TOM MISCH レコード& CD

Review: Second time around for London singer/songwriter/beat-maker Tom Misch's debut album "Beat Tape 1", a set appearing on vinyl for the first time some six years after the digital download version appeared online. It's well worth your attention, in part because Misch's blend of crispy hip-hop beats, warm and sun-kissed instrumentation (think Rhodes, gentle jazz guitar, boogie bass, toasty bass, and woozy backing vocals) is both highly entertaining and uniformly on-point. Those who study instrumental hip-hop will spot subtle nods towards some of the sound's greatest beat-makers - Dilla, DJ Cam, Mitsu The Beats, Guru etc - but Misch's sound is undeniably his own. A previously overlooked underground classic.

Review: As fast-rising underground stars in their own right, you'd expect any collaborative album from soul-fired South London singer/songwriter/beat-maker Tom Misch and prolific jazz drummer Yussef Dayes (best known for his now long-running collaboration with Kamaal Williams) to be rather good. "What Kinda Music" is, with the pair mixing and mangling elements of soul, jazz-funk, electronica and jazz, a set that defies easy categorisation. Both musicians exceed themselves throughout, with tipsy electronics, sweeping strings, bass, effects-laden guitars, woozy synth lines and Misch's heartfelt, soul-flecked vocals offering a perfect foil for Dayes' loose-limbed, headline-grabbing drumming.