Octave Lab Japan

Review: Soul auteur Jonathan Diggs Duke returns to one of his older EPs for a timely reissue. Originally released in 2015, just after his critically acclaimed debut album on Giles Peterson's Brownswood, the three tracks catch Diggs at his most flighty and free-thinking; "Ambition Addiction" jumps and rolls like a tightly coiled jazz spring before hurling us into the deep harmonic soulful blue of "Welcome" and "Funky Overdose" lives up to its name with its off beat magic, tightly plucked guitar and staccato vocals. Addictive.

Review: Since its' initial release in 1980, UK reggae act Tradition's out-there dub album Captain Ganja and the Space Patrol has become a seriously sought-after item amongst collectors. It's for this reason that Bokeh Versions delivered a licensed reissue in 2017, and undoubtedly the thinking behind Octave Lab's decision to offer up selected gems from the set over a number of seven-inch singles. This second salvo begins with languid, slow-motion brilliance of 'Subaquatic Swerves', where lilting electronic lead lines and spacey electric piano flourishes bob around a horizontal dub-wise groove. Turn to the flip for the incredible 'Morning on Mars', a killer dub excursion marked out by jazzy guitars, hazy Hammond organ notes, sampled birdsong and an extraordinarily good bassline.