Bastard Jazz US At Juno Download

Review: Brooklyn's Charlie B. Wilder (aka Chuck Wild aka Captain Planet) returns to treat everyone who didn't manage to track down his recent Mystery Trip cassette to a more accessible digital release. It's a good thing too as it would be a shame to limit the reach for these eight inventive tunes. Over the course of the EP we encounter Wilder's international tastes including the township funk of "Bouyouye", the dubby and percussive "Bokazo", the sat-by-the-camp-fire pan pipes of "Urubamba" and the filtered Euro-house of "Paratoo".

Review: Having previously remixed Alice Russell and Vieux Farka-Toure, as well as producing his Speakin' Nuyorican EP a few years back, Captain Planet is back with Congolese singer Fredy Massamba on the mic for "Ningane". A laid back Afrobeat/funk beat acts as the soundbed for Massamba to flex lyrically, while a remix from Whiskey Barons adds some disco flavour courtesy of a slinky guitar 'n' bass line that nestles up nicely with the cowbell-rocking beat. Alongside a "Ningane" instrumental, new CP tracks "Dame Agua" and "Macumba" see the Captain in fine, funky form.

Review: Frankly, there's nothing "basic" about this wonderful debut single from Ireland's Colm K. From the first few seconds of his original, featuring the superb jazz vocals of Elaine Dowling, you'll hear the skills just poring into your ears. A slow, nu-soul/trip-hop beat fleshed out with varying samples working together to form a delicate and highly memorable melody, Dowling's swooping vocals are the icing on this delicious cake. Colm drops a more synthed-up boogie/nu-soul version on the flip, with his "Uptown" mix also rampantly impressing, while further mixes from Part-Time Heroes, Jugoe and Dhundee make this one very mighty release indeed.

Review: Dubby hip-hop producer Jugoe (aka Jude Goergen), took a recent hiatus from the music biz but has since relocated to Chicago and is feeling a new fire in his creative loins. "Kingpin" is his return, and with its aquatic synths and dreamy, almost cosmic dub effects, we're certainly glad to have him back. Prottasov handles the remix and actually manages to make it even dubbier! The deep 'n' moody "Night Fumblings" is also remixed by Q-Burn who add an organic breaky jazz feel to all the atmospherics.

Review: A real journeyman of styles and scenes, French producer Kid Loco's chilled and exotica-laced nu-jazz gets a makeover from three different sources on these new remixes of "My Daddy Waza". While Ezequiei Lodeiros Latinazo brings an uptempo samba-jazz feel to his very live makeover, Suonho couched Loco's original in more studio-based funk for his more housey excursion. The most radical mix though comes in the form of the excellent, slo-mo disco rerub from Greenwood Rhythm Coalition, which gets delightfully deep thanks to some bassy pads and soft vocal loops.

Review: Previously of New Zealand reggae act The Black Seeds, Lord Echo made his own mark with last year's debut solo album Melodies, which combined funk, dub, beats and Latin influences and also included a killer cover of Sister Sledge's "Thinking of You". On this latest tune (out on Brooklyn's Bastard Jazz label), Echo works up a fun, sunny disco-funk groove complete with some urgent organ chords and some live brass. On the flip, "Long Time No See" comes in on a boogaloo tip with a mesh of clavs, cowbells and claps all fused together with plenty of Latin flavour.

Review: Beats are right at the heart of this release on Brooklyn's Bastard Jazz label. This San Francisco producer found his feet under his Dj Centipede alias, putting on the weekly "Change The Beat" parties in his hometown. It's under his Mophono's Halftone Society moniker though that he's really starting to make a big impression, as this quite brilliant and surprising EP proves.

Hunger is the perfect way to get his flavour. Putting the punchy & live sounding drums out front in the mix, he shows off his ways with a beat almost in the same way a jazz quartet might allow the drummer to drop a solo. He lets the sampled brass hits subside and allows himself space to create a drop-dead devastating drum break that will have listeners everywhere undoubtedly comparing him to Dj Shadow (the vibe of Hunger is indeed very similar to the classic break in the middle of "Building Steam..." from Endtroducing).

Elsewhere, Bumps keeps the winning combination of huge drums and sampled brass, this time putting some sax centre stage and creating a lot of fun in the process. Sinicism again "gives the drummer some" in timeless jazz style, dropping down to an accomplished solo before switching rhythms and turning into a perfect hands-in-the-air hip-hop jam. Tru Thoughts and Ninja Tune star Natural Self delivers a remix that concentrates on this section of Sinicism, adding some tasteful sub-bass amongst other things to really bring out the bopping qualities of MHS's original. With a couple of drum-only edits included with the single, you're perfectly placed to marvel in this man's seriously impressive way with a beat. Get in early, there's going to be a lot of buzz this producer very soon."Sinicism".

Review: Known for his slanted nu-jazz originals and remixes, Gilles Peterson-approved producer Tall Black Guy compiles an impressive haul of spectral hip-hop and digital soul on this compilation - released via Bastard Jazz US. The Common-sampling "Scanner Resurrection" is an immediate winner, as is the jazz-fusion lilt of Tensei's "Space Colony" while others from this 12-song set (including Buscrates, Evil Needle, Doc Illingworth and TBG himself) gel together perfectly in this shining nu-soul stew.