Review: The combined talents of pianist-producer Alfa Mist and jazz drummer Richard Spaven have spelt the formation of a new hip-hop act, 44th Move, whose debut album for Black Acre debuts today. Centring on the notion of an "R&D mindstate", the pair bring a tonally lowered, electronicised sound to the table, teaming up with two further confidants - Bristol turntablist Awkward and Detroit rapper Quelle Chris - for an extended jaunt through techno, r&b and rap, arrayed in overarching drapes of moody jazz.
Review: For Record Store Day 2025, Bloom Japan presents a lovely 7" from the 45TRIO, who reimagine Minnie Riperton's classic 'Inside My Love.' This reinterpretation delivers a lush, jazz-infused instrumental take that honours the original's unique sensuality while introducing a fresh, soulful groove for modern 'floors. 45TRIO's tasteful blend of live instrumentation and vintage tones helps breathe new life into this timeless gem while the B-side offers a stripped-down version perfect for late-night spins or sample hunters. This is one to pick up and drop during those loved-up moments.
Review: Just three months after its predecessor was released, the second and final part of Joe Armon-Jones' epic All The Quiet album series lands in stores. Entirely written, produced and mixed by the man himself - with a few friends and high-profile guests popping up to add instruments or take to the mic - the set offers atmospheric, immersive and perfectly-pitched musical fusions rooted in his various sonic influences (think jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop and dub). Highlights are plentiful, from the deep and dreamy jazz-soul shuffle of 'Another Place' (featuring significant contributions from vocalists Greentea Peng and Wu-Lu), to the warming, dubbed-out soul of top-tier Yazmin Lacey collaboration 'One Way Traffic'.
B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition
Down By The Cove (5:47)
Mountain Mover (feat Alex Cosmo Blake) (4:38)
Maintaining My Peace (feat Novelist & Stephanie Cooke) (2:59)
Tears (feat Saucy Lady) (2:55)
Brain Gymnasium (3:28)
Wanna Tell Somebody (feat Josh Milan) (5:53)
Otaki (feat Finn Rees) (5:26)
Love Language (feat Nathan Haines) (4:35)
A Deeper Life (feat Isaac Aesili) (8:00)
More Time (feat Lee Pearson Jr Collective) (3:56)
Tongariro Crossing (feat Nathan Haines) (5:17)
Barefoot On The Tarmac (4:11)
Marlboro Sounds (6:03)
The Eternal Checkout (feat Cenk Esen) (5:36)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***
Given that even their most dancefloor-focused tunes are remarkably deep, immersive and sonically detailed, you'd think that Chaos In The CBD's music would suit the album format - it's just that until now, they've not recorded a full-length. A Deeper Life, then, marks a big step forward in the Helliker-Hales brothers' career. Predictably, it's borderline brilliant. Made with the assistance of a cast of collaborators and guest performers (flautist Nathan Haines, boogie revivalist Saucy Lady and original NJ garage-house hero Josh Milan included), it sees the Kiwi duo sashay their way through enveloping, musically expansive cuts - many downtempo and home-listening focused - that variously mix and match elements of deep house, nu-jazz, dub, 80s soul, hip-hop, trip-hop, Latin soul and much more besides. A genuine triumph, even by their high standards.
Review: Oltreoceano take a strident second step with Oltreoceano. Made between Italy, France and the US, we've eight tracks here cherrypicked from funk, 70s electronica and spiritual jazz, though the pregnancy of its influences contrast its core themes of absence, longing and invisible threads that bind. Tommaso Cappellato (drums), Nicolo Masetto (bass) and Alberto Lincetto (keys) enlist a further draw of collaborators like Dwight Trible, Mocky, Isaiah Collier and Maylee Todd, ensuring the nostalgic ensemble eidetics of 'Tempo Al Tempo' and 'Alberoni', both of which evoke smoky clubs and panoramic soundtracks, nodding to Azymuth and Umiliani without ever getting peated in reverence.
Review: This second set of remixes from Paris-based eight-piece Cotonete's "Super-Vilains" album is another heavyweight selection with Alex Attias, DJ Deep and Romain Poncet and Aleq Notal all coming correct. For his part, Attias keeps the jazz-tinged Latin vibes front and centre with a sunny, sweaty jam laced with house goodness. DJ Deep & Romain Poncet dub things out for those more subtle moments in the night, when a slick rolling groove is enough to hypnotise a crowd, and then it's pure bumping and jazzy deep house from Aleq Notal. Elements of 90s deepness, lounge vibes and funk all colour in the airwaves as you bask in the goodness of his work.
Review: Following a brief hiatus to recharge his batteries following the release of the genuinely fantastic Evergreen album on Freerange last year, Ben J Worral brings his Crackazat project back to Heist Recordings. With six tracks on show, there's plenty to set the senses tingling, from the jazzy, dreamy and soulful downtempo beats of impeccable opener 'I Need To Know' and the joyous, piano-sporting sunshine house excellence of 'Do You Think About Me', to the rising, subtly jazz-flecked deep house perfection of 'Freddie's Groove' (a kind of Crackazat update of Pepe Bradock's 'Deep Burnt', with added horns) and the broken jazz-house-soul of Potash Twins collaboration 'Phantom'. Jazz-funk flavoured broken beat gem 'Endless Life' and the Guru's Jazzamatazz-esque 'When We Last Met' complete a fantastic EP.
Review: A record that crafts a smooth, jazz-infused deep house journey, blending classic influences with a refined musical touch. Side-1 opens with 'Waves', where warm piano chords and a laid-back groove create an effortlessly rich atmosphere. 'Let's Love' brings in house legend Robert Owens, elevating the track with soulful vocals, shimmering keys and uplifting energyiclassic house music with a deep jazz undercurrent. On the flip, 'Move Me' delivers a dynamic blend of funky basslines, crisp percussion and spacious keyboards, keeping the groove fluid and expressive. 'Wistful Melody' rounds out the EP with a driving four-on-the-floor rhythm, yet retains a melodic softness, balancing energy with deep, emotive textures. A beautifully crafted collection that pays homage to house music's roots while pushing toward a more intricate, jazz-leaning sound.
Review: Over the course of two fine, full-length excursions, Don Glori (real name Gordon Li) has perfected a warm, breezy and frequently life-affirming trademark sound that cannily joins the dots between jazz, samba, MPB, jazz-funk and soul. He leans into the latter elements more on summery third set Paper Can't Wrap Fire, drawing on the talents of a wealth of Melbourne music friends across nine sublime tracks. There's much to admire throughout, from the sun-soaked jazz-funk/soul fusion of 'Brown Eyes' and summery head-nodder 'Janet', to the spiritual jazz joy of 'Song For Ants', the Brazilian brilliance of 'Precious' and the oceans-deep nu-jazz shuffle of 'Saturn's Return'.
Review: Emapea is a bonafide Polish beat-wizard and man being many highly collectible albums, 12"s and 7"s. This lates is another call to action for when the sun arrives, a laidback fusion of soul, funk and jazz with lazy hip hop beats that just melt the heart. The opener '7 Inch' is a crisp boom-bap joint, 'True Fam' brings a steamy sax line and golden keys to the fore, then 'Smuggling Town' rolls us into downtown Jamaica on a blissed out dub. 'Takeover' is another lounge beat masterpiece amongst many in his arsenal.
Review: Master drummer and producer Alexander Flood debuts his rhythmic first record on Atjazz, following up the sumptuous first single 'Life Is A Rhythm'. A truly exciting record on foliate green vinyl, this LP packs a production paradox, bringing both boomy bodyweight and a shape-cutting, 2-stepping sense of ease at the same time. With extra layers of perc in the rhythm section, with Brazilian percussionist Aduni on congas and Cuban percussionist Alexander Scull Castillo on bata, it's actually really the dance-flooring production that grabs us here, heard best in the plum chords and erratic pianos of 'Don't Wait For Me', and/or the live bruk ghost dance 'Sidestep'.
Chain Reaction (DoctorSoul You Can't Fake It - extended Re-Therapy) (6:49)
When Sly Calls (DoctorSoul Don't Touch That Phone - extended Re-Therapy) (5:33)
When Sly Calls (DoctorSoul' Don't Touch That Phone - radio Re-Therapy) (3:45)
Review: Second time around for Doctor Soul's terrific reworks of cuts by yacht rock, AOR, quiet storm and West Coast rock legend Michael Franks, which originally appeared - and rapidly sold out - earlier in the year. First to get the (virtual) scalpel treatment is 1977 jazz-rock treat 'Chain Reaction', which Doctor Soul brilliantly turns into a loose-limbed, hip-hop-break-driven slab of extended yacht rock sunshine. Arguably even better is his extended take on sun-splashed 1985 jazz-funk/jazz-fusion gem 'When Sly Calls (Don't Touch That Phone)', which Doctor Soul lightly toughens up while respecting the original's fine groove. Also included is a shorter radio-friendly re-edit of the latter rework, which is handy for those whose audiences demand short cuts and quick mixes.
Review: A true Chicago veteran with over 100+ releases to his name(s) steps into a fresh chapter with this first EP on a new label, delivering four cuts that reaffirm his mastery of deep house expression. 'Lush' opens with silky, melodic textures, driven by emotive keys and a warm, jazzy touchipure late-night soul. 'Magic (Gherkin Syndrome Mix)' ups the energy, blending jackin' rhythms, funky basslines and a misty atmosphere, while still rooted in deep house sensibility. Flipping to Side-B, 'Showing Off' cools things down with a laid-back piece that is a worth alternate to all the heat elsewhere on this disc. Closing track 'U Don't Own Me (Destructive Beauty Inst)' dives deeper still, a spacious, textured instrumental that has a timeless, defiant spirit. Every track feels like a personal statement from an artist still pushing forward, rooted in tradition but reaching more great emotional heights.
Review: This genuinely organic album, Godtet, recorded live in Studios 301, Alexandria, Sydney in 2016 is repressed for the first time in six years on the La Sape label. It celebrates the meditative potency of the (just over or under) two-minute track that begins, like 'Arp' or 'Hahahhaha', as ambient exploratory rhythmical waves leading into sounds to come. Like 'Hekkaz' where Tully Ryan and Dominic Kirk's percussive poundings and slappings pleasurably alert the listener to the more luxurious melodic mixture of Andrew Bruce's keys with Godrigues' lamenting guitar, playing harmonious echoey expressive beats. Here, one of the many stand out tracks 'Ensueo' is only matched by the even more groovy and halting 'Comedy', bassline by Jan Bangma. Recorded and produced by Godriguez and Jack Prest who also mixed and mastered this conceptual adventure into the world of rhythm and reverb where John Martyn meets Alfa Mist, Godtet lovingly foregrounds each band member's singularity, culminating in the exceptional self-titled final piece. A must for those who love a late-night listening session over and over again.
Review: Since bagging the 2014 Mercury Music Prize for sophomore set V.20, GoGo Penguin has become one of the most talked-about outfits around. The self-confessed "very modern piano trio" has succeeded largely due to their far-sighted ability to fuse more traditional jazz and classical music sounds with a surprisingly wide palette of influences, most notably dancefloor-focused 21st century electronic music. On A Humdrum Star, their fourth full length, the Manchester threesome has decided to take a "freer" and more "liberated" approach. The resultant music is every bit as exciting, entertaining and beguiling as you'd expect, with the full-throttle, high-octane dancefloor jazz of "Raven", atmospheric and undulating "Bardo" and gently jazz-funk influenced brilliance of closer "Window" amongst the highlights.
Face At My Window (Kyoto Jazz Massive remix) (5:25)
Face At My Window (Yoshi edit) (3:04)
Face At My Window (feat Sean Haefeli) (3:30)
Beyond The Dream (Musclecars Reimagination) (10:26)
Beyond The Dream (feat Sean Haefeli) (3:35)
Review: Next up for BBE is a package of remixes that invites several key artists to add their own spin to Jazzanova's superb reimagining of Sam Sanders's iconic 'Face at my Window'. Kyoto Jazz Massive are first to tackle the single which first appeared on 'Strata Records - The Sound of Detroit - Reimagined by Jazzanova' and bring some intimate jazz clubs vibes. After a Yoshi edit and version with vocalists Sean Haefli, musclecars bring a touch of New York and Chicago house classicism to their version. Both remixers bring new perspective to this timeless classic.
B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition
Body Singer (5:05)
Kinship (2:19)
Skinship (1:05)
Trippy Gas (4:11)
Mirror Of The Heart (4:32)
Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***
Still riding high from the success of his superb re-make of Manuel Gottsching on Test Pressing ('A Reference to E2-E4'), Alex Kassian returns to Pinchy & Friends - who released his similarly popular 2021 EP 'Leave Your Life' - after a three-year break. Beginning with the lusciously languid, Balearic, effects-laden and sonically layered title track ('Body Singer', where Jonny Nash style guitars and tumbling sax motifs rise above a sparse drum machine beat and shoegaze-esque aural textures), the Berlin-based producer offers up a loved-up mix of weightless ambient bliss (Kinship), kosmiche soundscapes (the sun-flecked 'Skinship'), revivalist Krautrock (the Can-after-several-spliffs headiness of 'Trippy Gas') and immersive, cinematic excusions (the gorgeous 'Mirror of the Heart').
B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition
Time & Time Again (album mix)
Sunset BLVD (feat Mel K - album mix)
Grace (Vicks Jazz Funk Deep Traveler mix)
Get Here (feat Angel-A - Ext vocal mix)
Experimental (feat Brian Smokey Williams - album vocal mix)
The Midnight Hour
Knights (Ext Time Traveler mix)
Overdrive (album mix)
The Project
Good Timing (feat Big Mel)
Spirits (album mix)
Beyond
Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***
Vick Lavander is a name that has always been a byword for deep house quality. His sound is couched in a classic template but comes with subtle tweaks and plenty of its own musical character. BEYOND is a bumper collection of beats which proves just that. There are silky and cosmically minded sounds like 'Time & Time Again' next to subtly jazzy dancers like 'Sunset BLVD' and dubby, elegant grooves like the life-affirming 'Grace'. The pace picks up with joints like 'Knights' but never at the expense of atmosphere and slows right down with swab-tinged downbeat delights like 'Good Timing'. A magnificently rich work.
B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition
Beginner's Luck
Kingdom
Turnmills
Nervous Tics (feat Holly Walker)
Glasshouses
Part Time Glory
Feel Good (feat Khruangbin)
Slow Heat (feat Holly Walker)
Vale
Kama
Review: ***B-STOCK: Creasing to corner of outer sleeve but otherwise in excellent condition***
British duo Maribou State are back with their first full-length since 2015's breakthrough debut album Portraits, and was a result of a two year long journey to find their sound. Story has it that upon returning to the UK to begin work on new material, they relocated their studio at the back of their home in Hertfordshire to London - only to struggle in finding their creative flow. They began to look outward, making regular excursions out of the city, setting up temporary studio spaces throughout Asia, Oceania, the Middle East to North America and beyond - the result of which is this tremendous LP. Highlights include "Turnmills" their tribute to the now defunct but legendary clubbing institution, the dreamy lo-slung pop of "Nervous Tics" which continues their long standing collaboration with vocalist Holly Walker, and another fabulous hook-up with Houston based purveyors of exotica Khruangbin - on the sublime "Feel Good".
Review: On his long-awaited debut, Osaka's Takuya Matsumoto draws a clear line between the tactile futurism of 90s IDM and the emotional depth of Detroit techno, finding beauty in grit and structure in chaos. There's a cinematic quality to the sequencing, from the shimmering opener 'Drifting On The Ocean' to the gnarled syncopations of 'Dril and Acid' and the broken funk of 'Fonseca'. But what makes this record truly sing is its refusal to sit still: 'Mini' dances with jazzy irreverence, while 'Triangles' feels like a dusted-off memory from a lost Rephlex archive. Matsumoto's palette is warm, spiky, and full of movementian album built not on pastiche but on devotion to groove and experimentation in equal measure. You hear shades of Underground Resistance's urgency, Mike Paradinas' off-grid detail, and Floating Points' melodic intricacy, but none of it feels borrowed. 'Traverse' and 'Mercy on the floor' close things with a spacious melancholy that lingers beyond the final fade. This is a conversation with dance music history, spoken fluently in rhythm and mood. A richly detailed, deeply personal statement from one of Japan's most quietly consistent producers.
Review: Following last year's timely reissue of Moodymann's superb Black Mahogani set - an expansive collection of some of his deeper, jazzier moments - Peacefrog have dusted down and repressed its 2004 follow-up. While its predecessor mixed fluid jazz with a deep house pulse, Black Mahogani II has no dancefloor pretensions. Instead, it offers up some of Kenny Dixon Jnr's finest deep jazz recordings. The album's centerpiece is undoubtedly the epic, 18-minute jam "When She Follows" - a tumbling, constantly-evolving journey through deep jazz built around looped acoustic bass, skipping jazz drums and exquisite Rhodes keys. The album is worth investing in for this moment of genius alone.
Review: US army man Mike Grant's Moods & Grooves has been a house music treasure trove since day one. In fact, you might say that a house artist hasn't really made it unless he has tapped them up for his imprint and next to get that honour is New Digital Fidelity aka Scopic label boss. He kicks off with 'Gonna Touch The Sky,' a tom-laced deep house delight finished with a dusty vocal., Fred P reshapes it into something even more smoky and elongated then 'Make Up Your Mind' layers lazy Chicago claps with swirling Detroit pads into something lush and soothing. 'Horizon' is a playful, uplifting broken beat with singing synth leads. Stunning.
Mr Doris - "Want Some More" (feat Much Maligned) (3:54)
Review: Heavyweight sonic Afro-botics from Nikodemus, Barzo and Mr Doris on 7" wax. The trio team up here with Dinked Records for a double-bill 7" in veins of amapiano and broken beat, primed for crate sifters and floor ambulants alike. On the A, 'Want Some More' delivers Mr. Doris' signature blend of rhythmic muscle and Afro-Latin swang, while the flip flops Nickodemus with Barzo and Zongo Abongo for 'Show Your Power': a bold, percussive cut straddling broken beat, house, and ska. Somewhere between 126 and 128 BPM, both are utter floor finishers and could easily intro your next Afro-house set as they could provide it a sense of continuous, mid-set body.
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: After the seismograph shattering success of their last 45, 'Samba De Flora', in the summer of 2024, Argentina's Romero Bros (Xavi and Remi) have since followed an unignorable inspirational impulse, that is and was, to finish a collection of jazz and Latin-infused club tracks, ones that had been in the leftover works for years. The result is a seven-tracker of gracefully cosmic proportions, incorporating drunken piano house and a percussively soft excitability, not to mention a remix each of the very track that sparked the entire duo project, 'Samba De Flora'.
Review: Thornato's Bennu album was first released in 2021 and proved a quick hit. Wonderwheel now reissues it on limited translucent blue vinyl which is as mesmerising as the fusion of global rhythms and electronic beats contained within. From the infectious opening and worldly grooves of 'Bennu' to the darker vocals and heavier drums of 'Rhinoceros', each track showcases Thornato's mastery of blending traditional instrumentation with modern production techniques. Standout cuts like 'Shu Swamp' seamlessly weave together influences from around the world with claps, xylophones, chanting vocals and shuffling rhythms that exude vibrant energy. A truly global blend of bass and beats this album will bring plenty of warmth into your life.
Review: Brownswood Recordings proudly present the first ever reissue of Toshio Matsuura's 2018 cult classic Loveplaydance, issued for the first time as a complete album on limited edition red and white double vinyl. The project focuses on covers, presenting classics & influential tracks in a contemporary context. For example, among the most immediately prominent is Toshio Matsuura Group's version of 'Black Gold Of The Sun' by Rotary Connection, though the new version lays down a patent Afro-Cuban tinge, enlisting the aid of singer Dayme Arocena and her prodigious Havana-based players. Such ingenious rerubs all came down to the bold movements of legendary DJ and producer Toshio Matsuura, whose selections and comings-together still cast a novel light on these early 90s jazz proceedings.
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