Thanks to the pandemic, shipping records from Europe to the US has taken on a large level of unpredictability in arrival time, so some of these records were actually released in December. But these are the new jams that have been doing it for me since I wrote my year end post about six weeks ago.
Los Hermanos – “Another Day” – Mother Tongue Records
After leading the 2020 year end post with his Celebrity BBQ Sauce Band project alongside Billy Love, Gerald Mitchell fires the first shot in the battle for Jam of 2021 with what is an instant classic house EP. “Another Day” is a deeeeeep Rhodes and sample based joint, vaguely reminiscent of Moodymann’s “Why Do U Feel” but with more energy and even more beautiful. Flipping it over, you get “Binary Funk” which is an electric piano led loopy melodic techno cut and the beatless jam “The Billy Love Experience (Let Love Live)” which of course features Billy Love on vocals. It’s actually difficult for me to choose which track I like best here. They are all extremely memorable and funky, and they work surprisingly well together on this record.
While it may seem like an obvious choice to have an all-time great like Gerald do a record for your label, Mother Tongue still managed to choose three essential cuts AND give them a lovely packaging that makes this record feel like the major musical statement that it is. These cats are killing the soulful dance music game in Europe right now with quality music from quality artists, all pressed and presented in a way that does justice to the music.
Andrew Ashong & Kaidi Tatham – Sankofa Season – Kitto Records
Samii – Figuring It Out – 2000 Black
Andrew Ashong only has a handful of releases as a primary artist, but they have all been killer, not least of which is this six song EP created with assistance from Kaidi Tatham. Andrew’s vocals and Kaidi’s keys seem meant for each other, creating soulful and funky music with outstanding hooks. If there was any justice in the world of music, these would be hit songs. Instead, they are destined to be the soundtrack for discerning underground dancefloors whenever such things are responsibly possible again.
Kaidi also had a hand in writing and playing on three out of the four tracks on Samii’s debut vinyl release, along with his partners in Tatham Mensah Lord and Ranks. After first appearing on Dego’s 2019 album Too Much, Samii now drops four cuts that mix West London broken rhythms and production with a neo soul edge. The two uptempo and two downtempo joints on the EP all feature rich, mature chord work that is all too uncommon in today’s R&B, and the vocals are classy, keeping the future soul feel of the music rooted by the humanity of her performance.
Roberta – NMR011 – Night Moves Records
I’ve been playing Roberta’s music since her first release on James Duncan’s Innermoods label a few years back, but in the meantime she has proven herself to be one of my favorite current house music producers. The roots of her style are in the classic sample based house vein, but her tracks stand out thanks to the texture of the sounds she uses as well as the clean arrangements where nothing ever feels like it is inessential, and everything works in pursuit of a perfect deep groove. All cuts here are strong, but the B side wins out for me with the dancefloor appeal of “You Don’t Say” and the vocals of “Because I Can” standing out.
Various Artists – Friends & Mentors – Steady Flight Circle
Thomas Xu invites some of his friends and mentors to contribute to the third release on his Steady Flight Circle label. Terri Whodat gets things going with a sweet piano that sits over a big booming kick and sub bass, tweaking every little bit of emotion possible out of such a minimized arrangement. Poseidon Neptune’s “Saht Nam” takes it a bit more techno with the synth chords while John Silas enlists John Barera to add bass to a nice electric piano house jam entitled “9th Creation”. The highlight, though, is Meftah’s “Ur Utility” which sees his deep jazzy broken house music style continue to do big things. All in all an excellent EP of exceptional music.
?? – Six / Seven / Eight – ??
The third installment of these mysterious Infectious Madness records dropped recently, and it takes the sound in a more straight up broken beat direction. Rude bwoy riddims and harder basslines give this record some nice attitude with the acid style of “Seven”. Meanwhile, “Six” has a strong future boogie funk flavor that reminds me of the Dego and the 2000 Black Family releases. And “Eight” is maybe the highlight with a half time synth funk vibe. Really nice work overall, and I think a mix of nothing but these three records would sound incredible.
Tiombe Lockhart feat. Bilal – “Sexy Suzy On a Sunday” Remixes – Mother Tongue Records
After finally issuing many of Tiombe’s mid-00s CD only jams, Mother Tongue decided to do a 7” with some remixes of “Sexy Suzy On A Sunday”. They enlisted jazz star Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah and west coast standout Carlos Niño, two artists who have been working steadily for years within the modern jazz and soul/funk/etc crossover world. Christian Scott’s mix minimizes and dubs out the instrumental and he replaces the vocals with his horn, unsurprisingly this is just as if not more emotive than Tiombe’s lyrics. Carlos Niño also goes dubby, but in a more traditional sense, adding reverb and stripping down the track to its essentials before going almost ambient and experimental in the last third. Both mixes are outstanding deep chill jams.
Patrice Scott – The Uprise – Sistrum Recordings
Patrice has been on the warpath the last few years, cranking out instant classic jazz influenced house cuts, primarily on his own Sistrum label. While nothing on this EP is quite at the level of “Moments and Concepts” or “The Detroit Upright”, all three jams work together in creating a solid EP. The title track is a downtempo hiphop joint that comes across very naturally, showing the connections to hiphop in his production techniques even when working at dancefloor tempo. “Ghetto Love” uses haunting vocals and strings to ride over a melodic and syncopated bassline, with the minimal piano adding the final deep touches. “That Vibe” takes up the whole B side and has the most aggressive drum work, but also some of the thickest atmospheres on the record. These juxtapose against each other perfectly, creating a soundtrack for smoky house dance sessions.
Lee Pearson Jr. Collective – Start Today EP – Neroli
Trinidadian Deep – Some Sweet Ting – Neroli
Neroli continues to crank out incredible music at such a high pace that it is sometimes difficult to keep up. Lee Pearson Jr. is one of those seriously talented cats whose control of soulful vocals house is underrated despite having worked with Larry Heard and other well known artists. Here he drops only one new track, “Start Today”, but it is of course extremely dope. An instrumental with extended flute solos comes courtesy of Nathan Haines, while Alton Miller serves up his version which adds synth flourishes to the equation.
When I say it’s hard to keep up, this Trinidadian Deep record is what I mean. This came out almost a year ago, but somehow I missed it until I heard Kenny play “Sounds Of The Rebel” on his radio show a few weeks back. I pestered him for a track ID and then immediately ordered a copy. With lush breakbeats and synth and sax solos, this kind of cosmic deep house is right up my alley, a track I am looking forward to playing at some outdoor parties once the weather warms up. The rest of the EP is outstanding too, keeping things a bit more funky rhythmically as opposed to four on the floor.
Norm Talley – Det-313-EP – Upstairs Asylum Recordings
Norm Talley is a Detroit house legend who has been dropping deep jams for almost two and a half decades. But now he is kicking off his own new label and here he does his thing on tracks by Moodymann and Omar S to turn them into his own. “Jus Hangin” is my pick of the two, with Norm turning Moodymann’s “The Hangover” into a more tracked out jam that would have felt at home on Track Mode or Moods & Grooves back in the day.