Simon Mavin - Good Hair Day / Only You & Me

Bastard Jazz is proud to present the debut EP from producer and multi-instrumentalist Simon Mavin. Most well known as the Grammy nominated keyboardist/co-producer and co- writer of the celebrated Australian band Hiatus Kaiyote, Simon’s had a hand in multiple projects across the spectrum, but has yet to release under his own moniker until now.

The EP, which features two original tracks and two remixes from fellow Aussies Harvey Sutherland and Close Counters starts out was recorded in-between projects at the Grove, a small recording sanctuary in Melbourne. In Simon’s studio, he had installed a library of keyboards. 30-40 synthesizers, all of which were painstakingly patched in to be simultaneously accessible and ready to record in an instant. A drum kit in the corner was constantly mic'd up, and everything routed through a multitude of analog mixing desks providing different flavours of tone and texture. The Grove had such appeal that it was chosen as the studio to record the Gilles Peterson compilation ‘Sunny Side Up’ on Brownswood Recordings.

Things kick off with “Good Hair Day”, a track originally blossoming from an infectious piano loop in which fellow collaborators Nick Lam and Henry Hicks added guitar parts and bass parts. What’s resulted is a danceable, infectious feel-good dancefloor jam with an ultra funky synth bassline that harkens back to Herbie Hancock’s 1970’s repertoire. Harvey Sutherland takes the tempo up and takes the track deeper into outer space with deep synth work, four on the floor drums, and a punchy bassline for late night sessions.

On the flip, “Only You & Me” is a lower tempo, slow burning joint with a live drum loop played by Nick Martyn, with an alien bassline, squelching keys, otherworldly oscillating vocodor parts and jazzy keyboard solos. Up and coming trio Close Counters take the song into new territory, stripping things down with a classic Broken Beat vibe, a driving bassline and synth stabs from the original, moving things squarely on the dancefloor – definitely a track for the breakers in the building. 

Tracklist:
1. Good Hair Day
2. Good Hair Day (Harvey Sutherland Remix)
3. Only You & Me
4. Only You & Me (Close Counters Remix)

*Bonus (Simon Mavin | Good Hair Day | Breakdown Video)

Rumtum - Arcadian Daze

Denver producer and visual artist John T. Hastings aka RUMTUM returns to Bastard Jazz for his second album on the label, “Arcadian Daze”. The album is a contemplative drive down a nostalgic highway, reflecting on a period of his late adolescence growing up in Ohio, spending time at Arcadia Beach on Lake Erie and discovering the likes DJ Shadow, Madlib, Fila Brazilla, early Four Tet, the original Ninja Tune roster and more. Revisiting these coming of age memories, John purchased an older MPC 2000XL and set out to musically capture the excitement of putting his first nascent loops together, inspired by this pivotal era of electronic music that has since birthed movements like such as Lo-Fi/Chillhop, Vaporwave, LA’s mid-2000s Beat Scene / Low End Theory, etc.

The end result of “Arcadian Daze” is indeed filled with that nostalgic spirit paying homage to those aforementioned sounds, but also presents a forward thinking musical palate that’s very much grounded in RUMTUM’s sensibilities as a producer and time spent learning to program new & vintage outboard gear. The album moves away from the warm, dreamy sounds of last year’s “Isles in Indigo” LP, and touches more into a mystical, pensive vibe with elements of darkness and light.

Tracklist:
1. No Drugs Needed
2. Echo Drift
3. Arcadian Daze
4. Utopia Dock Lab 1986
5. Bike Race to Nowhere
6. Under 1000 Clouds
7. Pier Light
8. Vapor Sun
9. DaBrye Squared
10. Life in Reverse
11. Sand Spirit

Posy - I Know A Place

Portland based musician and artist POSY returns to Bastard Jazz for his second EP on the label, "I Know A Place". Moving to the left of some of the Lo-Fi influences of his first record, the new EP brings in more sophisticated instrumental work and jazz influences, working with a slew of guest musicians to set the mood more dusty than digital. Things kick off with "Aoi Yume", a beatless mood piece with lush keys and saxophone, while "Better Days" featuring Natalie Slade is a lifting piece of 70s inspired smooth R&B. "I Know A Place" featuring Brandon Lee Cierley layers horns and harps into an easy listening atmospheric piece with a modern edge while "Seishi" sounds like a 5 piece band playing in a mid-century modern space station. Lastly, "Message To Jun" ends the EP on an uptempo note with flute, live bass and keys, and a drumbreak that's beginning to be sampled for a hip-hop record. A big step forward for this bright young producer.

Tracklist:
1. Aoi Yume
2. Better Days
3. I Know A Place
4. Seishi
5. Message to Jun

B. Bravo - Vizionz Remixes

After the release of his sophomore album "Vizionz" in the spring of 2022, B. Bravo returns to Bastard Jazz with a grab bag of remixes including 5 winners chosen from a remix contest that ran through September. The remixes run the gamut from future boogie (DJ AK), dubby slo-mo house (Julian Gomes), smoothed out boom-bap r&b (Venuz Beats & Bao), Drum'n'Bass (Kodak) + more.

Tracklist:
1. 10/10 (DJ AK Remix)
2. Lifted (Julian Gomes Remix)
3. Fly Bye (Kodak Remix)
4. Believe (Stimulator Jones Remix)
5. Penelope (Piklo Remix)
6. No Regrets (Dalton Corr Remix)
7. Fly Bye (Venuz Beats & Bao Remix)
8. Moon Bounce (Yel-low Stereo Dub)