Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz Recommendations April 2011

Review: Dan Snaith aka Caribou has remained at the top of his game for over a decade thanks mostly to his chameleon-esque approach to musical styles. Last year's album Swim was rightly lauded across the board for its organic approach to techno and it's a stark contrast to his other greatest hour - Up In Flames under his previous nom de plume Manitoba. It's perhaps this recent success that's lead Snaith to adopt a new alias in Daphni, the fruits of which were first debuted on his RA podcast earlier this year. Subsequently you may recall a Daphni/Four Tet twelve surfacing (before the axis of hype operated by Radiohead and Burial took centre stage) and now we have this twelve on the newly formed Resista, which sees Snaith add his own touch to two lesser beaten tracks - the A Side being a quite hypnotic take on Thomas Mapfumo and the Blacks Unlimited's 1986 track "Shumba". This is backed with the tribal post-punk thump of "NPE" which sounds like Demdike Stare remixing Liquid Liquid and The Flirts and is dancefloor music at its simplest and most effective.

Review: Ahead of their latest long player excursion on the Far Out imprint, iconic Brazilian trio Azymuth drop this twelve inch shaped sample of what to expect with the added bonus of a remix from Italian disco funk deity LTJ Experience. "In My Tree house", purportedly delivered over a two week period of recording and fine tuning in a Rio studio, is a track dear to Azymuth member Jose Roberto Bertrami - dedicated to the great oak tree that obscures the view from his bedroom window. More importantly its vintage Azymuth, packed with tons of tight jazz funk hooks and vocal melodies. The flipside remix of "Crazy Clock" is a late night funk bomb filled with tight guitar lines and woozy moog flourishes sitting pretty on top of a delightfully low slung groove.

Review: It's been a long time coming but Dorian Concept's debut release for Ninja Tune excels in all departments. If you were one of those with enough scrilla and time to fully indulge in the label's recent impressive 20th Anniversary compilation will no doubt have been blown away by the woozy glory of "Her Tears Taste Like Pears" and it's a blessing to finally see it pressed up as the lead track on this thick slab of vinyl. Complementing this is the squeaky dancehall swing of "My Face Needs Food" which engulfs your senses with brilliant waves of neon synths. On the flip Dorian slips into stutter mode on "Toe Games Made Her Giggle" with creeped out Eastern melodies following the lead of stripped down steppy beats which acts as a nice contrast to the final purple introspection of "Thank You All The Time Forever".

Review: German outfit Mo'Horizons, who first formed in the late 1990s, return with this first 7" release from their upcoming studio album which is due for release in May. First up on a skanking funk tip is ''So On'' featuring female vocalist Marga Munguambe with a ragga vocal from Rude Hifi. On the flip is a live sounding rocking horn stabbed led funk track with great drums and the odd vocal sample snippet!

Review: Fans of original Brazilian bossa nova have been spoiled recently. Following hot on the heels of Soul Jazz's thrilling collection of 1960s originals, Brazil Bossa Beat is this excellent compilation of similarly vintage Brazilian rarities. While Soul Jazz's set focused entirely on bossa nova, Viagem Vol 3 - compiled by Italian bossa revivalist Nicola Conte - casts its net wider, taking in a fine selection of samba jazz alongside the bossa beats. It's actually these cuts that really hit the spot, with stand-out contributions from such little-known artists as Octoons, Luiz Carlos Sa and Carlos Sondres, whose Afro-flavoured "Samba De Negro" is outstanding.

Review: It's hard to pin down exactly what Bebo Baldan aka Bebo Best actually does. Musically, he's clearly inspired by easy listening, library music, jazz, swing, bossa-nova and Cuban grooves, but his productions have a chunky swing and hip-hop sensibility that should appeal to DJs who like their beats breaksy. Saronno On The Rocks is his third album with the (presumably mythical) Super Lounge Orchestra. It's an entertaining, dancefloor-friendly set that breezily leaps between his favoured sounds and styles. There's electro-swing ("Sing Sing"), overblown big band Latin jazz ("Havana Jazz Dance"), plenty of tongue-in-cheek bossa and even a delightfully silly cover of Monty Norman's James Bond theme. Think Senor Coconut doing funk breaks, and you're close.

Review: If ever a title was accurate, then it's this one. The 15 tracks showcased here conjure images of men in sharp suits and women in backless dresses sipping brightly coloured cocktails in expensive airport lounges in far-flung corners of the world. Musically, there's plenty to enjoy, with the bossa-jazz beats of Me & You and Natural Self nestling comfortably next to the upbeat breaks of Renegades of Jazz and Gramophonedzie's Balkan house hit "Why Don't You". There's even a clutch of electro-swing cuts and a dancefloor-friendly remix of the Andrews Sisters. If you're looking for a smart collection of jazz-flecked cuts, then "Bar Tunes 5" ticks all the right boxes

Review: Melbourne-based Lance Ferguson takes time out from producing funk bank the Bamboos to lay down a second solo album under the Lanu moniker. "Her 12 Faces" is a curious choice of title, but neatly sums up the eclectic patchwork of beat-driven songs and instrumentals on display. While largely downtempo think vintage Aim after dosing himself up on Prozac Ferguson offers a few thrillingly uptempo excursions (most notably "Der Hotel Blume" and "1988"), as well as a slew of memorable songs featuring vocalist Megan Washington. She's probably at her beguiling best on string-laden torch song "Fall" a cut that wrestles with the dreamy steel guitar workout "The Coral Route" for the title of the album's stand-out track.