So far, Now Again has done a badass job of scouring the cellars and attics of the nation on the quest for long lost and forgotten sides of garage funk and soul. And with enough cold-blooded funk to make the meanest, sharpest pimp drop his Yankee Doodle stingy brim, this compilation follows tradition. There are enough tape hiss-heavy scorchers by L.A. Carnival, Carleen & The Groovers, Amnesty, and others to fill that black hole in your soul. Only flaw: NA’s hot recent single-the Detroit Sex Machines’ “Rap It Together/Funky Crawl”-is noticeably absent.
The Quantic Soul Orchestra Pushin On
For such a clean-cut collection of percussive precision, there sure is a mighty stank comin‘ off Pushin On, The Quantic Soul Orchestra‘s second full-length. Raw, hypnotic funk and cinematic library instrumentals share space here with Lyn Collins-esque workouts and Rotary Connection-style compositions featuring vocalist Alice Russell. It‘s all tailor-made for those who like their summers frantic and sleepless. Even Pushin On‘s mellower tracks are love-scene interludes rather than nightcaps, and when QSO hits a groove they like, time is swallowed by that black hole that only the nastiest funk drops create. Nearly perfect.
Eddy Meets Yannah Just Like …
New name, new project, same old Compost: beats broken with exacting love and affection, smashed on Riviera shoreline rocks, burnt up by a sweltering sun only to cool off like sweat in the early morning breeze. This Croatian duo-producer Eddy Ramich and vocalist/songwriter Jana “Yannah” Valdevit-makes melodic, summery, broken electro-jazz seem effortless, yet something‘s still missing. Compost‘s releases are always reliable, but where we once depended on them to push boundaries, this feels more time-tested and approved. Just Like… is compulsory for the genre‘s fans, but not necessarily so for the neutral.
Dub Gabriel Bass Jihad
The droning seven minutes of “Musique de Lame” are so hypnotically tranquil one wouldn‘t dream the effervescent chaos of the mizmar-blaring “War in the Poppy Fields” came from the same record. Such is the maddened mind of Brooklyn-based bassist/producer Dub Gabriel. On Bass Jihad, his follow-up to the excellent Ascend, Gabriel revisits Arabic strings and horns while dubbing down the low-end with true Rasta artistry. “Zooklyn” showcases Middle Eastern percussion with heady electronica while proving his penchant for inventive song naming. The cross-cultural fusion is a philosophical masterpiece you don‘t have to think too hard about. Simply lay back and enjoy the ride.
Transglobal Underground Impossible Broadcasting
On their sixth studio recording, London-based Transglobal Underground rests safe in the fact they never know who they‘ll be tomorrow. This makes for some interesting recording-Asia, Jamaica, Bulgaria, and India are all over Impossible Broadasting-but the album lacks coherency. Killer tracks-like the dub-heavy “The Sikhman and The Rasta” (led by the patois anagrams of Tuup) and “Stoyane/Male-Le” featuring Trio Bulgaria-are sandwiched between utter nonsense like the rah-rah one-world “Drinking in Gomorrah.” Have another drink and get back to business boys.
The Exposures Lost Recordings 2000-2004
On Lost Recordings 2000-2004, Berlin producer Jan Jelinek fabricates an aging three-man German ensemble to take responsibility for his own creations. Jelinek (Farben, Gramm) first exposed The Exposures on 2003‘s jazzbient gem La Nouvelle Pauvrete. Now Jelinek even pens deceptive liner notes to accompany the eight tracks here. However, the subtle DSP treatments applied with seductive grit are unmistakably Jelinek. These heavy-lidded, languid mutations of instrumental hip-hop sound like East Dev boss Prefuse 73‘s productions chopped and screwed to a soulful slouch. We see through your hoax, Jan, and we love it anyway.
Beat Pharmacy Earthly Delights
Francois K could not have picked a better candidate to launch his Deep Space Media label with. An offshoot of his tremendously popular Monday night weekly, Deep Space NYC at Cielo, Earthly Delights is everything this party is about: midtempo rhythms with warm chest hits and dubbed grooves. Beat Pharmacy (Brendon Moeller) explores an emotional soundscape rooted in Afro and Jamaican sounds, the ulterior groove on “Cape Town” (his hometown) draws you in with a repetitive synth before filling out into a six-minute horn-led sprawl. Paul St. Hilaire‘s two vocal contributions (“Race Track Jockey” and “Don‘t Bodda Me”) give a lyrical lift to this exploration of instrumental brilliance.
Shukar Collective Urban Gypsy
Bear taming and electronic music make an interesting junction in sonic history, and Urban Gypsy documents it. The seven members of Romania-based Shukar Collective modernize the Eastern European equivalent of the Egyptian zurna, using spoons, shouting, and percussion to tame their appointed beasts. Layering this folk tradition with throbbing basslines and witty drumbeats, electroclash meets d&b alongside quirky dulcimers and synthesizers. The hearty double bass on “Oh, Mother,” which underscores the plaintive yelps of the vocalist (the Shukars don‘t particularly sing), is like walking through a second-hand market searching for a prize. When the bouncing beat of “Gipsy Blooz” emerges, you know you‘ve found it.
The Narrator Such Triumph
Though they hail from Chicago, a town better known for terrapin-influenced post-rock, The Narrator‘s impassioned and refined wailings are surprisingly, well, rockin‘. With nary a self-masturbatory noodle here nor an über-produced timbre there, Such Triumph is driving, straight ahead indie-rock for the flannel-coated masses. On the excellent “Pregnant Boys,” cries of “There‘s no better reason than no reason at all” express reverently that particular brand of Midwestern angst previously offered by bands such as Hüsker Dü and Dinosaur Jr, while the muddy undertow of “Abcdefghijklmnopqrs” conjures images of frozen lakes in January, with winter winds whipping a fine film of ice dust across the surface.
Various Artists Prima Norsk 3
Documenting the emerging space-disco revival in Oslo, Norway, Prima Norsk 3 brings some of the scene‘s brightest lights into focus. Doc L Junior‘s “Sentimental Breakdown” is a dreamy, outer-limits epic laden with lush strings, towering arpeggios, and funked-out basslines, while Prins Thomas‘ remix of Legotrip‘s “Må VI Stoppe” is a thumping, reverberating disco classic. Lindbaek and Lindstrom‘s “Aliens In My Pocket” hints at the Italo side of things, and Kohib‘s “Truger” might make you feel as if you‘re sweating at The Gallery, 30 years later. If this is what the Norse are doing with disco, wait ‘til they get their hands on rock and roll. Oh wait, they already have…
