Back in stock: Broken Beat/Nu Jazz/Nu Soul

Review: After the success of the first Alessandroni Proibito box set, which sold out in pre-sale before it even hit the stores, Four Flies is proudly back with Volume 2 of the compilation. This new release too features five exclusive 7" singles, housing a total of ten seriously rare tunes. All previously unreleased in physical format, the tracks have been carefully selected from the soundtracks of five obscure Italian films from the late 70s - sexy flicks that flirted with the line between erotic and explicit, and which are now largely forgotten, having been out of circulation for decades. As was the case with the previous volume of the compilation, Alessandroni's music rises above the films' flimsy plots, improvised actors, and amateurish production, exuding his distinctive touch thanks to the (typically Italian) artisanal approach he took to his musical craft. The composer let his creativity run free, playing with his instruments at home as if he were in his own little amusement park; trying to have fun and produce something entertaining and captivating with just the few means at his disposal.

Review: Dresden label Cold Diggin has been a consistent outlet for the work of The Duke Ya Love To Hate, which is one of several different aliases that Stefan Senf choses to work under. Usually they serve up just one of his special 7" outings per year but in 2023 two are arriving in December. This one comes on a hand-numbered 7" in screen-printed sleeve and is limited to just 150 copies. A-side jam 'Cold Wire' is a lively mix of breaks, jazzy chord stabs and plunging bass, then 'Cold Strut' slows things down and builds on a familiar funk break and top line melody in alluring new ways.

Review: Unstoppable Munich label Ilian Tape has another entry in its fine ITX Series here and this one is called 'Biospore Farmers' from Fields of Mist, describing it as "Sunrise Beams Through Orbital Mist." In less abstract terms, it is a gorgeously hazy and lo-fi electro-exploration. The first two cuts are slow, doleful and reflective with grainy pads and deep space ambiance swirling around nice rough-edged broken beats. The B-side picks up the pace with the brilliantly kinetic bounce of 'Astral Projection Spores' and then the skittish and celestial trip that is 'Orbital Mist'. A high-class EP once again.

Review: For the very first time on vinyl comes Presents The Light Programme, Jah Wobble's extraordinary 1997 descent into downtempo and beat science. Released on his now-defunct 30 Hertz label, The Light Programme showcased an excellent cast of musicians, including Can drummer Jaki Liebezeit, Wire's Clive Bell, conga player Neville Murray, guitarist and synthesist Mark Ferda and the harpist Zi-lan Liao. The Light Programme is an intensely effulgent but at times vitreous record, with Wobble seemingly embracing the worldbeat vogue of the time with a keen, albeit naive fervour. When the tracks aren't so clear cut or obviously mixed, things get more interesting; 'One In 7' is the oddball of choice here.

Review: Okinawa-based, France-born guitarist Paul Mahoux's excellent new EP Lysergie Villageoise marks the fourth release on Nummer's Natural Selections label. It finds him delving deeper into fourth-world music realms and intricately weaving together tracks that encapsulate all of his experimental ideas over the last three decades. 30 years of experimentation. Over the course of the quartet of tunes, Mahoux blends traditional and modern techniques and distils his signature blend of jazz, folk, ambient, and house into something all new that seems both proto and avant-garde. It is rich in emotion, deploying involving to listen to, and a work that transcends the usual genre boundaries.

Review: Jazz-funkers Menagerie carry the torch of broken beat and jazzdance into the bleeding-edge present day with 'The Shores Of Infinity'. The Australian band, led by Lance Ferguson, is nominally guided by the spiritual jazz movement of the 1970s, but their sound reflects little of its usual beatless freakouts and croony, culty improvisations. Rather, this LP runs the entire gamut of what could be considered spiritual jazz, moving through, in their own words, myriad zones of "cosmic consciousness, transcendence, and interconnection". In fitting fashion for the genre, just six long-form tracks appear, three on each side, making for a neat, coin-flipped, symmetrical statement in jazz; the balance of the universe reflected in a cosmick vinyl void.

Review: Moor Mother (Camae Ayewa) delivers her latest album of import, The Great Bailout, using ironic economic terminology to satirise the British slave trade and its subsequent elision by the history books. A collaborative project that expands her original experimental hip-hop horizon, the likes of 'GUILTY' and 'ALL THE MONEY' hear new instrumental contributions from both canonical jazz artists and fresher faces, be they Lonnie Holley in the former camp and Mary Lattimore and Alya Al-Sultana in the latter. Moor Mother's revision is critical, calling out hidden ballasts such as the V&A Museum as purveyors of historical violence, while indulging a well-thought-out palette: no sound or texture is used here without careful thought as to its signification, whether wateriness to evoke the sense of drowning, or muted cacophony to recall the storms endured by victims of the trade in ships' hulls.

Review: The late legendary Japanese beatmaker Nujabes was a musical genius, this we know to be true. His constant resurgence on social media throughout the years affirms this, with 'Modal Soul', his second full-length album in 2005, blowing up time and time again online. It comes as no surprise, his meticulous devotion to hip-hop-jazz was unlike any before him, or since. 'Other Side of Phase' is a 12" three track record, with its title track being the instrumental for the famous anime 'Samurai Champloo', originally featuring one of Japan's most prolific MCs to ever hold the mic. A standout is 'Rainyway Back Home', a fly song combining the keys from an old Jeru the Damaga cut and the drums from a Power of Zeus track. Nujabes will never - ever - go out of style.

Review: More gold from the always in the know and on point 5 Boroughs label. Again here it digs into the vast annals of hip-hop history to come up with some still relevant gems in the form of Rakim and DJ Premier's staple 'It's Been a Long Time.' It is a classic boom-bap joint with lush strings and horns, some old-school scratching and cool bars. As walls, the label serves it up alongside the original sample source on the flip which is Cecil Holmes's languid soul slow burner 'Call Me, Come Back Home'. These plays shift in quick time so do not snooze if you want a slice.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Slight surface marks ***


This album is one of the greatest r&b records ever. That's just a fact. Jill Scott herself has never even managed to surpass what she lay down on this stone-cold classic all the way back in 2002. The production is stylish and warm, seductive and sensual throughout, with jazz, neo soul, funk, r&b and hip hop all carefully infusing each track. The lyrics are empowering as they celebrate blackness and female strength, but also at times witty and playful. It's a go-to date night album for people all over the world and how it missed out on a Grammy for Best Album or Best Vocal Performance when it was first nominated we will never know.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Sons of Kemet had already made themselves into stars before they released their debut album. They did so with electrifying live shows all around the UK with each member of the supergroup which is led by clarinetist, saxophonist and composer Shabaka Hutchings with Oren Marshall on tuba and Tom Skinner and Seb Rochford on drums, all coming together to create fresh jazz fusions. When Burn landed a decade ago it took things up a notch. It has addictive melodies that work for both heart and mind and now gets a special anniversary reissue.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Kaidi Tatham back on 2000BLACK needs little explanation really, does it? Anyone who takes broken beat and neo soul seriously should already be slipping this on in their cart, but for the uninitiated this is one of the grandmasters of the sound in full flight. 'Galaxy' is a beautiful, uplifting soul-boogie jam with a stunning vocal turn from Lola Violet, and it comes in two different twists depending on the energy you need to bring to your set - for us the 'Uptempo Mix' is a perfect shot of joy in the arm. 'A Message From Above' cools things down with gorgeous keys, a characteristically snagging beat and sultry horns, and 'Ergonomic Structures' slinks into the sweetest of downtempo funks that'll have you head nodding hard and keeping you chill all in the same beat.

Review: Tour-Maubourg has been receiving quite a bit of press since their very first release. Often, their records quickly become sought after for their amazing beauty and genre-washing abilities. 'The Panorama Sessions' aims to continue the strong promotion and deliver another home run. Like the name suggests, these are alternate versions of other treasured Tour-Maubourg tracks that were featured on different releases, with this 12" bringing in the talents of the Ismael Ndir on saxophone. 'The Opening' gives us At Les vibes with the brilliant melodic touch, a smoothed out Balearic track that is nothing short of sublime, while 'Ode to Love' is another goosebump creator. These sunset styled interludes expanding into a feeling of light jazz and pseudo house, really work well on our mood receptors. 'Saint The A La Menthe (Panorama version)' is perhaps the most soulful track here, making it a perfect way to close things out. All and all, four unique, terrific new versions of classic Tour-Maubourg material to enjoy.

Review: Yussef Days, a virtuoso drummer, has injected fresh energy into contemporary jazz and broken beat genres through multiple innovative projects, each showcasing his remarkable talent. One of them is The Yussef Dayes Experience which recently dropped its Live At Joshua Tree Presented By Soulection album and now follows it up with another live album, this time from Malibu, on Gilles Peterson's revered Brownswood label. It features music from his critically acclaimed debut solo album, Black Classical Music, and plenty of other gems on limited vinyl with features from his usual longtime collaborators Rocco Palladino, Venna, Elijah Fox, and Alexander Bourt.