Broken Beat/Nu Jazz/Nu Soul charts

Review: An integral figure on the Motor City scene for the best part of two decades, Specter has always been a particularly prolific producer. Built To Last - appearing on Theo Parrish's significant Sound Signature label - is his first album-length excursion. It offers an expansive summary of his inspirations and influences - many will notice subtle nods towards local deep house, techno and electro heroes, as well as more experimental synthesizer music, off-kilter electronic jazz-funk, deep space dub and eyeliner-clad early '80s synth-wave - while also showcasing a trademark sound that's every bit as dusty, warm, loose and lo-fi as his lauded Detroit peers.

Review: Louie Vega remains a towering presence in house music 30+ years after making his early mark. As a solo artist, he deals in soulful, Latin-tinged and musical house sounds that are lavish in arrangement and often made with real instrumentals. The Vega boss now serves up a bumper collection of previously unreleased tunes across no fewer than ten sides of vinyl. There are collaborations, remixes, demos, dubs and reworks along the way and the range in impressive - from deep and triable joints to shuffling samba sounds and back again, this is a vital collection from a real house master.

Review: A few years after its release this Robert Glasper gets a well deserved deluxe edition. Black Radio is a landmark album that boldly stakes out new musical territory and transcends any notion of genre, drawing from jazz, hip-hop, R&B and rock, but refusing to be pinned down by any one tag. Black Radio also features many of Glasper''s famous friends from the spectrum of urban music, seamlessly incorporating appearances from a jaw-dropping roll call of special guests including Erykah Badu, Bilal, Lupe Fiasco, Lalah Hathaway, Shafi q Husayn (Sa-Ra), KING, Ledisi, Chrisette Michele and many more.

Review: Hard to define, rule breaking and game-changing producer Theo Parrish is back with another of his challenging and superlative albums. This one - which naturally arrives on his own Sound Signature label - is a collaboration with Maurissa Rose that true sooth the soul. It s full of his usual deadly grooves, shamanistic percussive layers and jazz energies with plenty of his famous luscious, meditative loops. Add in the smooth vocals of Rose - which come in the form of a soulful stream of consciousness - and you have yet another unique album from this true maverick of the form.

Review: First released in digital and CD formats via Sacred Rhythm, 'Progessive Roots Evolution: A Song For Healing' hears Joaqin 'Joe' Claussell's indelible style of long-form spiritual house music re-flaunted to especial somatic ends. Intentionally crafted as a piece that bridges the needs of both the music and dance communities to whom Claussell is mutually close, this is a suite divided into multiple sections that feed on one another; they appose elements of samba, jazz and house, with ambient interstices and even ruminative piano meltdowns ('Healer', 'Heloise'). This ultra limited yellow LP edition is the audiophile's preference, its dynamism best flaunted on the floaty but driving 'Cosmic Arts' mix.

Review: Was anyone ready for one of the most talked-about albums of the year to be Andre 3000 going ham on the flute? Probably not, but in a post-reality world New Blue Sun just slots right in. Of course the legions of Outkast fans are going to be split when an artist of such prominence takes a wild swerve into experimental musical pastures, but for those with an open mind or a pre-existing appreciation of ambient and leftfield music, this album is an easy sell. Teasing the tension between acoustic and electronic, ancient and hypermodern, grounded and ethereal, Andre has been bold and honest in presenting this album to the world and his gamble has paid off.

Review: Despite his considerable contributions to drum & bass over many decades as a DJ, producer and promoter Grooverider has released only one solo artist album and that is 1998's Mysteries Of Funk which now turns 25 years old. Produced in conjunction with Optical, it gets a special, limited edition anniversary reissue across six sides of vinyl including standout singles 'Rainbows of Colour' and 'Where's Jack The Ripper.' It came a decade or so after Grooverider established himself alongside long time partner Fabio with sets at the UK's best illegal raves before then starting their own seminal Rage night at Heaven.

Review: French artistic and multi-instrumentalist FKJ's glossy brand of funk and soul has reached many a great height. He is by now a well known star around the world so of course the labels he has worked with decided it is now high time we looked back on his. His self-titled album French Kiwi Juice was his first long player and one that showed off the artist's incredible multi-instrumental chops. Super-sweet yet also tart sonic juices from the Franco-New Zealander, returning to this exclusive vinyl pressing.

Review: After the success of the first Alessandroni Proibito box set, which sold out in pre-sale before it even hit the stores, Four Flies is proudly back with Volume 2 of the compilation. This new release too features five exclusive 7" singles, housing a total of ten seriously rare tunes. All previously unreleased in physical format, the tracks have been carefully selected from the soundtracks of five obscure Italian films from the late 70s - sexy flicks that flirted with the line between erotic and explicit, and which are now largely forgotten, having been out of circulation for decades. As was the case with the previous volume of the compilation, Alessandroni's music rises above the films' flimsy plots, improvised actors, and amateurish production, exuding his distinctive touch thanks to the (typically Italian) artisanal approach he took to his musical craft. The composer let his creativity run free, playing with his instruments at home as if he were in his own little amusement park; trying to have fun and produce something entertaining and captivating with just the few means at his disposal.

Review: Black is the first record from saxophone player D.A. Mekonnen under the Dragonchild alias. He is someone who is always thinking in cosmic terms and this sonic exploration draws on that with inspiration taken from Black visionaries Haile Gerima, an Ethiopian filmmaker, nonconformist American artist Lonnie Holley, and American activist and author Adrienne Maree Brown. All four of the one-sided albums are designed to be played simultaneously and are made in tribute to the great Alice Coltrane whose influence looms large. It is a ferocious and meditative album unlike any other you will hear this year.

Review: Hip-hop super group Dinner Party is made up of Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin and 9th Wonder. They have a wide array of sounds and skills between them and put them to good use on their second album Enigmatic Society, which is presented here as a Japanese Edition on milk-clear white vinyl with the requisite obi-strip. This is super smooth material that mixes up hip hop, new soul, jazz and plenty of great samples to make for a laidback and romantic record full of lovely vocals from the likes of Phoenix, Orin Ray and Ant Clemens.