OMAR 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Z Recordings chief Dave Lee has teamed up on this one with Omar, a prolific multi-instrumentalist who was awarded an MBE in 2012 for services to music. The result is 'Starlight', a serving of emotive soul funk with a nod to legend Stevie Wonder. Over on the flip, we have the late night boogie-down vibe of Destiny II's 'I'm Here For This' featuring Aria Lyric's powerful vocal delivery, underpinned by an uplifting arrangement that has summertime vibes abound. A new project by Lee, it debuted earlier this year with the excellent 'Play 2 Win'

Review: Mukatsuku has got another little treasure on its hands here with a tune from MBE and UK Soul legend Omar. It dates back to 2004 and has never been on 7" before having become something of a classic after original release on 12". Dons like Gilles Peterson and IG Culture were early supporters of the driving, peak time broken beat sound and the tune was often a highpoint of Omar's live sets. It has never been released as an instrumental either - until now. Both tunes now together on one 45 make for an essential cop for soul fans and, as always, there is strictly no repress on this one so move fast.

Review: Omar is a real British musical institution and as such it's surprising but also not so shocking, he has recently completed a stint on BBC soap Eastenders. This cheeky 7" is a reissue of the title track from his album The Man and a fine example of his perfectly soulful vocals and mellifluous melodies over nice broken beat and nu jazz sounds. It represents some of his best work and this contemporary take uses the final few bars of the original track as its starting point in a "part 2" style.

Review: Second time around for "Benefit", a breezy and soulful song by UK soul scene stalwart Omar that originally appeared on Boddhi Satva's 2015 album "Transition". This time round, the mixes come from deep house royalty Alton Miller and Kai Alce. The former handles the A-side, delivering a wonderfully warm, intricately produced extended rework that sees Omar's incredible vocal rise above bouncy Afro-house drums, darting synth bass, rich chords and all manner of subtle instrumental flourishes. Kai Alce provides both vocal and instrumental mixes on the flip, opting for booming bass, swinging, garage-influenced drums and some suitably old school organ riffs.