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Hard to believe that Gilles Peterson is up to the 6th volume of his excellent Bubblers series – and maybe even harder to believe that the music continues to be this great! You might think that Gilles P would run out of goodies by now – but no, the man with the golden ears proves once again why he's been one of the most important folks to turn us onto new sounds over the past 20 years! The vibe is nicely contemporary throughout – and even when artists are playing with classic references, they've got a way of turning them into something new – often with that 21st Century Soul vibe that Peterson first proclaimed in the 90s – finally come to fruition on releases like this. Titles include "No Clear Reason" by Gang Colours, "Finest Hour (Planas rmx)" by Submotion Orchestra, "Here On The Plains (iambic rmx)" by Half Seas Over, "Intervales Theme" by Javelin, "Reality & Fantasy (Gilles Peterson rmx)" by Raphael Gulazzi, and "Let's Do It Again" by Great Weekend.

Lucky Seven in the Gilles Peterson's Brownswood Bubblers series – hand-picked modern soul, tripped out electronic grooves, glitchy clubby psych and otherwise top shelve, avant yet accessible groovers – with tracks by The Stepkids, Jon Phonics, Ivy Chanel, KING, Ratcliffe, Tanya Auclair, Ntjam Rosie and more! One thing we've dug about the series-to-date, including this one, is that as diverse as the material is, and as willfully uncategorizable it is, there's a shared devotion to real songs rather than mere atmospherics – and it's strong stuff all the through. Includes "The One" by Jon Phonics, "Thrum", "La La" by Stepkids, "Shoot The Ducks To Win" by Stealing Sheep, "Sensitive" by Cleveland & Ahmed, "Water No Enemy" by Tall Black Man, "Hey" by King, "Belleville" by The Park, "Mindset" by Ratcliffe and more.

Gilles Peterson's hand-picked Brownswood Bubblers series – which is nine volumes strong with the release of this one – and it's getting better and better! While soulful strains are a common thread in the series to date, diversity has always been the name of the game – and that while that continues to hold true, Vol 9 is anchored pretty strongly with funky soul – with tracks by Truth & Soul signees Lady, modern spacey soul singer/producer Slakah The Beat Child, Belleruche and a few more recognizable names – but it's also a got a bevy of artists ripe for discovery! Includes "Money" by Lady, "Nakamarra" by Hiatus Kaiyote, "Wanna Do" by Slakah The Beatchild, "Forgotten Notes" by Hackman, "Wasted Time (Ross PTH Remix)" by Belleruche, "Make It Good" by The White Lamp, "Private Life Of A Puppet" by Bev Lee Harling, Down Illusion" by Memotone and more.

Gilles Peterson does it again – and proves that he's still got one of the best ears around for choosing new music! Even after seven previous volumes, the Bubblers series is still plenty darn incredible – a great place for getting a taste of the best of the contemporary underground – those amazing artists that Gilles always features on his BBC show – always hand-picked, and chosen without any consideration for commercial directions – as you'll hear on the really revolutionary music in the package. There's a nicely laidback vibe this time around – a reminder of Peterson's tastes for more acoustic and jazz-based modes – and some of the tunes almost echo some of the rootsier music that Brownswood has recorded in recent years, too. Titles include "Volver" by Ana Tijoux, "She Was Out In The Water" by One Little Plane, "Crush" by Hello Skinny, "Linha De Frente" by Criolo, "Again" by Def Sound, "Manchild" by Haydn, and "Bout You" by Rainy Milo.

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.

Almost an underground groove supergroup – given that the set features work from Earl Zinger (Rob Gallagher of Galliano) at the helm, production from 2 Banks Of 4, vocals from Valerie Etienne, and funky rhythms from Shawn Lee! The combination of talents come together here in a very new way – with a style that's much grittier and earlier than before, although still pretty darn groovy overall – almost putting a raspy old school touch on a scene that's definitely matured on its own, and may well be old enough to lay claim to the rootsy sound of this set! Rob's songwriting has definitely matured, and at some of the best moments, there's almost a British Tom Waits-y kind of quality to the set. Titles include "Below Sea Level", "Burial Blues", "Whip Of The Wind", "Laxfield Blasphemy", "Velvets Eleven", "Margaret Catchpole", and "Foggy Dew".

Melodic and atmospheric sounds from Gang Colours – fragile and tuneful material that’s somewhat of a surprise from the Brownswood label! I guess we shouldn't really think of what Gang Colours does here as that much of a departure for the label, given their unpredictable oeuvre is never all that easy to pigeonhole, yet it still caught us off guard – in the best kind of way. Piano and synth float over intermittently spare and busier beats, vocals and textural waves of sound. What really sets it apart is the mood – we don't want to call it somber, but it's definitely got a haunting feel! Includes "Heavy Petting", "Forgive Me?", "To Repel Ghosts", "Pebble Dash", "Tissues & Fivers", "Botley In Bloom", "Fancy Restaurant", "On Compton Bay", "Rollo's Ivory Tale" and more.

A brilliant second set from Jose James – and that's saying a lot, given that his debut was already a classic in our book! The sound here is a little more full, and a little more confident – a magical blend of James' raspy vocals with some jazz and funk-inflected rhythms – never overdone, and all put together with the kind of poise and depth that's made Jose an artist to watch since his very first single! There's a positive, progressive vibe to the whole record – the kind of excitement we only feel grabbing us once in a blue moon – and the sound is expanded a bit from the laidback combo of the first record, thanks to production help from Flying Lotus, Mitsu The Beats, and others. But James' vocals are always center stage in the mix, no matter what the setting – and titles include "Lay You Down", "Touch", "Promise In Love", "Warrior", "Made For Love", "Code", "Save Your Love For Me", "Detroit Loveletter", and "Beauty".

A great little project that's very much in the same spirit as the Havana Cultura project on Brownswood – a set that features British producer Mala working with a host of contemporary Cuban musicians – all in a groove that takes their roots, and pushes them very firmly towards the future! Mala's not shy about his input here – and really works a lot of electronics and production techniques throughout the set – taking the core acoustic sounds, and moves them into some of the more 21st Century modes that you'd hear from other artists on Brownswood! Things get somewhat abstract at times, yet still have plenty of soul – and titles include "Ghost", "Curfew", "The Tourist", "Change", "Noches Suenos", "The Tunnel", "Mulata", and "Tribal".

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".

Almost an underground groove supergroup – given that the set features work from Earl Zinger (Rob Gallagher of Galliano) at the helm, production from 2 Banks Of 4, vocals from Valerie Etienne, and funky rhythms from Shawn Lee! The combination of talents come together here in a very new way – with a style that's much grittier and earlier than before, although still pretty darn groovy overall – almost putting a raspy old school touch on a scene that's definitely matured on its own, and may well be old enough to lay claim to the rootsy sound of this set! Rob's songwriting has definitely matured, and at some of the best moments, there's almost a British Tom Waits-y kind of quality to the set. Titles include "Below Sea Level", "Burial Blues", "Whip Of The Wind", "Laxfield Blasphemy", "Velvets Eleven", "Margaret Catchpole", and "Foggy Dew".

A beautiful collaboration between pianist Elan Mehler and vocalist Adam McBride-Smith – the former a talent we've loved on previous albums for Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label, the latter a great singer we're hearing here for the first time! The album's got a laidback vibe that's very much like some of Mehler's previous work – organically soulful, but with a fragile undercurrent too – yet the presence of Adam's vocals also give it a bit more focus and strength – kind of a growing sense of purpose that really comes through in the well-penned lyrics – in weird ways that almost remind us of Dave Frishberg's classic Oklahoma Toad record, but given a contemporary Brooklyn twist. Other instrumentation includes some key acoustic basslines, plus drums, and a bit of tenor and accordion – on titles that include "The Hathaways", "Just To Clear My Head", "Get Me To The Station", "The New Breed", "Sad Mona", "Evensong", "Here On The Plains",a nd "Rake".

Two great grooves from this compelling ensemble – one who bring together Afro-styled rhythms from both side of the millennial split – into a blend that's definitely worthy of the Brownswood label! Quick-stepping beats mix with rootsy acoustic elements – percolating in the music with almost a tribal sensibility – yet produced with just the right sort of 21st Century touches for the clubs!

A great little project that's very much in the same spirit as the Havana Cultura project on Brownswood – a set that features British producer Mala working with a host of contemporary Cuban musicians – all in a groove that takes their roots, and pushes them very firmly towards the future! Mala's not shy about his input here – and really works a lot of electronics and production techniques throughout the set – taking the core acoustic sounds, and moves them into some of the more 21st Century modes that you'd hear from other artists on Brownswood! Things get somewhat abstract at times, yet still have plenty of soul – and titles include "Ghost", "Curfew", "The Tourist", "Change", "Noches Suenos", "The Tunnel", "Mulata", and "Tribal".

Bits of jazz and bits of soul, perfectly folded together with a raspy brilliance that really grabs our attention – a subtle depth of singing that almost takes us back to Nina Simone at times, but which also has some leaner 21s Century styles that are mighty nice too! Malia's vocals alone are plenty great – but the album's also got these great gentle instrumentations – bits of vibes, organ, guitar, and drums – used in simple ways that almost have a Brownswood Recordings sort of vibe – as if this record were a female equivalent to Jose James' great work for that label! Titles include loads of Nina Simone numbers – and tracks include "Four Women", "If You Go Away", "Don't Explain", "Baltimore", "Feeling Good", "Wild Is The Wind", and "Marriage Is For Old Folks".