Lemonade Belgium レコード& CD

Review: The brainchild of Ghent musician Pieter Santens; Studio 58 is the result of almost 10 hours of jams with members of Compro Oro and Big Whoop. Reduced to six pristine grooves and two skits, the final product hits that perfect combination of a warm, loose spirit but fully focused and dynamically arranged. From the wily switch between vibraphone and snaking wah wah guitar on "Red Seats Carpets" to the soft sunrise soul and jazzy swoons of "Midnight Wires" via the chugging club-focused tribal drums and Rodgers-level riffage of "Lalibela", this is a superb and highly immersive work of groove art.

Review: When life gives you lemons... Sell them for the highest price and grab this debut from Arno Lemons Lemonade imprint. Technically this is a sampler of the first album Cup Of Tea (due soon on all accounts) but it's an album unto itself as - after three breezy, loose-limbed jazzy house cuts from Studio 58, Cody Currie and Lockwood - we're treated to an array of fizzy DJ tools, skits and refreshing experiments such as Vicking's razzed-out seasick p-funk and the lilting strums and Dilla-nuanced drums of Mambele's "Loops & Love". Creatively thirst quenching, sticky and perfect on a hot summer's day, Arno's onto something here.

Review: The latest full-length missive from Arno Lemonade's fast-rising label may be confusingly presented, but there's much to enjoy. The A-side is officially a three-track EP from label regular Lockwood, who smothers a variety of leisurely jazz rhythm tracks in Kamaal Williams style keys and his own impeccable, atmospheric deep house electronics. On the flipside you'll find an expansive, six-track label sampler that brilliantly flits between beat-less spoken word loveliness (Numen), blazed instrumental hip-hop soundscapes (Fungku, Yarno and Vicking), deep and jazzy electronica (Title) and 2000 Black style broken jazz-funk (Pippin). Most of the latter are arguably a little too short at between two and three minutes apiece, but they're all admirably horizontal and atmospherically produced.