Settle down, settle down now. Our very own Paul Martin is a professional. And he's compiled us all an end of year chart. So pay attention, we'll be testing you later…
Tawiah – Watch Out on Brownswood Bubblers Vol 2 on Brownswood. A vocalist with talent to burn.- Little Dragon’s eponymous album on Peacefrog. Big basslines with soulful vocals. Swedish you know.
- Black Affair – Tak Attack [vinyl only 12” single on V2. Steve Mason (ex-Beta Band/King Biscuit Time) morphs into Afrika Bambaatta via The Human League. Brilliant !
- Dubstep produces some classic longplayers from a genre still joining the ring roads from Croydon to the rest of the world. If you want to check out what all the fuss is about here’s four places to start… Burial - Untrue on Hyper-Dub. Glitchy ravey 2-step soul to lift angels in the rain outside McDonalds.
Pinch – Underwater Dancehall on Tec-Tonic. Dub still heavy in the waters around Bristol. Box of Dub – Vol. 1 and 2 on Soul Jazz. Classic reissue label with fingers still on the pulse of the city. Shackleton/Appleblim – Soundboy Punishments on Skull Disco. Ridiculous tribal dub-funk producer Shackleton is THE out there minimal man. - Hypnotic Brass Ensemble – War 10” single plus others. The son of afro-jazzer Philip Cochrane keeps the woozy Southern state brass band alive and blows a sound to mourn the drowned and raise the spirits of New Orleans.
Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra – Hits the Hits on Ubiquity. Amongst the plethora of covers albums this one is the most irreverent and downright funky. Check the version of " Hey Ya " which goes all 60s Ramsey Lewis-style.- Michael Fakesch – Dos on K7. Prince may still be kicking it live but this electro funk soul singer takes us back to his best days in the studio.
- Reverso 68 had three 12in singles out on Eskimo. Check Especial and my favourite Take Me Back To Yours plus remixes. Cosmic grooves and dubby disco.
- The ever foward looking Warp records still kicking it with three killer releases last year from Prefuse 73 – Preperations, Battles - Mirrored, and !!! - Myth Takes.
Compilation of the year is Ethiopiques – the Very Best of Ethiopiques: Hypnotic Grooves from the Legendary Series on Manteca/Union Square. Selected best-of from 22 volumes containing the cream of the crop although you need all of them really. Previously featured in the Jim Jarmusch movie Broken Flowers, and also Charlie Gillet's album of the year in OMM. Spot on I say.
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