Crucial Material – Best Releases of the Week (September 15th, 2018)

No time to rest, the new releases keep coming in! Whoever said “they don’t make em like they used to” should stop complaining about the state of music, stop looking backwards and realise: there is a shit ton of amazing music being put out every single week!

As always, you can trust us to distill the hundred of weekly new releases and boil it down to the best 10 releases. So here you go, another serving of Crucial Material. Open your ears, your heart and maybe your wallet.

NEW ALBUMS & EPs

Brandon Coleman “Resistance”

Genres: Funk / Jazz / Soul
Label: Brainfeeder
Purchase

Chalk another one up for the Brainfeeder camp! Honestly, listen to this album and try not to smile, I dare ya! Twelve off-the-cuff jams that aim to spread positivity and an overall good time. Like most of Brainfeeder’s releases there’s usually a little bit of a quirkiness to a lot of these tunes. When paired with the lyrical content which sometimes touches on heavier subjects, it reminds us that at the end of the day keeping things fun is how to do it!
-Selected by Mike Jones

Mabuta “Welcome To This World”

Genre: Jazz
Label: Afrosynth
Purchase

Led by bassist, composer, producer, and Cape Town native Shane Cooper, “Welcome To This World” is the debut release from MABUTA, a collective of incredible musicians from the currently thriving South African Jazz scene. The record blends electric Jazz instrumentation with funky Afro-grooves and driving synth melodies. It also features London-based saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings on a number of tracks. Released earlier this year, this album finally sees a much deserved vinyl release through Johannesburg’s Afrosynth Records.
-Selected by TJ Gorton

Waajeed “Strength EP”

Genre: House / Detroit
Label: Dirt Tech Reck
Purchase

Following his refocus a few years back on more dancefloor-oriented, Detroit’s Waajeed has been putting out some of the absolute music at the crossroads of Techno and House. Absolute class EP from top to bottom. The slamming original, the “Strings” version in true Detroit fashion + two remixes from Jay Daniel and Jon Dixon the next wave of Motor City talent. Huge shout out to Ideeyah for the amazing vocals on this one, it’s about time we bring back the House Divas!
– Selected by Lexis

Noname “Room 25”

Genres: Hip-Hop / R&B
Purchase

Noname is back with her sophomore album titled Room 25. One of the most anticipated records this, certainly for us it was! The brilliant rapper/singer/poet hailing from Chicago presents this 11-track project, her first release since her breakthrough debut, 2016’s Telefone. Guests on the new LP include Saba, Smino, Ravyn Lenae, Phoelix, Adam Ness, Yaw and Benjamin Earl Turner.

Aphex Twin “Collapse EP”

Genres: IDM / Experimental Electronic
Label: Warp
Purchase

Aphex Twin’s first release of 2018 is here! *internet breaks in half* Actually though, it’s here and you’re listening to it. Completely off the wall in terms of song titles, promo, videos…. and music of course! This is one for all fans of Electronic Music. It’s spastic, glitchy, terrestrial and otherworldly. It travels at hyper-speed and doesn’t look back. Although it’s super bonkers, it still feels as though I could show it to my Grandmother (RIP) and she would strangely understand it. That’s what makes Aphex Twin inimitable.
-Selected by Mike Jones

Yves Tumor “Safe In The Hands Of Love”

Genres: Rock / Electronic / Trip Hop
Label: Warp
Purchase

With this third LP, Musician / Performance Artist Yves Tumor once again resists getting boxed in by any one sound, look, and overall ‘ness. This time around things feel inspired by the late-’90s / early-2000s Big Shiny Tunes era of Rock music and Trip Hop, mixed in a way that feels almost like a Grunge CD, with a visual aesthetic that’s sort of a colourful version of Marilyn Manson. While most tracks are pretty conceptual, the album still manages to include a lot of catchy choruses and can definitely appeal to a crowd that’s much wider than a lot of “art music” out there. Lots of respect to Yves Tumor for being totally unique and genuine while not restricting the audience to any one type of person.
-Selected by Mike Jones

Jay Glass Dubs “Plegnic”

Genres: Dub / Greek Dubs
Label: Ecstatic
Purchase

“Jay Glass Dubs sublimates Athenian distress and ennui into plasmic dub ether on ‘Plegnic’. Deconstructing and rebuilding Jamaican dub with musique concrete production methods and a lingering air of inspiration from new age and Laïko, or Greek popular music, on ‘Plegnic’ Jay Glass Dubs fascinatingly evolves his sound with richer melodic and harmonic arrangements in a concerted effort to bridge and expand the nostalgic, esoteric and dancefloor dimensions of his unique sound world.” (Ecstatic)
– Selected by Lexis

Phil France “Circle”

Genres: Electronic / Minimalism
Label : Gondwana Records
Purchase

For the second week in a row, Gondwana Records has released another great record, this time the sophomore album from Phil France. The Manchester-based composer, bassist and producer is probably best know as a key collaborator alongside Jason Swinscoe in the Cinematic Orchestra. His new album, titled Circles, picks right up where his 2013 debut, The Swimmer, left off, with layers of melodic electronic textures and minimal arpeggiated patterns that build and shift throughout each song.
-Selected by TJ Gordon

The Lewis Express “s/t”

Genres: Jazz / Beats
Label : ATA Records
Purchase

With a nod to the classic soul-jazz sound of the sixties, the UK-based quartet The Lewis Express has just released a great new record that channels the the funkier side of legendary artists from that era like Young-Holt Unlimited, Cannonball Adderley, and The Ramsey Lewis Trio (which the group’s name references). The debut album is nice mix of funky piano-driven jazz grooves with touches of Latin and Brazilian rhythms.
-Selected by TJ Gordon

Shinichi Atobe “Heat”

Genres: House
Label: DDS
Purchase

“Heat is a surprise new double album from Shinichi Atobe for DDS. It follows on from last year’s “From The Heart, It’s A Start, A Work Of Art” set and continues a run of highly enigmatic, acclaimed and completely unparalleled productions that follow their own timeless logic. There’s no sonic fiction involved – this material really does just turn up on a CD sent by air mail from Japan to Manchester, sparse info, no messing, pure gold.” (via Boomkat)

REISSUES & ARCHIVAL RELEASES

Dur Dur of Somalia “Volume 1 & Volume 2”

Genres: African Funk
Label: Analog Africa
Purchase

The first of a three-part release from Analog Africa dedicated to eighties Somalian funk group, the Dur-Dur Band. This triple LP features the band’s first two albums, which were originally released on cassette tapes back in the mid-eighties. Now fully remastered and pressed onto vinyl for the first time, this record highlight’s one of Somalia’s greatest funk bands. Led by keyboardist Isse Dahir, the group blends traditional Somali music with funk grooves, soulful vocals, Banaadiri beats, and heavy tropical rhythms.
-Selected by TJ Gordon

N’Draman Blintch “Cosmic Sounds”

Genres: African Disco
Label: Hot Mule
Purchase

38 years after it’s original release, N’Draman-Blintch’s extremely rare Afro-disco gem ‘Cosmic Sounds’ finally sees a much-needed reissue. The record features four great tracks that blend funky African-influenced disco grooves with lots of spacey synth lines, some psychedelic melodies, and soulful vocals. Overall, the whole album sounds like the soundtrack to the funkiest space-aged African disco party. William Onyeabor fans will love this record!
-Selected by TJ Gordon

Bruce Haak “The Preservation Tapes”

Genre: Early Electronic
Label: Telephone Explosion
Purchase

The deepest vaults from Early Electronic music pioneer Bruce Haak have finally found a final resting place courtesy of this fantastic project from Toronto’s Telephone Explosion label. I remember being absolutely transfixed when I discovered his earlier albums “Haackula” and “Electric Lucifer Book II” so any mention of unreleased material is music to my ears. Out worldly and trippy as ever, in an alternate universe Bruce Haak would have been that super cool uncle you have that lets you fiddle with his modular synths.
– Selected by Lexis

SunPalace “The Lost Songs 1982-1984”

Genre: Disco-Not-Disco
Label: Chuwanaga
Purchase

Co-written by Mike Collins from SunPalace and Breeze McKrieth, a founder member of Britfunk bands Light Of The World and Beggar & Co, these « Lost Songs » are the almost forgotten result of this seminal collaboration, an exclusive musical rendezvous between experienced studio music makers and funksters at the top of their game, including some of the finest Britfunk musicians. Bringing together eighties influences and futuristic sounds, the result covers a wide range of genres, from jazz-funk to new wave: it captured a unique moment in British musical history, a smooth transition to a more electronic sound. Definitely not one to be missed!