Various: Worldwide Family Volume 1 review

Professional quiet talker and esteemed broadcaster Gilles Peterson unveils the first in hopefully a long line of new Worldwide compilations, entrusting the tracklisting duties to two members of the WW extended family in the shape of ace London dwelling French producer and DJ Simbad and Belgian jock Lefto. Armed with the license to cast the net far and wide, the duo has excelled, delivering 27 stellar jams across the two CDs rich in international flavour. There are names you’ll recognise such as Cooly G, Seiji and Zed Bias but these are sandwiched between a host of lesser known but equally talented producers and bands. It’s this melange of the known and unknown that sets the standard for future editions of Worldwide Family.

Echoing his show on Studio Brussels, Lefto’s CD leans heavily on the beat heavy head nodders from the US and mainland Europe until a delightful cover of Inner City’s “Good Life” from UK act Brass Roots arrives, whilst Onra’s heavy disco vibes on “The Perfect Match” and Tokimonsta’s exercise in bottom heavy vocal click-clacks end the set on a high note.

At 15 tracks in length, Simbad’s selection provides more musical scope, kicking off with manipulated ethereal sampledelica of Airhead and including Illum Sphere’s amazing ode to Dimlite before slipping in some shimmering beatdown from Swedish talent Andreas Saag. Next level afro jazz leanings from the Bay Area duo Afrikan Sciences & Kebbi leads into deep future house bizniz from Ave Blaste & Cosmo Rodriguez, a Franco Paraguayan duo based in London, whilst the subsequent contributions from aforementioned heavyweights Cooly G, Zed Bias and Seiji adds some real heat to the selection. Presented in a lovely gatefold CD digipak replete with brilliant artwork from Grems Industry, this is a sterling way for the Brownswood crew commence the New Year !

Tony Poland