ATA Vinyl & CDs

Review: The classic sound of British library music is the inspiration for this third volume in ATA's The Library Archive series. It's another magnificently seductive and sophisticated collection of funk, jazz, spy-thriller soundtracks, late-night lounge moments and evocative atmospherics. Blaxploitation era composers such as Willie Hutch and Melvin Van Peebles and the genius of Roy Bud are particular preference points in this one and each cut is brilliantly authentic and lovingly crafted. This series started back in 2019 and four years later it is still going strong.

Review: Built on two decades of collaboration between drummer Sam Hobbs and bassist Neil Innes - no relation to the Monty Python and Rutles man of the same name - the pair's is new ATA project blends rootsy Jamaican groove with the syncopated strut of New Orleans funk. Though technically a new release, it's more a continuation than a debut: the lineup includes jazz organist Bob Birch and session guitarist Chris Dawkins, drawing from deep wells of soul, rocksteady and r&b. Tracks like 'Grafter' and 'Bust Up' land squarely in the crossover zone between Studio One and The Metersiraw but slick, with a tight pocket and loose-limbed flair. 'An Autumn Sun' leans sweet and sentimental, while 'Strong Fish' pays organ-heavy homage to Jackie Mittoo's Hot Milk-era work. Elsewhere, 'Power Cut' and 'Night Bus' arrive with horn motifs that seem tailored to I Roy-style toasting, and 'Tough Swagger' is a heavy-lidded jam that could've wandered in off a Bunny Lee tape. But it's 'Iron Fist' that best captures the group's method: groove-first, melody-second, built on intuition and the friction of mismatched rhythms. Despite the vintage touchstones, it never feels like pasticheithe record balances reverence with invention, keeping one foot in Kingston and the other in Treme. For a group with so much history, it sounds impressively fresh.

Review: An homage to the golden era of soul-jazz, and recorded live to two inch analogue tape at All Things Analogue Studios in Leeds, Doo Ha! sizzles with an electric soul undercurrent - perfect nourishment for the meditative but motivated dancefloor. Flaunting flautist Chip Wickham front and centre, it's the perfect complement for a lazy Sunday afternoon listen, whence groove and grit need not succumb to nostalgia. Inspired by jazz greats like Ramsey Lewis and Les McCann, the album's soul-stirring rhythms are driven by ATA's Sam Hobbs (drums) and Neil Innes (bass), plus contributions from Sam Bell, John Ellis, and Wickham on flute. The seven tracks range from the down-home swagger of 'Walk On' to the cinematic vibes of 'The Saint And The Stranger,' celebrating the totemic spirit of soul-jazz in the North of England.

Review: Back in 2014, Here & Now Records released a sampler for an as-yet unfounded Leeds-based label called ATA Records. The compilation featured "rare soul, funk and Afro" tracks from friends and regular bandmates Neil Innes and Pete Williams under a variety of pseudonyms. ATA emerged a year later, so to celebrate the label's imminent fifth birthday, ATA chiefs Innes and Williams have decided to reissue the compilation under a tweaked title. There's much to enjoy throughout, from the sweaty, James Brown-inspired "The Flip" and the breezy, easy listening-influenced soul shuffle of "Brother Move On", to the deep funk hustle of "Cookie Jar" and the Mod-style soundtrack slowness of "Moscow Central".