Back catalogue: Broken Beat/Nu Jazz/Nu Soul

Review: UK-based United Freedom Collective unites a throng of talents from Jordan Stephens, Falle Nioke, Eliza Shaddad, Labdi, William Rees and Facesoul, emerging from a collective yogic and breathwork practice before mutating into a full musical outing. Debuting on Maribou State's Dama Dama label, they now return to Multi Culti for a psychedelic five-tracker documenting the euphoric somatic states reachable by the confluence of entheogenic therapy and progressive house production. A through-composed odyssey in many keys, 'Bright Patterns' opens the proceedings with piano-led vocal house, complete with sliding leads and oceanic feels, continuing in this way until a steel-panned sunriser takes form on 'El Yo', and 'Moonshine' brews its own blissful future garage vat.

Review: After a four-year hiatus, Urban Volcano Sounds returns with their eagerly awaited single, "Disco Taberna," released on 7" vinyl. Known for their Balearic crossover style, urban boogie influences, and elegant sound production, the track showcases their signature blend of lush strings and soulful melodies. "Disco Taberna" is a nod to the golden age of 70s disco, capturing the era's opulence with meticulous production. The track's lush arrangements and soaring strings reflect a deep respect for the classic disco era, while the urban boogie influences add a modern twist. The single's release follows the inclusion of their track "Ame no Uta" from their previous album "Blue Hour" in the "Tangent" compilation by Nick The Record & John Gomez, released by MR.BONGO in July. This feature has further cemented Urban Volcano Sounds' growing reputation, both in Japan and internationally. "Disco Taberna" not only reaffirms the group's commitment to high-quality sound but also highlights their evolving influence in the music scene. The single's blend of nostalgic and contemporary elements promises to captivate both longtime fans and new listeners alike.

Review: Uhlmann Johnson Wilkes is the debut album from Gregory Uhlmann, Josh Johnson and Sam Wilkes, a collective of three versatile improvisers, arrangers and producers whose work spans jazz, rock and experimental. Across 11 instrumental tracks, they explore a jazz-informed take on progressive electro-acoustic chamber music that brings beauty, melody and rhythm to the fore. The record was conceived during live shows and a home session in Los Angeles and features Uhlmann's mournful fingerpicked guitar, Wilkes' bass chording and Johnson's effect-laden saxophone. Their arrangement-minded improvisation results in some nicely otherworldly textures as they push their instruments to create a spacious, lyrical sound.

Review: Check classic dance music books of the 1990s - and even some later music texts, such as Richard King's The Lark Ascending - and you'll find plenty of praise for Ultramarine's work of the early 1990s, which added pastoral and folk-rock inspired sounds to the sample-heavy pulse of dance music. What you won't find is any reference to their final album of the decade, A User's Guide. Yet it may well be their best album. A conscious exploration of techno and IDM shot through with references to Detroit, Berlin and Sheffield (well, Warp Records at least), it reportedly took the duo almost two years to record. A largely unheralded British techno classic, it has been painstakingly remastered for this first ever vinyl reissue and boasts extensive contextualising liner notes from UK techno historian (and sometime Juno writer) Matt Anniss.

Review: Hydeout Productions continue their full comprehensive recataloguing of Nujabes' work, not only those of his immediate productions, but also the works of the lives of others whom he'd touched through collaboration. Saxophonist Uyama Hiroto was a frequent collaborator of Nujabes', appearing as early on in the latter's storied career as 1996's Modal Soul; it may be said that this mere fact was enough to launch Hiroto's career in his own right, and his debut record A Son Of The Sun is a testament to this fact, evidencing Hiroto's preoccupation with themes of freedom and heliophilia. This debut has Nujabes' unmistakable mix thumbprints all over it, but the headspace is decidedly polished and yet more expansive, and is all produced by Hiroto despite the association and similarity; his saxophone shines best and most brightly non-hip-hop cuts such as 'Climbed Mountain'.

Review: It's been seven years since Freeform Jazz was released as a new frontier for Uyama Hiroto. Now hearing Japanese label Roph return to the jazz and hip-hop artist receive a second round of recognition, we get a thorough reminder of the directions in which jazz can be taken when not mired neither sophistry nor overcomplexity; the liners on this one remind us, likewise, of the reversals and flip-sides of every substance on Earth, that "If there is no movement, there is no stillness, and on the flip side, if there is no stillness, there is no movement." Hiroto's last record, Freeform Jazz, was his obverse side to Breath Of Love; one is duskier than the other, but the works are inseparable - so make sure you listen to the former too. Here though, we hear Hiroto synergise with participating artists Substantial and J Soul, both based in Virginia, as well as Marter and Reinaria; all the artists reign supreme over one wax side each, casting a healthful vocal light over Hiroto's otherwise impeccable recordings, as though they were each happily-ever-after kingdoms anointed in sound.