2000 Black

Review: Tathan, Mensah and Dego get brow deep in bruk science once again with three supreme grooves. "Sunday Avuncular" is a rampant fire that's sparked with minimal elements but suddenly whips up into a full uptempo storm. "Bauxite, Gypsum & Limestone" is the smooth talker of the set with its soulful boogie tones and a momentum that gets more and more direct as the track develops. Finally "Mononymous Persons" concludes this special 12" with a staccato beat and groove so wet 2000 Black should consider selling special branded towels. Exceptional.

Review: Yes! It's time for another Shokazulu transmission from Mr Kaidi Tatham which naturally arrives via the good ship 2000 Black. If you checked last year's debut Shokazulu long player for the label, you know this Tatham project perfectly embodies the musical spirit of 2000 Black, linking themes of the past with contemporary production methods on cuts that are forever forward thinking. Don't think that's changed on this latest 2000 Black drop from Shokazulu! Lead cut "Fresh Fromage" sees Tatham calling on close friends Mr Mensah and Mark Force and the vibe feels that much stronger for it. Commencing in true '70s jazz fusion style, the cut goes up a level when Force's drums come in and the full weight of the arrangement is revealed. The tempo drops on the flip as Tatham goes on a solo trip into blunted and bruk hip hop with "Something".

Review: It's already been a great year for Kaidi Tatham, whose summer album "It's A World Before You" on First Word remains one of our favourite full-length sets of 2018. He's in great form once again on this follow-up EP for the 2000 Black imprint he co-helms with pal Dego. All four tracks bristle with his signature jazz-funk focused synthesizer solos and Herbie Hancock style flourishes, as well as plenty of sweaty, floor-friendly broken beats. Killer dancefloor thrills come in the shape of opener "Freddie Can't Run Away" (it's very reminiscent of his 2000s work as Agent K) and "Is Crimbo Really Here", while "But You Bring It Up" and standout "In My Life" both explore slower, deeper and more musically intricate pastures.

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...