Monday, December 29, 2014

Tycho : Awake

For nearly a decade, Tycho has been known as the musical alias of Scott Hansen, but with the release of Awake – his second LP for Ghostly International – the solo project has evolved into a three-piece band. Relating closer to post-rock than ambient soundscapes, the record is situated in the present, sounding more like Hansen than drawing from his influences. “This is, in many ways, the first true Tycho record.”
 

Bonobo : Return To Air

Simon Green, aka Bonobo, is an artist very much at the peak of his powers. His 2013 album ‘The North Borders’ was the high watermark of his career to date: a masterful record, marrying Green's inimitable melodic genius to cutting edge electronics, bass and drums. An artist that constantly pushes himself outside of his musical comfort zone, Bonobo’s ranging personal tastes and regularly expanding range of synthesizers and instruments continue to take his productions to new levels. This outlook has earned him a reputation as one of the most pioneering figures in electronic music, in both his solo DJ sets and 12-piece live band shows.
 

The Budos Band : Up From The South

The Budos Band is an instrumental band recording on the Daptone Records label. The band has nine members (with occasional guests) who play instrumental music that is self-described as "Afro-Soul," a term and sound which - in a 2007 interview - baritone saxophone player Jared Tankel elucidates as, being drawn from Ethiopian music the band had been listening to that had a soul undercurrent to it, which the band then "sprinkled a little bit of sweet 60's stuff on top" of. Jazz, deep funk, Afro-beat, and soul influences can be heard in the Budos Band recordings, all of which were released on Daptone Records and recorded at the label's own studio, Daptone's House of Soul, in Brooklyn, New York. Though they reside in Brooklyn The Budos Band have toured most of North America, Several countries in Eastern Europe and parts of Australia.
 

Saturday, December 27, 2014

D'Angelo : Sugah Daddy

When it comes to long-awaited, it doesn’t get much more long-awaited than new music from Michael D'Angelo Archer, better known as D’Angelo. Think Chinese Democracy level long-awaited. Detox level long-awaited, even. So, without further ado: here’s the full, official studio version of ‘Sugah Daddy’, a song that soul music’s ever-elusive prodigal son and his new band, The Vanguard, first played live on their celebrated 2012 tour. Welcome back, D.
 

Floating Points : Nuits Sonores

Sam Shepherd aka Floating Points is one of the driving forces behind Eglo Records. As a Co-Founder and the first artist to release on the label, its fair to say that the young Mr Shepherd contributes a large piece to the Eglo puzzle. A neuroscientist by day, Dj/Producer/Composer by night, Floating Points knows no boundaries when it comes to creativity and expression. Classically trained from a young age and with a strong passion for Jazz, Floating Points has progressed into one of the worlds most exciting producers, as well as one of the club scenes leading Dj's.
 

Ed Thomas : Hurt

Groovy and melancholic at the same time, this track appears on the "Outlaws Ep" from new electronic singer songwriter Ed Thomas. Worth checking !
 

Slowly Rolling Camera : Into the Shadow

Slowly Rolling Camera formed in Cardiff in 2013 and brought together four wildly talented musicians from diverse backgrounds. The result was a captivating hybrid of these influences: trip hop, jazz, soul, electronic music fused into a new and unique soundscape. The product was their eponymous album, released on Edition Records in February 2014 and received ecstatically by press (including UK’s Guardian and Germany’s Stern Magazine) and audiences alike.
 

Friday, December 26, 2014

GoGo Penguin : Break (Bonus Track)

"Jazz, techno, hip-hop and dubstep are glimpsed here, but for all the looping motifs and dance floor vibes, this is the work of three sure-footed improvisers with deep jazz roots" The Guardian
"v2.0 showcases a group marking out their own musical world" The Times
"One of the most formidable three piece groups in the world right now" Gilles Peterson
"A really brilliantly modern piano trio that takes in the whole history of music. I think they're really special" Jamie Cullum
“A stirring re-evaluation of what a piano trio should sound like in the 21st century”
 Barclaycard Mercury Prize