Staff Picks w / c 4 Novemeber 2019

Review: Demon Records dig deep into the legendary P&P (Poor People with Potentiality) vaults and unearth 12 vital cornerstones in the very foundations of dance music development. A thick bubbling melting pot where disco, soul, funk and realness fuse with pure focus on the dancefloor, belters such as the afrofunk of Queen Yahna - "Ain't It Time", Mary Clark's sexy rare groove hit "Take Me I'm Yours" and Le'O Roy's "Pound For Pound" late night street stalking sleaze join the dots between the roots and where our dancefloors are still at now. Bulging with delights from the likes of the Foster Jackson Group, Rudy Stewart, Cloud One, Bobby Mann and many more, this is an incredibly well considered and curated celebration of the P&P legacy.

Review: Like a slightly in-tune Nico from her collab with The Velvet Underground, Natalie Mering's vocals have a unique quality to them that shouldn't go unheard. There's an undeniable country music beauty to the notes and instrumentation in both tracks "A Lot's Gonna Change" and "Andromeda", with Mering hitting those high notes more like Father John Misty and Roy Orbison than Dolly Parton. It's here that it becomes obvious why she is such a trusted collaborator with Ariel Pink. Her album as Weyes Blood, "Titanic Rising", dips and dives through a sequence of emotions that from the halfway point soars like a bird in "Everyday" and the Enya-like "Movies" before making its own crescendo down again on "Picture Me Better" and "Nearer to Thee", closing the album with nostalgia-inducing tales.

Review: Given his long-running friendship with key members of Bristol's vibrant - and distinctive - techno community, it's something of a surprise to find that this marks Leif Knowles' first appearance of Peverelist's Livity Sound imprint. Happily, we can confirm that it was worth the wait. The genius of the EP lies in the unique combination of the long-serving producer's inventive, African-influenced rhythms and deep, rich and life-affirming musical flourishes. Both A-side "Igam-Ogam" and B-side opener "First Image" boast intricately programmed (and impressively layered) drums, as well as either drowsy deep house chords or ear-catching melodic loops. Then there's closing cut "Seeker", which sounds like his take on late 1970s Tangerine Dream.

Review: The 11th outing on Poly Kicks is as brilliant as the first 10. It comes from label heads and UK brothers Truss & Tessela and offers up two different moods. Opener "Le Tigre" is built on a nimble and harmonic bassline that gently rides up and down the scale with plenty of innocence, while serene pads soften the hurried rubbery kicks. It is both pensive yet physical, while flipside "Salt Mix" is an eerie ambient track with the only suggested rhythm coming from ticking sounds, warped pads and twinkling keys. Brilliantly atmospheric, cinematic and rich in sonic detail.

Review: The Andromeda Orchestra project was last seen on Faze Action last year, when "Get Up & Dance" got the remix treatment by Nick The Record. This time around the project gets a serious disco treatment from Ray Mang, who stretches "Don't Stop" out across the A side for a nine minute pleasure ride that's heavy on the funk. "Kano Line Dance" kicks off the B side in another loose and nasty party jam, before the original Philly string busting brilliance of "Don't Stop" completes the set in fabulous fashion.

Review: Temple Of Sound is the latest label out of the buzzing Bristol scene you need on your radar. The third EP is a tasteful split from Pugilist and Sun Basics - opener "Reflections" is a brilliantly watery, edgeless and dubby techno offering with rippling synths, bass and pads all disappearing to an infinite horizon. The two artists then come together for "Untitled", a mysterious and spacious dub that glides on slippery drum programming and gloopy bass. Lastly, "Ruins" has a mysterious Aztec vibe that rolls you deep into a steamy, humid jungle and rounds out a fresh EP indeed.

Review: Last year, Agnes Obel included Nora Dean's "Ay Ay Ay Ay" on her fantastic Late Night Tales and got plenty of people talking about this overlooked gem. Featured on the B side of this 7", it's an enchanting and folky dub backed by an ominous droning organ and psychedelic guitar riffs, with a sense of smoky soul, curious chants and whistles. With vocal effects that are reminiscent of Pink Floyd's 1968 track, "Julia Dream", Dean has perhaps delivered one of the strangest songs with the most compelling vocal performance in the history of Jamaican music. Flip over for early Reggae masterpiece "Peace Begins Within," on which Dean's vocals soar over an uplifting beat, despite the track being about the harsh re-alities of life. Tip!

Review: While Seth Horvitz has kept up a steady stream of singles over the last few years, "Hymn To Moisture" is the producer's first solo album as Rrose for nearly four years. It tends towards the alien and unsettling, with the EAUX founder flitting between weirdly metallic-sounding workouts (creepy opener "Mine"), buzzing modular drug-chug ("Bandage"), pulsating percussive techno oddness ("Columns"), ricocheting beat-free electronic soundscapes ("Saliva"), hypnotic throb-jobs ("Dissolve"), surprisingly melodious kosmiche style ambience ("Horizon", drowsy closing cut "Hymn To Moisture") and spaced-out, bass-heavy dub techno (the razor sharp headiness of "Open Cell").

Review: A couple of years ago Family Groove Records offered up a tidy seven-inch single featuring previously unheard music from Latrell, an overlooked and obscure artist who briefly recorded solo material during the boogie era. Here they go one better by delivering an album of long-hidden and unreleased cuts recorded by the American electrofunk artist in 1983 and '84. The standard is dizzyingly high throughout, with Latrell and his musical accomplices giddily sprinting through an octet of kaleidoscopic synth-funk jams that sound like a dream studio collaboration between Prince, Parliament, Roger Troutman and Rick James. In a word: essential.

Review: We hear on the grapevine that there could be some seriously desirable Global Communication vinyl reissues on the way in 2020. To tide us over until then, Far Out has decided to reissue one of the legendary West Country duo's most celebrated and sought-after remixes: their 1996 "Space Jazz" remix of Azymuth classic "Jazz Carnival". Pritchard and Middleton's version is a spacey deep house epic of intergalactic proportions, with subtle elements of the Brazilian band's loose and languid '90s re-recording of the track (the B-side "LP Mix") weaving in and out of a warm, rich and hypnotic groove. It's one of the most dancefloor-friendly of all Global Communication remixes - many were straight ambient or downtempo rubs - but also one of Mark Pritchard and Tom Middleton's finest.

Review: In recent years Fred Peterkin has been focusing on releasing music under his now more familiar Fred P alias rather than the Black Jazz Consortium pseudonym with which he first made his mark back in the late 2000s. Here he dons the latter alias once more for a triple-vinyl album that counts amongst his most alluring, evocative, musically intricate and ear-pleasing full-length excursions to date. It's largely a warm, positive and calming affair, with Peterkin wrapping glistening jazz guitars, dreamy chords, spacey effects, scat vocals and jazz-funk basslines around grooves that variously touch on broken beat, Motor City deep house, Latin house and the kind of languid, organic rhythms more associated with the productions of Osunlade and Ron Trent. In a word: sumptuous.

Review: Fans of Josienne Clarke have been chomping at the bit to wrap their ears around this one for some time. The debut solo album from an award-winning career, the finished product is every bit as good as we hoped, offering that inherently sorrowful vocal delivery combined with pared back instrumentals that stop just short of being truly barren. It's a record about learning to stand on your own, irrespective of circumstances, and therefore a record about all that life is and can be. Reflective in nature, these are lamentations on mistakes made, the subsequent fallout, and eventual redemption by way of not hiding the scars, but using them to ensure history doesn't repeat itself. Joined by experimental pianist Elliot Galvin, jazz percussionist Dave Hamblett, harpist Mary Ann Kennedy and Sonny Johns on bass and guitar, it's tender, heart-wrenching and utterly mesmerising.

Review: Those who have encountered Lucy Dacus before should know what to expect with this long-awaited EP. A collection of tracks, some familiar, others less so, each with the rapidly rising songstress' brooding, emotionally charged approach to music confidently stamped on every note. There are few better examples than "In The Air Tonight", a stark but powerful take on Phil Collins' haunting ode to the frustrations of divorce. When tackling any cover the pressure to do justice while doing something individual is immense. This is compounded when the song is widely regarded as a classic. Here she more than steps up to the mantel, creating something very much in her own vision- chilling and beautiful. These skills are clearly on display again for "Christmas" and "Fools Gold", two more reworked favourites that she takes on with ease, marking Dacus out as a tour de force, despite the relative infancy of her career.

Review: German percussionist Kolja Gerstenberg makes no attempt to hide his love for the drums on this razor sharp drop for Lumberjacks In Hell, building on his previous outings on Suol and Smile For A While. The drums are sizzling hot on "Feel Yo", tastefully overdriven and embellished with some MPC-style sample juggling that should satisfy those who like their house tracks hot as Dante's inferno. "Where They're From" is no slouch either, keeping the pressure up with a liberal dose of soul poured in for good measure. The keys and live bass on "Want You" add to the feverish mood, and then "Get Over" sends things spiraling out on a Latin-spiced cosmic journey.

Review: Following sterling releases from NAP, Same Same and SMP, Isla are back with this smoking joint from I Believe. This is 90s flavoured techno with plenty of sass and sexiness rubbed into its joints - from the throbbing bassline to the steamy samples and subtle dubbiness, this is a late night cut geared towards beautiful, blurry hours of the dance. "Harumi's Groove" and "Outside Time" take things deep and spaced out, while "Red Planet" returns to a more driving, old-skool approach without losing that heady atmosphere. A strongly recommended tip for all those who like to incite passion at peak time.

Review: Saint Petersburg Disco Spin Club is the brainchild of Kito Jempere, who can often be spotted dropping heat on labels like Hell Yeah, Bahnsteig 23 and Bordello A Parigi. As such, he's right at home on Emotional Response, where he opens up the window to his loose-fit band project. The results are fantastic, steeped in studio sorcery with a grainy DIY bite, as bittersweet as it is heavy grooving. "Simple Customers" is especially heavy, with equal lashings of distorted blue-eyed soul, psych and dub, but don't overlook the freaky finesse of the remix of "Can't You See Me" by Auf Togo, Becker & Mukai.

Review: It's taken a while, but Philophon chief (and in-house producer) Max Weissenfeldt has finally managed to finish the album he started working on with Ghanaian Frafra-gospel singers Alogte Oho & His Sounds Of Joy. It's a set that has been promised for the best part of five years, so it's fantastic to see it finally materialize. Musically, it explores similar sonic territory to Oho's previous singles on Philophon (all of which featured music from Weissenfeldt), effortlessly joining the dots between traditional Ghanaian styles, local interpretations of funk and soul, dub-wise reggae rhythms and occasional nods towards contemporary electronic beats. The results are superb, making this a must have for those who love a bit of West African musical positivity.

Review: London beat-maker Hector Plimmer has a wide palette of influences - think off-kilter hip-hop grooves of Flying Lotus, contemporary jazz, British bass music, the soul-fired deep house of Theo Parrish and the jazz-funk influenced skip of broken beat - yet the music he makes is never cluttered, confused or needlessly eclectic. In fact, as this second album proves, he has a clear vision. Deep, soulful, warm and attractive, the set's 13 tracks are universally superb and come laden with vocals from a high-grade cast-list of guests including Andrew Ashong, Emma-Jean Thackray, Ella May and the Pie Eye Collective. It's one of those albums that will almost certainly be slept on, so do yourself a favour and don't let it pass you by.

Review: As part of his Gondwana label's 10th anniversary, masterful Manchester trumpeter and contemporary jazz trendsetter Matthew Halsall has put together a special deluxe edition of his beautiful "Colour Yes" album with thick reverse board sleeves, silver block letter foiling and two printed inner sleeves. First released in 2009, the album showcases Halsall's deeply emotive style across the 8 achingly good, supremely spiritual tracks that glow with gorgeous piano playing, gently lilting drums and his own fantastic leads.

Review: There is a bustling hip hop scene in Manchester right now and the latest to come correct with a full length record to prove it is Abnormal Sleepz. Given that it is a debut, this 15 track collection is a remarkably introspective and vulnerable collection of songs, all beautifully laced with lush downbeat production and late night jazz stylings. This will be a firm favourite with fans of Mouse Outfit and Children of Zeus.

Review: Now you've stopped shouting "there's a new Nick Cave album" at everyone who walks past, comes near or might possibly be in earshot it's about time we dived into the contents of the legendary troubadour's 17th studio album. Be warned, though, what lies beneath is deep and immersive enough to drown in, and even the most effective divers wouldn't find a body. A suitably morose introduction, we think. Digressions aside, "Ghosteen" is a majestic, powerful, operatic experience that will change nobody's opinion of Cave and his band, The Bad Seeds. The works are just as innovative, poignant, graceful, melancholic, euphoric and inescapable as ever. Too many adjectives? We're making no apologies. Consider the title number, if that's not too obvious a focal point. Sparse yet grandiose, narrative driven but metaphorical, organic and earthy yet making incredible use of a theremin. Almost impossibly good, sit back and let it wash over your mind.

Review: There's a curious tension in the air on "Pollination", one of three instrumental pieces released simultaneously by the great Thurston Moore. Not uncomfortable, and yet suggestive of some impending impact, it makes most sense when heard with its compatriots, "Three Graces: Alice Moki Jayne" and "Spring Swells", but nevertheless is a captivating four-minutes or so of music when heard individually. While the other two sound like disjointed warmups and otherworldly, sci-fi-infused crescendos, here things are far more rhythmic, flowing and deeply hypnotic. Guitar chords step over a backdrop of atmospheric echoes and chimes, hook eventually revealing itself to create what sounds like the prog rock equivalent of a shamanic ritual. If anyone had ever questioned Moore's credentials as spirit guide here's proof that he's more than up to the task.