Crucial Material – Best Releases Of The Week (March 17th, 2019)

Busy week, bountiful roundup!

Our weekly picks are carefully plucked from heaps and heaps of new releases just for you. From Jazz to New Age and Balearic House to Hip Hop, our collective of selectors reaches wide, sharing only the cream of the crop.

If you like something you hear, buy it. Your purchase supports the artists & labels whose work you enjoy. Dig in.

The Comet Is Coming “Trust In The LIfeforce of the Deep Mystery”

Genre: Jazz / Electronic
Label: Impulse!
Buy: Vinyl
Stream: Spotify / Apple Music

Shabaka Hutchings is one of the leading artists in the currently thriving London jazz scene. The saxophonist and composer, who also leads the groundbreaking groups Sons of Kemet and Shabaka And The Ancestors, returns with his Afro-futuristic space-jazz project featuring synth wizard Dan Leavers, and drummer Max Hallet. The cosmic trio blends astral jazz with pulsating electronics, and groove-centric rhythms.
– Selected by TJ Gorton

New World Science “Osmos (Movements)”

Genres: New Age / Ambient / Experimental Jazz / Downtempo
Label: Temple
Buy: Vinyl LP

Montreal imprint, Temple, mark their 5th release with ‘a sincere foray into a fourth world fantasy’. The 4-track LP comes from Canadian super-group, New World Science. Osomos (Movements), is the stunning result of a series of collaborative recordings between deep house/ambient rave masterminds, Priori & EX-T and Saxophonist Emmanuel Thibau. The ‘4 Movements’, as titled, cover decent ground; buoyant new age-y soundscapes, tropical beat detours, ethereal cosmic shuffles, and mechanical sputters of acid jazz all round out this debut offering from NWS. I know it’s early, but I see this one finding its way onto more than a few ‘Best of 2019’ lists.
-Selected by Jake Stellarwell

Apiento “Things You Do For Love”

Genres: Downtempo House / Balearic Beat / Electro-Dub
Label: World Building
Buy: Vinyl 7-inch

To commemorate the label’s 7th release, World Building unveil a meditative 7-inch single from modern Balearic-music cult-leader, Paul Byrne aka Apiento (Testpressing.org). Though this is Mr. Byrne’s first solo release, he’s actually spent many years working alongside memorable names, including pairing up with Alex Tepper to deliver a number of EPs on the likes of Golf Channel, Phantom Island and Leng. On ‘Things You Do For Love’, Paul eases out a dubby, downtempo electro-house number primed for Springtime lounge-dancing. And, if you’re better suited for a full-on horizontal affair, flip to the B-side’s ‘Heartbeat’ mix for a sparse, ambient rave breaks excursion dusted ever-so kindly in extra dubby effects.
-Selected by Jake Stellarwell

Eddie C “Think (About It)”

Genres: Soul / Funk / Boogie
Label: Red Motorbike
Buy: Vinyl 7-inch

Eddie C casually arrives in 2019 with two sultry edits on his Red Motorbike imprint. ‘Think (About It)’, on the A-side, is an earnest, grown-folk boogie number respectfully re-hashed to absolute perfection. Pick a partner and square-up on the dance floor, for with this one, it’s time to step! On the B-side is ‘Hot Hands’, here, Mr. C dips into Latin territory with a spicy slice of cinematic Flamenco-funk. Finger-picked guitars, brass, and orchestral swells; it’s a 007 action sequence set in a frozen drink-laden island retreat; sunglasses required, swimsuit optional. As usual, the tracks under scalpel are layered nicely with Eddie’s signature kit. I normally enjoy most of Eddie’s stuff on RM, but I absolutely love this one.
-Selected by Jake Stellarwell

Good Block “4 Corners EP”

Genres: Balearic House / Downtempo / Synth-Dub / New Age
Label: Good Block
Buy: Vinyl 12-inch / Digital
Stream: Spotify / Apple Music

With early support from CC:Disco, Antal, John Gomez and Apiento, the ‘4 Corners EP’ has finally landed. Good Block, a London based duo tinkering in all departments of the underground club trade, are responsible for the 4-tracker on everyone’s radar. Self-released under the GB name, the EP glides nicely from track to track, with top-notch production and sound design that gives a cheeky nod to 80’s synth-pop sheen. And, after a steady release of widely-played edits, shared gratis, the quality of the original work here is no surprise. This one is limited to 300 physical, but does get the digi release treatment for the USB. If you’re in London 6th of April, head to Brilliant Corners for the release launch.
-Selected by Jake Stellarwell

Enzo Conoga “Tropicat”

Genres: Jazz-funk / Disco / Fusion
Label: Wataj
Buy: Vinyl 7-inch / Digi

Enzo Conoga, the latest alias from Palermo-born, Berlin-based Maurizio Schiro, makes debut with fiery 7-inch for Wataj recordings. ‘Tropicat’, a 2-part single dedicated to the ‘tropical side of the Savannah and the felines that dominate it’, sounds as though it could’ve easily been placed on either ‘Zodyaco’ (Pellegrino) or ‘The Other Fantasy’ (Ed Longo), two perfect mini-LPs covered previously by me. Like the two aforementioned LPs, Enzo’s recording is brimming with impeccable instrumentation and exuberant arrangement. Crisp drum workouts, delicate jazz scales, jaunty chords and a cheerfully throbbing bass riff all gently come together creating a sonic portal that seduces you off to a vacation in your mind; total cost – $15.
-Selected by Jake Stellarwell

The Bongo Hop – Satingarona Part​.​2

Label: Underdog Records
Genre: Latin / Afro-Carribean / Salsa
Buy: Vinyl / CD / Digital
Stream: Spotify / Apple Music

French trumpetist Etienne Sevet delivers another album under his Bongo Hop project. Pulling the strands together from Colombia, the Caribbean, West Africa and the Sahara, into a cohesive, warm sound, consistently characterised by the interplay between the vocalists and brass section, particularly Sevet’s trumpet. Very much a team effort, Sevet is joined by producer/arranger Patchworks, French MC Greg Frite, and singers Nidia Gongora (Colombia), Kephny Eliacin (Haiti), Cindy Pooch (Cameroon) & Laurene P Magnani (France). Whilst never a dull moment, a big favourite has to be The Bongo Hop’s treatment of Buscaja’s AfroColombian spiritual, “San Gabriel”.
– Selected by Oli Brunetti

Sarah Tandy “Infection In The Sentence”

Genre: Jazz
Label: Jazz Re:freshed
Buy: Vinyl / Digital
Stream: Spotify / Apple Music

Jazz Re:freshed continues it’s run of breakthrough releases with the brilliant debut from London-based pianist Sarah Tandy. Joined by members of KOKOROKO, SEED Ensemble, and Ezra Collective, the six-track recording highlights Tandy’s diversity as both a pianist and composer, fusing together hard bop-influenced melodies and structures, with hints of Afrobeat, dub, and jazz-funk.
– Selected by TJ Gorton

Dexter Story “Bahir”

Genre: African / Ethio-funk
Label: Soundway
Buy: Vinyl / Digital
Stream: Spotify / Apple Music

Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Dexter Story returns with his sophomore album on Soundway. On this East African-influenced recording, Story collaborates with a number of great artists from both the LA music scene and Africa, including Josef Leimberg, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson, and Ethiopian singer Hamelmal Abate. The brilliant 13-track album truly has a unique sound, fusing together Ethio-jazz, Afro-funk, Tuareg grooves, ekista dance rhythms, and Somalian soul.
– Selected by TJ Gorton

Clever Austin “Pareidolia”

Label: Touching Bass
Genre: Electronic / Beats / Soulful
Buy: Vinyl / Digital
Stream: Spotify / Apple Music

Clever Austin (born Perrin Moss) is the self-taught multi-instrumentalist and co-producer behind Hiatus Kaiyote. His debut album ‘Pareidolia’ is a genre-bending sonic and emotive pilgrimage with virtuosic, percussive groove at its core. Conceived via countless nights in his home studio, it dreamily roams across 18 tracks which slowly unravel with the cinematic feel of a movie.