Back catalogue: Broken Beat/Nu Jazz/Nu Soul

Review: Adeen Records returns with a superb EP that blends a classic with three new and fresh unreleased tracks. Deep house don Chez Damier's Panorama Bar Remix kicks off and is a a 2021 standout with a killer baseline and Spanish guitar that brings some sunny soul and makes for some top level house grooves. Makez then shines with 'Rocket Music' which has a chunky low end and glistening, golden piano chords making it a late night favourite. On the B-side, Adeen regular Alkalino delivers a tropical-infused edit for the peak time and Gledd closes with a classy cut 'Sere Yo' that is all about the drums. Lovely stuff.

Review: If you like classic r&b and Afrobeat then get your lugs around this where both sounds meet in a perfect fusion on this German-Nigerian collaboration. Featuring modern, warm drums and potent basslines, this release kicks off the Sedsoulciety Recordings Gold Line series aimed at showcasing contemporary styles. 'Tell Me What You Want' is presented here in two versions: the Afro Vibe Mix on the A-side and the Groove Mix on the flip. Both tracks bring plenty of heart and also dance floor heft so get things underway in great style.

Review: The Frosted label is back with more brilliance from Inland Knights in the form of this newly remastered version of the classic 'Figure It Out.' It was first put out back in 2013 as the first release on the label and remains a vital tune from the British pair. On the flip, Mark Farina is one of those hallowed producers who always has his own unique sonic signature, most famously under his Mushroom Jazz alias. His edit brings plenty of depth and broken beat lushness with noodling guitar riffs and spoken words making it a backroom gem.

Review: London's Original Gravity label is a trusted source for soul, funk and reggae 45s, and they're back with this seriously hot one from Mafumu. The project is a collaboration between Neil Anderson and Max Jere of The Umoza Music Project, based in Senga Bay on Lake Malawi. On the A side track you can hear Jere singing in Malawi's main language of Chichewa, urging listeners to "vina!" which means 'dance'. It's unmistakably Afro funk, with blasts of horns and a rolling, hypnotic groove that suck you in immediately. On the flip Anderson takes over for the instrumental 'Mkondo Wa Moto', which leans in on the talking drum and lays some funk and and Latin touches into the mix.

Review: Said to be two decades in the making, this record features two tracks by Makode Linde, the visual artist and musician who has long been a friend and frequent cover designer for Sweden's most eccentric dance label, Studio Barnhus. 'Never Getting Over Me' features Makode's poignant vocals on a quirky, sun-drenched rhythm while 'Professional Help' delivers bossa nova brilliance with a graceful, flute-driven backdrop which reflects the protagonist's lament over his old flame's aversion to therapy. With exquisite songwriting and charming lo-fi appeal, these songs are brilliant dance-pop fusions with a great message and plenty of irresistible grooves.

Review: Eclectic Beats Music is building up a fine head of steam and the sixth outing is a tidy 7" featuring two red-hot Latin broken beat cuts. The opener is a collaborative remix from Born74 and Fradinho who do a superb job of flipping Jorge Ivan Martin's original gem 'Yo Tambien Baile La Conga' into something more contemporary with fresh broken beats, plenty of steamy Latin flavours all finished off in electric fashion with Frank Santiuste's trumpet solos. Flip this one over and you will find Fradinho unearth an easier cut and again update with some compelling broken beats and funk as well as a rich bassline and silky synth solos.

Review: James Massiah is already regarded by those in the know as one of London's most vital poetic voices and this potent two-tracker only serves to add weight to that reputation. It pairs lo-slung, richly textured beats with razor-sharp lyricism from the off with 'Holland Park,' produced by Shimz343, finding Massiah narrating a cryptic tale over lush strings and jagged rhythms that channel the great Gil Scott-Heron. On the flip, 'Hot Winter' drips with jazz poetry swagger, chopped flutes and dusty breaks with Massiah riding the beat with effortless fluidity. He proves himself a timeless narrator here, half street prophet, half storyteller, but a stylish, witty bridge between past and present with lyrical gravitas.

Review: Jenifa Mayanja is a favourite amongst true deep house heads. Her work is smoky, jazzy, and emotive, and has come on labels like Underground Quality before now. Here she arrives on the sixth EP from fledgling but already cultured label Sole Aspect and shows off her sophisticated sound once more. 'Rise To The Top' is full of elegant harmonies and jazz melodies that dance on pulsing rhythms, 'Like A Dream' brings spiritual vocals to bold chords and dusty drums while 'Our World' has piano lines floating high over the languid drums and bass. 'Rose Colored Glasses' has fresh melodies and challenging synths that defy usual genre norms and bring all new ideas to deep house. This is music that elevates mind, body and soul.

Review: Medline is on a mission to serve up his own fresh cover versions of well known tunes from the movies, library music vaults, jazz funk scenes and worldwide rare grooves. He is one man who plays flute, guitar, keyboard, pads, drums, percussions and violin and lays down each part of the tune and then puts them all together with some extra studio touches at a later date. He mixes the music himself so that it is live sounding and vibrant, and then shares it with the world. These latest two cuts are heavy Afrobeat gems with cosmic synth work, psyched-out melodies and jazz invention that makes them captivating in the extreme.

Review: Brooklyn based Mighty Eye welcomes the Michael Leonhart Orchestra - which features some 20+ musicians - for their first single since 2018, although the collective has put out three albums in that time. These two cuts on this 45rpm are the first and second movements in Michael Leonhart's The Normyn Suite #1, which is a soundtrack to the five stages of grieving and is both a celebration and a requiem. The soundtrack is inspired by the death of an old dog and first appeared on The Normyn Suites album. Here it is expanded with the original brass, woodwinds, and strings now siting with choir and found percussion as well as gritty breakbeats from Nick Movshon.

Review: Australian multi-instrumentalist four-piece Mildlife is all set to unleash its new album Automatic any time soon. Before that though they keep us happy with a new single that comes backed with some pretty big remixes. Adam Halliwell's flute on 'Vapour' is the standout feature on a lush broken beat tune that also makes great use of a vocoder. The first to add their own spin is Scottish legend and one half of Optimo, JD Twitch. Colleen 'Cosmo' Murphy aka Cosmodelica is the second remixer and the Worldwide FM host and assured music aficionado comes correct with two versions, one of which is a nice instrumental.

Review: Here's something to get excited about: a cracking new cut from Detroit deep house legend Alton Miller, backed with a 'Sound Signature' translation from the equally revered Theo Parrish. Miller's version of "Bring Me Down", is something of a treat: a sparkling, starry deep house epic that's blessed with immaculate vocals from soul chanteuse Maurissa Rose. Parrish's translation is equally as stretched out and similarly enjoyable, but is far looser and dustier in feel, with warmer bass and beats that naturally tend towards the jazzier. It's naturally more in keeping with Parrish's work than Miller's, but retains enough of the latter's touches to be counted as a fine remix.

Review:  Morris Mobley is an alter-ego who makes music that is designed to chill you to the bone while also blowing your mind. Words like suave, cosmopolitan, lustrous and precise all come to mind when listening to the two tracks that make up this tidy 7", the second on the US label CQQL. Opener 'What's On Your Mind' is a low slung, bumping groove with lo-fi production and an aching vocal and on the flip it gets stripped right back and made into a warm, romantic late night dub.

Review: Ukrainian jazz singer Mona returns with a powerful funk 45 following last year's breakout 'Moya Vode' (or 'Sweet Water'). Fusing ancient folk traditions with modern cypher culture, this one delivers a message of unity and resilience while rolling on tempting grooves. Jazzy breakbeats, soaring horns and relentless clavinet and guitar riffs create the dynamic foundation for Mona's radiant vocals while loose piano and sax add a fresh live-jam feel. The vinyl edition features an exclusive instrumental version, with a Moog stepping into the lead and adding a different vibe.

Review: No one edits a classic like Mr. K, as he has proven time and time again. Now the legendary studio craftsman is back and revisiting Paradise Garage and some of the club's legendary sounds. First up is TW Funkmasters' 'Love Money,' which was conceived by UK radio reggae jock Tony Williams and fuses Dennis Brown's reggae hit 'Money In My Pocket' with early rap influences. The dub version was embraced by New York's dance scene and became iconic at the 'Garage, with many homages coming later such as Larry Levan's Man Friday remake, 'Love Honey, Love Heartache.' On the flip, Janice McClain's 1979 Philly disco classic 'Smack Dab In The Middle' shines as Larry Levan's mix is reworked by Mr. K who turns up the jazzy groove with fresh breaks.

Review: Mr. K Edits' latest release caters to roller skaters and groove enthusiasts alike. It features two mid-tempo tracks uniquely edited by the studio scalpel master himself as they make their debut on 45rpm. First is Rodney Franklin's 'Felix Leo,' which was originally overshadowed by his hit 'The Groove.' It unfolds with hypnotic chords trimmed to their essence and unfolds at a gradual, majestic pace with captivating and lush strings making it all the immersive. Second up is Prince's early gem 'In Love' which showcases his instrumental prowess with drums, bass, guitar, and creamy synth lines. Mr. K extends the mix seamlessly, enhancing its danceable rhythm and timeless appeal with his usual class.

Review: Presented simply, with basic artwork that offers a subtle nod to DJ Harvey's iconic Black Cock Edits series of the 1990s, this single-sided blue 12" marks the debut of a mysterious new rework series: Mr Wong's Edits. We're not sure who Mr Wong is - aside from the fact that the artist is not the grime producer of the same name - but he has delivered a strong debut. 'The Finest This Is What You Are' sees him tastefully mess around with a lesser-celebrated, string-drenched S.O.S Band jam - or at the very least, an acapella of it. This is combined with sweeping, string-laden elements from a simmering Barry White disco number and a shuffling, bossa-influenced Latin house beat. It's certainly a unique combination but one that works really well.

Review: DJ-friendly and top rare jazz vocals with piano trio in a swinging samba vibe, available on vinyl for the first time! 4 Tracks/ Exclusive Non Album Vinyl only recorded at VARA Studio Hilversum/ Netherlands for the Dutch radio show "Metro`s Midnight Music" in February 1974 produced by Joop De Roo. Remastered 2006. US-singer Mark Murphy is one of the world's greatest jazz vocalists of the 20th century. A six-time Grammy nominee, he has enjoyed a prolific 40-year recording career, with over 40 releases to date. Stereo Review dubs Mark 'one of the major artists of our age. Mark Murphy is a jazz singer.' For decades the question 'What exactly is a jazz singer' has had two easy answers, Betty Carter and Mark Murphy. 'He is arguably the best male jazz singer in the business' declares Rex Reed. Mark's musicianship, range, intonation, diction, inventiveness and incredible rhythmic sense are all of a piece and all marvellous.' Vocal greats Betty Carter, Peggy Lee, Cleo Laine and Shirley Horn all sing Murphy's praises as one of the best in the business and the legendary Ella Fitzgerald declared 'he is my equal.' It was Sammy Davis, Jr. who first discovered the young Mark Murphy in 1953 at a jam session in Murphy's hometown of Syracuse, New York. Impressed with Murphy's talent, Davis invited him to his show that night, where he even asked Mark to join him on stage. In 1974, Dutch radio producer Joop De Roo invited him to the VARA Studios Hilversum for a short rehearsal and a first but final take on the same day with the excellent Louis Van Dyke Trio. The corresponding recordings were shelved in the radio archives over the years and chosen by Joop for inclusion into his programme, that was broadcasted every week around midnight until 1980. Parts of the rare trio recordings feat. Mark Murphy were previously released on a Japanese CD fifteen years ago in very small amounts, unmastered and falsely marketed as the "North Sea Jazz Sessions", although the musical material cannot be connected in any manner to the famous Dutch festival of the same name. The sought after four tracks on this exclusive vinyl EP will NOT be included on the forthcoming Various Artists compilation "Metro`s Midnight Music" featuring rare and unreleased tracks from the Dutch NOS radio archives 1970-1975, carefully remastered in 2006 incl. tracks by the Metropole Orchestra, The Louis Van Dyke Trio, Mark Murphy, Helen Merrill, Eddie Jefferson, Greetje Kauffeld, Dave Pike and others (Sonorama-16/ 2 Lp & 2 CD), to be released in October.

Review: Atlanta house mainstay Stefan Ringer finds a perfectly complementary bedfellow in Marquinn Mason on this new EP for the venerated UK label Eglo. His mastery of deep house and broken beats is a great foundation for the jazz chops of Mason. 'Bounce Lesson' is the first to win you over with its loose, leggy bassline and funky, jazz, cosmic chord work. It's a seamless fusion of different worlds and after the brief jazzed-up piano dance of 'Alltogethernow' comes the standout cut 'Lead Walk'. Another wandering bassline locks you in while heavy, knocking broken beat patterns and gloriously life-affirming chords all warp and weft around one another.

Review: It would seem we're back on the Christmas card list... 2000 Black supergroup comprising the likes of Dego, Mensah and original Bugz members Lord and Tatham have been slowly ramping up their releases again and this year has seen their largest output yet. Following "Two Way Here One Way Go", "Simmering" proffers three more sublime and silky instrumentals from deeply decorated foursome. "Simmering" is a tight jazz funk jam with a sprung guitar groove spine and a blissful switch into soothing flutes midway, "Private Life" flips for a sunnyside digidub, all spacious and rippling with its breezy keys while "Climb The Sun" brings us back to the funk root note but with rising synth insistency that's bruk to the bone. Simmering now, boiling tomorrow...

Review: Pierre Bastien and Michel Banabila are bonafide musical visionaries who have come totters for the first time on this debut collaborative album, Baba Soiree. They have achieved plenty over their careers in electronic music and draw on all of it here as they fuse their own idiosyncratic styles into something new. The churning and rigid mechanical loops and experimental instrumental setups come from Bastien while the sound designs and superbly chosen and assembled samples come from Banabila. Sitting somewhere between dance floor fun and avant garde invention this is a great piece of sonic alchemy.

Review: The traditonal way to start a review of any Micko Westmoreland release - and with as is to point out that he's best known for playing Jack Fairey in the mock glam documentary Velvet Goldmine, but with a second strong album in his new, flanked -by-legends incarnation and some highly memorable video promos featuring a succession of alternativ ecomedy greats, that could well be changing. Expect spiky English podst-punk songwriting a la XTC or even Pulp, with recent singles 'Autosexual' and 'What's In A Name' (which includes guest vocals from Kevin Eldon numbering among the highligths.

Review: This Record Store Blanc Friday, US label Madlib Invasion serves up a CD version of this most classic of albums from Jackson Conti aka the one and only beat making behemoth Madlib with Mamao. Sujinho landed in 2008 and since then has often been heralded as one of the best few projects Madlib has ever been involved with. It is a smooth fusion of hip hop, jazz, Latin and soul that, on vinyl, has fetched eye watering high prices until now. A new reissue has landed on wax as well as this CD.

Review: Percussionist and singer-songwriter Mami Kakudo returns with her latest album, Contact. A graduate of Tokyo University of the Arts' Department of Instrumental Music, Kakudo has gained recognition in Japan and internationally for her expressive use of marimba, percussion, voice and music boxes. Four years after her debut album, Oar (featuring covers of Maki Asakawa's 'My Friday' and Fishmans' 'Ikkareta Baby'), Contact showcases her signature sound again here in all its glory. Recorded with a talented ensemble-including Mugi Furukawa on guitar, Akita Goldman on bass, Wataru Mitsunaga on drums, and Yumiko Iwao on cello-Contact highlights Kakudo's ethereal voice, poetic lyrics and whimsical arrangements.

Review: These are two serious legends right here: Madlib the extraordinary beatmaker behind countless seminal albums and collabs and Guilty Simpson the man who has voiced just as many classic records of his own. This limited edition gold vinyl double album version of Before The Verdict: Madlib Medicine Show #1 is considered a prelude to this pair's collaborative album O.J. and has a mix of original cuts as well as remixes from Simpson's own solo debut album Ode to the Ghetto. It's as real and raw as rap gets and features two brief guest appearances from J Dilla and MED.

Review: If you like Madlib then you will like this - a new and exclusive 28-track collection of the legendary hip-hop icon's best collaborations. Featuring are the likes of A.G., Guilty Simpson, MED, Oh No and Strong Arm Steady, with Karriem Riggins appearing for a Supreme Team session. There is also a special track taken from the Jaylib-era that was meant to be on a second album which never ended up being released. To finish it off, plenty of Loop Digga instrumentals, as well as some textbook interludes and outerludes also help colour this one and make it such a vivid listen.

Review: Initially inspired by a request by long-term supporters Jazz FM to perform a live remake of one of their favourite albums, Herbie Hancock's peerless Headhunters, Chameleons sees rising British jazz-funk and contemporary jazz combo Mama Terra dive deeper into the great man's catalogue on a set recorded live at a gig in Glasgow. In keeping with their own style, they made a conscious decision to replace the formative synth sounds and future-funk influences prevalent on Hancock's work of the 70s and 80s with acoustic instrumentation. It's a bold move but, thanks to their undoubted quality and deft touch, works well. For proof, check the languid and laidback breeze through 'Butterfly', a wonderfully gritty and low-slung jazz-funk re-make of 'Chameleon' and the triumphant takes on earlier Hancock works 'Cantaloupe Island' and 'Watermelon Man'.

Review: Larry Manteca's Zombie Mandingo album arrived back in 2013 and in the danced plus has only ever been available digitally. Now it makes its debut on wax and remains a bold listen that was devised as a soundtrack to a non-existent exploitation film. It fuses funk, jazz, and Afrobeat influences with plenty of niche cinematic references such as the zombies in Lucio Fulci's horrors and Umberto Lenzi's cannibalistic adventures. The resulting mash up is beguiling to say the least with horror-tinged exotica next to Fela Kuti rhythms and elements of Italian Library music and colourful psychedelia. A boundary pushing work to say the least.

Review: Zoltan Nagy AKA P60 has spent the last four years slowly building up his Midnight Fashion label and its dedicated downtempo offshoot, Midnight Fashion Chill. Following a handful of solo EPs on the latter imprint, Nagy has now decided to offer up a first imprint compilation - one that not only showcases his work, but also that of Marcel (AKA sometime Cookin' Records artist Marcell Dudas) and Plastic City regular Forteba (AKA Hungarian stalwart Krisztian Dobrocsi). Musically, the set lives up to its' title, offering an enticing and undeniably blazed mix of DJ Calm style trip-hop, warming 1990s style downtempo grooves, slow-burn Baleric soundscapes, Onra-esque neo-boogie beats and warm, deep and languid, jazz-flecked mid-tempo house.

Review: Dominick Martin is best known as stone-cold drum & bass don Calibre, a prolific producer with a masterfully deep and smoky sound. He has also made tech house under his own name, but lesser known is this album
Valentia which was originally released in 2013 and has now been remastered and repressed on 180 gram vinyl with a sleeve containing the lyrics. It was written on the amazing Valentia Island, joined to the west coast of Co Kerry in Ireland by a bridge t and battered by strong winds. Says Martin, "I took my computer and mic with me not knowing what to expect when I got there. In one of the rooms sat a piano, and as my fingers touched the keys I knew there was a story there waiting to be told."

Review: Yet more Italian soundtracks and music libraries are adoringly looked pined over. But this time - unlike the simple reissues that have come out so far this year - Frank Maston's Panorama LP seeks to emulate the era's best qualities with his own original music. Following on from similar endeavours such as 'Tulips' and its follow-up 'Darkland', Maston show off his to-a-T compositional chops, emulating only the best Italian session sounds via a commission from British library KPM.

Review: Second time around for Daniel Maunick's first album under his given name (he previously released one as DJ Venom way back in 2007), which first surfaced on Far Out back in 2019. An undeniably vibrant and at times heavy affair, the set sees the producer, multi-instrumentalist and 'son of Incognito's Bluey' joining the dots between Brazilian musical culture (most notably the rhythms of batucada and samba, and the far-sighted jazz-funk-fusion sounds of Azymuth) with a range of contemporary sounds (most clearly the deep house dustiness of Theo Parrish, the charred heaviness of UK bass, the stoned headiness of Dilla instrumentals, the shape-shifting energy of broken beat and the deep space shimmer of ambient techno). As hybrid, hard-to-pigeonhole records go, it's a genuine gem.

Review: Words of Knowledge is a spoken word tribute album honouring Jerwayne Balentine, who is also known as J-epic and was a gifted poet, author, producer, and illustrator. Jerwayne wrote the book Words of Knowledge and was working with Dave Maze and Spike Rebel on a music and spoken word album based on his book before he tragically passed away in 2020 at the age of only 23 due to muscular dystrophy. Proceeds from the album will support music programs for young adults with developmental impairments and fund muscular dystrophy research. This project is supported by Master Mix Academy and D&e Recordings Chicago and features six sizzling hip-hop cuts with a sense of storytelling and low-end menace.

Review: It was when Makaya McCraven linked up with International Anthem around 2015 he became an artist transcending the jazz scene's tangle of singers and players. Since then he's evolved his craft from album to album, project to project, reaching this undeniable achievement of a record that places him at the forefront of modern jazz. Nearly seven years in the making, In These Times is the product of McCraven's striving to create a personal stamp, leaning in on his own rhythmic language of time-signature trickery and unusual arrangements, steering large-scale orchestral ensembles and elevating his craft in every way he can. For all the considered science behind the sound, it lands as an incredible natural experience full of cascading drums, ascendant flutes, lilting strings and a whole cornucopia of talented musicians playing to a striking creative vision.

Review: Jump 'N' Funk started life as a small event in New York, organized by Rich Medina in order to pay tribute to the genius of Fela Kuti. Since then, parties have been held across the world, with Medina and guests showcasing music by, or inspired by, the Nigerian Afrobeat legend. This debut Jump N Funk compilation follows a similar formula, delivering both purist Afrobeat cuts (see Fela's punchy "Stalemate", and "Na Oil" by son Seun and his band, Egypt 80), and tracks in other styles that draw heavily on the style. Highlights in the latter category include the hazy Afro hip-hop of Aquil, a tasty Afro-house dub of River Ocean's cover of Timmy Thomas' classic "Why Can't We Live Together", and the lazy, sun-kissed glory of Kutiman's "Bango Fields".

Review: Accomplished UK talent Medlar's Islands albums mark another leap forward for the always evolving producer. It finds him merging electronic textures with live instrumentation and some top-tier collaborations from Dele Sosimi, Rebekah Reid, Finn Peters and more. 80s fusion, jazz, deep house and amapiano influences all collide into summery sounds that work as well in the club as they do pumping out of the car stereo. From the lush, afro-laced opener 'Take a Trip' to acid-tinged house, freestyle rap and blissed-out Balearica, each track has its own charm and personality. With less reliance on samples and more organic improvisation, this record could well be Medlar's best yet and certainly a great soundtrack to summer.

Review: Big repress alert! This is the much-loved debut album from the Menahan Street Band, which is a talented collaboration of musicians including the great Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, El Michels Affair, Antibalas and the Budos Band. Led by producer Thomas Brenneck (who has worked before with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Budos Band and also Amy Winehouse), the record was recorded in the bedroom of his Menahan Street apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn. It is a soulful, instrumental exploration that showcases the immense talent of the group and draws on all of their diverse influences to create a unique and captivating sound that pushes the boundaries of instrumental music into sumptuous and soulful worlds.

Review: French multi-instrumentalist and producer Mezerg (real name Marc Mezergue) is something of a one-off - a synthesizer, drums and theremin-sporting one-man band who has even invented his own unique instrument, a combined keyboard/electronic drum kit known as the "piano boom boom". He's perhaps best-known as a live performer but has received plenty of plaudits for previous releases, most notably 2021 debut LP Chez Mezerg. Vol Retarde de 42 Mn is that album's belated sequel and sees the Frenchman develop his existing trademark sound - a musically mixed-up blend of classic synth sounds, analogue electronics, warm basslines and unfussy beats that variously draws influence from titans of French electronic dance music (Justice, Jean-Michel Jarre etc), electro and, most frequently, colourful nu-disco.

Review: The Mighty Bop is the duo of French house legend and pop-dance favourite Bob Sinclar and techno veteran DJ Yellow. This reissue marks the 30th anniversary of their debut album La Vague Sensorielle which was at the time a groundbreaking fusion of acid jazz and trip-hop. It has since become a favourite with new generations of diggers and has a real rhythmic depth that still cuts through three decades later. Standout tracks like 'Freestyle Linguistique' featuring EJM and the hypnotic 'Infrarouge' are well worthy of plays in a modern context and will let new audiences rediscover a classic that helped shape the sound of the 90s.

Review: Mildlife's reputation has soared since the release of their last studio album, 2020's Automatic, with the Melbourne trio's every musical move now being watched with bated breath by a global fanbase. Chorus is built on a concept of sorts - "a coming together of disparate elements" and "cosmic compatibility and chemistry" according to the band - but as ever it's the quality of the music on offer that really hits home hard. Warm and optimistic, with nods to West Coast jazz-rock as well as space rock, kosmiche, blue-eyed soul and jazz-funk, it sounds more nuanced, sonically detailed and wide-eyed than their previous work. Highlights include, but are in no way limited to, the yacht rock-leaning 'Yourself', the cosmic disco-influenced wonder of 'Musica', and epic recent single 'Return to Centraus'.

Review: Hell Yeah is one of the best labels out there if you love grown-up house, delicious downtempo and nu-Balearic. Even amongst its unpredictable catalogue though this one is a wonderful curveball that has already been supported by Sean Johnston, Jaye Ward, Max Essa and Francois K. It is a debut album from the Italian Michele Mininni that makes for an involving and adventurous trip that blends broken beats, worldly rhythms, jazz, eastern melodies, live drums, and more into a thrilling 15-track opus, all with a leftfield perspective. A diverse array of rhythms, melodies, and instruments from around the globe all feature in this escapist summer delight.

Review: Mister Modo of "Modonut" returns with Music For Bugs which comes on a hand-numbered and hand-stamped record with an autographed sleeve signed by Mister Modo himself. This magnificent conceptual album has been inspired by the world of insects and showcases the obsessive digger's unique take on hip-hop and r&b. It is basically a mutant beat tape that weaves together dark, powerful loops with a cinematic and emotional rap atmosphere. This ultra-limited record is a great collector's piece with only 222 copies available worldwide.

Review: The late MF Doom is widely regarded to be one of the finest hip hop lyricists of all time. His death hit people who had grown up with his intricate world play hard and so it is natural that there will be an avalanche of tribute records. This collection of remixes from MOAR is a tribute to MF Doom's use of samples and has all he track names mixed up, which makes for a fun game of detangling while you're laying back and soaking up the stoner beats, boom-bap joints and lush instrumentals. RIP to the greatest.

Review: Moar & DJ Vince aka The Beatmatics return with a new volume following their acclaimed tape-only debut. This limited double vinyl release showcases their spin on jazzy, deep beats, 90s remixes, sample tools and even a scratch tool for turntablists. Crafted with vintage samplers, their production radiates an authentic boom-bap vibe that takes you back to the genre's heyday but also blends meticulous sampling with a heady approach. Whether you're a DJ or a hip-hop enthusiast, putting this on the turntable is going to bring the joy with its raw lyrical swagger and irresistible golden-era energy.

Review: Los Angeles-based Monde UFO - a shadowy collective helmed by multi-instrumentalist and producer Ray Monde - has a well-earned reputation for being one of music's more hard-to-pigeonhole acts, with their two previous albums variously mixing and matching elements of improvisational jazz, dream pop, Latin rhythms, space rock and lo-fi experimentalism. They're on a similarly breezy, blurred-at-the-edges tip on third album Flamingo Tower, attractively sashaying between jazz-flecked, string-laden dream pop ('Samba 9'), richly percussive post-punk jazz ('119', with its subtle nods to Tony Allen and Ginger Baker's infamous drum battle in support of Fela Kuti), cinematic noir-jazz (the effects-laden excellence of 'Solitaire') and much more besides.

Review: Pianist and composer Alex Monfort debuts his new album here and delivers a beautifully contemporary array of soul-jazz songs influenced by rap, hip-hop, alt-r&b and neo-soul. The album is denied by a blend of tightly broken beats and lovely Rhodes chords, soothing harmonies but most of all the rich vocals of Franco-Cameroonian singer Nina Tonji. Fans of the likes of Moonchild, Erykah Badu, Fatima and Eglo Records are sure to soak up the soothing sounds of 'Hypnotized', the romantic feels of 'Attitude' and late-night intimacy of 'Saison' amongst much more.

Review: Mork is a duo that hails from Budapest and works in a world where jazz and soul collide into something fresh. They make their usual sounds with an unusual mix of tools and have delivered them in climbing halls, tea rooms, living rooms and kindergartens, all to great acclaim and with support from the likes of BBC 6 Music and Jazz Fm. Still Dreamin is their new album and is a nice track dive into lush synth work, gentle broken beats, r&b vocal hooks and a great bend of old school nostalgia and fresh, future ideas.

Review: Theo Parrish is giving his new album with Maurissa Rose the full treatment - serving it up on his preferred vinyl, but also as a CD and here a cassette on his own label Sound Signature. It is a complete coming together of these two revered Detroit musical talents following a string of great singles with one another since 2019. As you can expect, the grooves are dusty, complex and rooted in house but with plenty of influences from soul, funk and jazz. The vocals from Rose are as smooth as you like and take the form of soulful streams of consciousness. Utterly vital.

Review: Joseph Shabason, Matthew Sage, and Nicholas Krgovich form a harmonious triangle, both musically and geographically. Hailing from Toronto, Colorado, and Vancouver respectively, they converged at Sage's barn studio nestled at the foot of the Rockies to explore their shared talent for finding beauty in life's mundane moments. Shabason, known for blending late 80s adult-contemporary and smooth jazz aesthetics into ethereal soundscapes, joins forces with Sage, who combines instrumental prowess with synthesis and field recordings to evoke the natural world's whimsy and profundity. Completing the trio is Krgovich, whose observational poetics add a relatable touch to their calm expressionism. Their collaborative album, warmly Shabason, Krgovich, Sage extends the wry and melancholic micro-miracles established in their previous works.

Review:  Waaju & Majid Bekkas's Alouane exemplifies the power of collaboration during challenging times. As bringing overseas artists to the UK grows increasingly difficult, this record bridges cultural and generational gaps while capturing the vibrant energy of live collaboration post-Covid-19. Conceived by Waaju bandleader Ben Brown, the album features his expansive arrangements of traditional Gnawa songs and blends Bekkas' musical prowess with Waaju's signature grooves and trippy delays. Bekkas, a key figure in Moroccan Gnawa music, had never collaborated with a UK band until this project. Alouane, meaning "colours" in Arabic, reflects the seven integral colours of Gnawa music, each invoking different spirits.