Fat Bird Sounds At Juno Download

Review: Portugal's Mr Bird is internationally renowned as a virtual virtuoso of the cut up funky sample. He's not about to let that reputation get tarnished however, and he's committed to delivering a very regular stream of releases guaranteed to keep him in demand. This album follows the relatively recent Bird Bird Bird and boats an even bigger tracklisting, the highlights of which include the making veggies sexy "Green Beans", the furrowed brow funk of "Truth Is Solitary", the shimmering symphonics of "Ape Beats" and the 70s swagger of "Shoreline".

Review: Mr Bird is on a roll right now! Hot on the heels of his Talk Of The Town and Salthill & Sugar EPs comes this fruity four-pack that's so perfect for this time of year he's even presented the Maxi Priest sampling "On A Sunny Day" as a Lazy Summer remix. The current king of lazy, hip-hop informed breaks; think soul, think funk, think party time. "Help Is On The Edit" sums up his wide-armed sampling style to a T with Busta Rhymes and The Temptations taking the limelight over a stupendously slick bassline. Meanwhile on "Get The Funk" Bird shows he's not averse to the darker side of the breakbeat with a wonderfully warped bassline and yet more well executed found-vocals. Do as the title says, let's go... And press play!

Review: Mr Bird follows up his Bird Bird Bird album from last month with a fresh quad of nu-funk/hip-hop hybrids. "Monkey Funk" clicks some serious Cuban heels over an obese breakbeat, "Don't Say Nothing" gets all LL Cool J over an early Fatboy style guitar swing, "Glad To Be Free" goes on a more whimsical 60s jam with added flute and glockenspiel twists and "Ufo" sees Bird adding a deeper, more cosmic feather to his bow. Not a monkey in sight, but very very funky. The Bird is indeed the word.

Review: Fresh from his work with Dedy Dread, the Birdman gets his freak on with three funk workouts that ooze so much sunshine you really should be wearing shades to read this review. The lead track is the true party piece here; a laidback and shuffling remake of a Sugarhill classic, it's guaranteed to raise eyebrows and shake hips on your next dancefloor. Elsewhere old Birdy flops his flute out for a slice of broken beat magic on "(Song For) Gil" before dusting off another hip-hop classic - Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel & Kurtis Blow's "We Funk This Party Out" in case you're asking - for the EP finale "Funk U". Impeccable sunshine business.

Review: Taking Enur's reggeaton romp "Calabria" and making it totally his own thanks to a great horn riff and some swinging beats, Mr Bird delivers yet another serious party piece. It's all about the remixes right here as five different artists add their own interpretation. Chatty takes the classic big beat route with a groove so funky it would make Freddy Fresh blush. Joe Revells adds more hip-hop sensibility complete with some cool chops and added bottom end. Bossy Ride's Moombahsplash drops the tempo for a more contemporary club stomp. Dan Wilde delivers the most DJ-friendly version with extended beats and some cool arrangement while Flint & Steel add the most stark reversion with added synths, a slamming dancehall riddim and a some rather vicious bass en route. Drop this and you'll be the talk of the town!