Stellar work from the Star Creature label – the Chicago imprint that seems to be picking up the torch where all those fancy London and European labels dropped it many years ago! The work here is fresh and forward-thinking – rooted in older house and funky soul modes, but completely contemporary – filled with rhythms that really find the way forward, instrumentation that soars to the heavens on waves of cosmic energy, and vocals that keep the whole thing nicely grounded on the planet! The quality is superb – and titles include "A Shooting Star" by Saucy Lady, "Tunnel Vision" by Proh Mic, "The Finest (E Live rmx)" by Kutkorners with Amalia, "Instant Sunshine" by Ourra & The Gravity Drive, "Do Me Like That (slight extension rmx)" by E Live with Chesta Blake, "Exoplanet Love" by Shrio Schwarz, and "Cassette Funk" by Giovanni Damico. LP, Vinyl record album

Back in the day, Mr Fingers was always one of the jazziest talents on the scene – and all these many years later, it feels as if he's really leaning into that quality in his music – not just in those wonderful keyboards, which were always so great, and an important 90s extension of 70s jazz funk modes – but also in the way the album sets up the songs, and uses some great saxophone solos too! Rhythms are often midtempo instead of fully full-on, which really helps pace the record nicely – and instrumental moments are balanced with vocal passages that really bring the whole thing into focus – on titles that include "Tekjazz", "Invisible", "Rustling Leaves", "The Icy Air Of Night", "Supa Kool", "Country Rhodes", and "We're Drowning". (House Music, New Grooves) LP, Vinyl record album

A great album – made even better – as Louie Vega's heavenly Elements Of Life set gets "extensions" from a host of other producers and DJs! This isn't one of those "let's see how much we can mess up the original record" sort of projects – as the core sound and soul of Louie's beautiful record is still very firmly in place – and if anything, there's kind of an extended collaborative spirit going on – as the original record was already very much a group effort, and the added mixing talents here only expand the collaborations going on! The whole thing's wonderful – and almost feels like a fresh new album at times – a much-needed follow-up to the brilliant full length that Louie already dropped on us. CD features a total of 13 tracks that include "Cerca De Mi (Kenny Dope rmx)", "Jungle Fever (Atoj rmx)", "Let The Children Play (original mix)", "Ma Mi Mama (Freeform U Heirs vox mix)", "A Better Day (DJ Spinna rmx)", "Love Is On The Way (featuring Blaze)", "Sunshine (Sacred Rhythm mix)", and "Nos Vida (MAW rmx)". CD

An Arkestra performance, but one that's headed up by Mark De Clive-Lowe – who wrote all the material, and produced the record too – as a great extension of some of the more spiritual directions he's been taking in his own music in recent years! The group have a sound that definitely lives up to the spiritual jazz reference you might expect from their name – building nicely on waves of piano and keyboards from Mark, with excellent work from other ensemble members on tenor, flute, alto, trumpet, and guitar – all soaring to the skies in a great 21st Century take on 70s spiritual jazz modes! There's a number of drummers on the record, and there's no rhythm programs listed – save for "fx" and "live electronics" in the credits – but it feels as if there might be a slight current of beats amidst the live instrumentation from time to time. Not that any of that gets in the way of the sound – which is tightly focused and soaring to the skies, on tracks that include "Fallen Angel", "Tempestuous Temperaments", "Cosmic Collisions", "Lullabies Of The Lost", "Elegy Of Entrapment", and "The Art Of Altercation". (Jazz, New Grooves) CD

Spacey keyboard cuts in a mighty nice style – set to upbeat rhythms with a nice sort of complexity – maybe as an extension of Chicago house modes from the glory days, but taken into some of the more diverse modes of the 21st Century! The tunes are nice and lean, and keyboard styles mix up 70s and 80s modes – not with as much of the jazzy soloing you might expect from the fusion in the title, but still with a vibe that references that mode. Everything here is the brainchild of Mikhail Khvasko – and titles include "Blue Water", "Piano Sunset", "Lost In Palms", "The Crossing", "Sensitive", and "Imagery". LP, Vinyl record album