ATA Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Built on two decades of collaboration between drummer Sam Hobbs and bassist Neil Innes - no relation to the Monty Python and Rutles man of the same name - the pair's new ATA project blends rootsy Jamaican groove with the syncopated strut of New Orleans funk. Though technically a new release, it's more a continuation than a debut: the lineup includes jazz organist Bob Birch and session guitarist Chris Dawkins, drawing from deep wells of soul, rocksteady and r&b. Tracks like 'Grafter' and 'Bust Up' land squarely in the crossover zone between Studio One and The Metersiraw but slick, with a tight pocket and loose-limbed flair. 'An Autumn Sun' leans sweet and sentimental, while 'Strong Fish' pays organ-heavy homage to Jackie Mittoo's Hot Milk-era work. Elsewhere, 'Power Cut' and 'Night Bus' arrive with horn motifs that seem tailored to I Roy-style toasting, and 'Tough Swagger' is a heavy-lidded jam that could've wandered in off a Bunny Lee tape. But it's 'Iron Fist' that best captures the group's method: groove-first, melody-second, built on intuition and the friction of mismatched rhythms. Despite the vintage touchstones, it never feels like pasticheithe record balances reverence with invention, keeping one foot in Kingston and the other in Treme. For a group with so much history, it sounds impressively fresh.

Review: ATA regulars Sam Hobbs and Neil Innes stretch back over two decades of joint musical graft, and The Return Of The Flying Hats shows just how tightly wound that shared rhythm has become. Rooted in Innes's club-hardened taste for Afro-American dancefloor sounds and Hobbs's immersion in everything from New Orleans soul to roots reggae and calypso, the record draws in longtime allies Bob Birch and Chris Dawkins, whose Hammond and guitar works ha e graced British reggae and rock for years. There's a swampy Kingston-New Orleans fusion to 'Grafter' and 'Bust Up', with nods to Lynn Taitt, The Meters and Fatman Riddim Section throughout, and a glorious free-for-all on 'Iron Fist', where Birch plays straight from instinct.

Review: UK mambo kinds Orchestra Mambo International share their second single for ATA Records, both on digital and vinyl formats once more. After a dazzling debut single for the label back in May 2024, 'Balia Mi Cha Cha' is a funky cha cha number driven forth by the songwriting of bandleader and trombonist Jonny Enright, backed up by vibraphone from John Settle and lead vocals from Venezuelan singer Carlos "Pachanga" PeNa. The B-side, meanwhile, is a mambo instrumental entitled 'Bajo Con Vibes' ('Bass With Vibes'), which riffs on the double metonymy of the word "vibes" and plays up to a fantastically warm bass sound, providing a proper aural rung onto which central part of the track the listener may latch themselves and become thus enthralled.

Review: Leeds-based group The Sorcerers expand their palette with eight new compositions that draw on spiritual jazz, minimalism and vintage electronics. The material continues their dialogue with the Ethiopique sound, though here it acts more as foundation than frame. 'Echoes of Earth' opens with slow, circular phrasing and a loosened rhythmic centre, setting a subdued tone. 'Ancestral Machines' and 'Abandoned Satellites' layer Mellotron, Jen 73 and Farfisa textures over sparse percussion, edging closer to early synthesiser music without abandoning their core ensemble dynamic. The Great Bell' and 'Beneath the Dunes' both sit lower in tempo, the former driven by low brass and negative space, while the latter hints at ambient structure. 'The Ghosts of the Black Drift' and 'The Infinite' stretch the harmonic language slightly further, with electronics used atmospherically rather than melodically. 'The Last Transmission' closes the set on a more resolved note i slightly brighter, but still understated. The group's refusal to lean into retro stylisation keeps the project grounded, and it's not a radical departure but a carefully measured step into expanded terrain.

Review: United Disco Organisation have been tapped up by the ATA label for its first voyage into the world of disco. The band is made up of producer and bassist Neil Innes and guitarist and singer Chris Dawkins and here they head off to the cosmos with a classically inclined sound that comes with lashings of Philly soul influences. 'Send The Rain' opens things up and features a fine flute lead from label-mate Tony Burkill. Dawkins's vocals then take the lead over a nice woody, organic groove and an instrumental is also featured. 'Funky Thing' is a glossy, vibes-heavy tune with big melodies and chunky drum funk.

Review: Back in 2014, Here & Now Records released a sampler for an as-yet unfounded Leeds-based label called ATA Records. The compilation featured "rare soul, funk and Afro" tracks from friends and regular bandmates Neil Innes and Pete Williams under a variety of pseudonyms. ATA emerged a year later, so to celebrate the label's imminent fifth birthday, ATA chiefs Innes and Williams have decided to reissue the compilation under a tweaked title. There's much to enjoy throughout, from the sweaty, James Brown-inspired "The Flip" and the breezy, easy listening-influenced soul shuffle of "Brother Move On", to the deep funk hustle of "Cookie Jar" and the Mod-style soundtrack slowness of "Moscow Central".