Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz Recommendation October 2015

Review: Pick up a dictionary, look up 'curveball' and you'll find "Rich Prick Poor Dick". You won't... But you should. After his experimental soundscapery on his In The Wild album, FaltyDL has decided to go all-out on our tooshes with two rather disparate club cuts. The unforgettably titled lead track is a rampant, near-150BPM, techno slapper with heavy elements of psy trance thrown into the mix for good measure and strong flavour. "Bookaloo" plays the cheeky, trippy antidote. A much slower (but still beat-heavy) beat jam, it's bedazzled in an array of both melodic and rhythmic leads and counter leads. Now look up the word 'essential'.

Review: Premiership fusionistas Souljazz Orchestra build on their inner fire with their seventh artist album. Marking 10 years since their debut Uprooted, Resistance reminds us of the band's incredible energy, tightness and latent funk in every note they play. Highlights can be found on every track but it's moments like the scat/percussive play off on "Shock & Awe", the feel-good chords and breakdown on "Bull's Eye" and the cowbell driven rhythmic switch on "Ware Wa" that really sparkle and compound the band's longstanding power. No other band of this nature have remained so tight and so consistent for so long. Resisting Resistance is futile.