Antti Lötjönen - Circus/Citadel

Finnish bassist Antti Lötjönen returns in February 2023 with his second Quintet East album on We Jazz Records. With Verneri Pohjola on trumpet, Mikko Innanen and Jussi Kannaste on saxes, and Joonas Riippa on drums, Quintet East is a hard-hitting ensemble of Helsinki scene A-listers. The new release sees the quintet work with Lötjönen’s inspired new music with remarkable spirit, spreading out on a quest for new sounds and ideas, and returning to base with a fresh batch of acoustic creative music, wild to the bone even when sounding completely in control.

Circus/Citadel is essentially a coherent album, rather than a series of loosely connected compositions. There’s plenty of diversity within Lötjönen’s compositions and the band’s dynamics, yet it all flows into one effortlessly, creating a suite of sorts, even outside of the title composition which consists of three parts. During the course of the album, the quintet often gets together in smaller formations: in trios and duos of different combinations of the players. The music breathes and maintains its energy at all times, leaving plenty of headroom for the all-out quintet “attacks” when needed. It all comes together in a shape that feels unified and cyclical, leaving the listener hungry for repeated listens in order to get deeper into the many layers found within.

Antti Lötjönen says:

“These compositions vary in terms of form and density, with each player having enough room to re-invent and expand on the music within the pieces. I wrote this music over a relatively brief time span. This, I think, is something you can also hear on the album, as the temporal closeness of the ideas brings with it a certain kind of unity. The world we live in sometimes feels like an absurd circus, from which you need to get away from to get new ideas and energy. Everyone needs their citadel, whatever it may be. This pairing of the two words Circus/Citadel is inspired by a poem by the Romanian-born German-language poet Paul Celan (1920–1970).”  

Tracklist:
1. Circus/Citadel, Pt. I (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)
2. Circus/Citadel, Pt. II (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)
3. Circus/Citadel, Pt. III (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)
4. Ode to the Undone (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)
5. Defenestration (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)
6. (for) Better People (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)
7. It Goes On. (feat. Mikko Innanen, Jussi Kannaste, Verneri Pohjola & Joonas Riippa)

Adjà - IRONEYE

Adja is Brussels-based creator, singer and performer Adja Fassa, an artist rapidly making a name for herself in Belgium and a multidisciplinary with big plans. On the 24th February, she is set to release her debut EP ‘IRONEYE’ via the groove-obssessed Sdban Ultra.

In a direct line from her personal growth to her artistic practice, Adja translates through jazz, soul, gospel and her ever-expanding and transforming experience of reality, simultaneously using the creative process as a vehicle to make known to herself the answer to those inner questions. Her goal: making her spiritual path in this life as tangible as possible. A force of nature on stage with warm, sensual vocals, Adja is evocative of artists such as Erykah Badu, Solange and Lianne La Havas.

Besides being a musician, Fassa is also a theatremaker, working towards what she calls "Sophisticated Soul in a hybrid concert format.” Her music takes centre stage, with her live shows gradually taking on an evolving theatrical character: telling stories through song, accompanied by sensory elements such as scent and symbolic images. All this stems from a desire to shed light on the plane of existence between everyday existence and the hidden stories from our collective memory.

On her music, Adja adds, “I am exploring what 'spirituality' means in this society, in the here and now. This, by not only treating it as an elusive abstract thing, but exploring how to make it as tangible as possible, which for myself means sharing sincere self-reflection with the outside world. I hope in that way to support those who are searching for the trigger to their own catharsis, as I wish to be one of many artists at service of those who are actively searching, actively trying to evolve. I hope some of those people resonate with my music and feel it moves them in the way they need to open up and start a new conversation with themselves, at whatever point they are in their life. I believe the first step to a better world is to look inward, but there is no reason we can’t do that together and share some laughs and cries while we do so.”

On stunning lead single ‘Told you so” she states, “‘Told you so’ is a song about integrity. In a way, I feel blessed with a curse. The curse of rapid failure when I deviate from what is true to me: It seems that, whenever I am - purposely or unpurposely - dishonest with myself, I crash and burn really fast. A blessing in that sense that it seems my Soul's purpose does not let me waste time, a curse because it means that the teachings of life rarely feel like a gentle push and often like a slap in the face.”

From a young age, Fassa always tried to understand the deeper layers in herself and others. A traveller in heart and soul, she studied theatre at KASK in Ghent and then in 2015, travelled to India and Nepal to immerse herself in yoga and other practices focused on the (sub)consciousness. Returning to Belgium to study jazz and vocals at the Leuven Conservatory, she began to combine her singing, theatre, and physical performance. She won the prestigious Sound Track competition for young talents in Flanders in 2021. 

Tacklist:
1. Told you so
2. To be naive
3. Default mode (interlude)
4. SambaFassa
5. What we are not supposed to feel

*Bonus (Told You So - Live)

Saint Abdullah - Evicted In The Morning

A unique dialogue between the electronic textures of Saint Abdullah with the live drums of Jason Nazary (Anteloper).

Saint Abdullah consists of Tehran-born brothers Mohammad and Mehdi Mehrabani-Yeganeh, who have been exploring a diverse palette of sounds over their releases to date, including collaborations with Eomac on Nicolas Jaar’s Other People label, and Model Home on Purple Tape Pedigree, as well as their own duo album on Important Records.

Jason Nazary is a drummer and composer from Atlanta and based in Brooklyn. Fascinated by the intersection of acoustic and electronic music, Jason has been a force in New York's creative music scene for over a decade. As well as his own solo work he also co-leads a number of ensembles, among them the dystopian electro noise duo Clebs with singer Emilie Weibel, and until recently Anteloper (International Anthem), an improvising modular beat shredding duo with the much-missed Jaimie Branch.

Tracklist:
1. Evicted In The Morning
2. Stub Of A Cucumber
3. The Azure Sky
4. Insistently, Mystically
5. Mirror Of Infinity (feat. NAPPYNAPPA)
6. Divine Timing Is Intuitive (feat. Petter Eldh)
7. The Butchers’ Shop (feat. Petter Eldh)
8. Being Lovesick Is My Trend
9. My TV Was Colorless (feat. Emilie Weibel)

Tunico - Tunico

Far Out Recordings proudly presents the self-titled debut album by Rio de Janeiro born multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger Tunico. Honing Brazilian roots rhythms like maracatu, forró, and samba, to combine with a global contemporary jazz outlook, the newcomer adds a modern classic to the ever rich vein of Brazilian instrumental music.

Consider it a natural evolution from the legacies of greats like Quarteto Novo, Hermeto Pascoal, Banda Black Rio, Tamba Trio, and Dom Um Romão, Tunico’s debut brings together an eye catching ensemble of talents from the Rio jazz community, with whom he performs on a weekly basis at celebrated live sessions and jam’s at venues like Macuna and Comuna Lapa, which often go on all night.

Released in 2022, the album’s rip-roaring lead single “Galope” features the effervescent vocals of Katarina Assef, as well as consummate solos from all over the band, as Sounds & Colours put it “…it exudes distinction and promise”. “Sambola” calls on the signature swagger of Far Out favourite Antonio Neves, indulging us in irresistible swinging samba-funk, undeniably reminiscent of the aforementioned Banda Black Rio in their late 70s heyday.

Born and raised in an artistic Rio household, Antonio Secchin aka Tunico’s father was the painter Guilherme Secchin, whose original work is lovingly repurposed to create the album’s cover. Antonio learned his trade on guitar from a young age, which remains his primary method for composition, but at the age of eighteen he started to gravitate towards the saxophone, and in particular the soprano sax, from which he now leads bands despite being entirely self taught. He would develop his skills busking on curbsides and metro stations before becoming a mainstay player in venues and clubs around the city.

When the pandemic struck, Antonio retreated to his family home in the Rio countryside. With time and space to breathe and reflect in a natural environment, he set to work at fleshing out the compositions he’d written throughout his musical life into full bodied works. His affinity with his rural surroundings is reflected in the luscious, blossoming feel of this groovy, mystical and poignant instrumental debut album.

Tracklist:
1. Galope
2. Sambola
3. Decolagem
4. Saudade do Sucupira
5. Solar das Hortências
6. O Que Virá

Waan - Echo Echo

WAAN represents the musical marriage of seasoned saxophonist Bart Wirtz and keyboard wiz Emiel van Rijthoven. As a pair of self-confessed tech nerds hailing from The Netherlands, their bromance was a slow burning one, but nevertheless their eventual collaboration fulfilled a dream that they’d both held close since first working together back in 2010.

The symphonic soul mates formed WAAN - a Dutch word literally meaning “delusion” but in the more positive sense of “living in the moment” - originally as a collaborative live band but eventually came to the conclusion that the creative process was best kept between the two of them. Any other instrumentalists were used as guest session musicians and the pair found themselves running the project in a way more akin to dance music producers. This of course had an influence on the music itself, which the duo wanted to be more crossover and have a more experimental edge to its sound.

By 2018 much of the album you hear today had been recorded, with many tracks being born out of the freestyle jams that Bart and Emiel had engaged in. One great example of that is Chivat, originally recorded as a jam with Bart leading the way on the saxophone and Emiel adding edgy keys with arpeggiators on top. Once the basic sketch of the song had been worked out, the band recorded the final version, as well as a more mellow alternative take that also appears on the album. Singles Omi and KinK sprang to life in a similar way, with the former emerging from a sombre Ethiopique bass & drum groove and the latter out of a Dr. John style voodoo beat conjured up during one of the final recording sessions the band made.

Elsewhere, certain tracks had more complicated and convoluted journeys. Lost was born out of Emiel’s confusion about what WAAN’s identity actually was, and it wasn’t until the addition of Bart’s Harmoniser saxophone, and several versions down the line, that it became the track you hear today; Frequence started as an irregular drum and bass pattern, still in time, but randomly played, and was eventually brought to life with detuned Gamelan drums, harmonised clarinet and saxophone plus a heavy synth solo that takes it from daunting and earthy to ethereal and heavenly; elsewhere 1974 is named after its musical structure, and grew from Emiel’s minimal piano, with something of a Philip Glass feel, to something way more epic and orchestral thanks to Bart’s layers of counter-rhythmic sax, flugelhorn, French horn, trumpet and a colossal wall of synths that give it an immense, symphonious finale; Hard Cane Bone started with a bass line and an unusual melody that doesn’t really fit the key, giving it a more sinister Dirty Harry type of soundtrack feel; and The Cricketer (a track named after the duo’s favourite pub in Manchester, England) only found its feet when a guiro - a Mexican percussive instrument made from an animal’s jaw - was added to give it a more foot friendly feel; and finally in contrast, Open, the last piece of music to be recorded on the album, was written in one session and was more of a collaboration between Bart and Oscar de Jong (Kraak & Smaak) with Emiel adding synths and new session players in the shape of drummer Mark Schilders and Rik Kraak providing bass and “noise” - perhaps the shape of things to come?

The album’s title reflects the relationship between WAAN’s two members. They are the echo of each other’s echo - a symbiotic and never ending musical relationship. The appellation also suggests that you’ll definitely need to listen to this collection of songs at least twice to discover the myriad of subtle details and influences that are on show. Influences as disparate as Floating Points, Belgian band Stuff, BadBadNotGood and Eddie Harris. Echo Echo is far more complex than just being a dance music influenced jazz record. Co-producer Oscar de Jong encouraged the pair to play freely as part of a jazz group and then add the electronic elements. As a result the album owes as much to Duke Ellington and Lalo Schiffrin as it does NERD and The Eurythmics! We hope you return to it again and again.

Tracklist:
1. KinK
2. Open
3. Chivat
4. Lost
5. Omi
6. 1974
7. The Cricketer
8. Frequence
9. Hard Cane Bone
10. Chivat

*Bonus (live at the Eminent Studios)

Wun Two - Fruta Dorada

After releasing the singles ‘gonzo’ and ‘dorada’, Wun Two is finally revealing his EP ‘fruta dorada’. Wrapped in chill hip hop beats with subtle synths notes from time to time, the atmosphere of this new project could hardly be described as simply relaxing: it is also mysterious and, somehow, unexpected.

Tracklist:
1. dorada
2. gonzo
3. moldi
4. cadaverin
5. zement

Meemo Comma - Loverboy

Planet Mu welcomes back Meemo Comma for her third album 'Loverboy'. 'Loverboy' is a shift in gear from Meemo Comma’s previous works, speeding up the tempos and rhythms, it's set in the nineties with trance, breakbeat hardcore and jungle as some of the influences.

After playing a club gig in Spain as lockdown rules were loosening, Rix-Martin was reminded of the power music and people coming together creates. ‘Loverboy’ is peppered with influences from friends past and new as well as artists that have transformed the sound of Meemo Comma over the years, including Autechre, Guy Called Gerald, Orbital and Shitmat as well as others.

On this journey we follow ‘Loverboy’ through the club as the night builds and different characters are met, from dropping the first pill to a euphoric ‘Cloudscape’ whilst waiting in the queue, to meeting some shady sorts in ‘Loneheath’. The album changes pace throughout with different rooms of the club being explored which add to the brevity of Rix-Martin’s production style on tracks such as 'Kyle' and 'AK47'. 

What started as a personal joke about Rix-Martin’s background formed a narrative for some darker, cheeky breaks that echo back on title track ‘Loverboy’, a track that Rix-Martin describes as “working class gender euphoria”.

Maybe the mask has come off, and the shackles of pseudo-intellectualism have been put to rest for an honest, fun and ‘propa cheeky’ rave album instead. 

Tracklist:
1. Cloudscape
2. Loneheath
3. Bit Of A Boy
4. Whitehawk
5. Ignite
6. Kyle
7. AK47
8. Loverboy
9. The Rush
10. Crisis
11. Andro
12. EX-P1
13. Bubble Bag

OkoŃski - Magnolia

The studio at 122 West Loveland Avenue was not an unfamiliar space for Steve Okonski, the leader of his eponymous trio Okonski. Ever since the Colemine label set up shop in Loveland, Ohio it has been a host to a number of groups passing through town, including Durand Jones and the Indications who all of this trio’s members have connections to. After setting aside some time in winter of 2020, Okonski, trained initially as a classical pianist, invited Michael Isvara “Ish” Montgomery and Aaron Frazer to work on an album that was initially planned to be beat driven and fully composed trio instrumentals.

After finishing this first session with some improvisations, a second week was booked in the summer of 2021 to try and capture some more of that spontaneous energy. During this session, the tracks were all improvised and recorded live to a Tascam 388 during several late nights at the Colemine HQ. They were structured to allow the group’s collective intuition to fully shape the melodies and arcs of the music.

The album opens with Runner Up, where a triumphant yet melancholic melody in the piano leads to a more reserved B-section driven by the drums and bass of Frazer and Montgomery. As you journey through the remainder of the album you are met with a plethora of evoked and explored emotions. The calmness one has walking down a moonlit street after midnight, the connection one has for a person who comes into their world for just a moment or a lifetime, and the nerves and catharsis one feels when starting upon a new, unknown journey.

Magnolia closes with Sunday, a track that was recorded late into the night at the close of their first recording session. Without the spontaneity of Sunday, the remainder of Magnolia would likely have never come to fruition.

Magnolia was composed from the heart and from the spirit of those in the studio those late nights in Loveland. It is the culmination of an emotional and artistic release that was not afforded or recognized before the band sat at their instruments, and because of that it is introspective, meditative, spiritual, and new.

Tracklist:
1. Runner Up
2. Field Museum
3. Old Friend
4. Dark Moon
5. Song For My Sister's Son
6. Walking To A Home
7. Sunday

Quentin Braine - What's Beyond

After accompanying world, soul, jazz and gospel artists for over 15 years, belgian drummer found his inspiration crossing Europe two times on his bicycle and took advantage of the lockdowns during the pandemic to refine his compositions. Mostly influenced by NYC guitarists such as Jonathan Kreisberg or David Gilmore, His first album as a leader "What's Beyond" tells us about great outdoors and spirituality.

Tracklist:
1. Fall Down
2. The Mist
3. Relief
4. Morning Promises
5. Ricochet
6. What's Beyond
7. Unborn

Total Refreshment Centre - Transmissions From Total Refreshment Centre

All the best music has a community underneath it. The extended family around London's Total Refreshment Centre (TRC) connects continents and generations, creating the rich relationships in full effect on 'Transmissions From Total Refreshment Centre'. It's an eclectic and electric collection that draws from new school jazz, hip hop, dub, soul, funk, and drill: sounds you'll hear trailing out of cars as they spin up the Kingsland Road or spiraling out of doorways like so much smoke. Turn it up loud to hear the widescreen young cousins of Guru's landmark Jazzmatazz in full effect: top players from London, Chicago, and Melbourne seeking out new collaborations, new ways of working, or just new tunes, always coming back to that central truth - that we all need each other.

Tracklist:
1. Soccer96 - Visions (feat. Kieron Boothe)
2. Byron Wallen - Closed Circle
3. Jake Long - Cresent (City Swamp Dub)
4. Matters Unknown - Eloquence (feat. Miryam Solomon)
5. Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange - Isa (feat. Noah Slee)
6. Neue Grafik - Black (feat. Brother Portrait)
7. Resavoir - Plight

VA - A Change Gonn' Come

This year's compilation is dedicated to Mahsa Amini and the protest movement her tragic death has caused. We mean to make a contribution to support the situation of women in Iran by donating all revenues to the 'Center For Human Rigts In Iran' (www.iranhumanrights.org)

The works of long-familiar label associates as well as fresh fellows of Blaq Numbers from all over the globe compile yet another grand collection of sounds covering a broad spectrum from laidback jazzy vibes to glowing house and italo vibes. This one is spiked with 4-to-the-floor crackers and electro disco sensations.

Massive thanks go out to all the artists contributing their music ♡

Tracklist:
1. Poly Poly – Manigod (feat Valentina Oefele)
2. George John – Pillow Fort
3. F.D.M – One Way (feat Postnegative)
4. Vicmari – Circus
5. Albert Vogt – Pack It Up (Produced By Steve Martin)
6. Karya – Don't Stop
7. Local DJ – Yo Ha Han
8. Moff & Tarkin – Tupperware
9. Funken Wavetropi – Trippin' On Cheese
10. Real Velour – Look What You've Done
11. The Chord Memory Club – Kohlrabi Bells
12. Lydia Eisenblatter – Sign
13. DJ Detox – Verdant Dawn
14. Scruscru & Mike Fot – Aloe

Theo Croker - BY THE WAY

Tracklist:
1. THEO SAYS (feat. Ego Ella May & D'LEAU)
2. SLOWLY (feat. Ego Ella May & D'LEAU)
3. IF I COULD I WOULD (feat. Ego Ella May & D'LEAU)
4. GOOD DAY (feat. Ego Ella May & D'LEAU)
5. SOMETHIN' (feat. Ego Ella May & Jeff Parker) (Extended Take)

*Bonus (Tiny Desk Concert 17/2/23)

30/70 - ART MAKE LOVE

‘ART MAKE LOVE’ is the fifth album by 30/70, the mothership of the internationally acclaimed Melbourne born collective. Expanding far beyond the previous markers of nu-soul and jazz; it is inspired heavily by broken beat complexity, translating dance music into live textures and their truly unique collaborative songwriting. ‘ART MAKE LOVE’ is a statement about the very life giving, love fuelling, interconnected nature of creativity, a reclamation of art in a digital time.

Unique to their catalog, this album was created with each member of the band taking full control of the recording and producing of their own instrument only to culminate in a unified sound, their synergy palpable as a singular force. Over the years 30/70 has become something of a supergroup, with Allysha Joy, Ziggy Zeitgeist, Josh Kelly, Finn Rees and Matthew Hayes all soaring as solo artists, band leaders and producers in their own right. Each member of the band commands their sound and musicality effortlessly - a concept that is unique in 30/70 too - there is no one leader, they make space for each member to go deep on whatever it is they’re bringing to the table, creating space for the music and one another.

‘ART MAKE LOVE’ captures a visceral sense of light and dark, exploring the very edges of life, death, truth and fear, the depth of spirit and emotion. An incredibly intimate record made in tandem with personal illness and overcoming; the power of practice, process and collective expression enough to pull them forward.

Lead vocalist Allysha Joy speaks on behalf of the group around ‘ART MAKE LOVE’.
“We wanted this record to embody the concept of art giving life, and life giving art, while serving as a vessel to bring joy, compassion and energy. Particularly in a time when things feel more than ever about a destination or validation and less about a message, we want to exemplify the experience in sharing something that brings us closer together. 30/70 began in a deeply DIY, grass-roots nature, with an ongoing desire to explore and express and collaborate without bounds. This record nods to that time, bringing it back into the present in the hope that it reminds others why they create, to go out and do something they love, bring joy, and give back to this world in some way”

The LP features eight full tracks and three interludes. Focal points include ‘ALL 4 U’, 70’s Herbie Hancock meets Fela Kuti in the darkroom of a Berlin club in the not too distant future. It’s about finding and feeling love that is ever expansive and expressive in every moment. A track so joyous and true Allysha says she “cried tears of gratitude and relief for its expression while recording this one! It’s an outpouring, an overflow of joy to know love!”. ‘‘WITHOUT YOU, WITHIN ME’ sees Joy’s deeply expressive vocal performance penetrate through dance floor squared hyper funk. The track explodes and the tension is released by powerhouse Josh Kelly on saxophone, effortlessly gliding over the incessantly driving beat.

In spirit it is a circling back to underline core values never lost along the way, a dedication to passionately feeling and expressing life through music, it is an offering as much as an invitation. Breaking down the walls between the music and the listener, ‘ART MAKE LOVE’ is bringing art back to the center and inviting you in to feel the power and strength that we can access when we are grounded in our own integrity. 

Tracklist:
1. Without You, Within Me
2. Art (interlude)
3. All 4 U
4. Acceptance
5. Make (interlude)
6. Luv Is Waiting
7. Jay Luv
8. Pleasure
9. Love (interlude)
10. U Betta Run
11. Holly Roller

The Freedom Affair - Freedom Is Love

The Freedom Affair are proud to present “Freedom Is Love Instrumentals” as a follow-up to the 2020 debut album of the same title. Ranging from driving funk, to luscious soul, with a tinge of gospel, listeners are now able to explore the complex accompaniment that backed the powerhouse trio of ladies featured on the original album. “Freedom Is Love” was recorded and produced by Chris Hazelton, utilizing the best of vintage and new recording technologies to create an authentic experience, befitting of a soul record that would have been relevant 50 years ago as much as it will be 50 years from now. The Freedom Affair’s debut single “Rise Up” was released by Loveland, Ohio’s Colemine Records in June 2019 and has appeared in Netflix’s “Self Made” as well as the worldwide spot for Apple’s iWatch Series 6.

Tracklist:
1. Heartaches Don't Come Easy (Instrumental)
2. Make Me Surrender (Instrumental)
3. Outta My Mind (Instrumental)
4. I Know Better (Instrumental)
5. Move On (Instrumental)
6. Rise Up (Instrumental)
7. Don't Shoot (Instrumental)
8. Give A Little Love (Instrumental)
9. One Nation (Instrumental)
10. Love Liberates (Instrumental)

The White Blinds - PRESHEATECHA!

Since their debut LP in 2018, The White Blinds have been steadily making a mark on the soul-jazz scene by consistently offering a unique style to the classic organ trio format. Building on that foundation, The White Blinds proudly announce their sophomore LP "PRESHEATECHA!" (pronounced pre-she-ate-cha), featuring ten original compositions stretching out even further to blend the familiar elements of soul-jazz with funk, Latin, and reggae undertones. From the body movin' and hip-shaking single "Cal High" to the Jackie Metoo-inspired "Struttin,'' rounded out with the Chester Thompson'esque organ-driven "Bay To L.A.," this LP showcases both strong songwriting and tasteful musicianship from start to finish. With the signature open drum tones of Michael Duffy to the gritty guitar stylings of Matt Hornbeck rounded out with the low-end and soaring melodic passages of organist Carey Frank, The White Blinds hold their own in the ever-evolving world of what it means to be an organ trio. "PRESHEATECHA!" is a step forward, pushing the limits of a group whose music can best be described as instrumental soul-jazz with a backdrop of Los Angeles flair.

Tracklist:
1. Cal High
2. Back Atcha!
3. Miss Roberta
4. On The Clock
5. Shakey Leg
6. Tail Feather
7. So Pretty
8. Struttin'
9. Bay To L.A.
10. Night Walk

Skrillex - Quest For Fire

Tracklist:
1. Leave Me Like This (feat. Bobby Raps)
2. RATATA (feat. Missy Elliott & Mr. Oizo)
3. Tears (feat. Joker & Sleepnet)
4. Rumble (feat. Fred again.. & Flowdan)
5. Butterflies (feat. Starrah & Four Tet)
6. Inhale Exhale (feat. Aluna & Kito)
7. A Street I Know (feat. Eli Keszler)
8. XENA (feat. Nai Barghouti)
9. TOO BIZARRE (juked) (feat. Swae Lee, Siiickbrain, & Posij)
10. Hydrate (feat. Flowdan, BEAM, & PEEKABOO)
11. Warped Tour ’05 with pete WENTZ (feat. Pete Wentz)
12. Good Space (feat. Starrah)
13. Supersonic (my existence) (feat. Noisia, Josh Pan, & Dylan Brady)
14. Hazel Theme
15. Still Here (feat. the ones that I came with, Porter Robinson, & Bibi Bourelly)

*Bonus (QUEST FOR FIRE Basement Set)

Oh No - Good Vibes

Oh No deconstructs the music of Roy Ayers (part one).

Tracklist:
1. The Good Vibes Intro
2. Penthouse Elevators
3. Nature At Work
4. Jungle Developments
5. Ice Cold Coolers
6. Bounce Keepers
7. Another Two4
8. Smoked Cookouts
9. Bands Jukes

Nina Simone - Great Women Of Song: Nina Simone

Throughout her career, Nina's music has inspired audiences of all ages, races, and nationalities. Created with the newest generation of Nina Simone fans in mind, Great Women of Song, features the best of the best. Miss Simone's most loved and notable hits assembled in one package. The album is the gift that will keep on giving.

Tracklist:
1. Feeling Good
2. I Put A Spell On You
3. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
4. Ne Me Quitte Pas
5. Tell Me More And More And Then Some
6. Lilac Wine
7. Take Care Of Business
8. See-Line Woman
9. Four Women
10. Wild Is The Wind
11. I Loves You Porgy
12. Mississippi Goddam

Turbojazz - Whateverism

This album has felt like a long time coming, as the first single ‘The Standard’ dropped back in September. But what a way announce it.

This full length collaboration entitled 'Whateverism' is the maker of twenty years in the music business for Turbojazz and is a celebration of his journey into the sonics and genres that have shaped his tastes and formed the trademark sound that he is known for about the globe. It's a kaleidoscopic journey that glides from from one stunning track to another in a highly impression fashion through shades of house, nu-jazz, hip hop, soul and the most modern electronic drifts of deep.

Full to the brim with collaborations. You can find the much acclaimed, LA based MC Dave Giles II, who recently featured on the Honey Dijon track 'Work' and on Beyonce's 'Cosy', You will also come across Detroit's very own and Moodymann's most featured vocalist on the hallowed Mahogani Music - deep house diva Nikki O who gets together with UK house don Sean McCabe on the ridiculously good 'In Love Again', plus Japan's Brisa from the Bastard Jazz family too!

All of this is packaged with some of the most promising talents from Italy, the motherland from which Turbojazz was born and bred. There’s Neapolitan & Srilankese vocalist Sara Vanderwert , who features on ‘You Are Worth It’, and Arya who sings the stunning lyrics on ‘We Lost A Night’ in a duet with Losangelino rapper, Demetrius Rhymes. Not forgetting Tommy’s long-time close collaborator from their trio Jaxx Madicine, Veezo, who is in charge of the brilliant key work and scintillating synths on most of the album.

Enjoy this highly impressive and unpredictable journey into the illusive world of Turbojazz. If the world did not know his name before, it will be standing up and knowing his name now. Oh yes! 

Tracklist:
1. The Standard
2. You Are Worth It (feat. Sara Vanderwert)
3. Constellated Ceiling
4. We Lost A Night (feat. Arya & Demetrius Rhymes)
5. Free Jaxx (feat. Brisa)
6. Stay Balanced (feat. Dave Giles II)
7. Illudion
8. In Love Again (feat. Nikki O & Sean McCabe)
9. Novalude
10. Live At Apollo

Kelela - Raven

Tracklist:
1. Washed Away
2. Happy Ending
3. Let It Go
4. On the Run
5. Missed Call
6. Closure
7. Contact
8. Fooley
9. Holier
10. Raven
11. Bruises
12. Sorbet
13. Divorce
14. Enough for Love
15. Far Away

Liv.e - Girl in the Half Pearl

LA-based, Dallas-raised artist Liv.e, announces her sophomore album 'Girl In The Half Pearl' due February 10th via In Real Life. 'Girl In The Half Pearl' seizes on both the creative and personal liberation Liv.e has experienced in the time since her 2020 debut album 'Couldn't Wait To Tell You...'. The album's 17 tracks are a document of self-examination, as she works through realizations prompted by grief and grapples with the dynamics of her role in the relationships in her life. Building upon the foundation she laid with CWTTY, 'Girl In The Half Pearl' bares her process of growth, forgiveness and reclamation of her sense of womanhood across an immersive soundscape. The album's artistic shifts developed during her time experimenting with live performance in London earlier this year while under residency at London's Laylow.

The 25-year-old artist first garnered attention with her 2017 EP, FRANK, and 2018's Hoopdreams EP. Over the past year, Liv.e shared the standalone Mndsgn-produced single "Bout It," along with a COLORS performance and released 'CWTTY+', the deluxe version of her 2020 critically-acclaimed debut album. She's since performed alongside Earl Sweatshirt and Ravyn Lenae. Liv.e's unique sensibilities have also caught the eye of the fashion world, marked by an appearance in a Miu Miu ad campaign photographed by Tyrone Lebon. Most recently, she was featured on the new Mount Kimbie single titled "a deities encore."

Tracklist:
1. Gardetto.
2. A Slumber Party‽
3. Lake Psilocybin
4. Six Weeks
5. Ghost
6. Find Out
7. Clowns
8. Heart Break Escape
9. HowTheyLikeMe!
10. Snowing!
11. Wild Animals
12. RESET!
13. Underground
14. Back Alley
15. Our Father
16. NoNewNews!!!
17. Glass Shadows

Lance Skiiiwalker - Audiodidactic

Tracklist:
1. Friends
2. Where To With You
3. Church (feat. Ab-Soul)
4. IG
5. Everybody Hurts Somebody
6. Sample Talk (feat. Isaiah Rashad)
7. I Just Want
8. It Was All (feat. V.C.R)
9. Beantown
10. Audiodidactic
11. (Ni) Radio Whispers

Black Milk - ....... Pt. 2

Tracklist;
1. Pt. 2 (Perp)
2. The Chance
3. The Dance
4. Flocks
5. Kestric
6. Gotta Leave U Now
7. Curl
8. Hellz Nope
9. Got Heavy
10. Help Hath
11. Dubbs
12. Not Music
13. Xico
14. Bout The Book
15. Ounces
16. Your Smile
17. Sad June
18. Yintay

Flume - Things Don't Always Go The Way You Plan

Tracklist:
1. Flume feat. Injury Reserve – Counting Sheep (V2) [2018 Export Wav]
2. Nice 2 Know U 1.5.3 [2020 Export Wav]
3. Why 1.3 [2012 Export Wav]
4. Flume feat. Isabella Manfredi – Rhinestone 1.7.2 [2018 Export Wav]
5. Dream 1.2.2 [2016 Export Wav]
6. beat 58 1.1 [2020 Export Wav]
7. Close 1.2 [2016 Export Wav]
8. Flume feat. Panda Bear – One Step Closer 1.4 [2021 Export Wav]
9. SPOKE 2 ALIENS FINALLY 1.3 [2020 Export Wav]
10. Things Don't Always Go The Way You Plan 1.2 [2020 Export Wav]

Valtteri Laurell Nonet - Tigers Are Better Looking

Composer Valtteri Laurell Pöyhönen presents his Nonet formation of We Jazz Records. Their debut album "Tigers Are Better Looking" is released 3 Feb and the ensemble features internationally renowned Finnish clarinetist Antti Sarpila, plus a strong cast of Helsinki-based musicians from several of the top Finnish groups.

Based on the writings of British-Caribbean author Jean Rhys (1890–1979), the 6-track album is a melancholy, intimate chamber jazz creation. Laurell's music swings, yet he doesn't stop there, but moves further to paint an original, richly-toned sonic image with the highly potent Nonet.

Laurell states Gerry Mulligan, Miles Davis's "Water Babies" and Charles Mingus among the key musical influences of his compositions on this album. Through Rhys's text, Laurell finds a special sense of detachment and melancholy evident in his new material. Laurell's music swings, yet he doesn't stop there, but moves further to paint an original, richly-toned sonic image with the highly potent Nonet. Antti Sarpila's masterful clarinet provides the icing on the cake, floating high above the clouds of sound.

Tracklist:
1. Tigers Are Better Looking
3. Wide Sargasso Sea
4. Let Them Call It Jazz
5. Till September Petronella
6. Temps Perdi

Zhu Quartet - Ginkgo

Tracklist:
1. Intro
2. Costante
3. Ginkgo
4. Creative Process
5. Sabato pomeriggio con tommaso
6. Agitato
7. 2022
8. Altri tempi
9. Prima del sonno
10. Laguna

Joe Chambers - Dance Kobina

Drummer, percussionist, vibraphonist, composer, and Blue Note legend Joe Chambers returns with Dance Kobina, his 3rd album as a leader for Blue Note which explores the deep musical connection between Jazz, Latin, Brazilian, Argentinian, and African music. The follow-up to his 2021 album 'Samba de Maracatu' was co-produced by pianist Andrés Vial and recorded in both New York and Montreal. The album presents compelling Chambers originals including 'Gazelle Suite,' 'Ruth,' and 'Caravanserai,' as well as vibrant interpretations of pieces by Vial, Kurt Weill, Joe Henderson, and Karl Ratzer.

Tracklist:
1. This Is New
2. Dance Kobina
3. Ruth
4. Caravanserai
5. City of Saints
6. Gazelle Suite
7. Intermezzo
8. Power To The People
9. Moon Dancer

Cinephonic - Visions

Cinephonic's sophomore release "Visions" is a baroque funk tour-de-force - an intriguing concept album made up of ancient medieval and baroque themes, refracted through a modern prism of soul, jazz and psychedelia, all performed by a massive fourteen-piece ensemble, and meticulously captured to analogue reel-to-reel tape.

Cinephonic was founded in 2018 by composer / multi-instrumentalist Pierre Chrétien, as an outlet for the new cinematic tunes he had been quietly writing when he wasn't busy leading groups such as The Souljazz Orchestra, Atlantis Jazz Ensemble and Slim Moore & the Mar-Kays.

Drawing inspiration from classic film and library music, Cinephonic expands on the sound with elements of cinematic soul, psychedelic rock, and spiritual jazz, creating a rich, evocative, and complex soundscape that juxtaposes intricate compositions with dark funk backbeats - a kind of epic soundtrack for a film that never existed.

Tracklits:
1. Le Combat
2. Pyramides
3. Cendres et Poussières
4. L'Exil
5. Pénombre
6. Tribulations
7. Les Souterrains
8. L'Étoile
9. Douleur
10. Le Feu

Alexis Evans - Yours Truly

Record Kicks presents "Yours Truly", the new album by Bordeaux's "Soulboy", Mr. Alexis Evans.

Like fine Red Wine, "Soulboy" Alexis Evans gets better with Age. The best evidence of this is his brand new album "Yours Truly", set for release on February 3rd, 2023 on LP, CD and digital via Milan-based label Record Kicks. Produced and mixed by Louis-Marin Renaud (Lou Doillon, Theo Lawrence, Desmond Myers), "Yours Truly" is the third studio album by Bordeaux-based singer-songwriter Alexis Evans and sees the light 4 years after his previous LP "I've Come A Long Way", defined "Soul album of The Year" by Rolling Stone France. "Yours Truly" consists of 12 brilliantly soulful cuts that take direct inspiration from 60's & 70's classic soul music adding a sound that is firmly rooted in the new millennium.

Anticipated by the first single "Mr Right On Time", the album was recorded between Bordeaux and Nantes during 2021 and beginning of 2022. The idea behind the new album was to find a unique sound, mixing classic 60's & 70's soul music with more contemporary influences such as hip hop beats, jazz, reggae, and Caribbean sounds. To do that, Alexis paired up with producer Louis-Marin Renaud, known for his work with French-English singer, actress and model Lou Doillon and country-soul rising star Theo Lawrence, who took part in the arrangements and mixed the album.

"All instruments were recorded live, some titles were completely live and others got modified, cut, sampled, depending on the tunes in a kind of beatmaking way. It was a very fun and fulfilling project that will sound awesome on stage for sure," explains Alexis.

Lyrically, the album could be described as soulful everyday rhymes. "Love may be the number one subject in soul music and clearly has its place of honor in a few songs ("Close to me", "What is this feeling"), while other songs tend to deal with it in a more cynical but poetic way, for instance on "Mister right on time", in which beauty remains in simplicity," states Mr. Evans. He continues: "Another topic of the album is abandonment ("It matters to me", "The only apple", "Close to the water"). Whether it is the fear of being left behind or the sadness after a loss, this album still bears some traces of lockdown and I was aiming at giving another perspective on different matters, looking at them in a dreamlike way." The themes of the album are reflected in the cover artwork, made by Adrià F Marquès.

Alexis Evans, songwriter with a timeless style based in Bordeaux, France, found the love of music and learnt to play guitar thanks to his father, an English musician. His inspirations range from Marvin Gaye and Sam Cooke to David Bowie. At the age of 17 he debuted with his first project "Jumping to the Westside", with which he was awarded the "Cognac Blues Passion" prize and flew to the "International Blues Challenge" in Memphis, Tennessee, where he impressed the American audience even though he was still a teenager. Mr. Evanshas built a household name in the scene as the "enfant prodige of soul" starting with his first album, released in 2015, and consolidated his reputation with his second long play "I've Come a Long Way", released in 2019 on Record Kicks. Rolling Stone France described it as "The Soul album of the year", while Blues & Soul Magazine and BBC 6 defined him as "One of the most exciting additions to the international Soul Scene". Following the release of the album, Alexis toured in France and Europe extensively, stopped only in 2020 by the Pandemic. Thanks to the forced break, Alexis started to lay down the new album, and he's now ready to present the fruit of his hard work: "Yours Truly". 

Tracklist:
1. Close to the Water
2. Mister Right on Time
3. Yours Truly
4. What Is This Feeling
5. Do Something
6. Meet Me Halfway
7. Hornado
8. Let Them Loose
9. Close to Me
10. Another Round on Me
11. It Matters to Me
12. The Only Apple

Gerardo Frisina - Joyful Sound

Heralded by the “Soul Drum” 12” EP (SCEP507, 2022), Gerardo Frisina’s new double record “Joyful Sound” represents another step forward on his ongoing travel towards new musical paths.

Joyful sounds narrate a journey made of wisely distilled notes, bright and sometimes mysterious atmospheres, harmonies that wander through shadows, silences, and lights. A chameleonic Gerardo enchants with every release, mixing jazz, Latin, Afro-Cuban sounds, oriental fragrances, electronic beats, tribal percussions, funky variations and, to summarize, elegant symphonic arrangements with refned mastery.

“Joyful Sound” once again sees the participation of the late Enzo Frassi (double bass), Fabrizio Bernasconi (piano, Rhodes), Gendrickson Mena (trumpet, piano), Alfonso Deidda (sax, flute) and Ernesto Lopez (drums, percussion), with the addition of Piero Perelli on drums and Giovanni Guerretti on piano, Hammond and Rhodes. This new record, carefully orchestrated and produced by Gerardo, required over a year of intense work, however it is worth every second of its 75 minutes of music.

As the great Charles Mingus once said, “Play it in the key of your soul”. Without a doubt, Gerardo always gives his soul in full!

Tracklist:
1. Duende
2. Dansi Na medley with Mahaba
3. Parkview Theme
4. Echizo Magico
5. Almost Free
6. Africa (Brasil)
7. Kilig
8. On Again
9. Naquela Base (New Blend)
10. Gujarat
11. Merida
12. Misterioso
13. Hombre
14. Kilig (Reprise)

Knxwledge - VGM.23

Tracklist:
1. Eachtime
2. Kontrast
3. Nightime
4. Peace
5. Demise
6. Low
7. Views
8. Namentry

ML7102 - 7102 Pro Fades Nubian Soul Freshness

7102 Pro Fades Nubian Soul Freshness is an Instrumental album of beats demonstrated by ML7102. The boom bap styles mixed with fresh linings over Black African soulful styles, combined into a healthy Gumbo of Funky Drums, Samples, Break Beat and Soulful Intelligence to vibe too. Straight Head bopping dopeness from ML7102 that keeps the Chevy Banging down Halsted to the intransigence Blues melodies from Clarkesdale Mississippi. A delightful musical expression from one of the most creative Sound Art makers of Pure Blackness.

Tracklist:
1. Morning Back Pains
2. Freed Moment Sketch One Talk Black
3. Educated Sample Nubian Hotep
4. Positive Energy Only Around Here
5. Hidden Substance
6. Needing That Work Gain
7. Running Through Another Day Weekkk
8. Ohhh This Country Aint Nothing
9. Sunssilentboycott
10. Time in Jeopardy

Manon Mullener 5tet - Insomnia

For her second album, Insomnia, released in the spring of 2023, pianist Manon Mullener offers this time an album in 5tet. She is accompanied by a team of young musicians bursting with creativity: Lucien Mullener on drums, Samuel Urscheler on saxophone, Victor Decamp on trombone and Benjamin Jaton on double bass.

After a one-year stay in Cuba followed by a first album, Reflejos, which was part of a traditional deilatin jazz aesthetic, the young pianist-composer explores new horizons with Insomnia, without however abandoning the influences that have nurtured so far.

The Friborg pianist cultivates inspiration in the elements that surround her: a nocturnal walk, April snowfalls, a summer jam with friends or even... insomnia.

These musical explorations remain animated by the trademark of Manon: an overflowing energy and a groove that never fails. This new 5tet will not fail to make even the most timid dance!

Tracklist:
1. Insomnia
2. Chorongo
3. Neiges
4. Flânerie
5. L'Homme Sylvestre Part 1
6. L'Homme Sylvestre Part 2
7. Grand Rue
8. Golden House
9. Summer Jam
10. Moms Garden