SURPRISE CHEF Vinilo y CD

Review: Here's a pleasant surprise: a fresh set of remixes of killer cuts from the back catalogue of Melbourne-based band Surprise Chef, whose hard-to-pigeonhole take on cinematic soul contains numerous nods to classic jazz-funk and Brit-funk jams. Masters at Work give their take on 'Crayfish Caper', first joining the dots between Afro-beat, jazz-funk and West London style bruk on the 'Nuyorican Broken' mix, before delivering two house-style revisions - the squelchy, synth-bass-propelled 'Masters at Work Mix' and the tougher, more percussive 'MAW Dub'. The EP's other interpretations come from Harvey Sutherland, whose 'Weird Flex 12" and 'Weird Flex' revisions of 'New Ferrari' add the band's jazz-funk instrumentation and spacey synths to a warming, off-kilter deep house groove.

Review: Minoru Muraoka is a master of the traditional Japanese bamboo flute known as a shakuhachi. His flair on the instrument combined with his knowledge of breakbeat jazz and Japanese folkloric music results in stunning sounds such as 'The Positive and the Negative' from his 1970 album Bamboo. It has been championed by the likes of DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist so has true cult status. Snap up this reissue to enjoy its original charm, as well as a new reinterpretation of the track by Melbourne's Surprise Chef. The flip the whimsy of the a-side into a more mystic and beat driven jam packed with tropical charm.