Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz Recommendation September 2012

Review: Ninja Tune's veteran producer Mr Scruff will forever be synonymous with his advocacy of tea, a penchant for long DJ sets and his Moondog sampling track "Get A Move On". Musically, however there is much more to the Stockport based producer than that track or indeed the somewhat risible student friendly sample stews like "Fish", which is demonstrated perfectly on this new 12" for the evergreen Ninja Tune label. "Be The Music" is a viciously uptempo house track, driven by urgent percussion , richly rewarding polyrhythms and gurgling sub bass borrowed from the digi dub archives. There's just the merest of hints of Mr Carthy's predilection for sonic cheekiness which should appease long term Scruff fans, but this is heads down territory. "Nervous Energy" operates at a similar tempo, but opts for a roughed up, dark side bruk feel that's straight out of West London circa 2001 which is complemented by the freeform synth wiggles that go full retard midway through.

Review: Chris Joss is a well established multi-instrumentalist from France and "Toxic Smoke", released through USA label ESLM, is a drum heavy workout with lashings of wah wah guitar and twangy electric bass which gradually builds, adding layers of other instrumentation. The flipside goes down a summery and tropical route with influences of reggae with some warm up carnival type stylings. Grass skirts and cans of Lilt at the ready!