Back catalogue: Broken Beat/Nu Jazz

Review: Japanese Wunderkind Hakushi Hasegawa made their Brainfeeder debut back in 2023, dropping the incredible Somoku Hudo after a slating of similarly super jazzbreaks released independently until that magical moment. Having not yet made their mark with a wider international audience, it was up to impresario FlyLo and co. to 'break' Hasegawa, resulting first in an infamous Fuji Rock festival appearance and now a resultant repress of the initially digital mini-album. Somoku Hudo is a surreally intense jubilant jaunt through hallmarks of J-pop, neo-jungle and cutecore, ever veering on the chromatic and rhythmically errant. A crude comparison would be if Mario Kart met Tennyson met Sunik Kim, though even this is just a first-listen comparison; an auditory encounter with the Real, if you will, it's difficult to capture Hasegawa's music totally in words except for its seeming invitation to make references to other sources - which, huzzah, indicates new experimental electronic ground has been trodden!

Review: Eric Hilton's most recent full length album Sound Vagabond, has been making some waves in the downtempo and chill out circles. Known for his smooth urban beats, catchy grooves and unique melodies as part of Thievery Corporation, he's a celebrated name in the downtempo scene, as well as being supportive of the vinyl DJ scene too. 'Midnight Milan' was taken from the album and sees a beautiful melody riding along perfectly to the easy-going rhythm. Simple but oh, so perfect - and that's before we mention the fact it's pressed on mint green colored vinyl.

Review: Eric Hilton of Thievery Corporation has long been a ardent fan of the DJ community and his most recent physical output strategy is to take key tracks from his most recent album and place them on DJ friendly 7" singles, each released with beautiful artwork and matching coloured vinyl, with an unreleased track to compliment on the B-side. 'Poppy Fields' is a funky groove that features a unique melody and urban eastern vibe to it. The flip side, 'French Bird' continues the smooth downtempo happenings. With Eric Hilton, you can always expect a great groove and a wonderful approach to chill out music - this is no exception.

Review: When Keyon Harrold lists the influences that he turned to during the creation of his rich and evocative new album Foreverland, he cites the likes of Radiohead, Fleet Foxes, Fela Kuti, John Coltrane, and, for a second, he becomes vulnerable; the list is too basic, too serious-music-listener-starter-pack. But, out of that moment of insecurity, he spins an indelible flex: "You are what you eat, and I have a pretty strict diet in dope shit. Taking in Keyon Harrold's career to-date, it's clear that the 'world-class trumpeter' (Essence) and composer is very serious about that diet. He's a jazz musician but in the most expansive sense, working with a list of dream collaborators: generational legends Keith Richards and Diana Ross; rap stars like Mac Miller and Nas; neo-soul icons Erykah Badu and D'Angelo; and modern soul stars Black Pumas and Leon Bridges. His circle of regular collaborators is formidable and includes his music industry mentor Common (who hired him for his first touring gig), his New School classmate Robert Glasper, and GRAMMY winners Maxwell, PJ Morton, Gregory Porter, and YEBBA. Even apart from its compositional intricacies and stylistic innovations, Foreverland is a triumph of resilience and empowerment. "What will be said when you're gone?", says Keyon. "If you're not living life - getting beat up, getting your heart broken, winning, losing - what are you doing? What about your life can people learn from? If you don't put yourself in the ring sometimes, there won't be anything." On Foreverland, Keyon takes life's challenges head-on - and emerges, in both music and in life, with a renewed sense of purpose.

Review: Brainfeeder looks back to Japanese hybridist Hakushi Hasegawa's first album Air Ni Ni here and reissues it on limited grey marbled vinyl. Although on the surface it might be thought of as pop, get in between the beats and you will find a challenging record that fused everything from bubblegum pop to breakcore, prog jazz to video games and much more besides. The record first came in 2019 and remains astonishingly diverse and new in the way it mashes up traditional genre boundaries and draws on alt-rock. Fans of label head Flying Lotus are sure to love it as is anyone who heard it first tie round.

Review: Thievery Corporation member and co-founder of Eighteenth Street Lounge Music Eric Hilton is here with his latest full album titled Sound Vagabond. With 14 songs in total, Eric gathers his cast experience with fusing genres into a more singular vision on this long player. Fans of Thievery Corporation will definitely feel at home with this, like seeing an old friend. The sounds are crisp, clean, laid back and a perfect balance of a loose fusion yet jazzy and patterns constructed with sharp beats. The creative instruments introduced into many of these are perhaps the most impressive thing about these tracks. It makes this style come alive anew. This album is presented on fantastic looking blue vinyl.