Search results: Alma

Review: Alma Negra steps up to Delusion of Grandeur to bring the vibes on this new 12" in a fancy die-cut and spot-varnished sleeve. The sounds are funky and disco-fried with 'Madrugada' riding on lavish horn leads and nice loose percussive beats. 'Funky Fever' ups the temperatures with some sleazy vocals riding on jangling and organic beats. 'Madrugad' then comes as a Yuksek remix that layers in more colourful synths and allows the steamy origin vocals to bring the heat and a dub mix closes down this party-friendly EP

Review: Veteran German producer (and one half of Wighnomy Brothers) Robag Wruhme returns to Pampa Records with two delightful servings of his idiosyncratic sound. The glassy-eyed and bittersweet daydream fantasy of "Nata Alma" (Club Smash Hit version) features some right legends of the Norweigian jazz scene: Bugge Wesseltoft on piano accompanied by a heartfelt vocal performance by vocalist Sidsel Endresen. On the flip, "Venq Tolep" (Hit club version) is equal parts melancholic yet utterly evocative, and is the title track of his first album-length release on DJ Koze's label in eight years.

Review: Cooperation, the label launched some years back by members of the music community at the heart of legendary West London broken beat night Co-Op, continues to impress. There's naturally plenty to set the pulse racing on the second volume in their ongoing Our Music Our Culture compilation series. Wipe The Needle join forces with golden-voiced Andre Esput on the deliciously deep and soulful broken beat gem 'Here We Go', before the temperature is raised by a trio of extra-percussive workouts, the standout of which is Soulparlour's heavy and insatiably funky future bruk classic 'Digital Soul (Naut L8 Nite Edit)'. Other fine cuts to check include the Bugz In the Attic-esque Bruk Rogers jam 'Get Strong' and the unfeasibly weighty and jacking 'Purest Dope' by Sonar's Ghost (AKA Co-Op legend Domu).

Review: It would be fair to say that Studio K7 has pulled off something of a coup in getting Kenny Dixon Jr. to agree to compile and mix the latest installment in the long-running DJ Kicks series. It is, somewhat remarkably, the legendary Detroiter's first commercially available mix set. This triple-vinyl edition features a whopping 19 cuts - all in unmixed form - from the 30 track mix. Musically, it's a blazed, jazzy, soulful and groovy as you'd expect, and contains a mixture of downtempo beats, nu-jazz and hazy house cuts from the likes of Flying Lotus, Dopehead, Peter Digital Orchestra, Nightmares On Wax, Soulful Session and Lady Alma.

Review: Tigerbalm is the solo project from Nicola Rose Robinson, and it has impressed over the last couple of years with music on Peng and Ubiquity. Now she returns to the latter for a new single packed with great remixes. The original is 'Waiheke', a loose-limbed rhythm with bubbling drums, rich percussion and tribal vocals that will work any dance floor into a lather. The Alma Negra remix brings more funky bass, while the Bananas For Breakfast remix slows things down to a languid crawl. On the flip, the Demi Riquisimo mix is more minimal and deep and Quartz and Tiger Sunset then offer two different perspectives to close this vital EP.

Review: Ella Guru is a project from the south of Stockholm that features guitarist Tommy Galento (from associations such as OK Star Orchestra and Galento Sound Service) and well known groove machine Daniel Strand from Bike Thieves. Together they bring a lovely Scandi-cosmic twist to deep house grooves having first met back in 2021 at a jam amongst friends. They mix up some Balearic guitar sounds, break waves, fat basslines and rich layers of percussion with classic hose knowledge to make something that straddles many different worlds at once, from the beach bar to the basement club and back again.