Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Funkyjaws Music is back to make your body move with the latest instalment in its ongoing edit series, Let's Dance, this time with a sixth sizzling volume. Monsieur Van Pratt's loose and languid 'Besame' opens up with some gorgeous strings and funky guitar licks then Kiko Navarro brings a rich Afro flavour with the shuffling and percussive rhythms of 'Bosinga'. Bogdan Ra's 'Get On The Floor' is a fresh take on a disco classic with irresistible vocal charm and swooning pads. Last of all, Zaffa demands you 'Shake It' and you surely will as he layers up wet claps, sliding hi-hats and lively drums into a big-hearted party starter.
Review: Guachinche Records captures the best of the Andalusia and Tenerife breakbeat scenes led by the renowned groups Mutantbreakz and Bubble Couple. Their debut vinyl release, GUACH001, is a compilation that perfectly embodies their musical essence and quality. It kicks off with 'Old Groove,' a standout track by Rasco and Bubble Couple and featuring memorable piano and basslines. Suga 7 follows with 'Hideaway,' offering a taste of the Canary Islands with high tempos and playful bass. The B-side includes Mutantbreakz's intricate track with guitar, piano, and vocals, culminating in Raverman's epic 'Sayonora' which is a stunning piece of acid electro-trance.
Mr Doris - "Want Some More" (feat Much Maligned) (3:54)
Review: Heavyweight sonic Afro-botics from Nikodemus, Barzo and Mr Doris on 7" wax. The trio team up here with Dinked Records for a double-bill 7" in veins of amapiano and broken beat, primed for crate sifters and floor ambulants alike. On the A, 'Want Some More' delivers Mr. Doris' signature blend of rhythmic muscle and Afro-Latin swang, while the flip flops Nickodemus with Barzo and Zongo Abongo for 'Show Your Power': a bold, percussive cut straddling broken beat, house, and ska. Somewhere between 126 and 128 BPM, both are utter floor finishers and could easily intro your next Afro-house set as they could provide it a sense of continuous, mid-set body.
Obatala Sango Ochun - "The Beginning" (Afrikan Latino mix) (6:24)
House II House - "Into The Night" (5:25)
Bizzy B - "Summer House" (3:20)
Rohan Delano - "Inflight" (5:17)
Montana Orchestra - "Esto Parese Amor" (Tribal Love beats) (5:11)
Uncle 22 - "The Man From" (6:22)
Review: Hotmix deliver another two-track slaying from an aliased ambassador of the label itself, this time the first edition in the new 'Obscure Bad Dreams' series. An homage to Sauro Cosimetti (the Italian house and techno mastermind whose credits include releases on Frequenza, Natura Viva and Beatfreak), six acolytes of the artist bring six, discoic house hosing-downs to the table. Most exciting among the selections are the lively African trad chanter 'The Beginning', the dreamy soulful house 'Inflight' by Rohan Delano, and Montano Orchestra's freestyle-inspired dub-electro-disco 'Tribal Love Beats' version of their own 'Esto Parese Amor'.
George Duke - "I Want You For Myself" (Theo Parrish edit) (7:43)
Review: Adhering strictly to a distinctly Chicagoan tradition in DJ sets - using razor and tape to prolong the most crucial parts and phrases of the track, to unseat and suspend ravers - house music legend Theo Parrish has always sprinkled his sets with his own, unique takes on classic and obscure disco, funk and soul. Some of these edits were available to fans in mid-noughts via Parrish's Ugly Edits series, which set the tone for the "edits series" format at large; but whereas most of these outfits have only adopted this approach by a sort of prescribed mimesis - their efforts adding up to precious little more than one, somewhat formless pale imitation - the OG Parrish here returns to the format with a punny new round-two (not Ugly Edits, but Lovely Edits) blowing said inane, bordering-on-AI-generated competitors out of the park with two new, fully-sample-cleared versions of two corresponding, utterly heated staples: BT Express' 'Peace Pipe' and George Duke's 'I Want You For Myself'.
Review: Moxy Muzik's 'Moxy Editions' series of multi-artist EPs has long been a reliable source of quality underground house music, with the six previous instalments - all released between 2021 and 2023 - being packed to the rafters with high-grade material. There's plenty to set the pulse racing on volume seven too, starting with the driving, druggy and mind-altering peak-time excellence of Stacy Pullen's 'Nasty', a slamming concoction that makes great use of vocal samples lifted from a Prince-produced Vanity 6 classic. Label chief Darius Syrossian then delivers his interpretation of Audiojack's 'Get Down', reframing the track as a soul-fired slab of NYC tribal house of the sort that was once the preserve of Danny Tenaglia. Over on the reverse, Vincent Caira offers up the swinging deep house chunkiness of 'Position' and Buckley delivers the all-action, break-sporting rave hedonism of 'In 5D'.
Review: Honey Boy is a superb new single by the one and only Purple Disco Machine alongside the super star bass player and Chic band member Nile Rogers as well as Shenseea and Benjamin Ingrosso. With all these talents on one tune you know it is going to be a big one full of rich bass and killer hooks and so it proves, with funky beats, lithe bass playing and dazzling disco pads that are all topped with an irresistibly sunny vocal.
Review: London underground night train riders Deadbeat Records prioritise techno-breaks handmade for late night and early morning dancefloors, times when both the best and worst comes emerges from each of us. Their inaugural Deadbeat Breaks compilation hears six out of ten full digital curations brought to a shadowy, space-invaded black vinyl truncation, with modern talking synth vomits from Olly Rant, booty bass hups from Hunter Starkings, hackney parroting hurtles from Rnbws, and a closing breakstep broil from Hooverian Blur.
Monsieur Van Pratt Le Groove - "El Rap Clap O" (Regroove) (4:40)
Bully Boy - "Fear'n'Loathing In Funk Vegas" (4:34)
Ben Jamin - "Old Time Feeling" (4:50)
Review: French funk lovers Acts of Sedition roll out another tasty double 7" here that features some massive joints from around the world. First up is the Latin heat of Rare Cuts's 'Amigo Bracno' with its big, bright leads, string lushness and percolating, percussive groove goodness all finished with a great Portuguese vocal. Monsieur Van Pratt Le Groove's 'El Rap Clap O' (Regroove) hits a little harder but with similar funk playfulness and some great chord work and Bully Boy then offers the raw and strident funk of 'Fear'n'Loathing In Funk Vegas.' Ben Jamin slows it right down with the sun-kissed late night bliss of 'Old Time Feeling.'
Review: Luv Shack's compilation style 'Disco Biscuits' series is the very definition of reliable, with each new EP delivering killer cuts aimed at the more cosmic end of nu-diusco dancefloors. Volume five in the series arrives with four more tried-and-tested workouts and little in the way of forgettable filler. Check first Rising Seed's 'Back For More', a driving slab of spacey dub disco/cosmic disco fusion in which intergalactic electronics and samples sitars ride a Prins Thomas-esque bassline and beats, before admiring the chugging and squelchy nu-disco shuffle of 'Suffering of K.P' by B.Visible. Over on the flip, Peletronic's 'Drifting' is a glassy-eyed slab of immersive deep house/nu-disco fusion, while Jon Gravy's 'When U Leave' is a stomping slab of peak-time house headiness rich in bustling beats, memorable melodies and hands-aloft riffs.
Review: As Whodemsound races towards its 50th outing, it presses up yet another great little 7", this time with Bopper Ranking delivering some great spoken word roots. 'The Man That I Am' is just under four minutes of super clean dub with digital synths adding a future-facing feel to the sultry horns that drift up top and the traditional dub rhythms that roll deep down low. The conscious lyrics make this an even more heady experience and on the flip is a dub version for those who prefer to whittle things down to the bare dub essentials.
Review: Get ready for The Electro Guilde's fifth volume, another invitation to get lost at the heart of the rave. This time Zodiak Commune Records enlist Robodrum to kick off with the relentless synth slithers of bleeps of 'Call Me Bitch' before Redjack's 'Call The Monster' layers up mad analogue cowbells, blasts of distorted bass and a sense of intergalactic tension. Baka's 'Flux' dup shootings up with some visceral acid and he also takes care of the closer, 'Androids Hate Marching' a warp-seed, neck-snapping electro terminator with future synths and hiring sounds all spinning your mind into a fenny.
Review: Techno legend Marc Romboy is back to kick out more of his electrifying jams on his own Systematic label, this time with Blake Baxter as his collaborator-in-chief. Their jam 'Freakin' is a playful cut with a rugged, coruscated low end and vocal chops that keep pumping the vibe. It comes alive with some bright, sharp acid liens and then gets a more experimental and distorted SID version. Last of all, German mainstay Robert Babicz remixes and turns everything up to 11 with his intense and irresistible rework.
Review: The Barefoot Beats crew return with outing number 14 and once more it is music for sunny climates. Aroop Roy takes care of the A-side of this 10" with 'Fankiando Taniador', the Latin flavoured deep cut disco and funk roller with 80s horn stabs and rumbling bass all topped with a red hot vocal full of flair. It's pure Brazilian heat that is perfect for outdoor dancing and Bernardo Pinheiro's 'Expresso Amor' then brings more sunshine goodness with its slinky disco house beats and swinging hand claps all irresistible to anyone with a heart.
Review: Cristian Sarde (aka. Mamosato, Samo) teams up with fellow techno tussler Bakked for an off-piste non-label release, sharing inverse sides of a single furtive black label record. Veering minimal, moving, and moribund, both staples of the Italian dance musical underground share what is implied to be their deepest, darkest and most exclusive thoughts, strictly for heads only; 'Love Tea' is an unusual track, fusing an almost early-noughts dubstep wriggle against an otherwise taut house groove; a move we don't see coming. Bakked meanwhile brings 'Effect171', on which a raw MPC-style jam - pleated with analogue rimshots and backsliding chords - is sown as the underlying field line onto which a dreamy sampled vocal admission, "I don't mind talking about it", may be heard. Both artists sound to have indulged a weirder side to their crafts, hence the labelless aside, and we love to hear it.
Review: The latest offering from Limited White Label, LTDBLBL014, unveils a stunning compilation of tracks featuring a diverse lineup of exceptional artists. From the soulful rhythms of Scruscru Sunny's 'Autumn Days' to the infectious melodies of James Gia's 'Radio Place,' each composition on this VA record shows a unique blend of deep house and jazzy influences. Freudenthaler's 'Hornets' introduces an experimental flair, while Harcia's 'House To Paris' and King Of Clubs' 'Summertime' injects undeniable energy for the dancefloor. Closing the collection is Bon Aime's 'Call Me,' featuring Ohuru, a track radiating with elegance and sophistication. After a five-year hiatus, Limited White Label's return demonstrates their unwavering dedication to the fusion of Jazz-House music. LTDBLBL014 is poised to become an essential addition to any connoisseur's house music library.
Review: Coming off a successful transatlantic exchange, Brian Kage and his Michigander label keep the momentum, and the collaborative spirit, moving with an EP that hits closer to home. For any Detroit artist, working with Delano Smith would be on the bucket list, as one of the city's original, more influential DJs - before the D developed any of its "waves" - who would come into his own as a producer later to, once again, help mold the Techno City's sound. Make no mistakes about it, this tastemaker had a ripple effect back before techno even had a name, when it was just "progressive" music and mixing. The thing is, the feeling of admiration and respect here is mutual, from the moment Smith first stumbled across one of Kage's records and had to know who was making these sounds. This meeting of the minds happened organically and timely, with Keep 'em Movin' as the result.
Eddie Logix - "2nd Choice (It's Still Not Over)" (6:13)
Blair French - "Whispers Of You" (11:40)
Topher Horn - "Gratiot" (dub) (5:46)
Review: Many happy returns to Detroit's Rocksteady Disco, an undeniably consistent label that has reached the ripe old age of ten years old. To celebrate, they're releasing a series of anniversary EPs containing fresh jams from the label's roster of artists. Mainstays Sol Power All Stars get things going with off-kilter Afro-house scorcher 'Solsibisa' - all heavy horns, hot-stepping drum machine beats, squelchy synth-bass and heady vocal snippets - before Eddie Logix combines lightly pitched-down First Choice vocal samples with Balearic guitar bursts and plenty of deep house nous on '2nd Choice (It's Still Not Over)'. Over on the reverse, Blair French gets summery on the Latin-tinged deep house joy of 'Whispers of You', while Topher Horn reaches for dense drums (acoustic and electronic), sparse melodic motifs and heavy bass on 'Gratiot Dub'.
Susobrino & Jatun Mama - "El Canto De Los Sapos" (3:27)
Susobrino & Lander Gyselinck - "Bolivia" (3:10)
Review: Belgian-Bolivian musician Susobrino delivers his debut EP 'NO', titling itself after a primal negation, and forged in the interplay of traditional South American percussion music with electronica. As if to curb his habit of collecting an (perhaps over-) abundance of percussion instruments, 'NO' hears Susobrino set a stark limit for both himself and the listener, bringing just three curt tracks to wax following a live-changing tour of his ancestral South America. Honorific of the traditions of SA percussive music, Susobrino nonetheless intones: "Mixing acoustic instruments and field recordings with electronics with the music software Ableton was my cocktail from the beginning". The result is a widescreen demo of ascendant percy jawns, equally suited for the curio club-goer as it is for the Bolivian folklorico fanatic.
Review: Eindhoven underground acidcore distributor and label Flatlife generate yet another mind-melter for the nitty masses, supercolliding tracks by four of the foremost DJs come sound-summoners on the subterranean scene. Flatlife have dispatched rapid-response rave Apaches since 2009, and A-siders 'Septic' and 'Lord Of Darkness' bring a fittingly mid-noughts feel to things, during which time the roughage of hard dance fused with the encroaching gloss and finesse that came with digital sound tech that defined the decade. The mood is horrific, with 'Saure' climaxing to apocalyptic, territorial levels through waspish yamps and kick crushings, while the aggro is not lost on the ensuing 'Out Of Order', somehow the most relaxed of the four.
Review: Andy Vaz shares a fresh Detroit-flavoured deep house EP, fenced through one of many production studio complexes lying in the heart of Cologne, Germany. With slurred streetwise vocals sounding spreadeagled over modal chords and bodying beatwork, this one hits different. A rarefied soul vibe emerges especially on 'The New Germans', which fleshes an immensity of feeling out of a simple kicks n' claps mix alone and 'Hometown CGN' does similarly with its trombone-esque lead parp and brain-fogged puff-around synths.
Review: Bobby Donny's ACE series is mostly a digital-only affair, though periodically the Dutch label will round up choice gems and stick them out on compilation style vinyl EPs. This is the third of those and contains six stellar cuts. There's much to admire, from the infectious, James Brown-sampling deep house bounce of 'Space Animals' by Bob Bonadis and the Kerri Chandler-esque excellence of Nanky Nimbo's 'Peony', to the hip-swinging intergalactic house retro-futurism of 'Nitro Bass' by ZZ Banks and the rolling New York house warmth of 'Clear Sky' by Wim Waldo. The EP also boasts a typically impressive collaboration between Frits Wentink and Malin Genie, the undeniably classy deep house excellence of 'Tongue Kiss'.
Zarenzeit - "Soo Smooth" (feat Roger Versey) (6:11)
Melchior Sultana - "Nothing Like It Seems" (5:56)
Jan Kincl - "Sugar" (7:06)
Barce - "Stigma" (6:19)
Review: The young but already well-formed Deep Inspiration Show label continues its dedication to quality deep house with a new EP that comes as part of their international artist series. Zarenzeit from Zurich and Roger Versey from Arkansas open with 'So Smooth', a blend of rich keys, soulful loops and dynamic vocals over a sensual bassline. Melchior Sultana hails from sunny Malta and follows with 'Nothing Like It Seems' which features silky chords and a shuffling rhythm ideal for late-night sets. On the B-side, Jan Kincl from Zagreb delivers 'Sugar,' a fusion of house and cinematic disco with organic drums while Spain's Barce closes with 'Stigma,' a melodic union of deep house and techno.
Review: Bacao Rhythm & Steel Band, the enigmatic steel pan group from Hamburg, made waves in 2024 when their cover of 50 Cent's 'PIMP' was featured in the Oscar-winner film Anatomy Of A Fall. The track played a key role in the movie's success and led to the first-ever steel pans in the orchestra pit at the Academy Awards, further boosting the band's saliency. And yet despite global recognition, 'PIMP' is just a glimpse of their catalogue, which is already rather extensive. Since signing with Big Crown in 2014, Bacao've released four albums and numerous singles, and Big Crown Vaults Vol. 4 flaunts many of these dishings-out, with covers of Bob James' 'Nautilus', Khruangbin's 'Maria Tambien', and the uptempo original 'Kaiso Noir'. It serves as a tantalizing bud-whetter, too, before their oncoming fifth studio album.
Review: At the start of 2024, BADBADNOTGOOD channeled their renewed creative energy into the Mid Spiral series. Fresh off a string of international tour dates and collaborations with artists like Daniel Caesar, Charlotte Day Wilson, and Turnstile, the Canadian trio - Al Sow, Chester Hansen, and Leland Whitty - returned to the studio with a vibrant sense of purpose. Joined by touring member Felix Fox-Pappas and key Toronto jazz musicians Kaelin Murphy, Juan Carlos Medrano, and LA's Tyler Lott, they embarked on an intensive recording session at Valentine Studios in Los Angeles. The result is the Mid Spiral series, initially released digitally in three parts - Chaos, Order, and Growth - and now available as a double LP and CD. These suites mark a return to their instrumental jazz roots while seamlessly blending elements of hip-hop, neo-soul, psychedelic and funk.
Review: In early 2024, contemporary jazz cats BADBADNOTGOOD reported that they returned to the studio energised by recent international shows and collaborations with artists like Daniel Caesar, Charlotte Day Wilson and Baby Rose. The Canadian trio of Al Sow, Chester Hansen and Leland Whitty then joined with friends including Felix Fox-Pappas, Kaelin Murphy and Tyler Lott for an intensive recording week at Los Angeles' Valentine Studios. The result was the Mid Spiral series which explores distinct themes of Chaos, Order and Growth. Released initially in three digital parts, this genre-blending project now arrives on CD via XL and is another superb listen that explores how their roots in instrumental jazz fuse with hip-hop, neo-soul and funk.
Dennis Coffey And The Detroit Guitar Band - "Scorpio"
The Jimmy Castor Bunch - "It's Just Begun"
B.T. Express - "Energy Level"
James Brown - "Get On The Good Foot"
Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force - "Planet Rock"
Manu Dibango - "Soul Makossa"
Esther Williams - "Last Night Changed It All"
The Mohawks - "The Champ"
Herman Kelly & Life - "Dance To The Drummer's Beat"
Spanky Wilson - "Sunshine Of Your Love"
James Brown - "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose"
Candido - "Soulwanco"
Arthur Baker - "Breaker's Revenge"
Manu Dibango - "The Panther"
Abaco Dream - "Life And Death In G & A"
The Jackson 5 - "Dancing Machine"
Mongo Santamaria - "Cloud Nine"
Edwin Starr - "I Just Wanna Do My Thing"
Badder Than Evil - "Hot Wheels"
Johnny Bristol - "Lusty Lady"
Review: With 'breaking' making its debut in the 2024 Paris Olympics, it seems an apt time to go back to where it all began and showcase some of the music that first made break-dancers move in the early years of hip-hop culture. Soul Jazz Records clearly agrees, hence this two-disc retrospective of early 'breaker' favourites curated by Arthur Baker - a man who's productions and remixes soundtracked many dancefloor battles in the early 80s. It's a suitably strong selection all told, with dusty funk, soul and funk-rock favourites (Johnny Bristol, James Brown, The Jimmy Castor Bunch, Spanky Wilson) being joined by disco-funk jams (Herman Kelly and Life), extra-percussive workouts (Manu Dibango, Mongo Santamaria, Candido) and a smattering of key Baker productions (Afrika Bambaata and Soul Sonic Force's 'Planet Rock' and his own infectious 'Breakers Revenge').
Dennis Coffey & The Detroit Guitar Band - "Scorpio" (4:03)
The Jimmy Castor Bunch - "It's Just Begun" (3:41)
BT Express - "Energy Level" (3:46)
James Brown - "Get On The Good Foot" (4:06)
Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force - "Planet Rock" (6:26)
Manu Dibango - "Soul Makossa" (4:24)
Esther Williams - "Last Night Changed It All" (4:23)
The Mohawks - "The Champ" (2:38)
Herman Kelly & Life - "Dance To The Drummer's Beat" (4:13)
Spanky Wilson - "Sunshine Of Your Love" (3:40)
James Brown - "Give It Up Or Turnit A Loose" (6:11)
Candido - "Soulwanco" (4:12)
Arthur Baker - "Breaker's Revenge" (4:53)
Manu Dibango - "The Panther" (2:29)
Abaco Dream - "Life And Death In G & A" (2:19)
The Jackson 5 - "Dancing Machine" (3:29)
Mongo Santamaria - "Cloud Nine" (5:42)
Edwin Starr - "I Just Wanna Do My Thing" (5:18)
Badder Than Evil - "Hot Wheels The Chase" (3:01)
Review: Curated by the legendary producer Arthur Baker, Breakers Revenge is a comprehensive compilation of original funk, soul, Latin, disco and electro tracks from 1970-1984. These tracks, ranging from well-known classics to hidden gems, have become legendary in the world of breakdancing. Featuring seminal tracks like Dennis Coffey's 'Scorpio', The Jimmy Castor Bunch's 'It's Just Begun' and Afrika Bambaataa's groundbreaking 'Planet Rock', this collection embodies the essence of breakdancing culture. The percussive breakdowns and infectious beats of these tracks have not only been the soundtrack to countless block parties and park jams but have also been sampled by numerous hip-hop artists and producers. With extensive liner notes and track-by-track breakdowns, Breakers Revenge is perfect time capsule for fans of breakdancing, hip-hop and music enthusiasts.
Review: Now working under the alias Balaphonic, long serving Manchester artist Danny Ward steers his ear for percussion into something warm, rhythmically rich and hypnotic. He opens with 'Sunflowers in Dub (Deep Summer Mix)', where sitar, harmonica and fluttering keys glide across a humid dubscape, then folds in sun-dappled samba on 'Disorganics (All Strings Mix)', all brushed guitars and delicate groove. 'Six Fingers' leans deeper into Afro-Cuban melancholy, while 'Udders' chops South American drums into psychedelic loops, teasing out low-end heft. A standout collaboration with Ocean Waves Brasil, 'Oxum' blends gentle acid with dreamy textures and Afro-Brazilian swing, before closer 'Bloco Manco' lets off the brakes-delay-lashed, bass-heavy and totally locked-in. It's music built for dancefloors, but with the patience and touch of a drummer who knows when to let things breathe.
I Can't See Your Love (For The Tears In My Eyes) (part 1 - bonus track) (2:33)
The Gift Of Love (2:40)
I'm Nothing Without Your Love (2:26)
My Baby Know How To Love Her Man (3:08)
Weakspot (3:01)
Hey Diddle Diddle (2:39)
Goodnight My Love (2:45)
I Love You, Yeah (alternate take - bonus track) (3:01)
Review: The Ballads, an Oakland-based group featuring Nathanial Ramerson, Lesley Palmer, Rico Thompson, and John Palmer, made a notable mark with their single 'God Bless Our Love,' which climbed to #8 on the R&B charts and #65 on the Billboard Pop Hot 100 in 1968. Despite their success with this track on Venture Recordsia label established by MGM and helmed by former Motown A&R director William "Mickey" Stevensonitheir time with the label was brief. The Gift Of Love features a blend of soulful tracks including 'You're The One,' 'I Love You, Yeah,' and 'Goodnight My Love,' showing the group's vocal charm and heartfelt lyrics. Although their commercial success was limited, the compilation offers a glimpse into their potential and includes all eight Venture releases along with some previously unreleased material. For collectors and soul enthusiasts, this vinyl is a monumental collection of 1960s r&b.
Blacker (The Marden Hill Sweet Green Jam mix) (4:39)
Jam Jah (5:16)
Divine Fact (Blacker 2)
(5:01)
Goodvibes Goodnight (3:28)
Anti-Gun Movement (3:08)
Review: The Ballistic Brothers were behind a great many infusion of breakbeat, jazz and Afro house during the 1990s, smashing onto the scene with the Junior Boy's Own twinkler of an EP, 'I'll Fly Away' (the lead track on which works just as easily at drum & bass speeds as it does at tapper-out tempos) as well as the complementary debut album, London Hooligan Soul. The Eccentric Afros were an early, assistive alias, used by an intermixing but not exhaustive list of some of the same producers involved in TBB before they assumed the latter name proper: Ashley Beedle, Rocky & Diesel (X-Press 2), Uschi Classen and Dave Hill. This second edition of "lost tape" reissues rediscovers some of the trio's best and most esoteric breaks-plates, which would've been heard on heavy rotation in the amalgamate days of the 90s London clubbing scene, yet not all of which have been put out properly until now.
Review: The Ballistic Brothers are back with another reissued nine-track dose of bare but big breaks belligerents. This cult '90s supergroup emerged from the steaming manhole covers of the London hip-hop underground - as the saying goes, "if you were part of any clubbing tribe in the early/mid 90s, you will have danced to the Ballistic Brothers". Made up of Darren Rock, Darren House, Ashley Beadle, David Hill and Uschi Classen, the bulk of their fame wafted forth from a swathe of surreptitious vinyl releases that took the record-digging community by storm at the time, yet which also invited much speculation as to their original membership (the wonders of the internet weren't so readily available back then). A variegated selection of tracks culled from many a different EP, we're compelled to recall a golden time when breakbeats weren't so brash, and in fact served as rhythmic accompaniments to a set of otherwise beauteous atmospheres. Cases in point include 'Save The Children', which combine trippy pan-pipes and funky organ with a theme of charitable concern, and 'Blacker 94 EQ', which impresses us yet more with its acid jazz breakouts and electric piano solo and which makes stark use of the suspenseful string line endemic to the sound.
Sounds From An Unforgettable Place #1 (UV remix) (2:48)
Unspeakable Visions (3:48)
Review: Dutchman Banabila's second studio album on Knekelhuis once again affirms his status as a boss-level operator among ambient music fans. The eleven-track record explores soul-stirring, krautrock-tinged, and avant-garde electronic landscapes that are all rooted in emotive expression. His compositions feature ethereal voices in the form of fictional characters chanting in a language of their own creation, resonating with a captivating essence that transcends linguistic boundaries. The record also showcases Banabila's mastery of sonic textures as he weaves a narrative of layered complexity and emotional depth while some tracks like 'Rattles' hark back to his earlier work on Knekelhuis.
Review: Toby Marks aka. Banco De Gaia is one of the foremost producers to ever operate in the crossover of breakbeat and 'tribal'. That pairing of associations might seem naff to some music fans now, but no performative dismissal on the grounds of any connotative problematic can ever detract from the inpourings of ardour and talent gone into his albums. Trauma is Marks' first record in nearly ten years, following on from The 9th Of Nine Hearts, and hears the esteemed trance-gressor continue to eke a sound rooted in the oblique, yet inspirationally powerful themes of global sufferance and idealism, both of which find their expression in the weighty, acidic dreamworlds of 'War' and 'The Dying Light', which are complex in mood and express a real ambivalence through their concurrent use of deep stereo padwork and poignant vocal sampleage. Far from indulging a mood of pure resignation, Marks crafts a dance-musical dreamworld that demands analysis, through which Trauma refers not to a wound, but to a dream.
Review: By the time they released Saci Perere in 1980, carioca outfit Banda Black Rio were amongst Brazil's biggest dance music stars - an outfit whose blends of samba, jazz, disco, funk and MPB moved the heart and feet of the country's dancers. The set remains a timeless Brazilian classic - hence this much-deserved CD reissue. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, from the leisurely sundown headiness of 'Saci Perere', and horn-heavy jauntiness of 'Melissa', to the funky samba-jazz fusion of 'Subindo O Morro', synth-laden downtempo sunshine of 'Amor Natural' and the atmospheric Latin disco-funk of 'Broto Sexy'. An album that should be in every Brazilian music fan's collection.
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