Category Archives: Reviews

Mr. Degiorgio is firing all cylinders at the moment. His amazing Beauty Room project is now in the shops and he’s gone back to where I first heard of Kirk, when the first Planetary Folklore album was released on Mo Wax nine years ago. A lot has changed over the years but Kirk has never lost his touch. Volume Two is a beautiful electronica sound with broken beats, orchestral pieces and ambience thrown into the nine tracks. “Irradiant” and “It’s all turning blue” are just two tracks that have been going down a storm. Archive were certainly wise to pick up on this gem.

Simon Harrison

Mr Bongo is back with another stunning compilation, which has been put together by Sean Marquand and Greg Caz. It’s named after their weekly night in Brooklyn, NYC, a night which must be pretty special judging by the tracklistings here. Twenty two tracks in total which obviously are Brazilian influenced but with sprinklings of soul, funk and disco. Disco is one thing I wouldn’t expect to work with a Brazilian vocal but listen to Silvio Casar’s “A Festa” and you’ll be sure to change your mind. Chalo Eduardo’s “Beija-Flor Suite” will blow any dancefloor apart and the rest of the selections are simply top notch. Miss at your peril.

Simon Harrison

One of the best ways to get your music out there is basically to do everything yourself, and that’s what Dogdaze has done – and full respect. What we have here is an album with no compromises which features some of the darkest beats and heaviest basslines you’ll hear this year. Dave has been taking tips from the likes of Danny Breaks and Tipper, especially in “Junglism” and “Transmission”. “In Dog We Trust” bridges the gaps between broken beats, hiphop and soul. Broken beats monsters “So” and “Ride” will find a home with fans of Domu. Heavyweight stuff.

Simon Harrison

Compiled by Casbah 73 this first rate compilation shines the light on some lesser-known jazz gems from around the world and covers a variety of styles. It opens with the sweeping strings and bossa rhythm of ‘Consolacao’ from Luiz Eca & Orquesta Da Cordas before moving into Salena Jones’ rip roaring take on ‘Right Now’ and the bright and breezy ‘Don’t Kill Your Fantasy’ by Chinchilla. Esther Phillips’ northern soul favourite, ‘Just Say Goodbye’ also takes it’s rightful place, as do the mad fusion dancers ‘Snowflake’ from Ronnie April’s Positive Energy and Gerardo Batiz’ ‘En Fa’. The one I’m currently hooked on though is Archie Whitewater’s psychedelic soul-jazz masterpiece ‘Cross Country’, which isn’t unlike Chicago’s early work.

Andy Allen

This is the 3rd long player from Bonobo, and whilst it retains elements of the lounge styling found on previous work "Days To Come" has a much deeper jazz flavour. This is in no doubt due to the fact that Bajka graces several cuts with her fragile yet beautiful voice. The title track is an outstanding example but not to be overlooked is "Nightlite", which has a northern soul meets spiritual jazz vibe! Also worthy of note is the mellow folky feel of "If You Stayed Over" with Fink.

Andy Allen

At first glance you could be mistaken for thinking this was a funky house compilation but don’t be put off by the ‘fashionable’ pretty couple on the cover because this CD includes some of the best broken-soul cuts of recent times. It kicks off in fine style with Mark De Clive-Lowe’s ‘Heaven’ featuring Bembe Segue before moving into the killer Math Union Remix of ‘Juice’ from Season featuring Ernesto, the Brooklyn Remix of ‘Brothers On The Slide’ by Patchworks Ginger X Press and Champion Soul’s ‘Holdin’ On’ (Spymusic Remix). Other worthy inclusions are ‘Disney’ from Channel Two featuring Kim Hill and DJ Spinna’s Vocal Mix of Roy Ayers’ ‘Holiday’ but my favourites are ‘Be The One’ by L’Aroye featuring Humphrey, the U-Key Disco Mix of Doob’s ‘Princess’ and ‘You Say’ by Moodorama, which are all new to me. So the moral of the story is never judge a book by its cover!

Andy Allen

Malena Perez comes with a strong album of deep Latin house, which will appeal to lovers of Osunlade, who incidentally handles some of the production along with Alix Alvarez and Carlos Nino (Build An Ark). It features the singles ‘Free To Fly’, ‘Chase The Butterflies’ with both the original and Kenny Dope remix present here and ‘Praise The Day’. The down-tempo groove of ‘Surrender’ and the breezy ‘Tomorrow’ are also deserving of your attention but the real standouts are ‘Confession’, an infectious flute and organ laced piece and the 4 Hero influenced ‘What Do I Do’.

Andy Allen

Aim aka Andy Turner is one producer whose productions I’ve always looked forward to hearing. Ever since his first 12″s on Grand Central, he’s always been a name to watch out for. My interest is because I was brought up in a town not far from where Andy was brought up and still resides. I do remember seeing him at clubs around the area, back in the day. Whenever I have read reviews of his work, funnily Barrow-In-Furness always seems to get a mention and he way well be the only producer in the area making music. “Flight 602” is his third album and proves yet again he is a quality beats producer and serves up plenty of funkiness for prevailing dancefloors, especially with “Birchwood”, “Smile” both of which should find a home with Quantic fans. Niko, Turner’s wife features on vocals and gives the album a little more depth and variety. This is a great way to kick off Atic Records.

Simon Harrison

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