Back catalogue: Funk Soul & Jazz

Review: Multi-instrumentalist Abase and drummer/producer Ziggy Zeitgeist come together for this fantastic collaboration, which explores deep grooves tinged with everything from jazz to psyche, funk to afro. The voice of the South African singer Dumama lends epic cut 'Body Mind Spirit' a rare spirituality while on 'Elevation #1-2', it is more a deeply inward mood that melts your heart. There is a brilliant looseness to 'Phoenix Rising' as its drums and bass percolate like coffee, while 'Nuit Des To'eres' closes with a broken rhythm that keeps you every much on your toes.

Review: Once again, Music From Memory has dug deep for inspiration. Very few will have come across the original 1987 pressing of Ich Traume So Leise, a long-forgotten collaborative album that brought together trumpet player Heinz Becker, songwriter Karl-Heinz Stegmann, and poet Isabel Zeumer. Predictably, though, the tracks which the Dutch label has chosen to reissue are exceptionally good. "Mein Tanzlied", for example, features Becker's meandering trumpet lines and Zeumer's eyebrow-raising spoken word vocals seemingly drifting over an intoxicatingly funky, mid-80s dancefloor groove, while "Dir" is a seriously atmospheric chunk of beatless jazz poetry. Flip for the Balearic electro-funk of "Der Schnupfen" and the languid, new age ambience of "Abends".

Review: Those two little letters GU are always enough to get us excited. They are of course an alias of Glenn Underground, the masterful Chicago house producer, musician and DJ who still has a much lower profile than his talents deserve. Here he adds a Mix Mashup to Bobpstar's 'Mayday/Captured Restless Soul Mixes' and the result is a bubbly, mellifluous deep house cut with warm and liquid synths, chopped-up vocal fragments and a gooey sense of romance. It is another crucial offering from the Windy City mainstay, even if it is a one-sided 12".

Review: Captain Planet is a globe trotting DJ and producer who mixes up worldly roots music with his own fresh take on hip-hop and dancehall. For this one he joined up with Zuzuka Poderosa & Raphael Futura for a brilliant Brazilian disco and funk song that harks back to the 70s and 80s with influences like Tim Maia, Sandra Da Sa & Gilberto Gil. 'Moqueca' though also has some nice dance floor weight to it as well as the richly tropical percussion, steamy horns and seductive chords. On the flip is an instrumental and the good news is this is a taster of a full album to come.

Review: Ten Lovers always manage to find a perfect sweet spot between jazz and house on the music it serves up. This new various artists' effort proves the point well: Marcello Cassanelli lunches the trip with groovy and nodding bass synths and airy vocal cries on 'Fantasia.' Zarenzeit then sinks into a bubbly groove with killer drums and sun-worshiping synths before Stefano De Santis drops some excellent broken beast on his squelchy synth workout 'Song For George D.' Future Jazz Ensemble takeoff into the cosmos and Caruso gets romantic on 'Vestimenta'.

Review: REPRESS ALERT!: Funkyjaws Music is back to make your body move with the latest instalment in its ongoing edit series, Let's Dance, this time with a sixth sizzling volume. Monsieur Van Pratt's loose and languid 'Besame' opens up with some gorgeous strings and funky guitar licks then Kiko Navarro brings a rich Afro flavour with the shuffling and percussive rhythms of 'Bosinga'. Bogdan Ra's 'Get On The Floor' is a fresh take on a disco classic with irresistible vocal charm and swooning pads. Last of all, Zaffa demands you 'Shake It' and you surely will as he layers up wet claps, sliding hi-hats and lively drums into a big-hearted party starter.

Review: After the success of "Jump NYC" last year, the duo of Sabo & Zeb return with more afro funk house in the form of "Afro Azucar". The flip features a gypsy, flamenco breaks remix of Nickodemus' "Gibraltar".

Review: The Luv N' Haight Edits series launched in style earlier this year, enlisting Nico Jaar and 78 Edits to rework two Mike James Kirkland classics to tie in with the annual Record Store Day festivities. This second volume sees Chicago duo Rahaan and Zernell tackle music from Tommy Stewart's self titled 1976 album, recently reissued by the Ubiquity sub label. If you're not familiar with Stewart's work then you need to check that LP, one of the defining releases of the pre-disco era and two of its highlights are given respectful touchdowns on this clear 12". There's an obvious deftness to the way Rahaan and Zernell loop up the intro bars of "Practice What You Preach" before dropping in those killer strings and then launching into the song itself, while the dirty funk of "Bump & Hustle Music" is only made more apparent by the duo's subtle arrangements. Big 12" for the discotheques!

Review: Frequent Bradley Zero collaborator and Rhythm Section International regular Z Lovecraft is up next on record label/radio show No Bad Days, following up great releases by Toronto's Roberto and Polish producer Selvy. Starting out with the lo-slung boogie funk of "The Creator", there's then some nu-jazzy broken beat business to be found on the wonderful "99 Pence Bargain Dub" On the flip we've got the soulful and celestial acid house journey of "Myriad" and then "A Question Of Consciousness" closing out this fine EP in style with its soothing R&B tones and featuring some absolutely sublime organs to help you drift away.

Review: Long time compadres spotted together on Mofunk as far back as four years ago with "Press Play", Zackey Force Funk and XL Middleton collide on the LA funk imprint again, this time sharing the 45" a side a piece. ZFF goes for the soothing touches, smooth with just subtle hints at sleaze while XL goes all out George Jetson with an upbeat juicy space bass strut, sprinkled keys and new jack vocals. Two dope label faces, two killer jams, one fly way to kick off 2018 from Mofunk.

Review: Zaffa Kreations aka Zafra Brothers dropped only two EPs under this alias, one in 1981, and one in 1987. This is a reissue of the former, which for an original copy will cost you a few quid because it has become something of a mini-classic. The EP opens up with 'Will I See You Tonight' (Tony Humphries Special mix) which is a mid-tempo disco stepper with a brilliantly oversized and bulbous bassline, hip-swinging claps and a vocal line delivered with real coolness. The original version appears on the a-side and has more disco energy and a less strident beat for more playful moments.

Review: We knew the Fortuna label was capable of delivering some high-quality output, but this new EP has truly taken us by surprise. The imprint have dub up the timeless music of Lebabon's Raja Zahr, an artist who, alongside the Turkish connection, revolutionised disco music and gave it an extra layer of Eastern charm. These three tracks are a collection of his best and most provocative tunes from the 1980s: "Drum Sequence", as the title suggests, is a drum-heavy, tribal-ridden, disco charmer with fiery electronic twists and turns around its edges; on the flipside, "Dabke" spins the entire formula on its head by delivering a truly oddball piece of pseudo disco that has a lot more in common with the leftfield scene of the modern day, and the rampant "A Drummer & A Dancer" takes the disco blueprint off-piste, and into more bizarre corners that showcase this enigmatic and charismatic artist's abilities. Warmly recommended.

Review: Jazz-funk twosome Zamie (Jadie Kiggundu AKA Ziggy Funk and pal Jamie McShane) impressed with their recent album, Fortuitous. On this EP, two of the set's most potent cuts have been given the remix treatment with club dancefloors in mind. Incognito main man Bluey handles side A, offering up a smooth, groovy and musically detailed take on 'Smash N Grab' that peppers a slap-bass-propelled groove with spacey synth pads, jammed out Rhodes stabs and all manner of life-affirming electric piano solos. Over on side B, Glaswegian veteran Al Kent takes 'Wildfire' down the disco, turning in a near 11-minute, Tom Moulton style rub rich in punchy synth-horns, snaking sax solos and spacey synth solos aplenty. Colourful, grown-up disco with a jazz-funk flex... more please!

Review: ZAN's latest album is currently 26 in the UK soul chart s it's no wonder the label it came on has pressed up this 12" with a couple of mixes of one of its standout tunes on as well as a new jam. The first is an extended mix of 'Follow My Heart' that has timeless synth soul and lush boogie disco drums with wet claps and cowbells a plenty. Then comes Bangsy's 808 disco mix which is a little more blissed out and low-slung with funky guitar riffs and lovely vocal hooks. Also included is the new cut 'Everlasting' which is a dubbed-out, reverb-drenched street soul stepper with retro keys to melt the heart.

Review: Beneath Autumn Sky returns from it's hiatus of several years, and those of you familiar with their releases and remixes for Hefty Records have been waiting eagerly. They are now signed to Organik Records and drop a tasty sampler 7" with cut up downtempo beats and quirky synth bizness.

Review: This EP is just a preview of the very eclectic dub dancefloor stylings of Zeb. Although he makes every song on his own, he sounds like a full 1970s afrobeat band in 'Revolutionary Dreams,' or a Disco Funk group from Nigeria in the 80s on 'Afro Disco'. Flip over the record & you'll hear some of the more familiar gypsy, dub, funk grooves Zeb is known for from Turntables on the Hudson, IRMA Records & Codek over the years he's been producing. Again, this is just a 4 track teaser for the album which is loaded with some of his best tunes to date!

Review: Complementing the release of Biasonic Hotsauce: Birth of the Nanocloud , the new guest heavy album from UK bass innovator Zed Bias, Tru Thoughts lift two tracks to place either side of an impossibly pink illustrated picture disc. "Badness" is Bias' suitably titled collaboration with Croydon lynchpin Skream, cocking a snook at the preponderance of the all too polite productions that swamp the 'don't call it post dubstep' age with some vintage sub bass shudderations. Check the flip for the more percussive tropical rave flex of "Trouble In The Streets" which sees Bias ably assisted by the legend that is Mark Pritchard. Also included is a drop card with unique code to grab the downloads for these tracks, leaving little reason not to indulge.

Review: Far Out Recordings are proud to announce the new project from Nina Miranda and Chris Franck - Zeep. Nina and Chris were involved in two of the biggest selling and critically acclaimed Brazilian influenced acts of the past decade - Smoke City (still remembered for their seminal "Underwater Love" track) - and Da Lata. "Super", on Far Out, really is super.

Review: Zenzile, one of the French pioneers of dub music and undoubtedly one of the most famous, have put aside their instruments for a while to go and explore more electronic lands under the name Zenzile Sound System. Starting the "Meta Meta EP" with a totally unreleased track, "Real Rock", they take us on a journey where hip-hop flirts with dub rhythms and rock guitars. As for "Basstone" - largely influenced by German minimal techno, it will seduce as much deep house fans as Maurizio-style minimal tech enthusiasts. The b-side offers two remixes of the track "Mille Francs Mille Francs" from their album "Meta Meta".

Review: Munich's Zero Crossing with a new EP previewing their forthcoming debut album. Comes with a killer remix from Isolee.

Review: Zero DB return with a punishing Braziliano-dub dancefloor filler, disorientating and ridiculously fat; the world will never seem quite the same again. 'A Pomba Giro' combines disorientating echo with ridiculously fat electronic bass stylings and the kind of rhythm designed to get the hips twitching. Second track 'Te Quiero' continues the theme, this time a sunny piece of guitar, driven mad by a hundred conga players. Since they started properly working together some 6 years ago, Chris Vogado and Neil Combstock aka Zero DB have been concocting a provocative, innovative and addictive brew of hard Jazz, electro, Latin, hip hop and house, laced throughout with their now signature dirty, heavy basslines. After releasing their early records on Vogado's own Fluid Ounce label, Zero DB are now signed to Ninja Tune and ready to step it up with their debut album, 'Bongos, Bleeps And Basslines' scheduled for release in September.

Review: Best known for their 2000 dancefloor flash "Come Party" - a jazz-wise, bass-heavy romp that still gets heavy rotation - Zero DB had a moderately successful career before disappearing from view in the late 2000s. Here they return with "Party Girl", a fresh revision of their most famous cut that adds a little more percussive heaviness and a touch of dubbiness to an already killer jazz-house cut. There are two additional remixes to enjoy, too: a superb, synth bass-propelled broken beat revision by 4 Hero man Marc Mac and a raucous Fixate rework that re-imagines the cut as a sub-heavy slab of jazzy jungle brilliance. It's worth picking up the record for that remix alone.

Review: Group from LA with a sound between big beats and hip hop with reggae influenced lyrical styles. Remixes come from Kraak & Smaak and German dubsters Noiseshapers.

Review: Swedish Brandy Productions presents the "The Calm EP", by Andre Zimma (aka Slope). On this five tracker you will find the up-tempo club-killer "Hope Is On The Way", featuring Terry Lovique. "Time Exists In Memories" gives us a view of the eclectic fusion between electronica, folk, soul and Brazilian flavours. This is a delightful release.

Review: "The Turbulence EP" is the first release from Andre Zimma aka Slope on the Swedish Brandy label. "You know like" could be described as a soulful broken beat number with a catchy bassline combined with strings and Fender Rhodes piano. Also "Music" is a slightly more afrobeat-inspired broken beat tune, with a deep, punchy bassline combined with funky keyboard hooks to keep the party crowd busy. On the flip, "Love is Everywhere" is the ultimate B-Boy tune, packed with funky percussion and string arrangements. Imagine the combination of The Incredible Bongo Band with the funky basslines of Pharao Sanders. Andre Zimma is made up of Daniel Paul Hoffman (aka Daniel Paul) and Hans Scaaf (aka DJ Honesty) - both live in Berlin. The Slope story begins in 1996, the year in which the Urberliner Daniel Paul bumps into the Cologne immigrant Honesty during a party at Berlin's alternative cultural centre Tacheles. Before meeting each other, both have already been musically active: Daniel Paul ran (and still does) the label Cabinet (first shelter for DJs like Tom Clark or DJ ZKY), and already produced electronic music. Honesty, besides producing and running his own label, got into the deeper techniques of making a studio work properly. The most fruitful fellowships start at parties, and as the chemistry between both is right, Hans and Dan decide to join forces on a common project. Slope is born, Daniel and Honesty spend countless nights together, producing ambient electronic tracks in their studio located in the Neue Schönhauser Straße just beneath the tramway tracks. Quite soon after teaming up, their first 12", "Planet H", is released on Interference Records, the legendary label of DR. Motte and Uwe Reineke. In 1997, the first Slope album "No Cookies" follows. Since then, the Slope guys have come a long way, discovering new musical inspirations like great soul artists such as Roy Ayers, Minnie Ripperton, Stevie Wonder and 60s/70s Brazilian music, the soul of Dollis Hill, native tongue hip hop, and, as they say, "all centuries of Detroit", musical frontiers have steadily been pushed further. As a logical result of this evolution, their music is progressively fusioning house, boogie, techno, broken beats more and more with jazz and soul. On an occasional DJ gig, Daniel Paul got in touch with the Berlin-based Sonar Kollektiv label, and will was given the opportunity to run his own sublabel, Mermaid records. Slope's 1999 release on Sonar Kollektiv/Mermaid records exemplifies the 'organic turn' in their music, to which they still stick: smooth, filter & electric 2 (charted by 4HERO, by the way), is a perfect fusion between electronic beats and organic melodies. Also, the first solo release by Daniel P. for Sonar Kollektiv/Mermaid records, "Regulus", that features the marvellous track "Islands", an epic amalgamation of south American guitar and chants with 808 beats, or the solo releases by DJ Honesty ("Honeydrop2" and "Yellow Sunglasses" on Cabinet Records), can be understood as a turn towards a more song-orientated understanding of clubby music. Since this time, the Sonar Kollektiv, full of like-minded artists, has definitely become Slope's home base. A few months later, Slope have caused a sensation, having released the track "Para Los Pinchas", that was licensed by Michael Reinboth for Future Sounds of Jazz vol. 8 (LP only), and a true cult remix of Paul Kuhns "Gateway to Crime" (for the label Crippled Dick Hot Wax). All of this came with rhapsodic feedback from insiders like Little Louie Vega, LTJ Bukem, Nik Weston, Alex Attias, Dublex Inc.... But even that was not enough: In early 2003, Slope released their first album for Sonar Kollektiv, "M", that was very well received. The tracks "Basscheck" (the one that is "so heavy, it needs its own bag to carry it") and "Your Time is Up" (yes, it's a remix of the first UR tune featuring the singer Yolanda, and it's Mad Mike approved) have caused a real buzz: played by DJs like Ewan Pearson, Jazzanova, Gilles Peterson and DJ Spinna, they have caused a global butt move. Since their early producer days, Daniel Paul and DJ Honesty have been spinning records all over Europe, often back to back, moving the people to the max, mixing house, nu Jazz, broken or late night boogie beats. In fact, it really doesn't matter if these two work as producers in their studio or as DJs in Clubs, they know no boundaries! November 2004 saw the release of the M - remixes by Envee, Lars 'LB' Berenroth and Yannick L. The future is dedicated to the release of a new album "Komputa Groove".

Review: DJ Bnx and Ant One's Zimpala outfit come up with a funky track. This tune is basically in the same vein as their well acclaimed "Can't Fall Asleep" single.

Review: Selva Discos broadens its horizons with the next release that celebrates the start of a new series focusing on showcasing the music of contemporary Brazilian artists. First up is Pedro Zopelar, known not only for his work with the anarchic-techno-punk act Teto Preto, but also for the project My Girlfriend and his solo LP - both on Funkineven's Apron Records. Novaterra Vol 1 features the hi-tech jazz of 'Livre', the off-kilter funk of 'Dias Tensos' is wonderfully disorienting, while the UK broken beat influence of Bugz In The Attic or Atjazz are clearly evident on tracks like 'Modo Aviao' or the bittersweet 'Boogie Da Paz'.

Review: Brazilian producer Zopelar brings oodles of South Hemisphere sunshine to his splendid debut outing on Mother Tongue Records. Theer is so much goodness packed into his 7" its a surprise they didn't have to make it 12"s. 'Entre Viagens' is a languid dance with nimble percussion, sun worshiping synths and jazzy broken beats that keep you on your feet. 'Vista' is high class space funk with rugged analogue textures, crispy hits and plenty of Detroit electro funk stylings in the drums. It's a perfect meeting of Brazil, London and the Midwest.

Review: The accomplished Zopelar debuts on the equally superb Clone Royal Oak series with a four-track EP packed to the rafters with his 90s Chicago, New York and Detroit-inspired house grooves. The Sao Paulo-based producer and musician born Pedro Zopelar adds a twist of sound from this homeland into his work and opens this one with 'Astral Dynamics', a deep, widescreen sound alive with bendy synths and noodling keys. 'Arp Magic' is bright, synth-laced and uplifting with ever-busier lines and jacked-up drums. 'Miles Away' is another dreamy cut with cosmic pads and an infinite horizon then 'Dark Places Where I Feel Safe' brings a little unsettling synth work to close.

Review: Skopje Vinyl Convention and Funky Fresh have joined forces for this excellent 7" which offers two Macedonian disco funk classics. On the a-side is Zorica Milosavljevic's 1981 classic 'Disko Par' and here it gets flipped by Funky Fresh's own DJ Goce. The results are streamy, sexy disco with slow-funk bass and soaring strings all finished with a libidinous vocal. Flip it over and the goodnesses continues on Bastion's 1986 classic 'Emil vrati se', also flipped by DJ Goce. This is a more upbeat disco stepper with funk guitar riffs and shiny trumpet leads with a more coy vocal turn.

Review: London resident Zumen is back with another storm trooper. Last time around he gave us some pretty nasty beats that shook bass bins all over the world. This time Zumen explores the deeper sounds of jackin' house on "New Sound" (check the fierce vocal hook) while on the flip he goes all nutty with a dark broken beat stepper with some supa heavyweight drums, dark basslines and fierce Brazilian vocal samples. This one will blow large!

Review: Zy The Way hails from Taiwan and are a jazz ensemble that interlaces their dynamic sounds with ancient Chinese poetry compiled by Confucius. They also bring in more contemporary compositions which results in an utterly original sound and great gateway to some of the world's oldest literary works. They recently finished a debut full-length album and now the single 'Blue Collar' from it comes on limited edition vinyl. The track tells the ancient tale of young scholars in love with a powerful narrative and moving melodies. The one and only DJ Spinna steps up on the flip to offer his own classy deep-house remix.

Review: Individuality, Harmony, Wit.
Originating from the heart of Asia - Taipei, Taiwan, Zy The Way is a fusion collective spear-heading a new musical movement in a digital age. As the offspring of a film director, entertainers and multi-genre musicians, Zy The Way aims to create artistic content that will rock your socks. We believe that true balance is achieved not through the uniting of different social groups, but when we come together with our stories as an individual. Voices and vision, musical styles, personalities, and our own beliefs, Zy The Way is the fabrication of our collective imagination, where no one is left out.

Review: Splendid new jazz/deep lounge band from London. Featuring Steve Gadd (drums), Will Lee (bass), David Temple (sax) and vocals by Joy Malcolm (Moby/ Incognito!), Sharlene Hector (Basement Jaxx), Z-star (slow train).

Review: Zackery Force Funk released his 4x4 Scorpion album in 2019 and didn't disappoint. It was his 10th overall and there hasn't been one since then, which makes this reissue all the more valuable. Across the 11 jams he combines squelchy analogue boogie sounds with cosmic disco energy and low slung funk swagger with help from some of the finest producers in the game such as XL Middleton. The highlights come thick and fast from the sensors 'Around My Way' to the more dusty hip-hop styles of 'Agony' and jazzed up future retro sounds of 'Lil Dutchie'.

Review: Zackey Force Funk and XL Middleton joined forces on the boogie powered electro-disco album Blue Blade Piranha and served up a journey that fuses funk and electronica in fresh new ways. The album features Zackey's distinctive vocals, known for their raw energy, paired with XL Middleton's unrivalled production prowess. The result is a genre-defying experience, where funky basslines intertwine with futuristic beats that showcase this duo's ability to push sonic boundaries and create a groove-laden soundscape that nods to the past while embracing the cutting edge. With its infectious rhythm and experimental flair, the collaboration stands as a testament to innovation as well as being irresistible to the hips.

Review: From interesting people comes interesting music. Zeb, the child of Italian gypsy parents, moved to England at an early age of 16 and played guitar with the band "The Indians" at 18. After moving to NYC, Zeb helped start the great party Organic Grooves. "Stop the Earth, I Want to Get Off!" is a superb album that spans the world in eastern dub and folk, bossa, funk, afro beat and everything else that Zeb challenged himself with. Zeb plays guitar and bass, but he doesn’t stop there. Zeb also produces, arranges, programs and mixes his own music effortlessly. On "Para Fugir" and "Preto", guest vocalists Andrea Monteiro and Carla Alexandar provide guest vocals.

Review: Melbourne-rooted Ziggy Zeitgeist started his future jazz collective Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange in London, but now it's firmly established in Berlin and you can hear it in the vibe on this new record. Striking a sweet spot between the strict 4/4 pulse of the German capital's cultural calling card and the expressive lilt of spiritual jazz, Zeitgeist and co. have created a tight new extrapolation of jazz's modern flirtations with club music. Let 'Galaxy' unfurl around you, and you could quite picture being mid-flow on the dancefloor as much as the elevated musicianship cavorts around the motorik pulse, even if the band don't need to rely on a kick drum to guide them.

Review: Since they started properly working together some 6 years ago, Chris Vogado and Neil Combstock (aka Zero dB) have been concocting a provocative, innovative and addictive brew of hard jazz, electro, Latin, hip hop and house, laced throughout with their now signature dirty, heavy basslines. After releasing their early records on Vogado's own Fluid Ounce label, Zero dB are now signed to Ninja Tune and ready to step it up, with their debut album, "Bongos, Bleeps and Basslines". Their main starting point is usually jazz, but they dip into a multitude of different influences and work with talented musicians and vocalists to create a track. In contrast to the general climate of somewhat old, tired, formulaic and unmemorable dance music, Zero dB's meticulous production forces their audiences to discover previously undeveloped musical places. "A Pomba Girou" kicks off BB&B by combining disorientating echo with ridiculously fat electronic bass styling and the kind of rhythm designed to get the hips twitching. Title track "Bongos, Bleeps & Basslines" eschews the usual "nice" factor inherent in all things proto-jazzy, taking the music's rhythmic drive and harnessing it to earth-rumbling bass noises and enough squelching and bleeping to fill a large aerodrome with monged-out ravers. "Conga Madness" is Latino-space music, a pummelling, hard-as-nails rhythm. "Know What I'm Saying?" heads in a slower, more hip hop-influenced direction, verbals being beautifully delivered by Pase Rock, sometime member of Five Deez and regular Spank Rock collaborator. "Coisa De Gringo" returns to the production pair's love of turbo-charged, cyber-punk Latin, combining raw bass with a true musicality which elevates the tune to levels of euphoria it couldn't manage by use of rhythm alone. Heidi Vogel adds the requisite sweetness, the delicacy of her vocal perfectly offsetting the drive of the music. "Anything's Possible" is a super-mellow chunk of hip hop that draws on the classic early nineties school of Premier and Pete Rock, the finishing rap touches from New Orleans native Voice, whose cool school styling and thoughtful lyrics place her in the tradition of Bahamadia, Ladybug and What What? "Te Quiero" builds with all the beautiful self-evidence of classic house music, a variety of influences thrown into the blender in order to produce something pumped up and downright evil enough to blow away any of the froth which usually passes for Latin-influenced dance music. "On the One & Three" keeps the flick knife hip shimmies going right to the end, where "Sunshine Lazy" rounds things off in epic style with sweaty, drowsy, hot weather psych r&b. The result is hard-edged and exhilarating, a record which is destined never to end up on the Starbucks stereo. Not least because it would blow up the woofers.

Review: Since they started properly working together some 6 years ago, Chris Vogado and Neil Combstock (aka Zero dB) have been concocting a provocative, innovative and addictive brew of hard jazz, electro, Latin, hip hop and house, laced throughout with their now signature dirty, heavy basslines. After releasing their early records on Vogado's own Fluid Ounce label, Zero dB are now signed to Ninja Tune and ready to step it up, with their debut album, "Bongos, Bleeps and Basslines". Their main starting point is usually jazz, but they dip into a multitude of different influences and work with talented musicians and vocalists to create a track. In contrast to the general climate of somewhat old, tired, formulaic and unmemorable dance music, Zero dB's meticulous production forces their audiences to discover previously undeveloped musical places. "A Pomba Girou" kicks off BB&B by combining disorientating echo with ridiculously fat electronic bass styling and the kind of rhythm designed to get the hips twitching. Title track "Bongos, Bleeps & Basslines" eschews the usual "nice" factor inherent in all things proto-jazzy, taking the music's rhythmic drive and harnessing it to earth-rumbling bass noises and enough squelching and bleeping to fill a large aerodrome with monged-out ravers. "Conga Madness" is Latino-space music, a pummelling, hard-as-nails rhythm. "Know What I'm Saying?" heads in a slower, more hip hop-influenced direction, verbals being beautifully delivered by Pase Rock, sometime member of Five Deez and regular Spank Rock collaborator. "Coisa De Gringo" returns to the production pair's love of turbo-charged, cyber-punk Latin, combining raw bass with a true musicality which elevates the tune to levels of euphoria it couldn't manage by use of rhythm alone. Heidi Vogel adds the requisite sweetness, the delicacy of her vocal perfectly offsetting the drive of the music. "Anything's Possible" is a super-mellow chunk of hip hop that draws on the classic early nineties school of Premier and Pete Rock, the finishing rap touches from New Orleans native Voice, whose cool school styling and thoughtful lyrics place her in the tradition of Bahamadia, Ladybug and What What? "Te Quiero" builds with all the beautiful self-evidence of classic house music, a variety of influences thrown into the blender in order to produce something pumped up and downright evil enough to blow away any of the froth which usually passes for Latin-influenced dance music. "On the One & Three" keeps the flick knife hip shimmies going right to the end, where "Sunshine Lazy" rounds things off in epic style with sweaty, drowsy, hot weather psych r&b. The result is hard-edged and exhilarating, a record which is destined never to end up on the Starbucks stereo. Not least because it would blow up the woofers.

Review: Zero dB's 'Bongos Bleeps & Basslines' album remixed. High points from Dibaba, Nwachukwu, Raymond In Space, Dave Da Gato, Raphael Sebbag,
ATFC, Goetz B, Peter Kruder and Daedelus. As any recording geek knows, Zero dB is the optimum level for recording. Yet the duo who have taken
this studio jargon as their moniker place no limit on their production other than to flap ears, trigger nods and shake tail feathers wherever and whenever
it's played. Rewind to September 2006, when 'Bongos, Bleeps & Basslines' hits the streets sprinting, hurdling genres and kicking its analogue spikes
into the bland face of all who stand in its path. 'Heavyweight Gringos', this debut artist album, 'Ninja Tune's best release ever' according to Trevor
Jackson, had dirty jazz 'n' bassmeisters Zero dB propelled overground long enough to tour their bangers and mash it up at parties around the world,
before burrowing back underground. It's from here that Chris Vogado (one of the dBs and Mr Fluid Ounce, the label that launched these boys back
in 1999 with 'Come Party') masterminded this remix album, 'Heavyweight Gringos'. Vogado approached 27 members of the Fluid Ounce Friends &
Familia crew plus Ninja and Big Dada stablemates and laid the whole 'Bongos, Bleeps & Basslines' album at their disposal. These heavyweight remixers
plundered the dB drives and picked their perfect partners for the dance.

Review: Iconic label Strut have really hit their stride in 2010 with a veritable slew of retrospectives, compilations and artist albums covering everything from disco to Sowetan Jazz. They round off a fine year with the auspicious introduction of a new series of mixes called Disconnect with Leo Zero at the helm. The concept behind this series is to invite Strut's favourite DJs and producers to explore the darker, more extreme corners of their record collection. Armed with this creative freedom, Leo Zero has delivered 75 minutes of delightfully subversive music that sets the standard high for subsequent volumes. Commencing with the lilting afro beat of Desmond & The Tutus - surely Tigersushi's most underrated act? - Leo draws on his fifteen years experience as a DJ and producer with a Balearic mix in the truest sense, veering effortlessly between spiky 80s punk funk, reggae that sound tracked Zero's Soulsonic parties, a Sting cover version, nu beat chuggers, kraut rock and EBM throbbers. This is an invitation to consume the lesser broadcasted reaches of a record collection you should not turn down. Golf claps to Strut for including a bonus CD that has eleven of the tracks in unmixed format!

Review: Scissor & Thread are one of the foremost labels providing a modern, electronic take on dub and related genres. ZG, meanwhile, is the moniker of London based Zansika Lachhani and Grant (aka Anthony Collins, and the Tony in Frank & Tony). Meeting online and mutually respecting each others' approach to music production, ZG soon set out to make an intriguing take on jungle n' drum n' bass. With vocal contribs from Zan, the LP reflects inspirations from 4hero to Source Direct, while also bringing an electric experimentalism to the sound.

Review: Originally recorded and released in 1994, 'Siren' was Zion Train's third album and the one that started the dub dance phenomenon that swept the globe, spawning hundreds of imitations. This remastered version is being reissued as a heavyweight LP (including the original CD bonus tracks) and a CD, and is part of Zion Train's 15th anniversary.

Review: Originally recorded and released in 1994, 'Siren' was Zion Train's third album and the one that started the dub dance phenomenon that swept the globe, spawning hundreds of imitations. This remastered version is being reissued as a heavyweight LP (including the original CD bonus tracks) and a CD, and is part of Zion Train's 15th anniversary.