New releases last eight weeks: Broken Beat/Nu Jazz

Review: Well Curated is a series of releases and parties that - in its own words - "reflects the ethnomusicology of the last 50 years of music" - and aims to reach into all genres, merging classic styles and breaking down barriers. Steve Spacek occupies the A-side with the breezy broken beat and soul-in-space of 'Alone In Da Sun', while Lukid's 'Hair Of The Dog' is a more intense counterpart, with wobbling sub-bass and swirling, surging atmospherics hovering above.

Review: Impossibly powerful and soul fuelled sounds from Gabriels,who have headlined a fine list of all the major musi events, not least Glastonbury with a stirring performance that took them to all new levels. 'Love & Hate In a Different Time' is their most hard hitting tune but still comes with plenty of sweetness and sits at the centre of this 12" of the same name with an alternate version also included next to dusty and lo-fi soul gut wrenchers like 'The Blind' and the intimate vocals, swooning strings and finger clicks of 'In Loving Memory.'

Review: Str4ta is a joint project that includes Gilles Peterson and Jean-Paul Maunick aka Bluey, inspired by 80s Brit funk bands. In 2022, Str4ta released their third album Str4tasfear for Gilles's label, Brownswood Recordings and this 12" stamped white label offers two dance remixes of two tracks from Str4tasfear. For the A-side, 'To Be As One' is remixed by Venom with vocal by Theo Croker. This soulful house version is jazzy and slightly psychedelic, that gives off a tremendous 70s vibe to it, while the second side sees 'Lazy Days' is remixed by Wallace, adding a bit more of a Latin house feel and features Emma Jean Thackray on vocals. Both versions turn the originals into the perfect dancefloor shufflers for eclectic people. This is the perfect 12" for house, soul and Latin DJs to express their more jazzy side.

Review: New York City's Jennifer Vanilla - aka. Jennifer Vanilla and Brian Abelson - offered a portal into a colourful world of innovative electronic sound with their 2022 debut album Castle In The Sky, traversing a new wave, post-punk, art pop, and experimental r&b aesthetic. Now Love Injection - the just as wonderful duo of Barbie Bertisch and Paul Raffaele - team up for a booster jab to bolster Vanilla's original shot of liquid amour, also delivered via the medium of 12". Here the original track features in full naked glory on the B-side, while two live-giving remixes from Love Injection - 'Earthly' and 'Celestial' - appear on the A and B respectively. The former takes its time, through djembe and hopeful pad wash, to deliver a blissfully organic take on the original; the latter aims more squarely for the flickering stars, and is more immediate in feel. An overall exquisite, deep, spiritual house release, with an unusually soft and dubbed-out palette, reminiscent of the deeper ends of Y2K broken beat and wild, long-form nocturnal galas a-la Joaquin Claussell.