Broken Beat/Nu Jazz/Nu Soul charts

Review: Theo Parrish's masterful Sound Sculptures Vol 1 on triple LP format gets a timely repressing!! In total here there are 9 of the 27 tracks from the full double CD version but these still run the gamut of Theo's inimitable talents, from rough and tumble disco edits to saccharine soul, raw beatdown and leftfield esoterica. Be sure to check the Omar S- featuring "Synthetic Flemm" and long time Juno favourite "Flotation Device". If ever there was a selection of tracks that fully showcased the incredible breadth of production talent this man has, this is it. Not to be missed!

Review: Sound Signature kick off the new year with a pleasing reissue of some smoky soul from Theo Parrish's outlet for his most jazzy tendencies. On "Seasons Of My Life" Billy Lo croons over a muted trumpet while a surprisingly rough stomp gets hammered out of a live kit. It's a dreamy, sunkissed jam with all the loose, free-flowing elements you would expect from something with Parrish's stamp on it. Marcellus Pittman helps out on "Feedback", as a sparser, meandering groove does the nasty with some restrained keys. For that Detroit beatdown flavour away from the dancefloor, this is as good as it gets.

Review: Another two club bangers from The Invisible Session's album repertoire, as remixed by the hugely influential UK DJs, Phil Asher and Faze Action (aka the Lee brothers). The two club re-works are in slick UK dance style. The appeasing feeling in the song "I Knew The Way" remains, although it is elegantly transported to the clubs' atmosphere courtesy of the touch given by veteran DJ/producer Phil Asher. Even though the bass drum is in 4/4 the result is always soulful, ever groovy and never predictable - as proved by Mr Asher’s care for details and sound effects, as well as the twiddled keys by non-other-than Mark De-Clive Lowe. This vinyl presents the vocal piece in fine soulful-house style on Side A, whereas on Side B is to be found the remix of an instrumental piece in the album "Heroes Of The Conquest". More driving and faster than the other 2 instrumentals of the album, "Invisible Blessing" and "Three For You", this re-work of it by respected dance-duo Faze Action is rich in bongos, sound effects and delays. In a smart way the powerful horn section of the original piece is here, led to impress and shake the tune to a possibly even higher extent, melting the Latin-jazz influence into a strongly rhythmic club tune. Tip!

Review: Stefano Ghittoni and Cesare Malfatti (aka The Dining Rooms) comes with a new 12" single on the Etage Noir imprint. "If I Could" is a sexy floor groover with the impressive voice of the well known Mouse On Mars singer Dodo Nkishi - The combination of catchy vocal lines combined with the rhythm, percussion and broken beats of The Dining Rooms brings you the summer feeling!

Review: Black Sands, the eagerly anticipated fourth album from Simon Green AKA Bonobo, is no revolutionary change from his signature sound but does come with perhaps even more subtlety and complexity than his previous offerings. Having constantly instilled a degree of integrity and value back into chill out music following the influx of Cafe Del Mar and Coffeeshop compilations, Green once again displays a musicianship that sets him apart as a true artist and producer amongst a sea of downtempo and chillout DJs.
His undeniably clear understanding of composition and arrangement of live instruments has enabled Green to make an album that reaches out through diverse styles, taking influence and inspiration from wherever possible. On Black Sands, Green delves into electronic music and bass more than he did across Animal Magic, Dial "M" For Monkey or Days To Come but does so with enough subtlety and finesse to refrain from causing a radical shift in his product. Tracks like "Kiara," "We Could Forever" and "All In Forms" all utilise beats and bass in a more contemporary outlook than we are used to with Bonobo. Of course the instrumental feel is still there for all to see. Title track "Black Sands" takes this position for almost seven minutes of a horn infused waltz whereas "Kong" assumes the traditional soul-jazz Bonobo take and "Animals" lets delicate drum patterns guide us through pleasing tempo shifts.
The instrumental vibe is highlighted further in the album's approach to vocals. Unlike his last album, Days To Come which was littered with vocals, Black Sands houses only three tracks that contain vocals. The breathy vocals of Andreya Triana complete tracks like "Stay the Same" and "The Keeper" turning them in more traditional songs. Black Sands is another loving crafted offering that uses orchestral arrangements but this time merged with more of a dance aesthetic. As he continues to make chillout more credible in his experimental way, it's no wonder that Bonobo is one of the biggest artists to come from the excellent Ninja Tune.

Review: classic 2010 Theo Parrish album Sketches back in stock on CD.