New Grooves — All Formats  

The third in the surprisingly strong Brownswood Electric series – in which Gilles Peterson carefully peruses the leftfield electronic underground and puts together some of the best, brightest and most worthy of discovery! We love both the eclecticism and the overall uniqueness of each track here. Gilles not only has excellent taste in modern sounds, but he has a great ear for odder, genre-defying material that avoid temporary trendiness. It's got some dancefloor ready neo-house, tripped out hip hop indebted instros, spacey keyboard textured tunes and more. Includes "Makin' Magic" by Krampfhaft, "Tiny Concrete Block" by Kidsuke, "Nothing" by Lost Twin, "Tride & Tride" by Anushka, "Girl" by Aftawerks, "Bootney Farnsworth" by Metabeats, "Hot Rain" by Pomrad, "Kick It VIP" by Frank Rodasm, "Never Been (Electr*c VIP" by Dub Phixion feat Fox and more.

Afro grooves galore – all taken to rich new territory in the hands of a few contemporary mixers! The set's based around a core track – "Prudence", sung and played by Cheick Hamala Diabate – with great work on ngoni in the lead – a hip stringed instrument that dances around with tremendous energy over raw percussion! The remixes augment the approach in a number of different styles – and often find ways to unlock a different sort of charm in the tune – sometimes by amplifying rhythms, sometimes through more subtle means. The set features the main version of "Prudence" by Diabate, plus mixes by Whiskey Barons, Jon Kennedy, Daytoner, and E's E NYC Trust – as well as the track "Fatou Kounkoun Sissoko (Sol Power All-Stars mix)".

Afro grooves galore – all taken to rich new territory in the hands of a few contemporary mixers! The set's based around a core track – "Prudence", sung and played by Cheick Hamala Diabate – with great work on ngoni in the lead – a hip stringed instrument that dances around with tremendous energy over raw percussion! The remixes augment the approach in a number of different styles – and often find ways to unlock a different sort of charm in the tune – sometimes by amplifying rhythms, sometimes through more subtle means. The set features the main version of "Prudence" by Diabate, plus mixes by Whiskey Barons, Jon Kennedy, Daytoner, and E's E NYC Trust – as well as the track "Fatou Kounkoun Sissoko (Sol Power All-Stars mix)".

Strong and rawly percussive sounds from Chicago legend Ron Trent! Ron has way of carrying the torch for classic club soul soundscapes – the kinds that he helped pioneer – and all the while continues to evolve and innovate. It's a pretty tricky balancing act, yet he gets across each time out! Raw Footage has some pretty insistent, African percussion-inspired beatscraft paired with spacey keys and some hypnotic bits of vocal. Includes "Message To The World", "Sundance", "Electric Blue", "Pressure Zone", "Exotic Drums", "Her", "Atmoshere", "Sweetness", "Space Dance", "Blood And Fire" and more.

Spare sonic textures and mellow musical moments from Eivind Aarset – a great session for ECM, and maybe one of his most compelling records in years! This ECM album has a feel that's a bit warmer than some of Aarset's previous work for the Jazzland – not in a way that's commercial at all, given that the music is still pretty darn abstract – but just somehow more organic – in ways that almost feel acoustic at points, even though most of the instrumentation is electric – possibly because of these bass-heavy shapes that often move at the back and bottom of the mix. Eivind plays guitars, electronics, samples, and percussion – with help from Jan Bang on dictaphone and additional samples – on titles that icnlude "The Beauty Of Decay", "Homage To Greene", "Black Silence", "Close", "Reactive", and "The Whispering Forest".

A wonderful tribute to Tony Allen's landmark Black Voices album – re-presented here with the full original record, plus a host of bonus cuts too! The core record is amazing – a set that really re-introduced Allen to the world, after falling into a bit of obscurity in the 80s years after he broke with Fela Kuti – the start of a rich new chapter in his career that's continued to burn strongly for the past decade or so! The album still holds up wonderfully – as Allen's still swinging hard, in a heavy afro funk groove that sounds a lot like his 70s work – with great electric keyboards, tight guitars, and some very nice flanged-out vocals. The drumming is nice and tight – but with a freer edge that mixes elements from the older work with a dubby spacey approach that recalls rhythms of groups like Can or Cymande! Titles include "Asiko", "Get Together", "Black Voices", "The Same Blood", and "Ariya Psyche (Juju mix)". CD also features 5 more tracks – titled Black Voices Revisited – including different versions of "Asiko" and "The Same Blood" – plus "Ariya", "Get Together (with Mudbone Cooper)", and "Black Voices (with Clip Payne)".

Bebel Gilberto eat your heart out – Antena explored the same electric-bossa territory you did, nearly 20 years before your first big record! The group were a short-lived French outfit who were one of the shining jewels in the crown of the lovely label Les Disques Du Crepuscule during the early 80s – and were a real breath of fresh air in the post-punk years with their light and jazzy approach to the groove. As you'll hear in this set, Antena's style borrows a lot from the bossa, but also throws in some wonderful poppish touches – including jangly guitars recorded in a similar mode to some of the other French/European indie groups of the time, and a slight darkness in production that almost gives a Martin Hannett-like undercurrent to the whole set. The group's album Camino Del Sol has been lovingly reissued with a great set of notes, as well as a series of bonus tracks from an additional ep – making for a beautiful 14 track package that will really help you rediscover this nearly-lost group! Titles include "Sissexa", "To Climb The Cliff", "Camino Del Sol", "Bye Bye Papaye", "Noelle A Hawaii", "The Boy From Ipanema", "Seaside Weekend", "Frantz", and "Ingenuous".

Beautifully percolated grooves from Basic Soul Unit – spare and electronic, yet still surprisingly soulful too – almost like some of the gentler sounds that came around in the second generation of Chicago house, but informed by a 21st Century soul vibe as well! Most numbers have keyboards moving around beats in a really great way – and there's some acid electric touches that are subtle, but which bring a nice sort of retro energy to the set – some moogy brilliance that only gets better and better as the record moves on – almost with a Larry Heard feel in some of the best moments! Titles include "Let Go", "Backseat Lover", "Mind Forest", "Intersection", "All Over Me", "This", "Across The Room", and "Clouds".

Beautifully percolated grooves from Basic Soul Unit – spare and electronic, yet still surprisingly soulful too – almost like some of the gentler sounds that came around in the second generation of Chicago house, but informed by a 21st Century soul vibe as well! Most numbers have keyboards moving around beats in a really great way – and there's some acid electric touches that are subtle, but which bring a nice sort of retro energy to the set – some moogy brilliance that only gets better and better as the record moves on – almost with a Larry Heard feel in some of the best moments! Titles include "Let Go", "Backseat Lover", "Mind Forest", "Intersection", "All Over Me", "This", "Across The Room", and "Clouds".

Four classic albums by this hip UK group – all with rare bonus tracks too! First up is the wonderful Dad Man Cat – our favorite record by one of the best funk records to ever come out of England! On this great debut album, Corduroy are a tight funky combo, with an organ and clavinet mod sound that still holds up damn well over the years. Their songwriting is great, and the groove on the set push way past the stock acid jazz riffing of the early 90s. Best example of this is "Skirt Alert", a cut that begins with an amazing drum break, then grooves into a Brazilian-inflected funk number, in the manner of Earth Wind & Fire's use of the idiom. Other tracks include "Chowdown", "How To Steal The World", "Electric Soup", "Money Is", and "Six Plus One". CD also features six bonus demo tracks! High Havoc is a real shift for Corduroy, who are opening their sound a lot here from earlier releases – showing that the group was way more than just one of London's many retro funk combos at the beginning of the 90s. The set includes the sublime track "Something In My Eye", a breezy bossa number that would almost put Brasil 66 to shame, and which we can guarantee will have you hitting the repeat button on your CD player again and again! Other tracks include "The Corduroy Orgasm Club", "Breakfast In Love", "Nobody Move", "Very Yeah", "Clearing Up Music", "Lovely Lonely & Loaded", and "The Frighteners". CD features 9 more bonus tracks – some previously unreleased! Next is Out Of Here – a record that's still heavily steeped in the 60s territory of previous releases, but one with a bit more of a mod feel overall! There's lots of heavy Hammond and guitar in the mix, and the vocals have a warm appeal too – kind of a blue-eyed soul take on mod London modes – served up here with a sound that's arguably tighter and more soulful than lots of current work of this nature! Corduroy was always a group that never fully got its due – and with records like this under their belt, they were easily one of the hippest acts on the Acid Jazz imprint at the time. Titles include "Don't Wait For Monday", "Practice What You Preach", "Magic Carpet", "January Woman", "Mini", "Motorhead", "Along The Rooftops", "End Of The Rainbow", and "Red Mercury". CD features 7 more bonus tracks – a number of unissued demos! Last up is Quattro – Live In Japan 1994 – a great little live set from Corduroy – recorded late in their career, but with the stripped down funky feel of their best early work! The album was recorded in Japan – but the groove is pure London jazz funk all the way, with a tight mix of keyboards and riffing guitars, electrically grooving in a very soulful way. Includes versions of "Skirt Alert", "Something In My Eye", "Mini", "Money is", "London, England", "Electric Soup", "E Type", "The Frighteners", and "Chow Down".

A spacey bit of 70s jazz gets some great mixing here from Finnish studio maestro Didier – and the result is a tune that's almost as dark as some of his original work under the Didier's Sound Spectrum banner! "Ufology" begins with lots of weird analogue electronics – clearly enough to make you think you're having a Close Encounter – but then a really hard drum break comes into the mix, muted slightly at the bottom, and larger jazz orchestrations build over the top! The whole thing sounds like a great funky electronic 70s soundtrack number – and it's presented with some great bonus beats on the flip. Single also includes the track "No Comments" – another great tune from the 70s, done here with a really funky mix of electric rhythms and big band soloing!

The best yet from Flying Lotus – who we keep allowing ourselves to believe has hit an insurmountable peak with each new record – but he just keeps getting better! Where the preceding Cosmogramma upped the stranger, spacier and more abstract textures, Until The Quiet Comes is a bit more inviting – and to his credit, Flying Lotus keeps things as innovative as ever, while still giving this one just a bit more immediately appealing atmosphere. There's nearly always a compelling beat, whether it's abstract boom bap or bubbly and synthy, with heavy bass and thick waves of sound floating over. An incredible roster of guests contribute, too – including string-arranger Miguel Atwood Ferguson, vocalists Erykah Badu, Laura Darlington and Radiohead's Thom Yorke, keyboardist Dorian Concept, and others – but there's little doubt that this is purely the Flying Lotus show. Greatness! Titles include "All In", "Sultan's Request", "See Thru To U" with Erykah Badu, "DMT Song" with Thundercat, "The Nightcaller", "Only If You Wanna", "Electric Candyman" with Thom Yorke, "Hunger" with Niki Randa, "Phantasm" with Laura Darlington, "Dream To Me" and more.

The best yet from Flying Lotus – who we keep allowing ourselves to believe has hit an insurmountable peak with each new record – but he just keeps getting better! Where the preceding Cosmogramma upped the stranger, spacier and more abstract textures, Until The Quiet Comes is a bit more inviting – and to his credit, Flying Lotus keeps things as innovative as ever, while still giving this one just a bit more immediately appealing atmosphere. There's nearly always a compelling beat, whether it's abstract boom bap or bubbly and synthy, with heavy bass and thick waves of sound floating over. An incredible roster of guests contribute, too – including string-arranger Miguel Atwood Ferguson, vocalists Erykah Badu, Laura Darlington and Radiohead's Thom Yorke, keyboardist Dorian Concept, and others – but there's little doubt that this is purely the Flying Lotus show. Greatness! Titles include "All In", "Sultan's Request", "See Thru To U" with Erykah Badu, "DMT Song" with Thundercat, "The Nightcaller", "Only If You Wanna", "Electric Candyman" with Thom Yorke, "Hunger" with Niki Randa, "Phantasm" with Laura Darlington, "Dream To Me" and more.

Foreign Exchange and friends get some remix love! As impressive and eclectic as Nicolay and Phonte are as the flagship FE duo – and given the depth of their excellent +FE Music catalog – you probably expected them to attract the crème of the crop of cosmic soul remixers, and that they do! Reworks features top shelf tracks by FE – plus tracks led by Deborah Bond, Zo!, Sy Smith, Jeanne Jolly, Vikter Duplaix, solo Phonte and others – and remixes/works by 4Hero, Nicolay, Tall Black Guy, James Poyser's and ?uestlove's Randy Watson Experience and others. Tracks include "So What If It Is", "The Last Fall (Focus. . .+FE Experience Remix)", "Fight For Love (Nicky Mendes And Brasil '66 Remix)", "If She Breaks Your Heart (Randy Watson Experience Remix)" feat Yahzarah and more by Foreign Exchange, plus "Games You Can't Win (Nicolay Remix)" by RJD2 feat Kenna, "Flight Of The Blackbyrd (4Hero Remix)" by Zo feat Phonte, "Electric Love (Nicolay Remix)" by Vikter Duplaix, "The Art Of You (Nicolay Remix)" by Sy Smith, "Love Songs" by Phonte feat Focus & Sy Smith, "This Could Be The Night (Tall Black Guy Remix)" by Zo feat Eric Roberson, Darien Brockington & Phonte, "Acslater (Nicolay Remix)" by The Hot At Nights and more. 21 tracks on 2CDs.

Sweet! The full length debut from Schema's great modern groove ensemble collects material that has been floating around for a while on separate 12-inch eps, plus previously unreleased gems – and the CD was well worth the wait! The groove here ranges from light, mellow space trip jazz, to driving latin-tinged batucada beaters, to clubbier percussion heavy tunes with lots of tonal atmosphere floating over the top! "De Muse" kicks of the set on the mellow jazzy tip, with a very slow building, soundtracky style. "Sambita" is another slow-builder, but picks up steam with a progressive, Latin beat and some really sweet chimes, synth washes, and rich electronic touches floating over the beat. "Carioca" and "Back Shop" travel at a slightly faster clip and head for the floor with pulsating, thumpy percussion, hotter Latin beats on the former and some nice jazzy snare in the latter. "Funkita (For The Dining Rooms)" has a 70s electric feel, with slappy bass and deep synth tones, but that hot programmed beat and that moody, watery pulse that travels the tune and the whole album is all modern, and all Fragment Orchestra!

One of the greatest records we've ever heard from Jazzanova – a set that really returns the group to their roots, and features live funk instrumentation, and ultra-soulful vocals from singer Paul Randolph! The sound is unlike anything Jazzanova's done in the past – even tighter, and more soulful than their excellent Of All The Things album – with a lean groove that's light years away from some of their too-electric moments from a decade ago! A number of tunes here are tracks from the group's more electronic years, but redone with much warmer live instrumentation –and the evolution in the music is mindblowing, with stunning results – a record filled with instant classics – as funky drums mix with jazzy horns, and set up a perfect vibe for the complex yet soulful sound of Randolph's vocals. Titles include "Little Bird", "Flashback", "No Use", "Lucky Girl", "I Human", "Let Me Show Ya", "Theme From Belle Et Fou", "Fedime's Flight", and "Boom Clicky Boom Klack".

One of the greatest records we've ever heard from Jazzanova – a set that really returns the group to their roots, and features live funk instrumentation, and ultra-soulful vocals from singer Paul Randolph! The sound is unlike anything Jazzanova's done in the past – even tighter, and more soulful than their excellent Of All The Things album – with a lean groove that's light years away from some of their too-electric moments from a decade ago! A number of tunes here are tracks from the group's more electronic years, but redone with much warmer live instrumentation –and the evolution in the music is mindblowing, with stunning results – a record filled with instant classics – as funky drums mix with jazzy horns, and set up a perfect vibe for the complex yet soulful sound of Randolph's vocals. Titles include "Little Bird", "Flashback", "No Use", "Lucky Girl", "I Human", "Let Me Show Ya", "Theme From Belle Et Fou", "Fedime's Flight", and "Boom Clicky Boom Klack".

A fantastic full length set from Deborah Jordan – a singer we know mostly for her wonderful work with Silhouette Brown on an album that was one of our favorites from the London scene a few years back! This set has all the cosmic crackles of Jordan's previous work with Dego & Kaidi Tatham – no surprise, given that she gets help on the album from Atjazz, Don Ray, Jneiro Jarel, and Simbad – each of whom take a crack at production, and help ensure that Deborah's vocals get the right dose of snapping beats, spacey keys, and sweet electric touches! And despite the range of producers, there's a really unified feel to the record – a deep soul that emanates strongly from Jordan's lyrics, tying the whole thing together beautifully. Titles include "Home", "Future Calling", "Get Through", "Want It Back", "Brought To Life", "Slipping Away", "One", "Want It Back", and "Get Through".

Sweet jazz funk from 70s Finland! "Boots & Roots" is a wonderful groover from the group of saxophonist Eero Koivistoinen – a snapping groover with guitar on the rhythms, and freewheeling solos on soprano sax from Eero, plus some great solo work on piano! "Roots & Boots" features spare electric piano – and the cut "Five Blue Tones" gets a bit more out, choppily grooving in a hard jamming way, but still quite nicely! All cuts lifted from the For Children LP – originally issued in 1970!

Spacey funk from beats & synth wiz James Pants and guitarist and vocalist Vex Ruffin – working together as Krista – and it's a duo we hope to hear more from! "Space Tom Test" kicks off with that primitivist electro vibe we always dig from James Pants – before Vex's distorted vocals and electric guitar brings in an otherworldly vibe that pairs up really nicely with the James Pants sound. "I Told You Man, I Carry A Gun" has a wicked bass line, raw drums and fuzzy atmosphere carrying over some laidback vocals and effects. Shoegaze funk? Whatever you want to dub it, it's a win!

The sound of Ricky Tick hits Schema Records – with a whole new groove in the process! Tenorist Timo Lassy has won our ears strongly with his previous records for Finnish label Ricky Tick – hardbop groovers that are filled with soul and life, and lots of spontaneous live jazz playing. This smoking Schema records set has all that same sort of energy – but shifts the groove slightly from hardbop to more of a mod sort of style – thanks to use of Wurlitzer electric piano in the combo, which helps bring along a jaunty approach to the rhythms! The vibe's a bit like an Atlantic Records soul jazz set from the late 60s – like work by David Newman or Hank Crawford – and Timo's tenor is in great company alongside the electric keys, acoustic bass, drums, and percussion. Titles include "Touch Red", "Teddy The Sweeper", "Creole Stew", "It Could Be Better", "Uncle Harry Came To Town", and "Shootin Dice".

Madlib invades Blue Note! He gets free reign of the catalog for this mix of sampler genius and live band interpretations, too, as/with Ahmad Miller, Yesterdays New Quintet, Malcolm Catto, Medaphoar, and others from the Stones Throw camp. This one's truly a conceptual triumph, if there ever was such a thing – one of the greatest hip hop producers alive, given carte blanche with the source beats of the century! Madlib's Blue Note crates are heavily weighed in the mid 60s through mid 70s electric beats that often get the shaft in mainstream jazz round-ups, but floor the beathead world into overdrive. Re-interpretations, remixes, and revisions are spliced seamlessly with the source samples, creating a whole new world where hip hop and late model live funk not only co-exists with classic Blue Note jazz, but it actually draws a linear transition between the 2 genius art forms. Beautiful stuff – if the album isn't the most original idea to come along all of these years into the hip hop & jazz underground, it's certainly one of the most perfectly realized projects of its kind, ever! It's one for the time capsule – pure funky sample wizardry by any standard! Includes Monk Higgins' "Slim's Return" interpreted by Ahmad Miller and DJ Lord Such on cuts, "Donald Byrd's "Distant Land", "Ronnie Foster's "Mystic Bounce", Yesterday's New Quintet's adaptation of Wayne Shorter's "Footprints", Madlib Invazion's "Funky Blue Note", the Joe McDuphrey Experience take on Horace Silver's/Herbie Hancock's "Peace/Dolphin Dance" and lots more.

An excellent bit of funky work from Sweden's Oddjob – a group that are looming large on the international club jazz scene! Oddjob work in the same vein as groups like Hipnosis and Honeymuch – playing real jazz, but with a dancefloor twist – taking bits of classic Blue Note, European modal, and soul jazz, and wrapping them up with a tight rhythmic finish that's perfect for the modern jazz dance set! This album's even better than the group's first, and features some nice electric piano on a few cuts – with titles that include "Their Song", "Man Machine", "I Am Sailing", and "Leadhead".

An album that definitely packs a powerful punch – thanks to a compelling blend of sounds from both London and Kenya, brought together in a whole new formation of African groove! The album's a wicked reworking of an older aesthetic – in a spirit that's similar to the really inventive changes that Tony Allen brought to his music on the Paris scene in the late 90s – but with a fresh, crisp sort of energy that really lives up to the group's placement on the Brownswood label! Electric and acoustic elements are wrapped together beautifully – so that both act very organically in the music – and the vocals work in a similar way – never totally out front, but instead a strong part of this wonderful hybrid. Titles include "Sunken Wrecks", "Owiny Techno", "Norbat Okelo", "Nagalo Ni Piny Odag", "Yukimwi", "All Together", and "Jonny Ra Ha".

An album that definitely packs a powerful punch – thanks to a compelling blend of sounds from both London and Kenya, brought together in a whole new formation of African groove! The album's a wicked reworking of an older aesthetic – in a spirit that's similar to the really inventive changes that Tony Allen brought to his music on the Paris scene in the late 90s – but with a fresh, crisp sort of energy that really lives up to the group's placement on the Brownswood label! Electric and acoustic elements are wrapped together beautifully – so that both act very organically in the music – and the vocals work in a similar way – never totally out front, but instead a strong part of this wonderful hybrid. Titles include "Sunken Wrecks", "Owiny Techno", "Norbat Okelo", "Nagalo Ni Piny Odag", "Yukimwi", "All Together", and "Jonny Ra Ha".

A wonderfully different score by the great Piero Piccioni – filled with loads of bubbling understated grooves on organ, electric piano, and wah wah guitar! The soundtrack has all the sophistication of Piccioni's best work – but it's also got a mellow moody groove that's just great, and which reminds us of some of our favorite tracks in the Mighty Mellow series of compilations. As usual, the whole thing's extremely well packaged and reissued by the folks at Easy Tempo – with a set of 20 tracks that includes "Katmandu", "Starless Sky", "Inventions", "It's Possible", "Nights To Come", "New Ways To Live", and "Love Will Find A Way".

A whole new sound for Mark De Clive-Lowe – and a great one too – a completely different approach than any of his other previous records, and one that mixes his core cosmic grooves with a heavy dose of jazz! The set has Mark working with the Rotterdam Jazz Orchestra – who provide bigger band backing to his sweet keyboards and rhythms, making for a wonderful blend of acoustic and electric that almost takes us back to some of the best MPS sessions of this nature in the 70s! Most tracks feature at least one horn solo out from the larger group – and there's no vocals at all on the record, which further gives the whole thing a fresh vibe compared to some of Mark's recent releases. EP features 4 tracks – titles include "Money", "Take The Space Trane", "Caravan", and "Filthy Fingers".

Excellent jazzy electronica – a dancing blend of heady basslines, skittish drums, and electric piano, almost in the mode of the Xaver Fischer Trio, but with a bit more abstraction on the grooves. Titles include "Music To Begin With", "Options In The Fire", "Endless Summer", "Short Note With A Few" "lata", "Studio Tan" and more.