STR4TA Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Gilles Peterson and Incognito main man Jean-Paul Maunick (AKA Bluey) are the two artists behind the Str4ta project. It debuted last year with a superb full-length and now is already back with a seance on Gilles's Brownswood label. 'STR4TASFEAR' is a mix of songs, grooves and melodies from the Brit funk world that the two collaborators emerged from. It finds them working with some legends of the scene from neo-soul Godfather Omar to Emma-Jean Thackray, Brighton duo Anushka and Floridian trumpeter/vocalist Theo Croker. A superb collection of timeless sounds, then.

Review: Brownswood Recordings have become something of a meme, cementing their very distinct jazz sound with every new release. Str4ta's 'Str4tasfear' is the latest LP from the project (which consists of Gilles Peterson and Jean Paul Maunick), painting a vague party-jazz homage to the dawn of the Brit-funk era, but they're not being too succinct about any overarching message beyond that. The songs here are danceable, and that's their main focus. 'Lazy Days' is the drawer-inner - with Emma-Jean Thackray's singing lulling us into a state of preferring not to go to work - while 'Night Flight' opens the bay doors into an instrumental space lounge. All sizzlers.

Review: Last year, Gilles Peterson and Incognito main man Jean-Paul Maunick (AKA Bluey) delivered the first single from their Str4ta project, a shameless tribute to the Brit-funk sound of the early 1980s that was popularised by such now iconic acts as Atmosfear and Central Line. Debut album Aspects expands on this template, flitting between up-tempo, jazz-dance friendly floor-fillers (the brilliant, 'Dancing in Outer Space'-inspired title track being one of the best examples), rubbery and soulful future sing-alongs, and the kind of slick, soul-fired, synth-sporting fare that manages to be both deliciously loved-up and pleasingly glassy-eyed. With the experienced Maunick at the controls and providing much of the instrumentation, the album is as musically rich and expansive as you'd expect.