Back catalogue: Broken Beat/Nu Jazz/Nu Soul

Review: It is four and a half years since Third Ear released 'Detroit Beatdown Volume One'.
The first of the three volumes of the Detroit Beatdown Third Ear project was completed
with the cd release of the complete 'Detroit Beatdown Remixes' in 2006. 'Volume Two' will
be spread across 5 eps through 2007 and 2008. A 2cd and limited vinyl box set will complete
'DB2' before getting into the remixes and 'Detroit Beatdown Sessions' eps again. Check!

Review: Ltd B's good recent run of form continues with another dive into lush deep house realms courtesy of ICTV. First off the mark is 'Hit The Floor' with its US garage-inspired drums and some old school hip-house vocals. 'Orange Mood' is a steamy one with romantic melodies soothing the soul and some smart vocals adding a tough of firey soul. 'Adrift' then picks up the pace with some high-speed jungle breakbeats and 'Dazzling' sinks back into loved-up late-night sounds with expressive vocal yelps. Last of all, 'Sunset Recall' takes things down into blissed out realms with dusty drums and wispy pads.

Review: It was unfortunately ignored by those outside of the soul and jazz-funk scenes, but back in 2010 Incognito released a terrific cover version of Boz Scraggs' classic 'Lowdown'. Happily, P-Vine have decided to reissue it, allowing those who slept on it to make amends. While faithful to the original version, Incognito's take is smoother and ten times more soulful, helped by stunning joint lead vocals from Mario Biondi and the mighty Chaka Khan. Over on side B you'll find an earlier, under-celebrated cut that's similarly jazzy, soulful, funky and smooth, 2005 recording 'To Prove My Love'. It's very good, but nowhere near as celebratory and inspired as the A-side.

Review: Prolific producer Inkswel becomes Inxxxwel for this new outing on 7" via the always excellent GAMM label. It's a two-tracker that is packed with hip hop, funk, soul and opens with 'Chill' - a Space Funk rework alongside Leonard Charles - which echoes the work of the great J Dilla as well as having some lush 90s r&b overtones. On the B-side, things get pitched down into New Jersey house territory with more sultry r&b tones on the excellent 'Hanna-Mi-Dia' (Inkswel Jazz Cigarette Mash Up) which features vocals from Blu & Ta'Raach. Two red hot jams, for sure.

Review: Ilija Rudman shows his class here with two edits for the always-on-point Brooklyn Highs label. He turns his hand to an original by Soul Men aka Black Moses and Part 1 will her you lost in a reverie. The meandering, stoned, slow-motion funk licks, gentle drums and wallowing chords all wash over you like a soothing breeze. The Higher Ground mix part II introduces buttery male vocals that drip with eroticism and soul. This one should come with a pregnancy warning.

Review: Italian producer Isoul8 and Detroit bassist Paul Randolph (of Innerzone Orchestra fame) hook up on this rather lush 12" on Japanese imprint Especial. "Stay Stay Stay" is a tribute to Roy Ayers and Don Blackman, with soulful vocals floating over the top of languid, funky bass licks and mellow, twinkling keys. The flipside contains two versions of "Waves Of Love" - with the solid 4/4 thump of the disco version slightly shading it for our money. It was also a favourite in the record box of the late Aaron Carl, and as such the Especial crew have dedicated this release to the much loved producer.

Review: This is the first in what is said to be a new series of special Prescription reissues, remasters and retakes. It kicks off in bold fashion with label head Ron Trent's remixes of Indigo Tracks' "Rites & Rituals" which laid down an early blueprint for Afro house that has never really been bettered. It is alive with congas, hand drums and toms that bubble and boil over a deep, tribal groove. Two different remasters take the tracks in deeper, then more soulful and spiritual directions that are utterly hypnotic and enchanting. Looks like this could well become a vital series.

Review: Broc Recordz is back after the impressive last outing from Janko Nilovic & The Soul Surfers with another brilliant release and this time it comes from the legendary JJ Whitefield who you might know from The Poets of Rhythm, Karl Hector or Embryo, and Igor Zhukovsky from The Soul Surfers. This tidy 7" kicks off with pure psyched-out funk magic that will take you to a state of ecstasy. It's doused in way way and fuzz and has loud and proud drums. 'Munich Bells' on the flip is a library-psych-breaks killer with a drive-in bassline and tons of reverb.

Review: Maverick Japanese producer Yasushi Ide's 2020 album Cosmic Suite was widely heralded and critically acclaimed. It now gets a welcome follow up with a second volume that features an a-list of international artists including Don Letts, Josh Milan, Japanese diva UA, Afrika Bambaataa and many more. As such all sorts of sounds from dub to house, broken beat to Afrobeat, freeform, jazz, post-punk and more feature. It is a future-facing collection of cuts all masterminded and conducted by Ide from his Grand Gallery HQ in Tokyo.

Review: Very few acts can reach their 16th album and still sound as exciting, fresh yet consistently slick and reassuringly familiar as Incognito. Delivering the finest jazz soul goods since 1979, Bluey Manuick has chiselled his band (fresh faces and old) to perfection once again on Amplified Soul. From the immense chorus impact and dreamy slides of "Wanna Be Loved" to the tight funk stutters of "Day Or Night" via the epic, heart-stopping two-part title track saga and the cinematic jazz majesty of "Wind Sorceress", this ticks every box you'd want it to. Timeless compositions, pristine production and that smooth yet solid Incognito signature we've fallen in love with so many times before.

Review: Jeremie Moussaid Kerouanton, simply known as iZem around our circles, is a new face on the downtempo scene, and one which we'd very much like to see more of. Luckily, he's returned with his debut album, and it's on the incorrigible Soundway label; we probably mention it often, but it is one of our meccas when it comes to the leftfield end of the spectrum. This is a proper album and, by that, we don't mean that it sounds good and that every track is amazing; we mean that it works as one single body of music, a real 360 degree view of iZem's point of view. The tracks are as varied as the sounds in them, and from Eastern vocals to improvisational tribalism and subtle waves of deep house, we feel that this is the sort of LP that'll appeal to many different sorts of collectors. The house-heads will like it for its sensibility to other genres of music, the balearic fiends will find it naturally welcoming, and the folk fans will find plenty of inspiration. Don't miss out on this, it's a keeper.