Category: Reviews
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Kamaal The Abstract album review – Q-Tip
There are several theories as to why the music industry is in a bind. One reason points to record company greed: it helped stoke the flames of piracy. Judging by the tortuous history of Kamaal The Abstract, we should add A&R incompetence to the list. In 2002, Arista Records shelved the album because it was […]
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BLACKsummers’ night album review – Maxwell
Eight years after Now, the Brooklyn-born sex god is back, minus the afro, to serenade any female within earshot. But before Maxwell became a statuesque bundle of erotic energy, it’s worth noting that there was more to him than a chiselled jawline and taut buttocks. Back in 1996, he released Urban Hang Suite, a coolly […]
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One Offs, Remixes And B-Sides album review – Domu
At the turn of the century, it seemed that on a weekly basis, another broken beat track was released on ground-breaking labels such as Bitasweet and Main Squeeze. The likes of IG Culture, Bugz In The Attic, Seiji, Mark de Clive-Lowe and Kaidi were putting out scores of singles. But what was unique about those […]
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The After Suite album review – Elan Mehler
This New York pianist looks like a jazz man, sounds like a jazz man, and yet makes music non-jazzers will love. The numerous vocal tracks on this album will reassure those who flee at the hint of a sax solo. Adam McBride-Smith’s voice perfectly complements the floaty, melodic ballads of The New Breed and I Want To Leave […]
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Hyper Reality album review – Clyde
The Encyclopaedia Britannica says “funk defies literal definition”. Damn right it defies literal definition. What on earth is “funky”? Are any of those “funky house” tracks truly funky — ie, exhibiting that unmistakable marriage of bass and beats that propels heads to nod. Those are scarce. In fact if you want remarkable funk, head to the unremarkable […]
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The New Continent album review – Lars Bartkuhn
Some say material on this album sounds a bit like Pat Metheny. They’re mistaken. There’s material on this album that sounds a lot like Pat Metheny. All those “eee yaaahs” and “bah deee baaahs” can be heard on late ’80s Metheny LPs like Still Life (Talking) and Letter From Home. If you own them, buy The New Continent. You […]
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Higher album review – Michelle Amador
Roy Ayers. Roy Ayers. Roy Ayers. That’s the name that springs to mind when listening to Higher. In fact, Ayers is pretty much in the room on He And She, a superb song that features Ayers sound-alike Mr. J. But even when Mr. J isn’t jamming, Ayers’ aura is ever present because Michelle’s cool, measured phrasing is […]
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When Planets Explode album review – Dorian Concept
With his floppy blond locks and second-hand T-shirts, Dorian Concept personifies nerdiness. You can hear it in his music. Every intro on When Planets Explode begins with, what appears to be, a jumble of blips and squelches. Then, as if by magic, those muddled noises mutate into a discernable melody. It’s all very smart, although […]
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In Search Of Hope album review – Kaidi Tatham
Kaidi, like other broken beat practitioners, shuns the limelight. But if you’ve been paying attention during the past decade, you would’ve heard his Hancock-esque keyboard playing on tracks by Bugz In The Attic, 2000 Black, DKD and Silhouette Brown. In Search Of Hope is a departure from his previous work, being decidedly jazzier. Nothing wrong […]
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The Renaissance album review – Q-Tip
There was probably an almighty unclenching of buttocks when this CD was released, such was the tension surrounding it. Q-Tip was under pressure; only President Obama had more expectations on his shoulders. The last album by the former A Tribe Called Quest rhymster was 1999’s Amplified (if you don’t count 2002’s unreleased Kamaal The Abstract). […]