Brownswood 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Kokoroko, a London-based eight-piece featuring musicians with disparate cultural roots and a love of improvised performance, have long been tipped as future stars of British music. Could We Be More, the award-winning outfit's debut album, more than delivers on the promise of their previous singles, offering up a set shaped by their communal love of Afrobeat, dub, Highlife, percussion workouts, spiritual jazz and smooth grooves. Highlights come thick and fast throughout, from the deep and sun-splashed shuffle of 'Ewa Inu' and the warming, sunset-ready soul-jazz of 'Dide O', to the horn-heavy celebration that is 'We Give Thanks' and the Balearic, beat-free bliss of 'Home'.

Review: Kokoroko have been on all world music lovers' radars since their very first and very impressive EP on Brownswood back in 2018. Now we are treated to an expansive and adventurous debut album on the same label that sees the group build on their great early start. Could We Be More has been preceded by new single 'We Give Thanks' and draws plenty of inspiration from the highlife and jazz sounds of West Africa, the Afrobeat and psych-funk sounds of the 70s and plenty of modern broken beat styles. Each tunes swells with emotion and evokes good times.

Review: Kokoroko very quickly broke through with the last EP on Brownswood. The talented musical collective stuff their tunes with elements of afro, funk, soul and jazz and each one makes an indelible mark. This new EP offers two more such gems: first up, 'Baba Ayoola' has silky drumming that would make Tony Allen proud. The lead trumpets and mellifluous chords all make for a rich sonic tapestry that is ripe for dancing. On the flip is 'Carry Me Home' with more big horns and complex drum patterns, as well as some soulful vocal coos to finish it in style.

Review: Members, Don't Git Weary is a Max Roach classic that now gets reissued by the Gilles Peterson-curated Arc Records. It has been mastered in mono from the original analogue tapes by the multi-Grammy winning Bernie Grundman. It comes with new sleeve-notes featuring Charles Tolliver and Gary Bartz and never before seen images of Roach from Warners archives. Originally released in 1968, it's a highlight of Roach's discography with post-bop sounds and modal workouts, some of which are written by Roach, some by Stanley Cowell and one by Gary Bartz.

Review: Secret Night Gang are poised for greatness, beaming out of Manchester with a dazzlingly sunny jazz funk sound which is right at home on Brownswood. Fronted by Kemani Anderson, this supremely talented band have all the chops you could wish for, melting buttery Rhodes, honey-coated sax, slinky bass and liquid guitar lines into the pot and laying it on smooth. From upbeat party pieces to cosy, baby-making fodder, this debut album rightly places them in the cut and thrust of the contemporary jazz scene, and they brim with more than enough talent to take themselves very far indeed.

Review: One of this year's Mercury Prize nominees, Wisdom Of Elders sees London saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings hitting a new ambitious high as he recorded the whole body of work with a troupe of South African musicians led by Mandla Mlangeni in one single day. Aptly described as afro-futurism, the collective melt down nuances of jazz, psychedelia and traditional South African music to paint a unique picture that's delightfully frenzied yet soulfully smooth all at once. From the big Rhodes washes and vocal textures of "The Observer" to the dramatic percussive tumbles and lonely trumpet of "The Observed" by way of epic multi-suite adventures such as "The Sea" and the incendiary opener "Mzwandile", Wisdom Of Elders lives up to its name with a spirit that's at once both future and timeless.

Review: Brownswood Recordings have become something of a meme, cementing their very distinct jazz sound with every new release. Str4ta's 'Str4tasfear' is the latest LP from the project (which consists of Gilles Peterson and Jean Paul Maunick), painting a vague party-jazz homage to the dawn of the Brit-funk era, but they're not being too succinct about any overarching message beyond that. The songs here are danceable, and that's their main focus. 'Lazy Days' is the drawer-inner - with Emma-Jean Thackray's singing lulling us into a state of preferring not to go to work - while 'Night Flight' opens the bay doors into an instrumental space lounge. All sizzlers.

Review: Gilles Peterson and Bluey's Str4ta project has always been something of a nostalgic offering, with the pair exploring their mutual love of Brit-funk, jazz-funk and dancefloor grooves of the early 1980s. Naturally, they've loosely stuck to the same winning blueprint on sophomore set 'Str4tasfear', with the addition of an impressive cast-list of collaborators, a touch more production polish and a subtly wider set of inspirations only enhancing the listening experience. The results are uniformly impressive, with our picks of a very strong bunch including the slap-bass sporting, floor-friendly brilliance of 'Turn Me Around', the Maze-esque 'Night Flight' (all squelchy electronic bass, glistening jazz guitars and colourful synthesizer solos), the sweat-soaked jazz-funk disco heaviness of 'Lazy Days' (featuring Emma-Jean Thackray) and the super-sweet 'When You Call Me'.

Review: Str4ta is a joint project that includes Gilles Peterson and Jean-Paul Maunick aka Bluey, inspired by 80s Brit funk bands. In 2022, Str4ta released their third album Str4tasfear for Gilles's label, Brownswood Recordings and this 12" stamped white label offers two dance remixes of two tracks from Str4tasfear. For the A-side, 'To Be As One' is remixed by Venom with vocal by Theo Croker. This soulful house version is jazzy and slightly psychedelic, that gives off a tremendous 70s vibe to it, while the second side sees 'Lazy Days' is remixed by Wallace, adding a bit more of a Latin house feel and features Emma Jean Thackray on vocals. Both versions turn the originals into the perfect dancefloor shufflers for eclectic people. This is the perfect 12" for house, soul and Latin DJs to express their more jazzy side.

Review: South African jazz-influenced sounds take the lead on this new companion from the tireless Brownswood label. The collection explores the linage of the sounds and communities who helped it evolve as is spread across the country meaning plenty of subtle synths are taken in. The eclecticism is what makes this so essential as the music ranges from the hugely spiritual (from The Brother Moves On) to more late night and inmate (tasks to a fine entry from Sibusile Xaba) via the neo-soul drenched styles of Thandi Ntuli's beautiful 'Dikeledi' which is a particular highlight.

Review: Yussef Days, a virtuoso drummer, has injected fresh energy into contemporary jazz and broken beat genres through multiple innovative projects, each showcasing his remarkable talent. One of them is The Yussef Dayes Experience which recently dropped its Live At Joshua Tree Presented By Soulection album and now follows it up with another live album, this time from Malibu, on Gilles Peterson's revered Brownswood label. It features music from his critically acclaimed debut solo album, Black Classical Music, and plenty of other gems on limited vinyl with features from his usual longtime collaborators Rocco Palladino, Venna, Elijah Fox, and Alexander Bourt.

Review: Yussef Days is a masterful drummer who has invigorated contemporary jazz and broken beat scenes with several different and equally brilliant projects. The Yussef Dayes Experience Live At Joshua Tree Presented By Soulection is the latest and finds him anchoring music that is inspired by the world's most well-known nature reserve. It is a spiritually uplifting selection with the likes of Elijah Fox on keys and synth and features five tracks that will transport you to the blissful location in an instant.

Review: Brownswood Recordings has high hopes for this debut album from the previously unheralded Yussef Kamaal, which brings together hyped producer Kamaal Williams (AKA Henry Wu) and fast-rising Afrobeat drummer Yussef Dayes. With such talent to draw on, you'd expect Black Focus to be rather good. Happily, it is, with the duo delivering a typically London-centric take on jazz funk. That means that they take as much inspiration from the work of Kaidi Tatham as, say, Herbie Hancock. The key to the album's success - and, yes, it is generally as special as Gilles Peterson suggests - is the fluid combination of Dayes' brilliant drumming and Williams' superb synth solos and effortlessly groovy Rhodes playing.