Alif tree’s previous release “French Cuisine” was one of the underground highlights of 2006. So it is with great pleasure to listen to his latest release “Clockwork”. While the compositions on “French Cuisine” displayed a jazz vibe throughout, “Clockwork” expands on that sound by adding more electronic, folk and blues flavored tunes that feel more personal. The opening track “Aurevoir” embodies some of the jazz elements of the previous release. The dark tone and haunting piano riffs create an eerily peaceful atmosphere that is very engaging. “Never be the same” is a mid-tempo acoustic treat with vocals. “Que Tu” is a somber yet engaging trip-hop flavored track laced with strings that creates a cinematic twist. The album closes with the exceptional “Dead Flowers”, a melodic ethereal track that is similar to the opening track. Alif Tree succeeds in producing an excellent follow up that will do more than satisfy his fans. This is a record that should be enjoyed as a whole and not the sum of its parts. I trust that you will not be disappointed.

Reg Dancy

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“Where We Belong” is the latest full length disc from Swedish producer Rasmus Faber. Rasmus has treated us to a number of quality remixes for various heavyweights like King Street, Defected and Code Red just to name a few. For this set, Rasmus takes us on an adventurous ride of melodic, blissful house music that will entertain you well beyond the dance floor. In addition, he has enlisted the help of several talented vocalists to add another dimension to these wonderful recordings. The disc starts out with a subtle orchestral intro, which is followed by the lightly sweetened deep house delight “Everything is alright” which features the angelic voice of Linda Sundblad.  It’s also nice to hear from Dyanna Fearon, who last appeared with Reel People stop by and bless us with four tunes with her beautiful voice. “Give it to me” is a pulsating house jam that breaks down into a down-tempo stomper towards the end and “Yes” is a soft mid-tempo groover. “Every time we” is the weakest of the four but it’s still worth listening to.  “I don’t mind” which features Parasto is easily one of the best tracks here, a long playing atmospheric gem laced with beautiful chords. As an accomplished pianist and first rate producer, Rasmus delivers with a record filled with rich orchestral sounds, fine tuned arrangements and thumping beats. The result is a lush, rhythmic, uplifting listening experience.

Reg Dancy

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One day there will be a hip-hop hall of fame to showcase the achievements of the past thirty years. When that day comes and you walk through those doors, the first sight in your tour should be a mural of Grandmaster Flash. His status as one of hip-hop’s pioneers is undeniable. “The Bridge” is his first studio release in nearly twenty years and contains an assortment of rappers to bless the tracks. There are some moments that are quite enjoyable such as the opening track “Shine all day” feat. Q-tip. “Bounce back” which features Busta Rhymes provides some heat. “What if” is also a solid track that features KRS-One who still remains relevant after all these years. However there are some cuts that sound dated, as though they were recorded years ago like “Here comes my DJ” and “Those Chix”.  Overall, it’s good to have Flash back in the studio and “The Bridge” is a solid comeback. Let’s hope that he doesn’t wait another twenty to deliver another album.

Reg Dancy

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On this eleven track set, the Fantastics demonstrate that they know a thing or two about making funky music. And why not? The band formerly known as Rev. Cleatus and the soul saviours has it all, the simmering horn section, the funky bass and sweet hypnotic sounds of the Hammond b-3 organ. They tear through tracks like “Don’t follow leaders”, a gritty up-tempo jam that has the band swinging and just simply having a good time. On “The Doctor is in”, they bring the energy down just a bit but still keep it funky and greasy. “Blue Sunday” shows a mellow side of the group. The track features Pete Collison stringing together some hypnotic guitar licks over a laid-back groove that features some sweet flute playing by Mark Norton. From start to finish the Fantastics provide plenty of funky grooves to make you move your body or just simply listen and enjoy. If you like the sounds of bands like The Meters or the JB’s then you’ll certainly enjoy “Mighty Righteous”.

Reg Dancy

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Italian DJ/Producer Nicola Conte has delivered a string of quality bossa nova jazz recordings over the years but it would be difficult to name one album better than his latest. “Rituals” embodies an essence of cool that is elegant, engaging and ultimately a wonderful listening experience. Conte’s compositions make great use of chords, which are brought to life by an array of wonderful musicians and the outstanding vocalists on this set. The disc starts out with the dreamy “Karma Flower”, sung by Chiara Civello. Nicola plays guitar on this track and also features many contributions, most notably Timo Lassy on flute. “The Nubian Queens”, featuring Jose James is a rhythmic bossa flavored gem that highlights the dynamic interplay between Pietro Lusso on piano, Teppo Makynen on drums and Pierpaolo Bisogno on congas. “Love In” is a beautiful swinging exotic number sung by Kim Sanders, whose voice is flat out gorgeous. “Caravans”, the classic latin Duke Ellington track and the only song here not written by Conte is given a warm treatment by Philipp Weiss on vocals. Overall “Rituals” is a brilliant record that is full of virtuoso performances. Let’s hope this record gets the attention that it rightfully deserves.

Reg Dancy

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Three years after releasing the 3rd installment of the Jazz Bizniz series, Counterpoint returns again with "Jazz Bizniz 4". This new release does an outstanding job of capturing the essence of the raw soul-jazz and afro/Latin recordings that went largely ignored yet still sound fresh and new today. It’s mind boggling how these recordings could have remained on the shelf if not for the good folks at Counterpoint to give them a second life. Aside from the rare old grooves, there are some new grooves that will whet your appetite. There are several quality tracks worth mentioning but prime cuts like "Glass" by Jeff Resnick, a soulful jazz fusion piece reminiscent of the Mizell recordings of the late seventies. “Schizophrenia” is a funky hip-hop flavored jazz track performed by Cirius B. It’s one of the newer cuts featured here and a group you should keep an eye on. Another musician worth checking out is former Fela Kuti percussionist Najite Olokun Prophecy. His contribution here is the mid-tempo afro-beat gem “Honesty”. Other highlights include “A dream without you”, a funky mid-tempo soul groover sung by Lillian Alexander. “Jazz Bizniz 4” has a little something for everyone. If you’re familiar with the previous releases then you’ll certainly enjoy this one. This is a high quality compilation that shouldn’t be missed.

Reg Dancy

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Liquid Spirits are an 8-piece band, consisting of drums, guitar, bass, keys and four vocalists, and, under the stewardship of producers Manuel Hugas and Wilboud Burkens, they make pure, unadulterated Soul music of the highest order. There is something of Kindred The Family Soul in their sound, as well as a touch of Acid Jazz along the lines of The Brand New Heavies, but there are no scratches, no samples, no drum machines; just real people singing and playing instruments. Even when Phonte, of Little Brother fame, pops up on the wonderful, Tribe-like ‘If You Don’t Love Me’, the grooves are understated and organic, but always, always funky. Elsewhere, Leon Ware adds to the feeling of overall authenticity with a performance truly befitting a legendary vocal veteran of his calibre. The album’s not quite perfect, for it displays a tendency to occasionally stray into syrupy, lounge territory, but to complain here would be to split hairs. Any Soul fan worth their salt will definitely want to give this a whirl and I’m guessing that most will be extremely pleased that they did.

Tom Breslin

From Ipanema Beach, with a sound that rocks and funks its way through core Brazilian rhythms, with a touch of psychedelic thrown in too but really there’s so much going on here it’s hard to define (in a good way). They are a seven piece band that distance themselves well away from all stereotypical notions of Brazilian music and have made a CD that’s distinctly their own sound, I’ll just leave you to ponder what that sound actually is because there’s such a mixture from track to track that you often wonder if it’s a different CD. Well worth checking out.

Graham Radley

Superb release from Bonga with a nice balance of moods and rhythms which range from where his native Angolan semba shows influences of morna from the Cape Verde to  changing gear so that soukous guides us to the dance floor. Now in his 60’s but this is a real return to earlier form. Recommended.

Graham Radley

Excellent compilation of material covering 1965 to 1977. The band had a core line up of the amazing Jerry Malekani on guitar, Freddie Nkounkou and Mbilia Casino on vocals plus in the earlier days Panda Gracia on bass and then, once they moved onto the French Caribbean, Jean Serge Essous on sax. The music was groundbreaking as they mixed many styles including rumba and soukous and then calypso and reggae, this of course was glorious music for the dance floor and this collection comes highly recommended.

Graham Radley