Review: Hiatus Kaiyote is a four piece group out of Melbourne that have slowly but surely seen their music picked up by the likes of BBE and now Brainfeeder. Combining a bunch of soul notes and cool jazz with electro-acoustic beats, R&B vocals and other virtuosic instrumentation, the twice grammy nominated band deliver their most acclaimed release yet. Described by Rolling Stone as 'a stunning step', a true LA Beat scene sound can be heard clear as day in the summery synth waves and keys of "Chivalry Is Not Dead". With downtempo beats and complex arrangements colliding with found sound and ambient melodies in other numbers like "Blood & Marrow" and "Sparkle Tape Break Up", there's extra piano sessions in "Red Room" alongside the twinkling keys of "Sip Into Something Soft". A fully fledged album of deep influences channeling a new age in blues, it's safe to say after six years: Hiatus Kaiyote have arrived.
Review: All time Brainfeeder great and LA beat scene legend Thundercat surfaces once again in dramatic fashion for Flying Lotus' flag bearing US imprint. It's stoic title, It Is What It Is, hints at how many of us might be feeling right now - isolated but managing - with Thundercat's album said to be something of a sombre record that treads a darker path, as described in a New York Times interview. Presenting his fifth studio album and first since 2017's Drunk, Thundercat delivers 15 tracks (and skits) all clocking in at around three minutes with a huge cast of feature collaborators including Ty Dolla Sign, Lil B and Childish Gambino to Kamasi Washington and comedian Zack Frost with the sensual "Overseas". Our highlights include the royal grooves and slap bass of "Black Qualls", the floating rhode solos in "King Of The Hill" and frenetic funk of "How Sway".
PBDY - "Bring Me Down" (feat Salami Rose Joe Louis) - (1:55) 159 BPM
Review: Brainfeeder as a project have been known to bring together the weird and wonderful, more often than not supplying the world with stunning original music. This latest compilation from them celebrates 10 years of the label, putting Flying Lotus's visions into reality. We explore previously undiscovered realms of futuristic hip hop production, with immediate stand outs being the the unpredictable neurotic drum crunches of 'Delusions' from Little Snake, along with the pulsating drum work and 4x4 flavours of 'Squaz' courtesy of Ross From Friends. Another shout out has to go to FlyLo himself as he teams up with Busdriver for a super skat heavy run out on 'Ain't No Coming Back'. This one is a fantastic listen from start to finish.
Review: Brandon Coleman clearly revels in the background. Being a talented songwriter and arranger, along with killing it on the keyboard and organ, he has been at the back-end of groups like The Next Step and The Western Transient, pushing the boundaries of funk and broken beat to their very limits. He's back with his second solo LP this time, coming through on Flying Lotus' mighty Brainfeeder, and everything about this release feels utterly on-point - yessah! Taking a couple of notes and steers from the Daft Punk dynasty, along with the USA's lust for funk, Coleman's vocoder voice runs like silk across many of these playful and innovative boogie tunes, hitting us with some Cali vibes - and sunrays - from the moment "live For Today" melts into the waves of "All Around The World" and, eventually, into the longing, utterly seductive flow of "Sexy" and "Thereas No Turning Back". What is most impressive is Coleman's single-minded vision, coming through with an album that has one single sound and vision running through it. Excellent stuff.
Review: Electornic r&b sensation Louis Cole must be pretty chuffed with himself. The young producer has only really put out a string of self-released EPs, all of them excellent, but it must be a surprise and delight to be called up on Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder stable. It is clear that this relationship will be a winning one, however, as Time is a sensational album that encompasses all of what the enlarged 'bass' sound has to offer. There is a bit of everything in here, from the slow and melancholic vocal waves of "Everytime" to the much more pop-friendly, electro-filtered approach "Tunnels In The Air" - featuring the terrific Thundercat - and then onto plenty of house voyages and experiments, much like on the sublime "Freaky Times". A sure hit!
Review: Lapalux is Stuart Howard. Throughout his new LP, the British producer takes his sound exploration further. It's a journey into an ominous space between life and death. In this 'liminal space where the finite and infinite intermingle', Howard has really found his comfort zone, sound wise. Much of its inspiration was born out of a theatrical score he wrote for a performance art piece that was performed in an East London cemetery: a project 'wrought with doom and melancholia.' The album is said to have been created using only hardware and real instruments. There's the deep and ethereal future beat of "4EVA" featuring Talvi's angelic vocals and even a bit of lush deep house in the form of "Flickering" featuring another gorgeous vocal performance; this time courtesy of one JFDR. "Rotted Arp" sounds exactly like its namesake on this wonky ambient excursion, featuring a contemplative spoken word performance by the Bromance affiliated songstress from Los Angeles: Louisahhh!
Review: Flying Lotus collaborator Thundercat returns to Brainfeeder with his first full album since 2013's superb Apocalypse. Drunk is a thrill-a-minute, mix-tape style trip through the multi-instrumentalist and beat-maker's various inspirations (think skewed hip-hop, jazz, soul, funk, left-of-centre electronica, and so on), all of which have been fused and mutated to fit his unique musical perspective. His high standing within the leffield hip-hop community has allowed Thundercat to snag some impressive guest stars, too, including Kendrick Lamarr, blue-eyed soul legend Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Pharell and jazz man Kamasi Washington. Old pal "Fly-Lo" also lends a hand.
Review: Mitchel Van Dither has been synonymous with the Kindred Spirits label up until now, an imprint that we have just so much time and respect for. He has, however, been branching out as of late, and his adventures have landed him a spot on Flying Lotus' mighty Brainfeeder. Two EP's containing tunes from Fool have already been released on the label, but the album format expresses their depth much more clearly, and with more freedom. Objectively, Fool is Brainfeeder through and through, a little work of art to fit in perfectly with the rest of this ever-surprising and always on-point catalogue. Recommended.
Review: Ninja Tune are chuffed to bits, having secured a kind of talent jackpot for this, their latest release. Daedelus is a celebrated Californian electronic muso Alfred Darlington who here teams up with jazzy heroes Kneebody (featuring his old high-school pal and saxophone virtuoso Ben Wendell). The resulting long player, Kneedelus, is remarkable fusion of their two worlds: the authentic and the artificial, in other words a 'multi-headed beast straddling rock, jazz, and electronic music'.
Review: A new Mr Oizo album is always something to celebrate, and like Flying Lotus, the quirky French producer's music, as strenuous as it can be, never gets tiring. Quentin Dupieux proves again he hasn't lost it, amalgamating old school Ed Banger beats and snares with frenetic footwork, gnarly arpeggios and breezy chords. If you loved Analog Worms Attack and Moustache (Half A Scissor), and the Steak album, there's no doubting you'll warm to this too, especially when it comes to tracks like "Mass Doom" and "Ham". If Lambs Anger was more your thing, get ready to embrace tracks like "ISoap" and for something grittier check out "The Church".
Review: In case Gaslamp Killer's album wasn't quite enough excitement for one season, along comes this crazy conceptual work by My Dry Wet Mess. He describes the album as being written in the same way a writer would create a story, but with sounds. Created in four different houses between Barcelona and Berlin, it's an intriguing concept. And you'll be pleased to hear it works. At points wonderfully embracing (the spliced and diced harmonies and tempo flex on "When We Were Wrong"), at others headscratchingly madcap (the mangled garage vibes of "A Wrong Number") like all the best albums, this will take a long time to settle in your collection, offering something new on every listen.
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