Staff Picks w / c 3rd February 2020

Review: Those who've been paying close attention will know that Alex 'Omar' Smith has been mixing things up musically of late, veering away from the deep Detroit house he's famed for in order to explore a wider range of influences. New album "You Want" doesn't exactly reverse this trend, but it is far more rooted in his particular brand of seductive, off-kilter deepness and techno-tinged hypnotism than recent singles. That's undeniably a good thing, because nobody does crunchy, machine driven club jams better than the Motor City producer. There are nods towards Italian style piano house, disco, broken beat, jazz funk, Masters at Work and - more surprisingly - industrial techno (see the filthy closing cut) - but the resultant cuts don't sound like anything other than tried-and-tested Omar-S club jams.

Review: If you've caught either Khruangbin or Leon Bridges live before, or indeed listened to anything by either band or producer-singer-songwriter, you'll know where this 20-minute EP is heading. The sleeve art, which gives more than a nod to the 1960s hippy movement, also offers a major clue.

Tripped out, smoked out, lackadaisical, bliss-infused overtures, honied and syrupy, easing you in so far that you don't quite realise how hard it is to crawl back out of the sugar-coated opiate haze. A collection of heady, hallucinogenic work for 21st Century high plains drifters, it's jazzy, psychy, lush soulful fare you'll be wanting to hear again and again, capturing the heat and slow pace of America's southern states with heartfelt songwriting from genuine masters. The result is something very special indeed.

Review: February 2020 marks the tenth anniversary of the release of Gil Scott-Heron's final studio album "I'm New Here", a set that was later brilliantly reworked by Jamie XX in 2011 ("We're New Here"). To celebrate the album's tenth birthday, XL Recordings has decided to offer up "We're New Again", a fresh "reinterpretation" of the Richard Russell produced set by contemporary jazz hero and beat-maker Maya McCraven. His vision is loose, languid, deep and jazzy, with languid jazz drumming, tight hip-hop beats, soft-touch instrumentation, liquid jazz solos and funk-fuelled basslines combining beneath Scott-Heron's gravelly spoken word vocals. It's an inspired re-invention all told and one fully in keeping with the essence of Scott-Heron's own work. In other words, it's a must-have.

Review: During the 1990s, Age was one of the most used aliases of man-of-many-pseudonyms (and all round techno legend) Thomas Heckmann. He released many singles and two albums under the alias, with the first of the latter - 1994's "The Orion Years" - being the most celebrated. This 25th anniversary edition of that set proves why. While the track listing is slightly different from the original version (a couple of tracks have been omitted in favour of unheard cuts produced in the same period) it remains a fantastically spacey, far-sighted and sci-fi focused set that brilliantly blurs the boundaries between techno, acid, electro, ambient techno and electronica - all bubbly TB-303 lines, firm beats, alien melodies, deep space chords and undulating basslines.

Review: After delivering some killer reissues over the last few years, Mr Bongo's brilliant Brazil 45s series has reached "buy on sight" status. It goes without saying that the label's latest double-header of hard-to-find Brazilian gems is white hot. A-side Neno Exporta Som's impossible-to-find 1971 gem "Deixa A Tristeza", a wild and life-affirming fusion of samba and funk full of fuzzy sax solos, glassy-eyed vocals and heavyweight grooves. Over on the flip you'll find another killer cut from '71: "Sumauma" by MPB star Agnaldo Rayol. Blessed with a great groove and incredible arrangement, it sounds like a Brazilian take on the sort of over-the-top songs used to open James Bond movies in the 1970s (albeit with a bit of samba sunshine thrown in).

Review: This New Year, Jeff Mills is inviting us to look inward in the form of his Every Dog Has Its Day series. The last time we had an installment came 17 years ago, just enough time for a periodical cicada to emerge from theground, finished with its former life as a nymph. The sixth edition of this series is soon to follow in spring dressed in brown, continuing to deliver a spiritual and emotional raft for you to see that Every Dog Has Its Day. Mills himself has said, "You never figure out life, you just get used to it." Reflected in this record is that sentiment, that life doesn't present to you the answers because there are none. What is right and just for you, may not be for me, so how can I share with you any secrets. Electronic music can act as a guide, a catalyst of your headspace; it is not the map.

Review: With its wildly versatile, open-minded but business-driven music industry, the UK can't help but fall victim to the hype circus from time to time. Bands garner praise, and before you know it there's a debut album out everyone is telling you to fall in love with, despite the fact you know there's nothing to adore.

Fear not, HMLTD early adopters, we also know the London quintet are every bit as good as the words and phrases talking them up, and prove it on this inaugural long form. To ignore influences of glam rock and new romanticism is to disregard many of the troupe's stylistic traits, but those are really only half the story. Diving into "West Of Eden" is like welcoming all - or at least many - of Britain's contemporary sounds into your personal space, from trap and electro to post punk and guitar artiness. Exceptional stuff we'll leave you to explore further.

Review: It took Steve Spacek almost 13 years to deliver a follow-up to his acclaimed 2005 debut album "Space Shift". Happily, he's not made us wait nearly as long for "Houses", his sequel to 2018's brilliant, Eglo-released "Natural Sci-Fi". More importantly, it's arguably even better than its predecessor, with Spacek combining his weary, soft-focus and effortlessly soulful vocals with a rich, warm and woozy musical palette full of echoing Rhodes electric piano chords, sci-fi electronics, sub-heavy basslines and grooves that largely - but not universally - tend towards the deeper and more experimental end of the house spectrum. The results are every bit as inventive, enjoyable and forward thinking as you'd expect.

Review: Czech label Detach launched back in 2015 with some low key firepower from Moll+, and now they're back with a split release that showcases some fiery upcoming talent in the field of experimental electronica. The sound DYL is exploring on "Phrases" is rabid and deconstructed, but equally bristling with analogue energy. Senking jumps in with DYL for the more rhythmically structured "Destroyed City Lights", which balances sweet and savage tones beautifully. DYL and DB1 create a stern, percussion led variation of electro on "Uniformity Of Nature" and Senking's solo piece "Launch" jettisons off into misty blue pools of synthetic expression, making this a record that surprises and satisfies at every turn.

Review: A few months back, iconic New York house label Strictly Rhythm notched up three decades in the business. To celebrate, the label's current owners (BMG fact fans) have decided to offer up a series of celebratory compilations featuring some of the imprint's biggest dancefloor hits. There's plenty to set the pulse racing on this first volume, from the stab-heavy, rave-era filth of CLS's "Can You Feel It (In House Dub)" and the wild acid insanity of Wink's "Higher State of Consciousness (Tweekin Acid Funk)", to the bouncy, mid-to-late-90s US garage chunkiness of Groove Patrol's "Need Your Love", Hardrive's "Deep Inside" and the organ-heavy sweatiness of George Morel's "Let's Groove".