Innerground is on fire with recent heaters by Digital, Logistics, and Calibre, but here label heads Marky & XRS take hold with soulful burners of their own. “Butterfly” revolves around a catchy Roy Ayres hook with added Rhodes riffs and rounded bass drops. “The Wizard” touches down on the flip, pairing techy twitches over a two-tone bassline. Soul fire!
Klute Rosemary
With his trademark tech-soul style, Klute returns to the ‘Headz camp on their sister label Platinum. “Rosemary” progresses from bone-chilling whispers and laser sound effects into a sinister, rolling beast of a tune dedicated to the sci-fi junglists. The flip, “Don‘t Wanna Be Alone,” sheds light on Klute‘s sweeter side, championing the full-on vocal workout.
Various Artists Universal Message Vol. 3
While digital dancehall noisily continues its breakneck evolution, roots reggae has benefited from its own quiet revival, fighting negativity and struggle with conscious lyricism and bright, spacious arrangements hearkening back to roots reggae‘s ‘70s heyday. Of note is Chuck Fender‘s “I Swear,” which laces up Fender‘s cyclonic vocal with angelic female backing and live-band arrangement. Roots bands don‘t have a stranglehold on the message, however, as Sizzla takes us from drum machines to a gentle sway on “Ain‘t Gonna See Us Fall.” Richie Spice slides into an easy dub-skank on “Blood Again,” his vocals shot through with a slightly metallic reverb. But it‘s Tanya Stephens who proves queen of both hard and soft reggae with her soul drenched “What Ah Day,” emoting over a simple acoustic guitar.
Lindstrom Another Side Of Lindstrom
Hans-Peter Lindstrom represents for Norway‘s disco-house contingent, dropping 12″s loaded with electro-organic compositions whose twists and turns suggest home listening over the dancefloor. On this full-length, however, Lindstrom goes astray, using too many synthesized instruments that would be more at home on a lite jazz record. There‘s plenty of promise, however, as Lindstrom‘s compositions take in bits of house, original funk, nu-jazz, and IDM; there are a maze of changes within each track, and several numbers escape their Weather Channel backgrounds to strike home as true updated disco. Hopefully there are a few more tunes left in that side of Lindstrom.
Various Artists Movements
Throw a rock and you‘ll hit a dozen comps loaded with modern-day James Brown imitators or deservedly forgotten vintage funk. On a lucky day you‘ll hit Movements, which resurrects 14 true gems that saw life only on 45s and in print runs in the hundreds. B.B. Brown‘s “I Weep” is a funk/soul burner that should replace tired Motown hits on the radio, while Dr. Oliver‘s “Soul Popcorn Pts. 1 & 2” stitches together a lost shouter into a true frenzy. The ladies get theirs here too, led by Sheila Skipworth‘s organ-and-flute jam “Look What You Done To Me.”
Various Artists Twilight Trax
Produced by Steve Yanko of The Voices, Twilight Trax sparkles with deeper than deep Chi-house gems both old skew and new. Titles tell a ton: “Gotta Get Up” by Deeper Society, Screamin‘ Rachael‘s “Just Want to Make Love,” “In a Vision” by Virgo 4, “Can You Feel It (Alternate Mix)” from Mr. Fingers feat. Robert Owens, “Liquid Love (Clean Edit)” by Ron Hardy, Merl Sanders‘ “Elevator House Music,” and tracks from Black Mamba (a.k.a. Naked Soul, DJ Pap) and K-Alexi. Especially if you weren‘t there for the first run around the houses, Twilight Trax is a must-have.
Whitey The Light At the End Of the Tunnel Is a Train
Rough techno-era punk tends to be short on funk or melody, but the oscillator buzzes and gelatinous vocal harmonies in Nathan J.Whitey‘s electro-charged dancefloor rock joints could hit Manchester pop charts or sit pretty near DFA in the vinyl stacks. Brooding and amorphous with guitar-fuzz, high-amped live drums, and sexy boy-singing, the Brit multi-instrumentalist makes a seductive atmosphere for kissing passionately in the backseat; Neu is playing, and your driver is about to hit the Autobahn. A sneaky record, its production beguiles: horsehooves, cowbells, vibes and dinner-party field samples fold over maracas, synths ebb, sonics are mooked. Hot, noisy, ready to grind.
Vast Aire & DJ Mighty Mi The Best Damn Rap Show
The opening lyric: “We shoot from the hip and you scatter like roaches when the lightbulb‘s lit.” Vast Aire‘s good at clever, proverb-like punchlines and almost-Buddhist simple one-liners. Nor does he short shrift the dis on The Best Damn Rap Show (his second solo album since Cannibal Ox), where DJ Mighty Mi of High & Mighty does the beats in a classic breaks style. Absent from Aire‘s last album was his great storytelling ability-it returns here. “The Workover,” for instance, takes verbal revenge for about the last 100 years of American racism, and the racist/ capitalist hijacking of black music styles from jazz to rap: “We‘ve been struggling for too long/ you can change the year but I‘ll still sing the same song.”
Grand Agent Under The Circumstances
Philly‘s gravel-voiced underground star Grand Agent has spent the last two years educating himself in Germany and has arrived back on US soil in the finest form of his career. On Under the Circumstances, Grand Agent teams up with producer Oh No, who has crafted a palette of beats that further differentiate him from the prolific and often more laid back style of his brother Madlib. As always, lyricism is placed squarely in the forefront, but Grand Agent‘s sharpness and agility make his measures mold to a variety of sounds, including old-school “golden era” cuts, soul-infused downtempo joints, and electronically enhanced club bangers. This shows a more worldly approach to the vibrantly international subterranean rap scene.
Baron & Fresh Supernature
A well-produced dancefloor tune, “Supernature” recalls the feel of a familiar Roni Size record. A head-nodding beat drops into a wobbly bassline accented by popular filters and high-pitched chirps. “Fahrenheit” employs kettle drums, rave stabs, and a jiggling build-up, all of which lead to a funky ass drop.
