Back catalogue: Broken Beat/Nu Jazz/Nu Soul

Review: On his new 12" for his own kickstarter label Cosada, easy riser Laseech beseeches us to dance. Jazzy, soulful house music enlists the emosh but unrushed voice of Swaylo, snaring the essence of heartfelt house in a power-of-three-tracks net. Awakening the legend Ron Trent from his slumber, his deep, percussive touch and copy-paste-happy vocal science adds a happily haphazard twist. Inspired by the melodic landscapes of the Adriatic, the inaugural label name "Cosada" holds out a personal meaning for Laseech, drawing from both an idyllic island and the street where his studio lies, symbolising his continued hope to make timeless music.

Review: Four artists with a taste for classic deep house infused with more than a touch of house line on the Silver Walker label's sixth release. Following releases on the likes of Local Talk, Balance, Traxx Underground, Mate, Quintessentials and upcoming projects on Nervous and NDATL, Shaka opens proceedings with a flurry of Hammond and plenty of exotic percussion, lie Alan Hawkshaw riffing with Underground Resistance. Glenn Davis (Wolf, Yore Records, Deeper Groove and Selections Records) delivers a deeper house workout on the A2 house track, the jazzy keyboard chords, fluttering flute and restless synths working real magic. One of the masterminds behind the Silver Walker label, Diego aka DFRA, comes on all perky with the saxes and soloing Rhodes, on the second side's opener, 'Nitewax'. Then we close with Damien aka Keymono (founder of several labels including Monocturne Records and Funkyshirts) laying on the handclaps of classic disco strings, the snippets of funk guitar and vibes the cherry on top.

Review: A veritable wave-making machine in the infinity pool of British nu-jazz, producer Tom Funk rocks up with another 12" instalment in his The Sultan's Swing Project, linking with Colin Curtis Presents for a five-track EP to complement the three LPs reeled off the top so far. The usual grift of jazz, jazz-funk and acid jazz instrumentation - plus trip-hop, downtempo, dub, Balearica, and Latinesque beats - are heard in full swing here, with an extra linseed oiling for the dancefloor. Rapid club-bound bossa nova sets the scene on 'Thinking Of You', while 'Copenhagen Connection' suggests a potential sonic espionage link between London and Denmark, as a moment of Baltic dark jazz marks the only point of downtime on the record. A closing 'As I Walk On By', replete with guest singer, redrapes the Dionne Warwick hookline in looser jazz culottes.

Review: SFJ, formerly Sunglasses For Jaws, introduces 'Drifting', a nine-tracker tracing one duo's evolution from humble beginnings in a friend's shed to a fully realised studio in East London. The London duo blend lounge, experimental and groovy 70s influences with a modern edge. The offbeat 'Computer Spiritus' brings a quaint curiosity about it, while 'Chasing' prefers a fader-happy vignette in funky, action-sequent frequencies. Only the latter half of the record provides any longer extension, 'Bad' being the baddest of them all.

Review: Shawn Lee steps into untamed territory with Toe Rag Rhythms, a perc-ky odyssey trading in polish for pulse, spontaneity, and raw funk energy. Departing from his usual tightly composed fare, this session hears Lee, a seasoned multi-alias musician and composer from London, joined by four more percussionists, losing himself in a jungle of drums, shakers, bells, and earthbound textures. Lee adds tinkerbell piano lines to ground-lift the otherwise swirling, syncopated chaos, finishing each tracks with a loose-limbed, hypnotic charm. Whether the humid bounce of 'Tropical B Boy', the cinematic swirl of 'Dance Of The Pharoahs', or the laid-back snap of 'Rainforest Hum', this record easily earns its place alongside global groove rarities. Wild, rhythmic, totally addictive.

Review: Smoove props up his rep as a highly consistent big beat, funk and disco crossover producer with a freight-class shipment of 'Heavy Goods'. Somersaulting out from his Geordie soul group Smoove & Turrell - on top of his sought-after multi-track vinyl re-edits, as well as his remixing prowess across hip-hop, soul, and funk - this Jalapeno Records follow-up continues Smoove's recent favourite postal theme. Indeed, the postal system is what keeps us afloat (and cue the boundless irony of Royal Mail's latest sale to a Czech billionaire, the name of whose LLC is, apropos of online music retail, "EP Group"). Betty Black & The Family Fortune, Emma Noble, Kraak & Smaak, Izo FitzRoy, The High & Mighty, and Bahama Soul Club, all are all loaned Smoove's Pygmalion hand, honing a musing work of art from many a die-cut classic. Whirlwind D's 'Labels', Izo Fitzroy's 'Blind Faith' and TGH Collective's 'Higher Collective' are special versions too. Assuming you didn't already know the songs in question, you really wouldn't be able to tell the edit jobs from the originals. Mint condition!

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


It's a while since we last heard from Spiral Deluxe, the deep house/nu-jazz fusion project of Jeff Mills, fellow Underground Resistance affiliate Gerald Mitchell, jazz guitarist Kenji Hino and Buffalo Daughter member Umiko Ohno. Having previously released two EPs (in 2017 and 18 respectively), the quartet has finally got round to recording a debut album. Fusing beats and electronics rooted in deep house, jazz-funk and - in a roundabout way - Motor City tech-jazz - with the virtuoso playing of Hino and Ohno, the set delivers a more fluid, instantaneous and loose-limbed exploration of the jazz-house blueprint drawn up by St Germain in the early 1990s. Basically, it's an album that draws the best out of its contributors, and there's no greater praise than that.