Eight Weeks

Review: Hoorah! It's been a long time coming, but the album from this Canadian act is finally here. We got a taster for their new retro/contemporary jazzy sound with a single in August. The EP featured the breaks-driven "Soul Sugar", the 70s funk indebted "Driving To Montenegro" and the jazzier "Blow", all of which made it to the album. Now joining these tunes are the likes of the fretlessly rhythmic "Blues For BL", the crazy flute frenzy of "The Kelly Affair" and the gentle piano intricacies of "Snowfall".

Review: Veteran duo Amadou & Mariam's new long player sees the pair 'extend an invitation' to a place that is, they say, 'more a state of mind than a spot on a map'. Here we have a selection of some of the results of that very invitation: Frikstalers take things in a trippy, Macarena on downers direction, King Coya delivers a hypnotic, synthpoppy gem, it's all about the Mediterranean sunsets with Bomba Estereo, while Sidestepper wraps things up in a simple style with his light and fragile remix of "Cherie".

Review: Two slices of juiced-up funk on a familiar theme on this split single, as Angelina Goalie & The Football Funkateers drops a splendid Latin funk instrumental cover of Aretha Franklin's everlasting "Rock Steady", while Texas Toni Needle and Thread drop a chopped up edit of a Stevie Wonder classic.

Review: For the uninitiated, Around7 is a Parisian beatmaker with a difference. Composing mainly with an MPC in the old hip-hop fashion, he makes deep, jazz-soaked jams that sit somewhere between Guru, DJ Cam and Moodymann. This 19-minute 'LP' for Phil Weeks' Robsoul Jazz imprint is something of a surprise gem, flitting effortlessly between bossa-influenced 4/4 cuts (see "Broi"), sampladelic deep soul beats ("The 7th Sin"), stoned trip-hop (the Jazzamatazz flashback vibes of "Butter & Fly" and "I Love BBQ") and head-nodding nu-jazz ("Kick It"). The overall quality suggests that we could be hearing more from him in coming years.

Review: Here we have two rare-as-hen's teeth cuts from disco-era boy/girl duo Aurra. They largely released on Salsoul and had the likes of Larry Levan remix them, so you can kind of guess what to expect. "Satisfaction" is classic early 80s electro-boogie that recalls the sleazy glamour of Prince proteges Vanity 6. "My Lovin Is For You" is more the kind of jheri-curled smooth ballad that the likes of Champagne were known for.