Oreglo’s latest release, 'THE WHIRR', marks a bold new chapter for the band, pushing their experimental edge further than ever. Described by the band as “a less apologetic and more expansive sound,” it finds them experimenting more boldly with the foundations of their identity. Drawing on backgrounds that span prog rock, alternative & jazz, oreglo create music that resists definition in the best possible way.

TRACK LISTING

1. The Whirr
2. Don Gino
3. Speedbump!
4. Red Shift
5. Bosté

Brownswood Recordings proudly presents the fourth installment of its Remix Editions series, featuring fresh reworks of Galliano classics. This limited-edition vinyl delivers two dynamic, dancefloor-ready gems, perfect for collectors and music lovers alike.

Side A: musclecars remix
New York DJ/Producer duo musclecars bring their signature warmth and groove to Pleasure, Joy & Happiness, transforming it into a soulful, 90s NYC house-inspired anthem. Known for their genre-blending approach and a mission to unite communities through music, musclecars’ rework includes lush instrumentation and fresh vocal runs from Galliano’s Rob Gallagher and Valerie Etienne. The release also includes an instrumental version of the remix.

Speaking about the track, musclecars said:
“We wanted to give this a real 90’s NYC house feel, with additional instrumentation to really bring on that euphoric sense of pleasure, joy, and happiness that Rob & Val were singing about. Big shout out to them for being open to doing additional vocal runs for our remix. Think it really gave the track new life!”

Galliano’s Rob Gallagher shared his excitement:
“Brooklyn’s finest work over the Eddie Chacon classic to sit on the dancefloor with that New York underground stamp. Already a mainstay of the Galliano live set, this remix gives the song yet more legs to explore the outer reaches. When is a song not a song? When it’s a Millipede….”

Side B: Laroye Remix
French producer Laroye reimagines Circles Going Round The Sun through a Detroit-inspired lens, blending soulful TR-909 beats, evolving strings, and a driving bassline. This remix channels the essence of Detroit techno while honoring the emotive heart of the original, creating a powerful, genre-defying track designed for the dancefloor.

Laroye explained his inspiration:
“This remix draws on soulful Detroit techno—Underground Resistance, Carl Craig, Recloose—melding jazz, soul, and house. Galliano’s message feels timeless, and this remix bridges the past and present beautifully. Like we were somehow connected, without guessing we’d meet one day… a little bit like magic.”

Galliano’s Rob Gallagher added:
“The Laroye remix is a journey in itself. Hearing it late at We Out Here Festival, the crowd moved like one creature on waves of sound. It’s a joy that lingers every time I hear it.”

About Brownswood Remix Editions
The Brownswood Remix Editions series celebrates dancefloor culture with exclusive 12” releases featuring contemporary remixes and rediscovered classics. These limited-edition vinyl records are meticulously pressed for bass-weight perfection, catering to DJs, collectors, and music enthusiasts.

TRACK LISTING

A - Pleasure, Joy & Happiness (Musclecars Remix)
B - Circles Going Round The Sun (Laroye Remix)

A part of Gilles Peterson’s expanded network, Future Bubblers is backed by Arts Council England, which continues to focus on uncovering unsigned talent and growing the audience for innovative, experimental music. The professional recordings, manufacturing and physical release of 'Future Bubblers 8.0' is made possible with additional support from PRS Foundation, as Talent Development Partners. Unlike other music initiatives, this compilation acts as a launchpad for emerging artists, utilizing a cooperative model thatshares revenue directly with the artist, helping them generate a sustainable income. Previous Future Bubblers artists include Yazmin Lacey KinKai, Lynda Dawn, MC Snowy, Forest Law, Victoria Jane, Ne One The Wonderer and Kayla Painter and more.

Across six tracks, 'Future Bubblers 8.0' eclectically fuses the worlds of R&B, soul, funk, rap, and electronic music in their many forms.The lead single, 'Damn', comes from Leicester-based psychedelic Space-Soul band Shadeemus, . Bristolian vocalist and producer t l k creates ethereal soundscapes on her track 'Legs', while O.K Asanda, who made Manchester his home, hascrafted a unique Alt R&B and soul sound. Songstress JOIISOL blends R&B, Neo-Soul, and Electronic-Jazz with vintage samples.

In 2023 the Future Bubblers team announced an entirely new framework to launch a new phase of their talent discovery and artistdevelopment scheme. Future Bubblers Academy consists of candidates drawn from underrepresented demographics with a particular focus on those with restricted access to traditional music learning paths. The 6 artists and industry candidates have been drawn from underrepresented demographics, specifically focusing on those with limited access to formal music learning paths. Candidates will beset real-life tasks and challenges across the following areas: Promotions and Marketing, Creating and releasing Masters, Live andEverything Else You Might Need To Know (funding, sync, brand deals), all spanning over a year. Aided by their mentors, creative candidates will put their learning towards a series of tasks, while industry candidates will receive mentorship from the Future Bubblers and Brownswood Recordings team behind the scenes.

TRACK LISTING

1. Joiisol - Good Intentions
2. Shadeemus - Damn
3. O.K Asanda - Easy Loving
4. T L K - Legs
5. Shadeemus, Joiisol, O.K Asanda, Clodagh - Like Glue
6. Joiisol, Shadeemus, O.K Asanda - Primrose Hill

The second instalment of Brownswood Recordings’ Remix Editions series features two dancefloor hitters; one from new kids on the block IZCO & Reek0 and the other from sub-bass heavyweight Coki. Each producer turns in a remix of a track from oreglo’s debut EP, Not Real People, which dropped in July 2024. Like the first instalment, these 12”s are super limited to only 500 units. No reissues, no represses. Once they’re gone they’re gone.

Side 1 features IZCO & Reek0’s twist on ‘levels’. Known for their concoction of UK bass, garage, broken beat, reggae and more, they transform the languorous instrumental into an upbeat, balmy tune with Reek0’s trademark playful cadence and lyricism that paints a picture of summertime in London.

The flipside is a thunderous reworking of EP favourite ‘opedge’ that fuses the band’s multi-genre melting pot of influences with club-ready dub sonics, courtesy of South London dubstep legend Coki.

TRACK LISTING

Side A: Levels (IZCO & Reek0 Remix)
Side B: Opedge (Coki Remix) 

Almost three decades on from their last release, Acid Jazz forefathers Galliano are back with their new LP ‘Halfway Somewhere’ which is released on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings.

Born out of London’s underground clubs and warehouse parties of the mid to late eighties, with the debut single on the Acid Jazz label in 1988, Galliano came out of a culture that spanned music, dance, fashion, art, design, and the written word.

When they arrived as the first act on Gilles Peterson’s Talkin’ Loud label in 1990 with ‘Welcome to the Story’ (produced by Chris Bangs who invented the term Acid Jazz) dressed in Gabicci sweaters, beads and skullcaps they captured a scene built on re-invention. “We were all playing around with what we could get our hands on whether that was a seventies book on Jamaican style or old Last Poets and Watts Prophets records,” says Gallagher. “We’d been recycling things for a few years but suddenly everything had coalesced and you’ve got an amalgam that seemed quite solid.”

For their first album since 1997, Rob Gallagher and his partner, vocalist Valerie Etienne, are joined by Galliano stalwarts Ernie McKone on bass, Crispin Taylor on drums, and Ski Oakenfull on keys (with guests including saxophonist Jason Yarde and percussionist Crispin ‘Spry’ Robinson).

Where the old Galliano recycled records they heard at clubs, today they are responding to the kaleidoscopic global jazz scene - from Total Refreshment Centre in London to International Anthem in Chicago. More than forty years since they came together, Galliano are still only ‘Halfway Somewhere’, but listening to the album they are obviously having fun getting there. “I think the stars have to be aligned when you redo things,” says Gallagher. “Coming at it from this door is very different to the door we came into back then. But once it's existing it is something. But I’m still not sure what that something is.”

TRACK LISTING

A1. Brownswood Rockers / Golden Shovel (Somebody Else’s Idea)
A2. Dancin' Your Own Time
A3. Limebike Getaway
A4. General Rubbish Vs The Sportswear Mystics
A5. Tottenham
B1. Crow Foot Hustling
B2. Numbers Click
B3. Circles Going Round The Sun
B4. Golden Shovel 2 (Somebody Else's Idea)
C1. Jazz
C2. Halfway Somewhere
C3. Of Peace
C4. Move As One...
C5. In The Brakes
D1. 57th Min / Power And Glory
D2. Kingsland Road
D3. Cabin Fever Dub
D4. Euston Warehouse
D5. Pleasure, Joy & Happiness

Over a year since the release of their exhilarating debut Could We Be More, Kokoroko present a new collection of remixes of tracks from their first album. The record brings together a dizzying, globe-spanning array of contemporary music’s most forward-thinking artists, each bringing their own unique identity to the project while maintaining the immersive sound-world of the original. Could We Be More Remixes is due 10th November 2023 via Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings.

All the remixers share a common approach with the band, filtering global influences and backgrounds through the lens of their hometown. As a result, each remix explores and stretches the core elements of the debut in different ways. Home-grown London talents Eun and Demae, both associates of the Touching Bass collective that sprouted from the same scene as Kokoroko, turn in a spaced-out version of ‘Tojo’ that manages to be introspective and driving at the same time, reminiscent of some of the best work on Moodymann’s imprints. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: A gorgeous selection of reworks from Kokoroko's brilliant 'Could We Be More'. The remixes here fit seamlessly alongside the original material, taking the original sounds and stretching their peripheries outwards, resulting in something that's a perfect listen as an extension of the original story rather than a retelling.

TRACK LISTING

1. Tojo (Eun Remix Feat. Demae)
2. Somethings Going On (Miles James Remix)
3. Home (anaiis Remix)
4. Ewà Inú (Vanyfox Remix)
5. Ewà Inú (Dreamcastmoe's Smoked Out Remix)
6. We Give Thanks (KeiyaA Remix)
7. Dide O (Ash Lauryn & Stefan Ringer Remix)
8. War Dance (Hagan Remix)

Your favourite DJ’s favourite DJ presents his 10-track album; "This record feels like the starting point of a new era, which I’m sure a lot of people can relate to what I mean; the tracks I recorded, the ones I’m singing over and the guests i invited have been my way to deal with the pandemic, the motherless child that I am and the father that I am. I call this record a deep pre-club record, one that will give you the energy to go out there and party but with a feeling of letting go of everything."

TRACK LISTING

A1 Diane Charlemagne (feat. Iman Houssein)
A2 Love Supreme (Part 1 And 2) [feat. Aint About Me]
A3 The Elegance Of A Dancing Body
A4 The Birth Of A New You (feat Pierre Spataro)
A5 Electric (feat. Aint About Me)
B1 I Sing To Find Peace Of Mind (feat. Simbad)
B2 Live In Darkness And Wait For Brighter Days
B3 I Feel The Pain But Can't Describe It (feat. Aint About Me)
B4 One Day You Smile, One Day You Cry (feat. Pierre Spataro)
B5 The Soundtrack To A Beautiful Sunset On Your Way Home

Multi-instrumentalist, producer, and composer Yussef Dayes releases The Yussef Dayes Experience (Live from Malibu), featuring music from his critically acclaimed debut solo album, Black Classical Music. Dayes is joined by his longtime collaborators Rocco Palladino, Venna, Elijah Fox, and Alexander Bourt on the new release, which was originally shared as a live-performance video filmed in the Malibu mountains last year and is available on YouTube.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Istanbul
A2. Tioga Pass
A3. Tidal Wave
A4. Portrait Of Tracy

B1. Black Classical Music
B2. Malibu
B3. Mountain Steppa
B4. The Colour Purple

‘Black Classical Music’ is a 19-track record taking listeners through a looking glass into the exalted artist’s past and present whilst exploring themes of home and family. The album draws influence from his musical heroes Miles Davis & Rahsaan Roland Kirk and Yussef’s extensive travel around the globe that has deepened his study of rhythm.

Honourable features on “Black Classical Music” - Chronixx, Jamilah Barry, Tom Misch, Shabaka Hutchings, Miles James, Sheila Maurice Grey, Nathaniel Cross, Theon Cross and the Chineke! Orchestra, plus Venna, Rocco Palladino, Charlie Stacey & Elijah Fox

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Oooof, this is an absolute wealth of rich groove and the seamless pulling together of myriad influences from drummer and renowned London jazzer, Yussef Dayes. Filled with collaborative talent, 'Black Classical Music' manages to draw from a wealth of sound worlds without breaking step. Afrobeat, soul funk and jazz fans take note.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Black Classical Music Ft. Venna & Charlie Stacey
A2. Afro Cubanism
A3. Raisins Under The Sun Ft. Shabaka Hutchings
A4. Rust Ft. Tom Misch
A5. Turquoise Galaxy

B1. The Light Ft. Bahia Dayes
B2. Pon Di Plaza Ft. Chronixx
B3. Magnolia Symphony
B4. Early Dayes
B5. Chasing The Drum

C1. Birds Of Paradise
C2. Gelato
C3. Marching Band Ft. Masego
C4. Crystal Palace Park Ft. Elijah Fox
C5. Presidential Ft. Jahaan Sweet

D1. Jukebox
D2. Woman's Touch Ft. Jamilah Barry
D3. Tioga Pass Ft. Rocco Palladino
D4. Cowrie Charms Ft. Leon Thomas & Barbara Hicks 

Manchester jazz-funkers, Secret Night Gang return with their sophomore album “Belongs on a Place Called Earth”, via Brownswood Recordings. “Belongs on a Place Called Earth” is a record birthed from the emotional rollercoaster the world collectively faced over the past few years, as a result of the pandemic. A time which cultivated self-reflection and profound life questions leading to an evolution for the Manchester natives. This new record is undeniably a fresh & bold new sound, with the leading purpose of permeating hope & light through their music. In continued strength to strength, Secret Night Gang are carving their own lane across the British jazz & street soul scene and this upcoming album, is set to take them to new heights.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Following on from a very well received couple of releases for Brownswood, the soulful funk powerhouse that is SNG returns for 'Belongs On A Place Called Earth'. Soaring funky instrumentals, perfectly played and full of vigour, simmer beneath the silken vocals and perfect layered harmonies. Rich, sumptuous and perfect for the summer.

TRACK LISTING

1. Respect Me
2. Dkw Tomorrow Brings
3. One & Only
4. Never Ever
5. Find A Way
6. Do For You
7. Outta Ma Head
8. Ev'ry Nation
9. Things Will Work Out 

Following the huge success of 2018’s Kokoroko EP and the sensational Abusey Junction (100M streams and counting), Could We Be More is an expansive and ambitious debut album that speaks to the force of Kokoroko.

Each song possesses the power to evoke memories and harness the feeling of home through music: from the psychedelic, funk-laden previous single ‘Something’s Going On’ to the congregational energy of today’s track ‘We Give Thanks’, ‘Could We Be More’ fuses together the African- London synergy which so naturally underpins the heat of Kokoroko’s identity.

Winners of a slew of awards in the UK, Kokoroko specialise in soul shaking, horn fuelled sounds with West African roots and Inner London hues. Having played many EU Festivals including Glastonbury, Meltdown Festival, Elbjazz, & Jazz a la Villette, they are are looking forward to extending their reach further around the globe in 2022 and beyond. The band have performed on several BBC TV shows and their two Boiler Room sets have racked up almost half a million plays between them.

“Drawing influence from West African highlife and jazz, wellmarinated in enough polyrhythm seasoning to induce fires on the dance floors they play.” Okay Africa

“Afrobeat, jazz, soul and ’70s psych-leaning funk - luminescent” Cool Hunting

“This female-led, multicultural collective of under 30s is a vital example of not only jazz’s new form but the shape of things to come.” The Guardian

TRACK LISTING

A1. Tojo
A2. Blue Robe (pt.i)
A3. Ewà Inú
A4. Age Of Ascent
A5. Dide O
A6. Soul Searching
B1. We Give Thanks
B2. Those Good Times
B3. Reprise
B4. War Dance
B5. Interlude
B6. Home
B7. Something's Going On
B8. Outro
B9. Blue Robe (pt.ii)

Brownswood Recordings are proud to present an extension of the ever-evolving world of STR4TA, the brainchild of long time friends and collaborators Gilles Peterson and JeanPaul “Bluey” Maunick. ‘The Invicta Mixtape’ is a limited edition cassette format mixed by Gilles Peterson & Sam Bhok (Worldwide FM/Stay Put). Available on pre-order from November 1st, released on December 3rd 2021 with only 200 available worldwide. ‘The Invicta Mixtape’ features an array of illustrious producers and polymaths unleashing their unique interpretations of STR4TA’s standout tracks.

With a percussive stripped-back rework of ‘Dance Desire’ by Steve Conry & Takashi Nakazato; a funk-laced ‘Rhythm In Your Mind’ by Ashley Beadle plus Glasgow’s Nuovi Fratelli add a cosmic disco flare in the mix. Dave Lee’s rework of ‘After The Rain’. ‘Vision 9’ is reconceived by Melé’s rhythmic inventiveness & Delfonic’s virtuoso. Also iconic reworks by technopioneer Dave Aju, the spellbinding Demus Dub & DJ veteran Greg Wilson. The mixtape honours the importance of Radio Invicta, London’s very first soul station running from the late-60s to mid-80s. The B-side contains the complete STR4TA album.

TRACK LISTING

Side A

A1. Dance Desire (Steve Conry & Takashi Nakazato Remix)
A2. Rhythm In Your Mind (North Street West Space Funk Rework #1)
A3. Rhythm In Your Mind (Steve Conry & Takashi Nakazato Remix)
A4. Rhythm In Your Mind (Nuovi Fratelli Cosmic Disco Remix)
A5. After The Rain (Dave Lee Alternative II Dub)
A6. After The Rain (Dave Lee Alternative II Mix)
A7. Vision 9 (Delfonic Mix)
A8. Vision 9 (Melé Mix)
A9. Vision 9 (Melé Dub)
A10. Dance Desire (Dave Aju Remix)
A11. Aspects (Demus Dub)
A12. Aspects (Greg Wilson Mix)
A13. Aspects (Demus Dub)

Side B

B1. Aspects
B2. Rhythm In Your Mind
B3. Dance Desire
B4. We Like It
B5. Steppers Crusade
B6. After The Rain
B7. Kinshasa FC
B8. Vision 9

Kokoroko return with this exclusive double A side vinyl of 'Baba Ayoola' and 'Carry Me Home' released via Brownswood Recordings. Both singles achieved huge support upon digital release by BBC Radio, BBC 6 Music, 1Xtra, Afropunk, Clash, Rolling Stone France & NPR.

'Baba Ayoola' was written as a tribute to the grandfather of the band's alto saxophonist Cassie Kinoshi and is 'an invitation to celebrate life'. Whilst 'Carry Me Home' was inspired by conversations with the masterful Dele Sosimi, whose technical ability in bridging the gap between the West African afrobeat sound of his roots, and the London energy of his upbringing, has directly informed the ever-impressive capabilities demonstrated by London's eight-piece collective, Kokoroko. Lively, and capturing that colourful hustle n bustle of the capitol; it’s a great double A-side to propel this band forward. Looking forward to a Manchester appearance soon guys!

TRACK LISTING

A1. Baba Ayoola
AA1. Carry Me Home

Fabled as the city where dreams come to thrive or die, Johannesburg is forever pumping out the life-giving force of criss-crossing sonic tributaries. As this collection of specially recorded new music shows, every generation must discover for itself what perfecting the alchemy of that expression entails. Indaba Is - produced and managed by pianist Thandi Ntuli and The Brother Moves On bandleader Siyabonga Mthembu, tackles that inquiry with refreshing insight.

The act of gathering to record in a time of isolation becomes one of anchoring and care, creating an energy field and capturing a living culture of making music. It is one in which bands exist to birth musical concepts as opposed to being static monoliths. Mostly recorded at Dyertribe Studio in Centurion, outside of Johannesburg, Indaba Is propels a collective of South African bands into the precipice of a new frontier. Jazz becomes a departure point as opposed to a tether.

“The magic was in the choosing of artists who kind of straddle different genres, different ideas and sounds,” says Ntuli. “We put together musicians who are not in that kind of straight-ahead place, even though some may have been in the jazz tradition or jazz-influenced styles of music.” The collection features eight tracks, attributed to Bokani Dyer, Lwanda Gogwana, The Brother Moves On, Thandi Ntuli, The Wretched, Sibusile Xaba and Iphupho likaBiko. Think of the names as thresholds through which ideas cross into the populace as opposed to being signifiers of strict ownership. For one, there is no mistaking the almost spectral presence of both Ntuli and Mthembu in and around the music. “Between me and Thandi, we pick up on the producer duties for four of the tracks,” says Mthembu. “Some of the bands came with already preconceived ideas of what they wanted to do and needed just facilitation on getting it done.” Overall, the pair also provided enabling briefs which harnessed the collective energy of scenes often seen as operating centrifugally to Johannesburg’s all-consuming pull, or a little further down in its tiers of visibility. There are several examples where this approach yields astounding results.

Indigenous knowledge is perhaps at the root of it, and a reverence for its treasures is instant, but there is an overall sense that Indaba Is asks us to consider the heavy lifting that remains.

Johannesburg, a city without a landmark water source, built on excavating the energy of its living dead, has never sounded so world-weary, and yet so ready to emerge out of the hold. With its unity of purpose, Indaba Is represents the crucible, untenable to the touch yet warm to the soul.

TRACK LISTING

LP
A1. Bokani Dyer - Ke Nako
A2. The Brother Moves On - Umthandazo Wamagenge
B1. Lwanda Gogwana - All Ok
B2. The Wretched - What Is History
C1. Sibusile Xaba With Naftali, Fakazile Nkosi, & AshK - Umdali
C2. The Ancestors - Prelude To Writing Together
D1. Thandi Ntuli - Dikeledi
D2. IPhupho L’ka Biko Ft Siyabonga Mthembu & Kinsmen - Abaphezulu

CD
1. Bokani Dyer - Ke Nako
2. The Brother Moves On - Umthandazo Wamagenge
3. Lwanda Gogwana - All Ok
4. The Wretched - What Is History
5. Sibusile Xaba With Naftali, Fakazile Nkosi, & AshK - Umdali
6. The Ancestors - Prelude To Writing Together
7. Thandi Ntuli - Dikeledi
8. IPhupho L’ka Biko Ft Siyabonga Mthembu & Kinsmen - Abaphezulu

A heavy new compilation from Brownswood shines a light on the independent underground in Melbourne, where a close-knit collection of artists have taken cues from soul, jazz and club culture to carve out a fresh Melbournian sound. Featuring nine different groups, many of them sharing members and studios, the record surveys the musical contours of this bubbling scene, nodding to house, broken beat, samba, p-funk and soul.

Recorded over a week at The Grove, a fabled house-cum-studio in the North Melbourne suburb of Coburg, it’s home to the record’s engineer, Nick Herrera, and two members of Hiatus Kaiyote, the city’s breakout gangster-soul dons with whom many of the record’s personnel have collaborated. Silentjay was musical director, the Rhythm Section-affiliated multi-instrumentalist and producer (who’s played with Joey Bada$$ and Flying Lotus) marshalling together the album’s different players, many of them part of influential collectives 30/70 and Mandarin Dreams.

Nurtured in the city’s collaborative, close-knit confines, the scene has been bubbling up under the radar of Australian music institutions, in the garages and makeshift studios of Melbourne’s suburban sprawl. Sunny Side Up is a colourful portrait of the scene’s potential, exploring the story behind this flourishing period and shining light on some of its most compelling figures.

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: Brownswood shifts its focus to creative collectives from Melbourne in Sunny Side Up, filled to the brim with Afro-beat, jazzy goodness and samba. From Allysha Joy to SilentJay, this compilation provides the relaxing chilled tones which make you want to sail away on an idyllic coastline.

TRACK LISTING

1. Phil Stroud - Banksia
2. Dufresne - Pick Up / Galaxy
3. Kuzich - There Is No Time
4. Audrey Powne - Bleeding Hearts
5. Zeitgeist Freedom Energy Exchange - Powers 2 (The People)
6. Laneous - Nice To See You
7. Silentjay - Eternal / Internal Peace
8. Horatio Luna -The Wake-Up
9. Allysha Joy - Orbit

Bridging distinct but closely connected music scenes can open new possibilities. On ‘No More Normal’, Swindle confidently grasps the different sides to the UK music scene. Boasting roots in the boundary-pushing world of Grime & Dubstep, this album marks the next step in the London-raised producer’s expanded vision for his music. It fuses different disciplines together in new and electrifying ways. He connects a group of peers sharing creative common ground, one that centres around the fertile space between UK Jazz, Grime and Hip Hop. The results span from lush, strings-laden soul to voicebox-heavy p-funk – often in the course of one song. “It’s a class photo of 2018,” he says. “I need everyone in this picture.” It incorporates an all-star cast of MC’s in Kojey Radical, Ghetts, D Double E and P Money, to instrumentalists Yussef Dayes, Nubya Garcia, Riot Jazz, and singers such as Etta Bond, Eva Lazarus, Daley and Kiko Bun.

The album was built over a three year period. The opening track “‘What We Do’ became the track that set the scene for each studio session, a way of Swindle explaining what he was setting out to achieve. Featuring an (on paper) unusual combination of R&B singer Daley, Grime legends P Money & D Double E, and an opening speech from Bristol-based spoken word artist, Rider Shafique - “It describes the narrative of the record overall and helped set the agenda for what followed - I made a lot of tracks that were really good that at the end of the day didn’t fit this project”. The resulting work has a pervading sense of triumph against the odds, and a celebration of togetherness at this moment of fragmentation that manages to feel both optimistic and nostalgic. A record that could have only been made in today’s multicultural Britain. “No More Normal is the idea of us doing our thing, our way, with no rules or limitations. It is jazz influenced as much as it is grime influenced. It’s London influenced as much as it is LA influenced. I can work with D Double E and Nubya Garcia, these records are my imagination brought to life in musical form”.

STAFF COMMENTS

Millie says: High energy Hip Hop at its finest, Swindle’s album No More Normal varies from Jazz to Hip Hop, Grime to R&B and just a bit of everything in-between. My personal favourites are ‘Knowledge’ and ‘Grateful’, articulate lyrics and boss beats create this confident and collaborative album.

TRACK LISTING

A1. What We Do (Feat. Rider ShafIque, P Money, D Double E + Daley)
A2. Get Paid
A3. Drill Work (Feat. Ghetts)
A4. Run Up (Feat. Kiko Bun, Knucks, Eva Lazarus + Nubya Garcia)
A5. Coming Home (Feat. Kojey Radical)
A6. Reach The Stars (Feat. Andrew Ashong)
B1. Knowledge (Feat. Eva Lazarus + Kiko Bun)
B2. Take It Back (Feat. D Double E + Kiko Bun)
B3. California (Feat. Etta Bond + Kojey Radical)
B4. Talk A Lot (Feat. Eva Lazarus + Mansur Brown)
B5. Grateful (Feat. Kojey Radical + Rider ShafIque)

A primer on London’s bright-burning young jazz scene, this new compilation brings together a collection of some of its sharpest talents. A set of nine newly-recorded tracks, We Out Here captures a moment where genre markers matter less than raw, focused energy. Looking at the album’s running order, it could easily serve as a name-checking exercise for some of London’s most-tipped and hardworking bands of the past couple of years. Recorded across three long, fruitful days in a North West London studio, the crossover between each of the groups speaks to the close-knit circles which make up the scene.

Surveying the way that London’s jazz-influenced music had spread outside of its usual spaces in recent years, this album bottles up some of the vital ideas emanating from that burgeoning movement. Giving a platform to a scene where mutual cooperation and a DIY spirit are second-nature, it’s a window into the wide-eyed future of London’s musical underground.

Ubiquitous, much-lauded saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings is the project’s musical director. His own recent projects span from South Africa-connected, spiritually-minded jazz players Shabaka and the Ancestors to Sons of Kemet, who match diasporically-connected compositions with viscerally-direct live shows. His entry on the album, ‘Black Skin, Black Masks’, is typically difficult-to-define: with an off-kilter, shifting rhythmic backbone, repeated phrases – mirrored between clarinet and bass clarinet – shape the track with an alluring hue. His input ties together a deft, genre-agnostic sensibility that’s shared through all the players on the record.

Theon Cross – who’s also part of Sons of Kemet with Hutchings – starts his track, ‘Brockley’, with the solo, distinctive low rumble of his tuba. Winding and mesmeric, it sees tuba and sax lines winding together in rhythmic and melodic parallels. Ezra Collective – whose drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso has toured with Pharaohe Monch – run a tight, Afrobeat-tipped rhythm on ‘Pure Shade’, with the final third changing gear into a melodic, momentous closing stretch.

Joe Armon-Jones, whose ludicrous chops on the piano have seen him touring with the likes of Ata Kak, showcases earworm-like, insistent motifs on ‘Go See’, balanced with a playful, improvisatory approach with room for ad-libbing and solos a-plenty. Taking a softer tact than many of the other entries, Kokoroko – whose guitarist Oscar Jerome has been making waves with his solo material – spin a lyrical, steady-paced meditation on ‘Abusey Junction’, matching chanted vocals with gently-played guitar.

Nodding to spiritual jazz influences, Maisha’s ‘Inside The Acorn’ is a wandering, explorative rumination, balancing delicate washes of piano and percussion with sharp interplay between flute and bass clarinet. In contrast, Nubya Garcia’s ‘Once’ is taut and carefully-poised, her tenor sax guiding a carefully-built energy to an explosive conclusion. And finally, Triforce’s ‘Walls’ is a performance in two parts: starting with Mansur Brown’s languorous, lyrical guitar, the second half switches up to a low-slung, g-funk-tipped groove.

TRACK LISTING

1. Maisha - Inside The Acorn
2. Ezra Collective - Pure Shade
3. Moses Boyd - The Balance
4. Theon Cross - Brockley
5. Nubya Garcia - Once
6. Shabaka Hutchings - Black Skin, Black Masks
7. Triforce - Walls
8. Joe Armon-Jones - Go See
9. Kokoroko - Abusey Junction

The borders between London’s musical tribes have always been porous. For Yussef Kamaal, the sound of the capital – with its hum of jungle, grime and broken beat – has shaped a selftaught, UKtipped approach to playing jazz. In the states, the genre’s longrunning to-and-fro with hip hop – from Robert Glasper to Kamasi Washington – has reimagined it within US culture. On Black Focus, Yussef Kamaal frame jazz inside the basssaturated, pirate radio broadcasts of London.

Taking inspiration from the anything-goes spirit of ‘70s jazzfunk, on albums by Herbie Hancock or the Mahavishnu Orchestra, it’s a loose template with plenty of room to experiment. The pair, made up of Yussef Dayes and Kamaal Williams (aka Henry Wu), have had little in the way of formal training. Instead, their musical tastes – and approach to playing – are indebted to Thelonious Monk’s piano as much as the drum programming of Kaidi Tatham.

“It's all about the drums and the keys,” Williams says. “Not to take anything from anyone else, but that's where it all originates from: the chords, the rhythm of the chords and the drums.” Born out of a oneoff live session to perform Williams’ solo material for Boiler Room, it soon became a project in its own right. Coming together as Yussef Kamaal, they played a series of live shows where little more than a chord progression would be planned before taking to the
stage.

Bringing that unspoken understanding to the recording sessions (engineered by Malcolm Catto of The Heliocentrics), the unplanned, telepathically spawned grooves retain the raw energy of their live shows. “It's not so much about complete arrangement, it's more about flow,” Dayes says. “A lot of the tracks are just made spontaneously – Henry will be playing two chords, I'll fill in the groove and we'll just leave the arrangement naturally.” Both hail from South East London, crossing paths in 2007 as teenagers playing their first pub gigs around Peckham and Camberwell. Dayes drums for cosmicallyinclined, afrobeat outfit United Vibrations, while Williams – on top of drumming and playing keys in different incarnations over the years – has made waves with his solo, synthdraped house 12"s for muchfêted labels like 22a and Rhythm Section.

Moving in the same circles but never playing together previously, rhythm underpins an innate musical understanding. As Williams explains, “The way we approach it is all about the energy and the feeling. We just get in there and we feel it out.” Drawing influence from all corners of London’s shapeshifting musical makeup, the sound of Black Focus is distilled – or focused – down to the core interlock between drums and keys.

STAFF COMMENTS

David says: The purists might argue that this isn't strictly jazz, I'm happy to argue back. It might use elements of broken beat and house on its journey but jazz is the final destination.

TRACK LISTING

A1. Black Focus
A2. Strings Of Light
A3. Remembrance
B1. Yo Chavez
B2. Ayla
B3. O.G.
B4. Lowrider
B5. Mansur's Message
B6. WingTai Drums
B7. Joint 17

Tradition shapes your work. For saxophonist and bandleader Shabaka Hutchings, that’s something he’s long understood. After years spent in the orbit of London’s jazz circuit, he examines and reimagines his influences with a dexterity that’s unique. Drawing out the vision underlying his new album, he says, “I see energy as being a form of wisdom to be passed down through the ages.” Unpicking the album’s title, he continues, “When we study the music, the lives, the words of our master musicians we obtain a glimpse of that artist’s essential energy source. This is the core vitality of the individual which leads them to utilise the musical specifics of their chosen genre in a way that mirrors their inner source of power. This is an intuited wisdom that’s handed to us from the legacies of our elders.” The album is a document of sessions combining Hutchings with a group of South African jazz musicians he’s long admired. His connection to the group was Mandla Mlangeni (bandleader of the Amandla Freedom Ensemble), whom he’d flown there to play with over the past few years. Recorded across just one day, the group drew on their South African lineage – heroes like Zim Ngquwana and Bheki Mseleku – to bring their own slant to the American jazz lineage being reconfigured in Hutchings’ compositions themselves. Going beyond the jazz greats Hutchings cites, influences are drawn from plenty of other sources: Caribbean calypso, central African song structures and Southern African Nguni music all play a part. Bringing together those ideas with the contributions of his bandmates is, he explains, crucial to what he sees in the role of an album artist. “Even though I wrote all the music, for me, the leader of the project isn’t the person who writes all the music but the one who has a vision for how certain musical elements will be combined.” Born in London, moving to the Barbados from the age of six to 16, his tenor sax has become a regular sight on stages around London and beyond since his return. Receiving awards from Jazz FM and the MOBOs for playing in – and often leading – groups like Sons of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming, Melt Yourself Down and Sun Ra Arkestra, he’s part of a generation whose idea of jazz is pointedly unrefined. That’s to say, "Wisdom of Elders" comes from an artist interested in the indefinable gaps more than fitting into boxes. 

TRACK LISTING

1. Mzawandile
2. Joyous
3. The Observer
4. The Sea
5. The Observed
6. Natty
7. OBS
8. Give Thanks
9. Nguni

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2014 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

Brighton-based duo Max Wheeler (producer) and Victoria Port (singer/songwriter) are a classic British concoction of jazz-inflected heady dance floor thrills. While Victoria’s melodies bring the sweetness, the tracks have the low-end weight to please DJ mavens like Karizma and Brackles on Rinse and Moxie and Annie Mac on Radio 1.

The results could be described as a UK Funky Lorde. The ‘Distorted Air’ EP forthcoming on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings, is full of Victoria’s songwriting on fractious romance, ever the well-spring of transcendent pop with sweet female attitude. There’s relationship breakdown on ‘Broken Circuit’ or the claustrophobia of ‘World In A Room’. All of which brings to mind 1998 Talkin’ Loud signing MJ Cole and his bedroom produced classic ‘Sincere’ which traded on a similar brew of jazz, musicality, connection with the living dance floor and the pull and push of love.