Juno Recommends Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz April 2019

Review: The West Loop Chicago collective reportedly span continents, pooling soul-soaked talents into some truly powerful dance music. "Knocking On The Door Of The Cosmos" doffs its cap to Sun Ra with some crafty samples, but the musical vibe is more in line with the likes of Andres, Dego or other such masters of irrepressibly funky house music. "Theme For Chicago" takes an iconic Roy Ayers jam and gets wild with the filter, "Son Of Equinox" trips down a loose and limber jazz funk pathway and "Payback" whips up some tightly clipped samples into a pumped up peak time belter. From start to finish this EP oozes class and authenticity - a serious grip for any self-respecting Midwest heads.

Review: Tenderlonious' prolific explorations of contemporary jazz continue unabated with this new album from his supergroup, Ruby Rushton. With Mo Kolours and Yussef Dayes (formerly of Yussef Kamaal) amongst the highly skilled players in this ensemble, the quality spilling out of their fourth album need not be questioned. The band leader's signature flute stylings skip and twirl across the top of the music, with the overall brew striking that elusive but oh-so-sweet balance between loose, free-wheeling expression and rock solid groove. Fresh and satisfying at every turn, this is proof of why the modern jazz scene is so vibrant right now. Ruby Rushton can do no wrong!

Review: Since launching a few years back, Matthew Halsall's Gondwana Records has released some terrific albums from a string of talented but often little-known artists. This brilliant set is another. It comes from Hania Rani, a pianist, composer and producer better known for her collaborative work with the likes of Christian Loffler, Dobrawa Czocher and Hior Chronik. "Esja" is Rani's solo debut and sees her sashay between atmospheric, often poignant pieces that put her impeccable piano playing at the heart of the action. It's exceedingly elegant and picturesque, with Rani's subtle use of field recordings and crackling background noise only enhancing the listening experience.

Review: Somewhat surprisingly, the "Ah-Free-Ka EP" marks 4hero man Marc Mac's first appearance on Cooperation, the label established by the crew behind legendary West London broken beat night Co-Op, since 2007. Given the label, the veteran producer is in a bruk-up kind of mood, kicking things off with the polyrhythmic broken rhythms, vocoder vocals, jaunty synth riffs and weighty sub-bass of "Ah-Free-Ka". The track's not too subtle old school electro influences are explored further on hybrid bruk/electro/Afro-funk jam "In The Jungle", while "Bruda Fela" is little less than a contemporary broken beat tribute to Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.

Review: There's something rather special about this collaboration between South London collective, long-running NTS show and (now) label Touching Bass and Melbourne imprint Wondercore Island. It comes from Clever Austin aka Perrin Moss, a self-taught producer and multi-instrumentalist best known for being the drummer in Hiatus Kaiyote, and is as diverse, eclectic and imaginative as any set we've heard this year. Opening with a seductive slice of otherworldly ambient, "Pareidolia" sees Moss offer up a slowly-shifting, cinematic voyage that variously touches on lo-fi art-rock, off-kilter contemporary jazz, skewed modern soul, experimental synthesizer soundscapes, discordant out-there funk, wide-eyed Balearica, mutant African-influenced oddities and much more besides. As solo debuts go, it's breathtakingly good.

Review: In 2008, German label Unique asked crate-digging party starters Soulinus and Pun to put together the first volume in their "This is DJs Choice" compilation series. Only one further instalment - with tracks selected by Keb Darge and Lucinda Slim - appeared before the series was shelved. Happily, Unique has decided to re-launch it, with Marc Hype and DJ Suspect in charge of the track list. They've done a bang up job, all told, offering up a sizzling, 16-track selection that giddily sprints between steel band reggae (Hollie Cook), soul-jazz (Melvin Sparks), heavy funk (Smith & The Honey Badgers, Osaka Monoaurail), boogie (Skyy), Afro-latin heaviness (Marc Gregor), stomping Northern Soul (Jack Hammer) and head-nodding hip-hop (Sons Of Time, Benjamin & The Dreamdancers).