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JAZZ - FUNK - SOUL - DISCO (June 2011)

Reviewed by Aleem Bhatti

Dis Yah One I Love/Part 4 – Shokazulu, 2000 Black.

2000 Black are back with some amazing goodies for us in the coming months starting with this brilliant double-A side of upfront, in-ya-face broken beat. “Dis Yah One” has that trademark 2000 Black sound complete with syncopated drum patterns, flamenco style handclaps, big wobbly bass line and spaced out strings. However, it is the track “Part 4” that really excites this page. It’s a master class in “Street Boogie” with an amazing bass line that wouldn’t be out of place on a boogie track from New York in the early 80’s and becomes the back bone of the vamp throughout, allowing the analogue key flurries to set the track alight. The genius of this track is that it sounds like you’ve heard it somewhere but then you realise that it’s just a brilliant homage to all that went before: Dexter Wansel, Herbie Hancock, Don Blackman… Go buy yourself a copy now! Oh, and just in case you haven’t realised who Shokazulu is, he’s In Search of Freedom!

Marilyn - Floating points, Eglo Records. 

Floating points is back with 2 glorious productions on Eglo Records. Followers of this page should head straight to track two: an obsessively funky, filthy, sex driven bass line growls beneath gliding chord progressions and tidy keyboard runs. This really is grade A material from floating points and is an absolute must for your collections this summer.

Richard E Edits – Richard E, E-Type records.

Warm Sunday afternoons had never sounded so good when I first put this on. Richard E, who I don’t know too much about, has landed with “Groovinity”, a gorgeous down-tempo neo soul shuffle that really does have a hypnotic groove that is capable of transporting you somewhere else. The sampled vocals are easily identifiable. I won’t spoil the surprise! I really can’t get enough of this right now.

Are We Dictators? – Mizz Beats, Eglo records.

Here is another excellent Eglo records EP this month in the guise of Mizz Beats. This lady from East London has her own refreshing take on beats and bleeps without ever losing sight of the soul. She’s already worked with likes of Dizzie Rascal and D Double E but now brings her own craft to the table. There are 5 tracks in total here with this page going crazy for “The Day Before Tomorrow” with it’s future Jazz drum breaks and filthy analogue bass lines (it really reminds me of Russ Gabriel’s techno-Jazz workouts on his Audio Spectrum Volume 1 LP). “The Dirty Dishes” and “Sanctuary” hark back to a polyrhythmic , broken beat era back when 4 Hero were setting new boundaries for the genre and the EP ends with a laid back, beat laden hip hop track that brings you down perfectly after the sonic boom that comes before. Machine soul never sounded so good…

You Make Me Smile – Aloe Blacc – Stones Throw.

Another great single from the excellent Aloe Blacc LP “The Good Things” and is produced by El Michels Affair/Truth and Soul duo Leon Michels & Jeff Silverman. It’s not hard to see why some have compared him to the legendary Bill Withers when listening to “You Make me Smile”. Dripping with deep, meaningful soulful vocals and a very good band, Aloe Blacc sings in era that should always be referenced by soul fans to remind themselves why it is that they love soul. On the flip-side the track “Politican” has been extended for this single could have been taken straight from a Blaxploitation film with its wah-wah guitar and heavy brass section. Aloe sings his heart out on this track! Great single, great LP. Go nourish your soul!