BLOCKHEAD Vinyl & CDs

Review: Blockhead is New York producer Tony Simon, a revered talent who has put out a wealth of crucial albums. They are all getting reissue treatment now as some are almost 20 years old, but they have weathered that time well. Music By Cavelight is another of his masterful takes on broken beat and nu-jazz and this one comes on nice orange-marbled wax. It peaked at number 43 on the UK Independent Albums Chart back in 2004 when it first landed and it only came to be on Nina Tune after its original label stopped answering the artist's calls.

Review: Top class New York producer Tony Simon has been delving into his archives to serve up reissues of a load of his most crucial albums. From the turn of the millennium onwards, he was a pivotal beat maker, joining the dots between instrumental hip-hop, trip hop, jazz, broken beat and downtempo in his own unique way. Downtown Science manages to be both organic and earthy yet synthetic and futuristic all at once, with real instrumentation and great vocal samples next to killer drums.

Review: A decade after Blockhead dropped his seminal Interludes After Midnight album it gets a deserving reissue on Ninja Tune. Blockhead is of course an alias of the revered New York producer Tony Simon who is reissuing all his albums at the moment. This one set a blueprint for the broken beat and nu jazz scene, with elements of trip hop and downtempo also colouring the grooves. Some tunes like 'Never Forget Your Token' have a Latin feel thanks to the keys and breaks, others are more psyched out late night store jams like 'Hungover Like Woah.' All are great.

Review: Tony Simon is a hugely prolific producer from New York who serve up a dazzling array of album 20 odd years ago. He found a fine home forth on Ninja Tune who are all reissuing them now on some great looking and sounding vinyl. The Music Scene once again offers up a dazzling mix of sounds and influences from across the world. Hip hop, downtempo, broken beat, jazz and more all feature in his beguiling musical brews as you jump from hypnotic lead to bristle beats and back again.