The warm soul sound of today – courtesy of the legendary Will Downing! The set's the second in Downing's trilogy of soulful expression EPs, and it's got a wicked sound that's even better than the Yesterday volume – all original tunes by Will, co-written with Chris "Big Dog" Davis, who provides some great production on the set – the kind of lush but tight groove that always works perfectly with Will's vocals – mellow, but never too much so – and always with this gentle rhythm that glides along wonderfully with the vocals! Downing's never sounded better, and our hat's off to him for putting out such great music on his own label. Titles include "One Step Closer", "Sexy", "Like Last Night", and "The Blessing". (Tracks on CD pressed out of sequence).
Trancscendent dub from masters Sly Dunbar & Robbie Shakespeare – delivering some of the best modern dub we've heard in years – from Sly & Robbie or anyone else! Firstly, the production and instrumentation is top notch. Recorded Harry J's and featuring a stellar line up of players. Secondly, they're delivering the goods creatively – with all the echo and atmosphere of classic dub, but doing so with a profoundly modern vibe. Sly's drums, percussion and syn drums are a mighty thing to behold – technologically adept, yet steeped in classic vibes. Robbie's guitars are great, too, and the players include Dalton Brownie, Hansel Collins, Robbie Lyn, Mikey Mao Chung and others. Includes "Dirty Flirty", "Shabby Attack", "Burru Saturday", "Communication Breakdown", "Frenchman Code", "Riding East", "Smoothie", "The Bomber", "The Great Escape" and more. (Limited edition vinyl includes the CD and poster.)
A massive return to form from Cecilia Stalin – and proof that she's got way more to offer than just some amazing vocals! The set's not just great on the vocal tip, but also in terms of the arrangements, too – a 21st Century recasting of jazz modes, criss-crossed with the best bits of the European underground – served up with a vibe that's especially heavy on London flavors, too! Music crackles right from the start – and Cecilia wrote and arranged the whole set herself, while also singing these beautiful lyrics that blend old school vocalese with contemporary soul – the kind of groove that we first loved when we discovered her singing with Koop about a decade ago – but even more focused and mature here! The set features a few great remakes – "Step Like A Giant", "Afro Blue (Roots)", and "Favorite Things" – all showing her love of John Coltrane – plus the tracks "Cinematic Favorite", "Quinox", "Aisha", "One", "Shining Star", "So Blue & Green", and "My Naima".
Source: Dusty Groove
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