UK has been championing hip hop with Such passion and conviction for so long. With his second compilation of the year he offers a selection of the tuffest. ruffest contemporary names on the scene. Redman rubs shoulders with Jay-Z. D12 and DMX. But there are plenty of tasty nuggets from less chart friendly names to educate the uninitiated: Coo Coo Cal. Three 6 Mafia and more laying down some bad ass cuts. Lewd. crude and dangerous to know. (Henry Northmore)
DOWN TEMPO/ HIP HOP
Hinterland (Grand Central) 0000
Downtempo hip hop can sometimes feel more like an exercise in technical Skill than in rounded songwriting. Not so Andy Turner’s work as Aim. which began promisingly on the eclectic Cold Water Music and continues in style on this juiCy. inspiring follow-up. Turner produced. mixed and engineered the whole album himself. but
his influences are varied enough (guest vocals come from Baby Bird's Stephen Jones and veteran rapper Diamond D among others) to make this sound nothing like a solo project. Hinterland ventures into indieland. dabbles with drum & bass. struts to a gangsta groove and bubbles with warmth throughout. (James Smart)
REAKS VARIOUS ARTISTS ‘
Cookin’: Ingredients (Good Looking) .000 Cookin‘ are an imprint of LTJ Bukem's Good Looking Records. and as you might expect their second compilation is a far cry from drum 8 bass' rough and ready origins — to the point where this album's clean breaks and jazzy instrumentation s0und a little too pristine. Still, for those who appreciate porite experiments in sound. this album is a winner, mixing complex piano structures. subsonic bass grumbles and spectral synths to good effect. And those who want to chill out without buying a
, horrendous cash cow of ~ a supermarket-stocked
mix album should check
: out the likes of Solaris' ‘Timed Reality’ and
smoke another reefer.
(James Smart)
HOUSE OPEN DOOR
Being a Solemusic
What's Behind Door No 1 (Solemusic) O.”
f release. it doesn't take a
member of MENSA to tell you that what you'll find
‘behind door no 1' are some deep. jazzy house
grooves. these ones crafted with care by native New Yorkers Vicki Bell and Peter Adams. With this predictability a given, Open Doors debut
album project transcends
the nu-jazz/deep house formula. exceeding expectations with its innovative mix of lush strings. broken hip hop beats. Latin rumba and
strong dub overtones.
. Psych rock stylings even get a look in on a
palatable cover of Pink
Floyd's ‘Breathe' and “Open Rock'. making for an enticing and genuinely eclectic melting pot of musical moods. (Catherine Bromley)
HOUSE VARIOUS ARTISTS
House Emotions (Soundplant)...
Italian house jock Lele
Sacchi, respected resident at Milan's
Magazzini Generali, presents this slick live mix of hot house platters. Cuts from around Europe vie for space but all share a deep funk aesthetic. Switzerland’s Rollercone jostles for space alongside the muscular jazz grooves of the UK's Nigel Hayes and the tech-funk of Sacchi's own Boogie Drama productions. Every track is given plenty of breathing space but this is part of the problem: most take way too long to kick in. and the album seems to consist of 50% intros. Undeniably smooth and sleek but it
'.IV'ILJLLH i STOR l CALSOCIETV . COM
never quite pushes the right buttons. (Henry NOrthmore)
SOUL
VARIOUS ARTISTS Make Music
(Harmless) .0000
U II
Glory be to God. Harmless Records churn these compilations out by the vanload but just occasionally they hit pure gold in their vinyl mines and this is their Shangri La. An absolutely fantastic compilation of folk funk flavours and ambient soul this will remind you that before Zero 7. Portishead. Goldfrapp and Morcheeba there was music that they . . . well . . . ripped off.
The heavenly line-up here includes Linda Lewis' remarkable ‘Reach Out'. The Peddlers' ‘I Have Seen' (recently rehabilitated by Zero 7) and a truly awesome
Records
version of Fred Neil's classic ‘Dolphins' by the old Northern SOuI ‘Snake‘ Al Wilson. Gorgeous. (Paul Dale)
souu HOUSE BLUE SIX
Beautiful Tomorrow (NakedMusic/Virgin) .0
New York producer Jay Denes. the brains behind Blue Six, releases his first full- length album with the project. However. soul- Iite. plinking piano samples. light funk and sweet female vocals make for a frankly boring release. The mellow house vibe feels so cliched and the addition of an R&B slant just takes off any real- deal house edge it may aspire to.
Jesus. it makes Jamiroquai's coffee table funk SOund positively aggressive. And referring to at least three separate tracks as ‘dub' surely contravenes the Trades Description Act. Background music for the undemanding. (Henry Northmore)
17 ~31 Jun 7001) THE LIST 89