Back catalogue: Broken Beat/Nu Jazz/Nu Soul

Review: Legendary Finnish label Sahko returns with a curveball on its sub-label Puu, meaning wood or tree. While the three artists featured on this EP may seem like unlikely bedfellows, American minimal producer Bruno Pronsato, French fourth world explorer Romeo Poirier & British ambient producer Memotone, their sounds are united in a quest for the organic, the tropical & the gaps between genres. Bruno Pronsato's 'Above The Laundrette (Manieres Bizarres mix)' is an exploration of organic percussion, treading similar paths to percussionist Eli Keszler. The second track is a welcome extended version of 'Thalassocratie' from Poirier's excellent Hotel Naga LP. The pick of the three goes to Memotone's 'The Way In(side)' which sounds like a lost balearic cut from Jon Hassell's seminal Dream Theory In Malaya.

Review: A jazz head with deep hip-hop roots, New York-based saxophonist Benny Reid returns with a brand-new 7" on Fat Beats, following his 2023 The Infamous Live reinterpretation. This is his latest standalone tribute, and it plays like a deliberate two-sided concept: '93 'Til Infinity' on the A, 'Day One' on the B i reworked with full reverence but plenty of vision. Reid's take on the former is all patience and atmosphere, stretching the groove into moody, modal territory without losing its swing. Flip it for a tighter, chunkier pass at the D.I.T.C. classic, where arrangements lean into low-end murk and sharper rhythmic interplay. Drawing on years of post-bop work for Concord, Reid reanimates sample culture as memory, process and momentum.

Review: Skeme Richards of New York pioneers Rock Steady Crew returns to the Redropped series with a tour-exclusive 7" packed with two raw-edged flips. For this release, he's unearthed a pair of cosmic disco and jazz-funk originals from his bottomless crates and retooled them with heavier low-end and tighter edits built for modern rigs. The result? Deep cuts reimagined for today's selectors, shaped by Skeme's seasoned touch as both a dancer and DJ. Ahead of a confidently slated Skeme Richards x Oonops tour across Germany in May 2025, 'Galaxy Amonst The Stars' is truly a riotous cosmic soiree, made unforgettable by its kazooing sax and brilliantly bright beat novae.

Review: 'Thermae' feels like a track that's more about the spaces between the notes than the notes themselves. Featuring Andy Baxter on guitar, bass, and drums, along with Jim Piela on saxophone and Francesca Uberti on piano, it's a laid-back, almost meditative piece that brings to mind the warm, smooth vibes of Khruangbin and Glass Beams. The track is sparse, but not in a way that feels emptyithere's a certain tension in the way it unfolds, with each instrument carving out its own space. The saxophone, in particular, stands out with an FX-laden part that evokes the mood of Robohand's 'Palms' LP from 2023, adding a touch of depth and atmosphere that lingers in the background. There's a nice balance between the organic and the electronic here, which shows in how the track was recorded between London and New York. It's all mixed and mastered with care by Sean Woodlock and John Webber, ensuring that each element, no matter how subtle, shines through in its own time. It's a reflective piece that doesn't demand attention, but invites it when you're ready.

Review: Horizon finds Matt Gold and Will Miller - respectively the guitarist behind Midnight Choir and the trumpeter/producer steering Resavoir - merging their shared love for Brazilian classics and Chicago's collaborative spirit into something slow-burning and broad-eyed. Orbiting nylon-string guitars and gradated with reeds, horns, strings and synths, 'Canopy' opens with bright chords and unfurls into shuffling groove and soprano sax; 'Diversey Beach', meanwhile, written during a whiteout, pairs NYC songwriter Mei Semones with a string section heard to drift like tidewater. Additions from Macie Stewart, Eddie Burns, Carter Lang and more hear the album bob through chamber jazz and dreamy orchestro-pop.

Review: A new collaborative release from Chicago-based musicians Will Miller aka Resavoir and Matt Gold finds two long-time friends turning their shared obsession with 60s and 70s Brazilian music into something glowing, spacious and gently psychedelic. Both seasoned producers - Miller with credits for SZA and Whitney, Gold known for work alongside Makaya McCraven - they trade virtuosity for vibe here. Tracks like 'Canopy' and 'Dewy' float past on brushed drums, weightless keys and muted trumpet lines, inviting you into a world that feels humid and soft-edged, like a Sao Paulo sunrise seen through Chicago smog. 'Zero Gravity' lives up to its name with glassy guitar runs and smeared synths, while 'Diversey Beach' could pass for a bossa nova daydream refracted through ambient jazz. Nothing here tries too hard and that's the point: it's music for breathing, for early mornings or long windows of time with nothing to do. A quietly dazzling listen from two players unbothered by hype, weaving warmth and clarity into something slow-burning and completely their own.