Przasnik – Azymic review

A breath of fresh air for nu-jazz and broken beat fans, this collection of songs by Polish producers Przasnik are happy to eschew chin-stroking seriousness and instead cut loose with a kaleidoscopic set of sounds that can’t fail to entertain even the most hardened of listener.

Opener “Piggyback Ride” is a lively vamp around Ray Charles’s “Hit The Road Jack” and mounted on a perfect set of nu-jazz drums and sampled brass. “Kind Of A Thing” continues in a similar vein – sampling a line from “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” by Duke Ellington. While it may sound a little cheesy, Przasnik handle it brilliantly and keep the listener firmly on their toes as they dice up loops in much the same way The Avalanches once did.

More conventional songs like “Doo That” show Przasnik’s skills with live arrangements – throwing pianos, Rhodes and live percussion into the mix with some subtle vocals and brass building in the background. “Barber On The Dancefloor” however goes full pelt to rock a dancefloor – courtesy of the drums from The Monkey’s Mary Mary and a host of Latin samples arranged with a chaotic energy. There’s no filler here at all and it’s a delight from start to finish – a perfect shot of energy for even the most casual jazz fan.

Review: Oliver Keens