New releases last four weeks: Broken Beat/Nu Jazz/Nu Soul

Review: Son of Todd Osborn (Soundmurderer/Ghostly) Kaito Ian makes a hugely impressing first outing on the Galaxy Sound Co label with a series of lo-fi hip-hop beat-strumentals that cannot fail to get your head nodding. He is a dedicated music lover and skater with a deep knowledge of his craft and that shows here with some refined sounds starting with the soul drenched 'Revert', then on to the warped angelic vocal samples of 'Sequoia' and the percussive jumbled and scratching of 'Trek'. 'Wait Up' is another excellently blissed out joint and 'Sloan' is a sunny, laid back, lazy vibe to close down a superb EP.

Review: Producer Soul Supreme is back with another 7" record, delivering two new phat'uns to that subsection of fans who prefer things on the wonkier side. Following earlier, acclaimed tributes the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, J Dilla and Mos Def, the new 'Dues and Don'ts' b/w 'Fraud Fades' 45 features two, all-original jazz-funk groovers by the Amsterdam-based keyboardist and producer. The former track burns slowly, carefully building up around a harpsichord improv, Herbie Hancock style, coming heavy-set by a thick and booming drum backing that soon enough late-blossoms into a cinematic, stringed soaring-on-high. The latter track pays complementary homage to the funk drum breaks of yore, with the central drum line around which the track is built echoing Serge Gainsbourg or Clyde Stubblefield, albeit making conspicuous its own electronically sequenced, not entirely live-performed, feel.

Review: Dal Platinum is back once again like a reneged master. His last outings on the fantastic Breakbeat Paradise Recordings came in the form of a remix and a huge Powerhour free download and now he comes correct on a new 7". He kicks off by bringing some crashing breakbeats and funky drumming to a hip-hop classic on 'Breath & Strut', while the melodies are full of soul. On the reverse is a much sunnier sound - 'Peace Dust' is driven by a big bassline with some nice organ stabs and a fiery vocal leading the vibes up top.

Review: Yuki Kanesaka returns with a delicious uptempo remix-cover of Herbie Hancock's thoroughgoing jazz patent, 'Watermelon Man'. In respectful contrast to Hancock's original piece, Kanesaka deploys a to-the-letter rendition of the original's opening Hindewhu whistle hoot - also heard on the mashup B-side - and keeps up Hancock's intended 'mathematical balance' with a nonetheless meatier, dance-ready EQ balance. Legend has it that this was Hancock's first ever song to be composed with commercial success in mind; we're not surprised at its continued proliferation, appreciation and reproduction across the globe - and now in Japan, no less.

Review: Well Curated is a series of releases and parties that - in its own words - "reflects the ethnomusicology of the last 50 years of music" - and aims to reach into all genres, merging classic styles and breaking down barriers. Steve Spacek occupies the A-side with the breezy broken beat and soul-in-space of 'Alone In Da Sun', while Lukid's 'Hair Of The Dog' is a more intense counterpart, with wobbling sub-bass and swirling, surging atmospherics hovering above.

Review: New York City's Jennifer Vanilla - aka. Jennifer Vanilla and Brian Abelson - offered a portal into a colourful world of innovative electronic sound with their 2022 debut album Castle In The Sky, traversing a new wave, post-punk, art pop, and experimental r&b aesthetic. Now Love Injection - the just as wonderful duo of Barbie Bertisch and Paul Raffaele - team up for a booster jab to bolster Vanilla's original shot of liquid amour, also delivered via the medium of 12". Here the original track features in full naked glory on the B-side, while two live-giving remixes from Love Injection - 'Earthly' and 'Celestial' - appear on the A and B respectively. The former takes its time, through djembe and hopeful pad wash, to deliver a blissfully organic take on the original; the latter aims more squarely for the flickering stars, and is more immediate in feel. An overall exquisite, deep, spiritual house release, with an unusually soft and dubbed-out palette, reminiscent of the deeper ends of Y2K broken beat and wild, long-form nocturnal galas a-la Joaquin Claussell.

Review: Second time around for Sneaker Pimps' Six Underground, the lesser-celebrated follow-up to the duo's renowned 'Spin Spin Sugar' single (famous, of course, because of Armand Van Helden's influential 'Dark Garage' remix). While the revisions included here - all initially released in 1996 - did not make as big an impression, all four have stood the test of time impressively. The headline attraction is a pair of Two Lone Swordsmen rubs, which are amongst the earliest reworks Weatherall and Tenniswood laid down under the alias. The vocal and instrumental takes are low slung trip-hop tracks overlaid with heady electronic elements. Elsewhere, Nellee Hooper channels the spirit (and sound) of his work with Massive Attack, and Hull boys Fila Brazillia lay down a typically deep, dubby and slowly evolving downtempo workout.

Review: Nick and Astro, known collectively as Potatohead People, join forces once again on a tantalising teaser 7" from their upcoming album, Eat Your Heart Out'. Featured on 'Paradise' is the highly hyped Canadian artist Diamond Cafe, whose velvety vocals grace this early 80s-inspired blend of digital sex funk that will remind you of Sade, El Debarge, and Prefab Sprout. Describing his music as "bathing in a cloud of honey on a very foggy night," Diamond Cafe's performance is nothing short of magic here. On the flipside, Nick Wisdom puts his spin on the track, infusing it with dub elements and enhancing the bassline.