A cross-cultural tour de force from London’s Waaju crew and Moroccan Gnawa master Majid Bekkas on this fantastic live album out now on the mighty BBE! A stunning fusion of Afro-Latin, jazz, psychedelia, Gnawa and heavy heavy grooves recorded in the beautiful Church of Sound in East London, Ben Brown’s new arrangements of traditional Gnawa songs are revelatory, the ensemble’s performance transcendent. Read / Listen.
Read MoreDamos Room 'Commencement // Mineral Blend' (Nudibranch) - a review
Weird broken dub for a weird broken world, Damos Room’s new E.P. on Nudibranch is both funny and dark. Eccentric in a very British way, its paranoid rambles and subsonic trembling will shake your speakers and ruin your picnic. With guest remixers such as LA’s hip hop brutalist Gonjasufi along for the ride, be ready. Read / Listen.
Read MoreSon Of Philip 'Plastic Borough' (Running Circle Records) - a review
Son Of Philip’s stunning new seven track E.P. for Running Circle Records is awash with electronic textures and synthetic loops without losing the feeling of human creation. ‘Plastic Borough’s post-club ambience and widescreen ‘Blade Runner’ edges also sees the talented Nottingham born musician, DJ and producer Tom Smith, collaborate with Swedish singer Ylva Grönlund, offering a darkly poetic noir to his beatless stories. Read / Listen.
Read MoreChampagne Dub 'Rainbow' (On The Corner Records) - a review
The artwork on this debut album by Champagne Dub seems an appropriately disconcerting image for the kind of ‘dub’ contained. Apocalyptic at times, raw, improvised and very leftfield, the misfit band pulled together by Maxwell Hallett aka Betamax (Soccer96, The Comet Is Coming etc) have delivered a heavyweight dub patchwork that is brimming with post-punk energy and wild cosmic agitation. Ruth Goller, Clive Bell, Ed Briggs (laser bagpipes) and the masked Peruvian performance artist and vocalist, Mr Noodles, have brought flammables to the party. Read / Listen
Read MoreHarper Trio 'Passing By' (Little Yellow Man Records) - a review
For decades, the harp was a rare flower dotted meagerly amongst the accepted solo instruments that were afforded respect in the world of jazz. Outstanding harpists such as Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby needed new generations to recognise their genius and worth but now, on the shoulders of these giants, we live in a golden era of jazz-harpists and Greek born Maria-Christina Harper will surely find herself in the frontline with her debut album. Harper Trio’s exploratory merging of Mediterranean folkloric influences and bluesy expression alongside touches of the contemporary avant-garde offers a new way of viewing the instrument and how it can be played. Alongside the brilliant Josephine Davies on saxophone and Evan Jenkins on drums, she has created an outstanding album that vibrates with its own distinct personality. Read / Listen.
Read MoreChicagoXLondon at The Barbican (EFG London Jazz Festival 2022) - a review
An extraordinary musical and human encounter that started at the Barbican Centre and ended the next day at the Total Refreshment Centre. An all star cast from the Chicago label International Anthem and some of the brightest talents from the UK’s jazz and improvisational music community came together for a celebratory musical communion that will be long talked about. Read / Listen
Read MoreHamish Balfour 'Running Colours' (Shapes Of Rhythm) - title track premiere!
We are super pleased to showcase the title track from Hamish Balfour’s forthcoming album for Shapes of Rhythm! Exquisitely played brukish jazz fusion and a stunning vocal from Hospital Records’ Elsa Esmeralda makes this something special. Read / Listen
Read MoreAgile Experiments 'These Are Times For Mind And Spirit' (DDR Records) - a review
Probably my fave Agile Experiments record to date. Spacious, abstract experimental jazz with krautrock, funk and electronica in the mix played by a trio of exceptional improvisational musicians that include bandleader Dave De Rose, Jon Scott (Go Go Penguin) and George Crowley (Melt Yourself Down. Read / Listen
Read MoreEdrix Puzzle 'Coming Of The Moon Dogs' (On The Corner Records) - album announcement
A heavyweight collision of ‘Mwandishi-era Herbie Hancock meets space-weight electronics, classical violin & instrumental analogue noir’ is contained in this forthcoming album from the Planet Battagon spin-off Edrix Puzzle. Nathan “Tugg” Curran and his London-based outfit have dropped an interference in the order propelled by cosmic dread and serious improvisational chops. This is heavy post-punk-jazz-dub Juju. Read / Listen / Pre-order
New Regency Orchestra live at Earth (Theatre) (EFG London Jazz Festival 2021) - a review
The New Regency Orchestra is a twenty-piece Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble made up of some of London’s hottest jazz musicians and our good friend Oli Brunetti (Olindo Records / Colectivo Futuro) was lucky enough to catch them live as part of this year’s EFG London Jazz Festival. Check out his excellent review here…
Read MoreKinkajous 'Convolution' (Running Circle) - a review
The new single from Kinkajous’ forthcoming second LP for Running Circle Records is a richly orchestrated yet turbulent soundtrack for the times we are living in. Electronica, jazz and cinematic strings melt together like burning electrical wires. Read / Listen here
Read MoreYelfris Valdés 'For The Ones (Remixed)' (Música Macondo Records) - a review
A classy remix package of Yelfris Valdés 'For The Ones' LP on Música Macondo Records sees Tim Garcia harnessing a serious line-up of producers to explore and rework the original gold into new shapes whilst retaining the spiritual Yoruba force originally intended. An essential listen for lovers of broken beat, deep house and the real thing. Read / listen here
Read MoreSubculture Sage 'Hackers / I Am The Ghost' - a review
North London’s Subculture Sage have a brand new double-headed slab of thoughtful sunshine Hip Hop out today that should bring joy to the ears of ‘golden era’ supporters and passing Hip Hop fans alike… Read / Listen here
Read MoreMariachi Las Adelitas - El Toro Relajo (video)
Europe’s only all-female Mariachi band (endorsed by Salma Hayek no less), have managed to navigate the lockdown troubles of 2020 and remotely record a stunning rearrangement of the Felipe Bermejo song ‘El Toro Relajo’ and it’s wonderful. Watch the video here….
Read MoreSimon Jefferis brings his Vibrations - an interview
Multi-talented Simon Jefferis’ new album ‘Vibrations’ is a self-produced soul jazz beauty with one foot in London’s vibrant jazz scene and another in classic 90’s US hip hop … the sound of a hot summer…Read / listen here….
Read MoreBBE In-store: Tabansi Studio Band - Album Launch
Our own Ex-Friendly joins legendary compiler John Armstrong at The BBE Store in East London for the launch of two albums by the brilliant Tabansi Studio Band…Afrobeat but not as we know it!
Read MoreSimbad Presents Collections Vol One (BBE) - a review
A favourite DJ and producer of Gilles Peterson amongst many, Simbad has been a prolific remixer for BBE over the years but here is his first album for them and it’s a backdated journey through his unique prism of electronic soul….read/listen more…
Read More'Rhythm Rhyme Revolution #3' - a review
In the third of his ‘Rhythm Rhyme Revolution’ series, Barrie Sharpe has created a record that looks back at the smoke-filled basements of early 90s London but carries his soulful rare groove vibes into 2019 as cool as it ever was…read/listen more here…
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