EVERYTHING IS RECORDED Vinyl & CDs

Review: XL Recordings founder Richard Russell has been rather busy of late. First came the publication of his memoir, "Liberation Through Hearing", and now this: the follow-up to his 2017 debut album as Everything Is Recorded. Like its predecessor, "Friday Forever" was produced and mixed by Russell but also contains contributions from a wide range of artists including Ghostface KIllah, Penny Rimbaud, A.K. Paul, James Massiah, Infinite Coles, Irish singer-songwriters Maria Somerville and Kean Kavanagh, and a host of new-breed British MCs. There's a concept behind it - the sound-tracking of a night out and the weekend that follows - with the music brilliantly joining the dots between hip-hop, neo-classical, soul, proto house, reggae, jazz and much, much more. That it not only holds together but also makes perfect sense is testament to Russell's growing skill as a producer.