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Darkly thumping, deeply floorshaking beats, heavy bass grooves and all around sinister dubstep dancefloor from Soul Jazz -- Volume 2 in the Steppa's Delight series featuring cuts from Gemmy, Shed, King Midas Sound, Kutz, James Blake and many more! Steppa's Delight 2 is a mix of killer exclusives ...

Funky and eclectic beatcraft from DJ Regal -- a pretty moody set of funky boombap beats, heady bass lines and moody elements on the outer edges! Regal gets a variety of moods out on these tracks, from dusty soul beat hip hop backdrops, spacey bits of soul jazz keys and other echoey bits, spaced ...

A great concept and an even greater record -- one that features groovy jazz versions of earlier club tracks on the Unique Records label -- all played by a combo headed up by vibist Alexader Maczewski, in a sweet Latin/bossa inflected mode that's a fair bit like Cal Tjader's best 60s work on Verve! ...

Brilliant work from two of the most dynamic artists of the past few decades -- coming together here in a really boundary-pushing set of music! Tony Allen got his start with Fela, but has moved on to do some mindblowing work on his own in recent years -- music that really moves far beyond the ...

It's been a long long time since we last heard from Minus 8, but the wait's definitely been worthwhile -- as this album's one of the most soulful they've ever done! There's loads and loads of great keyboards on the record -- lots of Fender Rhodes, bubbling in beautifully between mellow beats -- ...

Spacey soul soundscapes from Nicolay -- another big step for the unpredictable, but always soulful beatmaker, producer, and artist -- inspired by a consciousness awakening trip to Tokyo on Shibuya -- City Lights Volume 2! When we were first tipped to Nicolay's sounds, it was from a soulful hip hop ...

A sublime album through and through -- and another essential slice of work from the legendary Nicola Conte! Conte's only given us a few full length sets under his own name, but they've all been amazing, and this album's no exception -- a record that mostly features live jazz instrumentation, ...

A tremendous combination of Latin roots and contemporary grooves -- the mixing of the Puerto Rican scene with a definite influence from West London -- resulting here in a really righteous batch of tracks! The set's the brainchild of Afronaut, and features a bit of his own work, plus contributions ...

Panoramic DJ funk and abstract beatcraft from the one-and-only DJ Spooky -- his first proper full length in about a decade! Spooky was hardly resting all those years, having spoken all over the world and kind of serving as a spokesperson for his craft -- but he returns here with a pretty diverse ...

A double-length live set from Mario Biondi -- a hip Italian jazz singer we first discovered through his work on Schema Records, and one who sounds equally great here in a live big band setting! Biondi's got a really raspy style on his vocals -- one that's instantly captivating, and which sounds ...

Well, this turned out well! Session 2 from the Herbaliser Band -- which finds the Herbaliser style of beathead moodcraft turntable wizardry working live and direct with the Easy Access Orchestra! All in all, it's a grittier, funkier vibe than we were expecting for some reason, even the the ...

The best work we've heard so far from The Immigrant's Bossa Band -- a really great Japanese collective, whose sound is filled with the bossa touches promised by their name! There's a special sort of vibe running through the music, though -- so that the cuts here aren't just bossa rehash, but the ...

The latest album from Rad -- an underground soul singer who's been working in the groove scene for the past 10 years, crafting some wonderfully stripped-down albums that fit perfectly with the best of the nu soul releases we've been stocking! The backing's got a classic sound on most tracks -- ...

One of the most beautiful albums to emerge out of the mid 90s drum n bass era of the London scene -- a complicated set of grooves that recalls the glory days of the Chess/Cadet scene in Chicago, with touches of 70s keyboard funky jazz, Brazilian fusion, and all the expansiveness that the London ...

A great set of spacey jazzy grooves -- and a rare album that was deleted immediately from the Acid Jazz catalog due to some copyright troubles! The album's quite different than a lot of the other ones on the Acid Jazz label -- with a spacey soul sound that's a sweet blend of classic 70s jazz funk ...

The benchmark second album from Mr Scruff -- and classic Ninja Tune! Keep It Unreal was bit airier than the usual Ninja Tune release of the time -- not in the beats, which are still quite heavy, but in the sense of wit and whimsy that pervades a number of the tracks and gives the album a playful ...

A cerebral and sweetly soulful instrumental excursion from Flying Lotus -- a headnodding journey that's as gratifying as anything we've heard from the Warp label in a long time! It's tough to get around a Prefuse comparison, especially given FL's masterful way of blending off kilter outeredge ...

Sparse, arresting songwriting and hypnotic electronic flourishes from Fink -- who has been evolving wonderfully as a songwriter over the past few releases -- and really finding moody comfort zone on Sort Of Revolution. One of the things that we admire most about this phase of Fink's recorded ...

Cosmic jazz old and and new -- a cool collection of tracks mostly pulled from the vaults of Arision Records, and put together with a great early for a jazzy groove! Some of the cuts are older sound library gems, others are more recent recordings, and a few more are remixes of older jazz tracks -- ...

A perfect title for a perfect record -- especially given all the love we've felt from Build An Ark over the years! The album's a masterpiece through and through -- easily the greatest statement ever from this already-amazing band -- a contemporary ensemble, but one that we'd seamlessly rank right ...

Really lovely work from Miriam Aida -- a set of contemporary recordings, but with Brazilian roots that go decades deep! Miriam has this light vocal approach that's really wonderful -- soft, but never too airy to lose its soul -- and mixed here with very well-selected instrumentation that's often ...

It's been 10 years since 2000 Black first started catching our ears, and they've never sounded better! This album's way more than just a "next set" of grooves from the pair -- as it really shows a growth over time, a unified musical vision that has them hitting some of the same cosmic ...

A great follow-up to the first volume in this series -- and one that shows the evolution of the Spanish groove in great ways since the 70s! The last collection featured older work, but this one's almost all contemporary -- yet most of the groups here more than live up to the funk promised in the ...

A mix of natural soulfulness, headier boom bap and club soul from Linn & Freddie -- the team of Freddie Cruger/Red Astaire and Stockholm based jazz & soul singer Linn Segolson -- plus guests Anthony David, Kent Segolson., ADL & Mad Midget! The opening duet between Linn & Anthony ...

Spacey club soul from SK Radicals -- the most soulful material we've heard from the group to date -- and also more rooted in jazz than we remember from earlier work -- done with clean modern sound! The group gets off a variety of moods, from the contemplative soul of the opener "Troubled ...

Spacey soul, keys, and strains of underground hip hop from Fleur Earth -- with a range of sounds from soul beats and sweet vocals, to a grittier vibe! The vocals are mostly in German, so we can really just speak for the mood and the groove -- and both work for us! The sounds range from laidback ...

A damn nice set from these guys -- one we like even better than their Compost record from a few years back -- thanks to a funkier, more soulful feel overall! Before, General Elektriks had kind of a quirky groove -- but here, they're much more tight -- mixing up a fuzzy, funky brew that's heavy on ...

A real rising star on Schema Records -- composer Alessandro Magnanini, best known for his hit with Mario Biondi -- stepping out here in a beautiful album of his own original music! There's a fresh feel here that really opens up a new chapter at Schema -- still a bit of their old jazz/bossa vibe, ...

As wonderful of an overview of the far reaching dancefloor soul, global jazzy funk and eclectic beatcraft of the Tru Thoughts label we could have hoped for -- with standard setting numbers by Quantic, Alice Russell, Nostalgia 77, TM Juke, Bonobo and many more! It's 10th Anniversary that's well ...

Sweet jazzy grooves from this hip Italian duo -- Enzo & Gianni Lo Greco, who've also recorded as Quintetto Lo Greco for Schema Records! The sound here is definitely in a Schema groove -- lots of jazzy instrumentation on piano, sax, trumpet, and trombone -- very much in the best 60s Italian ...

There's always something great bubbling under over at Brownswood -- easily one of the hippest record labels to spring up in recent years -- guided by the genius ears of Gilles Peterson! As with other volumes of this wonderful series, the styles here are really diverse -- as diverse as the range of ...

Cosmic hip hop, moody keyboard funk, tripped out bits of strings, brass, rubbery bass grooves and gritty beats from Sa-Ra's uber creative partner Shafiq -- and a record that rivals the best work of Sa-Ra proper! We long suspected that En'A Freek Ka would be a gem, and it does not dissappoint -- ...

The boldest statement to date from Elan Mehler -- one of the most compelling artists to be unearthed through the efforts of Gilles Peterson's Brownswood label -- and clearly a compositional talent to watch in the 21st Century! Mehler's style is very hard to peg -- at some level, he starts out in ...

A Raw Fusion double-header -- two CD's worth of material from the excellent Raw Fusion label, one mixed by Jazztronik, the other by Mad Mats! All the crispy, chunky, funky Raw Fusion grooves are in full effect here -- and in fact, the mixdown may well distill things even more -- as there's an ...

A definite dance classic from Ron Trent -- even if some of the material here is new! Ron sets the wayback machine for the early days of the Chicago house scene, then moves forward through the years in a definite evolution of the groove -- kind of a "suite" of sorts, dedicated to the ...

Synth grooving dancefloor numbers from Beatfanatic -- a pretty smoothed out blend of programmed soul and spacey disco informed soundscapes! Ture Sjoberg is the maestro here, handling the production, songwriting, beats and synth programming -- but he's assisted wonderfully by some guest vocalists ...

One of our favorite albums of the past decade -- remixed! Waltz For Koop was an amazing debut for Koop -- a set of tunes that drew heavily from real jazz of the 60s and 70s, and which fit perfectly in a tradition of modal jazz grooves that stretched back to the glory days of the European MPS scene! ...

A brilliant full album of work from saxophonist Timo Lassey -- one of the standout stars of the Ricky Tick/Five Corners Quintet club jazz scene in Finland -- grooving hard here in an excellent combo that's heavy on modal rhythms -- all produced to perfection by the amazing Teddy Rok! As with other ...

An incredible set of funky soul from Lizzy Parks -- a UK singer who works partly in the deep funk territory of other artists on the Tru Thoughts label, but one who also has a more sophisticated side as well! Parks gets some great help here on the album from Benedic Lamdin and Riann Vosloo of the ...

An incredible debut from Ben Westbeech -- easily one of the greatest artists so far to emerge from Gilles Peterson's Brownwood label -- and one of the best new UK soul singers we've heard in years! The album's got a freshness and brilliance that takes us back to the first time we heard Omar, ...

A amazing selection of underground grooves -- all hand-picked by Gilles Peterson for his up-and-coming Brownswood label! The tunes here are definitely "bubbling under", and only about half the artists are ones that we recognize from other projects -- all of which makes for a CD that's ...

The debut album from Flying Lotus -- kind of a funkier, tighter, and more focused sound then the outer realm swelling vibes of the subsequent Los Angeles LP and the addendum EPs -- very compelling, and strong little set. The beats splinter off and the rhythms are jittery and unpredictable, but he ...

A long-overdue collection of all the mixes, side-projects, and rare "Nicola Conte version" tracks that have cropped up in the past decade or so -- work that's every bit as great as the material Conte includes on his own albums and singles! Nicola Conte's not a remixer -- he's a re-imagine ...

Warm and percolating atmospherics from Natural Self -- on a set that's appropriately titled, as we've always felt he's got more resonantly glowing humanity in his instrumental soundscapes than most of his peers -- and this set may be his best yet! The rhythms have a bit of weight, with things ...

An amazing step forward for Dalindeo -- a set that's even more beautiful and complex than previous efforts for the Ricky Tick label! This time around, the style's billed as "cinematic jazz" -- and you can definitely hear that approach in the music -- a rich blend of live jazz ...

Galactic funk & synth soul from Dam Funk -- his epic full length debut Toeachizown for Stones Throw -- and a record that should be a game changer for the southern Cali ambassador of cosmic funk beats, heavy bass and synth grooves! Dam Funk is part throwback to the electro era -- his vintage ...

A sweet sampling of grooves from the recent hot-burning scene in Finland -- a set that brings together the smooth soul of the Jupiter label with some of the club jazz cuts from the mighty Ricky Tick imprint! Together, the cuts make for a wonderfully-rounded overview of the excellent music coming ...

Don't let the faux boy band cover of this one put you off -- because this is a damn soulful little album -- even better than the group's previous effort on Raw Fusion! Their look may have changed a bit, but Damn's groove is sharper than ever -- a wicked blend of funky beats, smooth soul ...

Not a 4 Hero album, exactly, but a great set of "extensions" of their musical genius -- one that has a host of other like-minded artists serving up their own version of 4 Hero tunes! The whole thing's completely sublime -- every bit as cosmic, righteous, and joyous as some of 4 Hero's ...

Jazzy numbers and more from the Impossible Ark label -- from classic 60s jazz inspired numbers to airy modern jazz, tunes African roots, and even some warm, modern folk soul inflected tunes -- a nice representation of Impossible Ark and a nice compilation with nothing but top notch tunes! ...