Moodier music than you might guess from the lush image on the cover – a really evocative mix of acoustic and electronic elements – filtered together in ways that lie somewhere between the world/jazz experiments of 70s Sweden, and some of the more creative moments at ECM! The music's performed by the duo of Mari Kvien Brunvoll and Stein Urheim – who each sing a bit, play various percussion instruments, and work some cool tape effects to kind of flesh out the sound – yet often in ways that preserve the acoustic core of the instrumentation. Stein uses some extra-cool "fretless bouzouki" – and Mari plays a kalimba quite nicely, too – and titles include "Voss", "We're So Many", "I Don't Wanna Go", "Paradoxes", "Don't Mind", and "Sleeping In The Bush". ~ Dusty Groove
One of the most striking records so far from the mighty Rob Mazurek – a set that makes us more than glad we've been following his musical journey for the past two decades! The set's got a nicely compressed feel – one that takes some of the looser energy that's been bubbling up in recent Mazurek records, and delivers it in a tight quartet format – with Rob's sparkling cornet in the lead, amidst great piano from Angelica Sanchez, bass from Matt Lux, and drums from John Herndon! Given the wide resumes of all players, there's a really shifting sense of sound here – one that's bold one minute, introspective the next – and never falls into too-familiar jazz phrasing modes. Yet Mazurek's also really matured as a player, too – working here with a sensitivity we never would have expected years ago – captured with great clarity in the recording. Titles include "Magic Saturn", "Spiritual Mars", "Twister Uranus", "Spanish Venus", "Folk Song Neptune", and "Spiral Mercury". ~ Dusty Groove
Latin funk, soul and boogaloo from Los Fulanos – a modern Barcelona combo whose Lovemonk singles have done a terrific job of showing some love for diverse old school styles – and they do that even better on this solid full length! It's got rave-up boogaloo, slower-cooking Latin soul, raw rhythms and some spacier disco touches. They're known for being a great live band – but it seems like they made a wise choice to use the studio to experiment a bit – and without ever compromising on the live-ready group dynamic. Good stuff! Includes "Prelude", "Why Don't We Do Some Boogaloo?", "The End Of The World", "Kind Of Guy", "Sobran Cueros", "You Know What I Mean", "El Que No Esta Se Lo Pierde" (parts 1 & 2), "Manny", "Hold On (Baby Hold Me)" and a great curveball for a closer – their great Latin dancefloor cover of New Order's "Blue Monday". (Includes a bonus 7-inch with "End Of The Dub" and "Gentle Dub" featuring The Pepper Pots – plus album download.) ~ Dusty Groove
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