2000 Black

Review: Blacks & Blues is a new name to 2000 Black, but the people behind the project are label stalwarts: Dego, Kaidi Tatham, Matt Lord (AKA Lordamercy) and vocalist Obenewa Aboah. With such talent on show, it's unsurprising that opener "Spin" - a cracking slab of broken-beat/soul fusion rich in military style drums, jazz-funk keys and summery vocals - is rather good. While dancefloor-friendly, the track feels loose, languid and tailor-made for outdoor parties. "Don't Know Why (Chant For Love)" is an even more lo-fi broken soul excursion (very Fatima), while "You Know The Feeling" recalls the jazz-funk-fired soulful club cuts of early 2000s broken beat heroes Bugz In The Attic.

Review: The 2000 Black crew is keeping tight-lipped about the details surrounding this release, describing the previously unknown Project X as, "a non-partisan group primarily operational in the late 20th century" whose "only confirmed action was creating and compiling previously unreleased music to highlight various events of the time". So far, so mysterious. Whatever the identity of those behind the project, the album is well worth a listen. Its shadowy creators flit between high-octane dancefloor jazz ("S-Kai", "Q To Start"), organic downtempo grooves (the sun-kissed "Grape Juice" and samba-soaked warmth of "The Lost Words"), synth-sporting takes on the heady Rotary Comnection sound ("Psych") and giddy jazz-funk ("The Recovery"). The real stand out though is "Brave Games", which sounds like a thrill-a-minute fusion of Batacuda, jazz-funk and dancefloor jazz.

Review: Starting 2020 like they mean to go on, West London's 2000 Black crew serves up an essential four-tracker created during jam sessions between regular collaborators Kaidi Tatham, Akwasi Mensah, Matt Lord and Dennis "Dego" McFarlane (Ranks). As with their previous collaborative releases, its' four tracks variously join the dots between deep house, bruk, jazz-funk and mellower flavours. As usual, the beats are tight and weighty, the musicianship exceptional (Kaidi's keys-playing being a particular highlight), the chords deep and the lead lines memorable. While all four tracks are excellent, our picks are the rubbery bruk-up bliss of "Return of Pastor Shadrach" and the sun-kissed broken house warmth of "Life After Subway".

Review: It would seem we're back on the Christmas card list... 2000 Black supergroup comprising the likes of Dego, Mensah and original Bugz members Lord and Tatham have been slowly ramping up their releases again and this year has seen their largest output yet. Following "Two Way Here One Way Go", "Simmering" proffers three more sublime and silky instrumentals from deeply decorated foursome. "Simmering" is a tight jazz funk jam with a sprung guitar groove spine and a blissful switch into soothing flutes midway, "Private Life" flips for a sunnyside digidub, all spacious and rippling with its breezy keys while "Climb The Sun" brings us back to the funk root note but with rising synth insistency that's bruk to the bone. Simmering now, boiling tomorrow...