Words by Justin Turford
Tim Garcia is doing this record label lark the right way. The Jazz FM resident (I was honoured to be a guest selector on his show not long ago), DJ and cultural operator lets his label breathe quality instead of quantity and this long-planned remix response to Yelfris Valdés 2019 debut album 'For The Ones’ is pure class. The Cuban composer and trumpeter brought the spirituality of his Yoruba religion and added elegant electronica and live instrumentation to create a show-stopping debut record that grabbed the discerning ears of top shelf influencers such as Gilles P, Benji B and the best of the BBC6 cartel as well as more underground players like Jazzwise and Stamp The Wax. With such polished but artistic stems at their disposal, the chosen remixers for the new project must have felt like this was manna from heaven.
Alongside gold dust guarantors like Osunlade and Quantic, Tim managed to catch some of the best of the new breed who blur the boundaries between jazz, electronica and newer underground genres yet to be settled and the result is an essential collection for home listening and dancefloor sweat. Osunlade’s Yoruba Soul Remix (above) is just another of his perfectly paced and produced spiritual house excursions that nobody does better whilst Quantic’s cosmic-tropical refreshment of ‘Aceleyo Aña’ recalls his brilliant work with Colombian singer Nidia Góngora. Contours rework of ‘Maktub’ is a deep dive into Larry Heard territory with a classic deep house bassline, swirling arpeggiated synths and the original vocals praising and beseeching the congregation.
Yelfris Valdés
K15’s chill-bruk version of ‘Ancestry’ keeps it heavy on the percussion and has that Ian O’Brien meets Notting Hill Arts Club vibe from the late 90s down to a beautiful tee. Maxwell Owin’s Trying Times Mix of ‘Worlds’ continues down that 90s vein with a heavier halftime groove, scattershot drums and broken spoken word. Finally we have ‘Full Moon (Likwid Continual Space Motion Remix)’ and who else could it be? The Don of broken beat and future afro music IG Culture who sustains the tension throughout with a tough soca rhythm, subtle discordant keys while Yelfris’s expressive playing leads the tale. 10/10