Chico Mann - Analog Drift (2010)

The sounds of Africa have taken multi-instrumentalist Chico Mann—aka Marcos García—all over the world. So it’s fitting that on Analog Drift, his second album and first for Wax Poetics Records, he’s returning the favor. Over the course of twelve thumping, impossibly soulful songs, including a cover of Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime,” Chico Mann introduces the rhythms and guitarisms of Afrobeat to the music of Cuba, the Latin freestyle flavors of 1980s New York and Miami, and the synth-heavy electro beats of dance floors across the globe.

“I’ve spent years learning to speak Afrobeat, albeit with a Cuban accent,” García says. “What I do is engage Afrobeat in conversation with Afro-Cuban funk, while electro and freestyle set the stage. I’m employing several dialects to make a larger musical statement. They’re all branches of the same tree.”

And that’s exactly what Analog Drift is: a statement. It’s saying something. At a time when most artists are blowing smoke in your face, García is blowing soul in your face. Not to mention truth and feeling. Songs like the searching “Mentirosos” and the reflective “Hay Que Correr” are guaranteed to get right to the heart of your matter; plus, synthy rumpshakers like “Anima” and “All That Is Rising” have been proven to get you movin’. So García’s music is good for your mind and behind. And it’s always real. The total package.

Analog Drift is OUT on November 16th on Wax Poetics

John Legend & The Roots - Wake Up! (2010)

A welcome return, given these troubled times, for the singer who has become the beacon of modern, intelligent, inspirational soul music, and with a collection of smouldering, socially aware songs that manage to sound both angry and optimistic at the same time. That they are is hardly surprising, given that, with the exception of the final track, Shine, every song is a leftfield soul protest classic from the 60s or 70s, from a stellar selection of artists including Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, Curtis Mayfield, McFadden & Whitehead and Bill Withers. And Legend has been shrewd enough to go for songs that might not be their best known but are surely among their most interesting, hence a series of often-neglected gems, of the calibre of Hang On in There, Compared to What and Wake Up Everybody, are given the sort of prominence they always deserved.
more here...

John legend and the Roots - Hard Times

VA - What's Nu (2010)

The passion to push boundaries and to look for new innovative styles and sounds within jazz music brought four bands together. Monsieur Dubois, State of Monc, The Jazzinvaders and Flowriders joined forces in the Dutch Nu-Jazz Movement to explore and expand Dutch Nu-Jazz. At the dawn of a new decade they proudly present us the latest, roaring result of their Movement, the second compilation album 'What's Nu?'.
The CD 'What's Nu' is a true milestone in the history of the Dutch Nu-Jazz Movement. Since its foundation in 2006, the Dutch Nu-Jazz Movement has been rooted in solid grounds. These connected bands stir up discussion and confusion about the definition of today's (nu-)jazz. With respect for the traditional jazz and a great sense of tomorrows sound, they win the hearts and minds of thousands by playing the best Dutch Nu-Jazz music the world can groove on.

From Germany and the UK to Morocco and the Ukraine: the Dutch Nu-Jazz Movement rolls though Europe and beyond to get people off their feet and enjoy their new beats and sounds.

more here...

The Dutch New Jazz Movement official page

Bahama Soul Club - Bossa Nova Just Smells Funky (2010)

Bahama Soul Club feat. Xantoné Blacq "Open Wide" by bahamasoulclub

Review by Craig Charles, June 2010 :

I first heard this outfit when they had just started posting music on their myspace page, since then I have been a massive fan!

But then again, the main man behind The Bahamas, Oliver Belz, has a very fine pedigree having been one of the prime movers behind the wonderful JuJu Orchestra.
His debut album as The Bahama Soul Club, “Rhythm Is What Makes Jazz Jazz” was hardly ever off the show, and was one of my albums of the year in 2008.
But the big question is after making such a mark on his debut, can he deliver on that difficult second album.
All the signs are there as he has retained some of the vocalists from the previous album such as Berlin resident Pat Appleton and Bella Wagner from just over the border in Austria, and to augment that very solid base he has also drafted in the combined talents of two of the finest vocalists in the UK, Xantoné Blacq, and one of my personal favourites John Turrell who was recently voted on my show as lead male vocalist for the UK Fantasy Funk Band.

From the start, this album slips into gear with the superb jazz cut that is “King’s Wig” to the last knockout punch of the dancefloor monster “Nassau Jam” I can tell that Oliver has lost none of that Midas touch. There is something quite unique and mesmerising about the sound of The Bahama Soul Club, it is a gumbo in the best sense of the word, throwing in Bossa, Soul, Afro-Latin, and Jazz all into the pot and coming up with a sound that is both immediate, timeless, and above all has the sun shining through every single tune.
The question I asked earlier was, does he deliver on the difficult second album and the answer has to be a resounding “YES!”

Make a friend of this album as, believe me, it will be friend for life, it is that good!

BSC My Space page - BSC feat John Turrell 'Serious' on YouTube

Maddslinky - Special

Maddslinky - Make A Change (2010)

Dubstep pioneer Maddslinky – aka Zed Bias – is back, and he’s signed to Tru Thoughts to release his new album, ‘Make A Change’ on 25th October, with a stellar list of collaborators including man of the hour Skream (who cites Maddslinky’s early work as a major inspiration) plus Mr Scruff, Tawiah, Jenna G, Ghost 1, Mighty Moe, Nile Sugar, and of course Omar, who lends his world-famous vocal talents to the lead single, “Special”.

The album is already in huge demand with repeated radio play of upfront tracks by tastemakers including Benji B (1Xtra), Gilles Peterson (Radio 1), Mary Anne Hobbs (Radio 1), Alex Nut (Rinse FM), and a recent interview and guest mix for Ras Kwame on Radio 1. The album track “Further Away” feat Tawiah was voted No.3 track of the year in the 2010 Gilles Peterson Worldwide Awards, despite not being out yet; and another, “Lost On Tenori St”, was included in Martyn’s recent ‘Fabric 50’ mix.

Madds' Tru Thoughts page - Zed Bias on MySpace - 'Special' feat. Omar (Atjazz Remix)

Bonobo - Black Sands (2010)

There was little in Bonobo’s first two albums – 2000’s Animal Magic and 2003’s Dial ‘M’ For Monkey – to suggest that Simon Green could ever craft anything as grand, expansive and accomplished as Black Sands.

Back then his moniker could almost have referred to his tendency to merely ape other trip hop producers without adding anything substantially individual himself. 2006’s Days to Come might have scooped Gilles Peterson’s Radio 1 listener’s prize for Album of the Year, but even then few would have predicted that four years later Green would have become a one-man Cinematic Orchestra, responsible for an album that can stand alongside Every Day or Ma Fleur as a classic of its genre.

For it’s not just a record label that Bonobo shares with Cinematic Orchestra these days. Like Jason Swinscoe, Green has progressed from predominantly sample-based production to more live instrumentation, although Green plays most instruments himself rather than relying on an extended family of musicians. But, more to the point, Green has become equally adept at mastering mysterious and multi-layered atmospheres.

But although the parallels with Bonobo’s peers are obvious, his fourth album doesn’t just sit in their shadows. Rather, it’s an inspiring example of how, free of pressure and publicity, he has blossomed into something beautiful at his own pace.

read the full Paul Clarke (BBC-Music) article here

Bonobo @ MySpace - Bonobo Ninja Page - "Eyesdown" feat Andreya Triana video