Review: Few labels are better at saving up big cut-and-paste tunes from the world of hip-hop, r&b, funk and breaks than Heat Rock. Here they come again with more of the goodness, firstly with Nick Nack. His 'And Ya Say' roll deep, with smooth bars flowing freely over the leggy drums. On the reverse, Chicago's Altered Tapes crew offer up their own unique take of hip hop classic 'Still Running' in the form of a shuffling Bossa B-boy flip which has Latin percussion and ass-wigging drums. Both of these are floor-friendly cuts that pack in plenty of heritage.
Clear Water (feat Deantoni Parks, Jeff Parker, Sanford Biggers) (4:31)
ASR (feat Jeff Parker) (7:33)
Gatsby (feat Cory Henry, Joan As Police Woman) (4:18)
Towers (feat Joel Ross) (3:34)
Perceptions (feat Jason Moran) (2:16)
THA KING (feat Thandiswa) (6:17)
Virgo (feat Brandee Younger, Julius Rodriguez) (2:41)
Burn Progression (feat Hanna Benn, Ambrose Akinmusire) (4:02)
Onelevensixteen (2:41)
Vuma (feat Thandiswa, Joel Ross) (3:20)
The 5th Dimension (feat The Hawtplates) (5:29)
Hole In The Bucket (feat The Hawtplates) (5:31)
Virgo 3 (feat Oliver Lake (Arr), Mark Guiliana, Brandee Younger, Josh Johnson) (6:52)
Review: "It's a little bit of all of me, my travels, my life," says Meshell Ndgeocello, speaking of her latest album The Omnichord Real Book. Referring to the 'first real book' she ever read - the experience of life after her father's passing - the album is a testament to free-flowing, lived sensoriality in time. An antistatic rip-roar through memory and decay in blue, this is a stunning two-sided jazz-esque album packed with features and far-flung stylisms. In the artist's words, the LP slippily rails against the confines of the word 'jazz' itself. And if you can pull that off, well...
Review: After years spent working alongside a talented pool of jazz musicians as the Neue Grafik Ensemble, Fred N'Thepe has decided to go solo for the first time this decade. Dalston Tapes Vol 1 is, according to Rhythm Section International, a conscious attempt by the artists to return to his beat-making roots. It's an album, then, rooted in hip-hop mixtape culture, where vocal numbers featuring guest MCs sit side by side with rap-free "beats" - lusciously and impeccably crafted instrumentals in which warming bass guitar lines, deep electronic sub-bass, sparkling electronic motifs and choice samples cluster around loosely swung, MPC-driven beat patterns. It's a great collection all told, with nods towards club-ready broken beat and deep house sitting side by side with Dilla-esque workouts and references towards London's vibrant hip-hop and grime underground.
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