Back in stock: Broken Beat/Nu Jazz

Review: Be.Lanuit is bringing Ibiza back to its roots as a bohemian nexus in everything he does. As a DJ, artist and fashion designer, he's been projecting good vibes absolutely drenched in Balearic wholesomeness and so it's no surprise to see him linking up with that most chill of Danish labels, Music For Dreams. Lanuit's debut album is a gorgeous sunburst of the softest grooves accentuated by tender fingerpicked guitar playing. It's got just the right amount of thump in the low end to keep your head nodding even as the melodies intertwine with your mind and carry you far away. If you need a dose of Ibiza magic in your day, this album is a fast track ticket to the White Isle.

Review: Multi-instrumentalist and composer Isaiah Collier connects with divine ancestors on a transcendent Direct-To-Disc session, Parallel Universe. The Chicago-based innovator and educator is heard to open up new dimensions in the jazzwise continuum on this LP; a saxophonist by trade, his multi-instrumental talents and compositional prowess have thus far stretched the limits of the form, and Parallel Universe once again embraces the risk and vulnerability that is oh-so-native to the live process he knows all too well. Featuring gospel soul singer Jimetta Rose, AACM and former Art Ensemble of Chicago trumpet player Corey Wilkes, blues-rooted guitarist Michael Damani, regular collaborators Julian Davis Reid, James Russell Sims and Micah Collier, the eight-track album bristles with a sense of love and understanding between players at the top of their game.

Review: What can you say about this amazing album that has not been said before?! Originally released in 1996 and quickly becoming one of the most important pieces in the history of sampled music, its legacy continues to grow while Shadow remains the archetypal example of a crate digging producer. Everything from jazz, spoken word, hip-hop and more was sampled into this cornucopia of sound - in many ways the zenith of the impressive output of James Lavelle's revered Mo''Wax label - and you wouldn't be surprised if it ended up in the Smithsonian for what it has accomplished and meant to the scene.

Review: Critically acclaimed British jazz pianist, composer and arranger, Greg Foat has been making quite a bit of waves in the jazz scene as well as his groundbreaking albums that feature artists in other genres. His latest album 'Live At Can Rudayla Ibiza ', is an homage to the magical sound of the Mediterranean. Ibiza has long been known for its night life but perhaps not known as well outside the chill out scene sound, that the area has a sound all to itself. Inspired by his highly regarded and recent album with Gigi Masin, Greg Foat explores the themes further. Pool Side parts 1 and 2 shimmer with beautiful soundscapes that set the mood wonderfully. 'Dining Table Grooves' gives a hint at the late-night sounds to come in Ibiza while the sunset tracks close the album out with an almost chill wave sound that we absolutely adore. If you are looking for an album to put on as guests arrive to your beach home, this is the album you want to play. Greg Foat is a beacon of light for the future of jazz fusion.

Review: After a two-decade interlude, Jim O'Rourke's Moikai returns with Spectral Evolution, a major new work by Rafael Toral. Making his name in the mid-1990s with influential guitar drone platters like Sound Mind Sound Body and Wave Field (both reissued by Drag City in recent years), Toral has never been one to rest on his laurels repeating past glories. In the early years of the 21st century, Toral began his "Space Program", a 13 year investigation of the performance possibilities of an ever-expanding set of custom electronic instruments, played with a fluid phrasing and rhythmic flexibility inspired by jazz. Dedicated to honing his skills on these idiosyncratic instruments, Toral founded his Space Quartet, where his mini-amplifier feedback integrates seamlessly into the frontline of a classic post-free jazz quartet rounded out with saxophone, double bass, and drums. Since 2017, Toral's work has been entering a new phase, often still centred around the arsenal of self-built instruments developed in the Space Program, but with a renewed interest in the long tones and almost static textures of his earlier work; he has also, after more than a decade, returned to the electric guitar. Spectral Evolution is undoubtedly Toral's most sophisticated work to date, bringing together seemingly incompatible threads from his entire career into a powerful new synthesis, both wildly experimental and emotionally affecting.