Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz Recommendations May 2012

Review: A six-headed funk/jazz group, The Filthy Six pluck one of the highlights of their second album The Fox for this here single for the venerable Acid Jazz label. A cover of Michael Jackson's "Girlfriend" would be hard to get wrong, but the crew make the song their own with a mix of Hammond organ, brass, Dap Tones drums and some raw and deliciously soulful vocals. Much needed 7" bad boy here!

Review: Los Miticos Del Ritmo is a seven piece band put together by British musician/producer/DJ Will' Quantic' Holland. Since 2007, Will has resided in Columbia and this band is assembled from Vallento & Cumbia musicians living in the tropical depths of Santiago de Cali. The obvious highlights on the album are mad cover versions of Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust" and Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough", which rock the dancefloor; even for those not familiar with the Accordion and cumbia rhythms. It's not just about cover versions however, as the album also displays decent original tracks such as "Willy's Merengue" and "Cumbia De Mochilla". Recorded entirely on 4-track tape, Will's approach has been to produce an album with the aesthetics of 1960s tropical recordings that might have been made in Colombia and the Caribbean, and to these ears he has nailed it.

Review: The music of London based collective Los Charly's Orchestra dips a 70s boogie sound with a Latin touch, and lends itself well to the exemplary mixing talents of Chi-town don Rahaan, who remixes "Swinging To The Bass" for Dopeness Galore Holland. Rahaan captures the funk that lies at the core of this track, using it as the base on which to manipulate and twist the music. It's a light footed disco cut, with a hook that slices clean through the spattering of jazz-licked murmurings. The dub mix overwhelms you with a driving bass line and tinkling piano solo, with Rahaan borrowing each epic element and composing a fresh and lively sound. Do check.

Review: Black Radio is a future landmark album that boldly stakes out new musical territory and transcends any notion of genre, drawing from jazz, hip-hop, R&B and rock, but refusing to be pinned down by any one tag. Black Radio also features many of Glasper''s famous friends from the spectrum of urban music, seamlessly incorporating appearances from a jaw-dropping roll call of special guests including Erykah Badu, Bilal, Lupe Fiasco, Lalah Hathaway, Shafi q Husayn (Sa-Ra), KING, Ledisi, Chrisette Michele, Musiq Soulchild, Meshell Ndegeocello, Stokley Williams (Mint Condition), and yasiin bey (Mos Def).