Juno Recommends Brokenbeat / Nu Jazz October 2020

Review: Given that Mildlife's 2018 debut album Phase was both rather brilliant and a rip-roaring commercial success, this hotly anticipated follow-up will get plenty of attention. And rightly so, because Automatic may well be even better than its illustrious predecessor. Musically, it features the same unique mix of vintage krautrock synths, jazz-funk instrumentation and enjoyably organic grooves, just this time round they've stepped it up another notch or two. The Aussie combo is in fine form throughout, dotting between the Steely Dan style warmth of 'Rare Air', the Brit Funk style weightiness of 'Vapour', the cosmic, art-rock influenced haziness of 'Downstream', the almost horizontal bliss of nine-minute epic 'Citations', the colourful live nu-disco goodness of 'Memory Palace' and the seductive sweetness of 'Automatic'.

Review: The first post-name change project for Dave Lee fka Joey Negro is a look back over his favourite West London sounds from the ZR catalogue. It's a widescreen offering that takes in plenty of the corner stones of the early broken beat and nu jazz scene. Things kick off with a Bugz in the Attic remix of 4Hero filled with lush synths and skipping kicks. Kaidi Tatham's 'Organic Juggernaut' is an even busier cut with big flute lines and Agent K appears twice, firstly with the deep grooves of 'Feed The Cat' then the mellifluous jazz-scapes of 'Hands'. It all adds up to an essential collection.

Review: Tru Thoughts has genuinely pushed the boat out for Record Store Day 2020, offering up a couple of extra-special 7" singles that are well worth your hard-earned cash. Perhaps the most visually startling of these comes from Los Angeles neo-soul trio Moonchild, who have selected two of their favourite remixes from the vaults and whacked them on a red and blue splatter pattern 45. On the A-side legendary decks-man Jazzy Jeff joins forces with Jeff Poysner to transform 'The Truth' into a woozy, head-nodding slab of soft-focus hip-hop soul, making great use of Amber Navran's lead vocal. Over on the flip, Eric Lau and Kaidi Tatham head towards the dancefloor via a hybrid hip-hop/jazz-funk/broken beat take on 'Run Away' that's as effervescent and vibrant as you'd expect.

Review: Mario Acquaviva's 1983 jam 'Notturno Italiano' is a hugely sought after Italian boogie gem. Mother Tongue have dug it out the archives and enlisted some key names to offer up reworks and reconstructions, with Azymuth's Alex Malheiros and Daniel Maunick going first. They offer vocal and instrumental versions with life-affirming jazz Rhodes and cool, seductive rhythm sections that take you into the cosmos. Eternal deep house hero Ron Trent then does his escapist and spiritual thing on a lush and star-gazing dub that transcends genre. All three of these are irresistible.

Review: Italian duo HUMA are comprised of Alberto Lincetto and Stefano Cosi, and they make their debut appearance on Angis Music with this beautifully crafted slice of contemporary nu jazz and neo soul, packaged on a perfect formed 7". 'Moon Crab' is an instrumental, boogie-tinted cut which rides an easy drum machine groove as the vessel for some seriously smooth synth flexing. "Absence" is a dual-vocal trip into mellow, piano-led reflection that should appeal to fans of Jill Scott et al, stirring up that smoky, melancholy feeling that the best soul music achieves. Keep an eye on this duo, because on the back of this stellar single there's surely some great music to come.

Review: Those who've been followed the nu-jazz sound closely over the last two decades should already be familiar with the work of Italian trumpeter Gerardo Frisina; after all, this is the Schema regular's eight studio set since the dawn of the century. In our opinion, Moving Ahead is also one of the best, with Frisina expanding on his usual Latin-jazz inspired sound via tracks that variously incorporate elements of samba house, West and East African drum music, jazz house, dub and tropical-tinged jazz-funk. Yet for all the subtle eclecticism, there are constant threads that run throughout, specifically densely packed percussion and Frisina's haunting trumpet and sax solos.

Review: Given that Mildlife's 2018 debut album Phase was both rather brilliant and a rip-roaring commercial success, this hotly anticipated follow-up will get plenty of attention. And rightly so, because Automatic may well be even better than its illustrious predecessor. Musically, it features the same unique mix of vintage krautrock synths, jazz-funk instrumentation and enjoyably organic grooves, just this time round they've stepped it up another notch or two. The Aussie combo is in fine form throughout, dotting between the Steely Dan style warmth of 'Rare Air', the Brit Funk style weightiness of 'Vapour', the cosmic, art-rock influenced haziness of 'Downstream', the almost horizontal bliss of nine-minute epic 'Citations', the colourful live nu-disco goodness of 'Memory Palace' and the seductive sweetness of 'Automatic'.

Review: Melbourne-based DJ and producer Prequel returns to the Rhythm Section fold for a second release after getting his debut with the much-loved Polite Strangers 12" back in late 2014. After a few appearances here and there in the interim period, this Freedom Jazz Dance 12" suggests Prequel has really expanded his production parameters with four tracks that add spoken word samples and subtle vocal lines to his stellar instrumental flourishes. Local Melbourne beat poet Cazeaux O.S.L.O. brings his distinct vocal tones and inspirations to lead track "Saints", a fine blunted opener that nods to KDJ classic "Amerika". You can see this one being played for months to come! Following this, Prequel throws down some effervescent jazz house on "Nothing Better" and "Walken" with a deviation into more beatdown territory, "You Shall Know The Truth", wedged inbetween.