the tin.

The whole album is scattered around the US cartoon ‘Adult Swim’. There are skits-a-plenty featuring the voices of Adult Swim characters and these are not only humourous but fit like a glove with the rest of the long player.

The basslines are fat, the lyrics are ‘Sofa King’ good, it just gel’s. This is without doubt my Hip Hop album of zero five.

You like doom? You’ll like this. You like good quality non-commercial Hip Hop? You’ll like this. If you don’t buy this album your stupid!!!

Jax

I’ve been going through a lot of Monday’s old albums recently and what has astonished me is that not only do her production and voice sound timeless, but she’s released over 19 albums since her debut in 1995: yes I’ve also got some hunting to do. Here is yet another self-produced album where Jazz and Soul is at the forefront of all thirteen varied tracks. Here she mixes up dancefloor tracks like ‘The Right Time’ through the Jazz style ‘Yellow Light’ and beautifully soulful ‘I’m Still Here’.

‘Routes’ is released via Artist Share as was the previous album ‘Naked Breath’, a rather clever and interesting way to get your music to the masses. Hopefully this will give her the attention she has worked very hard for over the years.

Simon Harrison

Some time ago it was rumoured that a soundtrack was being produced by some of the hottest West London producers, which sent excitement around the music heads and message boards. Yes it’s finally here and it’s the work of none other than: Seiji, Domu, Bembe Segue, Rasiyah and Mark De Clive-Lowe. These guys bring together a mix of cinematic broken beats and nu-jazz, as well as techno and African influences. At a running total of 25 minutes you may be thinking that’s fairly short-changed until you listen to the 9 min workout of ‘Paradise Garden’ which was the reason I bought this OST in the first place. I hope the film’s as good as the music.

Simon Harrison

Gerardo Frinsina is proving a very busy man at the moment, having just released the excellent Congrat single on Afro Art and now his third album "The Latin Kick" drops on Schema. This man never seems to let the tempo drop with another fine selection of dancefloor bombs over the full album. Jazz is very much the foundation here with just the right amount of fusion between Jazz, Latin and Brazilian over Frisina’s tip top beats. It’s amazing how much energy you get when listening, so be careful, we don’t want any more road-rage on the roads. A stunning follow up to his previous, already classic albums: "Ad lib" and "Hi Note".

Simon Harrison

The Marathon Men have been causing quite a stir over the last few months with their deep house workout featuring Me’shell Ndegeocello “In Paradise”. Out of the blue comes their debut on Loft’s Chillifunk records. Simbad and partner in crime Freddie McQuinn, really know how to mix up the styles with Garage, Broken, Hiphop beats and a full range of vocalists to suit the arrangements. At the start of a few of the tracks, I was little unsure of some of the vocals; but then half-way through each track it made sense. On second listen, all the parts of the puzzle were in place. Their first single “Tell Me What You Know” is very much in a Basement Jaxx affair, which will hopefully give them the attention they fully deserve.

Simon Harrison