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Artist: CELSO FONSECA
Title: NATURAL
Label: Six Degrees Records
Link: www.sixdegreesrecords.com
Root: Brazil/ Bossa Nova
By-passing the new bossa nova foray into electronic soundscapes, Celso Fonseca’s compositions stem from the same organic root as Brazil’s masters Baden Powell, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Milton Nascimento. Natural is an exercise in seduction build on the poetic candor of lyrics celebrating love and life, delivered with a velvet vocal touch, delicate guitar pickings, and cool grooves both assertive and sensual. The refined jazzy subtleties and rich tropical flavors reconnect with a place of quiet beauty, warm sun strokes, gathering all the ingredients for a Brazilian night without end.

Artist: P’TAAH
Title: STARING AT THE SUN
Label: Ubiquity Records
Link: www.ubiquityrecords.com
Root: US/ Jazz Fusion-Electronica
With a multitude of releases under his various aliases, from the house antics of Wamdue and Ananda Project, to his jazz fusion alter-ego as P’Taah, Atlanta based Chris Brann is hailed internationally as one of the most prolific producers out there today. While in line with contemporaries like Jazzanova and Truby Trio, his productions display a greater musicianship, and a deeper spiritual undertone. Claiming 70’s influences from the works of Chic Corea, Stanley Clarke and Herbie Hancock, Staring At the Sun is his most accomplished production to date, with a stronger sense of direction than previous experimentations, full of restrain and understatement, combining complex rhythms with intoxicating grooves, filling each breathy space with the soaring vocals of Terrance Down and Sylvia Gordon (Kudu). Chris Brann’s painted vision of an acoustic eden is the expression of electronica as a higher art form, designed to reconcile the light hearted beat junkie and the intellectual jazz pundit.

Artist: ALPINE STARS
Title: B.A.S.I.C.
Label: Guidance Records
Link: www.33rpm.com
Root: UK/ Electro-pop
Guidance’s sustained acquisition effort to bring forth a more “artist” driven catalogue has spawned yet another music collector’s essential. Hailing from Manchester, the British town with more musical talent per square inch than there are snow flakes on the Mont Blanc, Alpine Stars delivers a sound more electro-fluff than Clash, with a greater pop rock aspiration than churning out beats to fill the dance floor. Saluting undisclosed allegiance to Kraftwerk and Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark, B.A.S.I.C. Plays like a soundtrack for a happy robotic world, an escape from our current Orwellian nightmare. Solid breackbeats and other pro-tools tweaking make it a current affair, not another pseudo retro synth pop act jumping on the trendy bandwagon. Like Air or Royksopp, Alpine Stars successfully define an original musical identity that doesn’t quite fit established standards, and pushes known boundaries forward once more.

Artist: LES NUBIANS
Title: ONE STEP FORWARD
Label: Om Town-Higher Octave Music-Virgin
Link: www.higheroctave.com and www.lesnubians.com
Root: France/ Hip-Hop-R&B-World
Les Nubians claim roots in Chad (Africa), residency in Paris and Bordeaux (France), but their music embraces the whole world. Having scored the only French sung R&B track to ever chart in the US, while various contributions with States side hip hop icons Talib Kweli and Guru (Gangstarr), as well as their participation to the Red Hot + Riot project, have established sisters Celia and Helene Faussart as one of the most notorious world beat acts. Their new album One Step Forward, is in fact a giant leap towards a worldwide recognition of their talent. Sung in a multitude of languages mixing French, English, Spanish within the same song, with various hip hop figures like Talib Kweli returning the favor with conscious rhymes, the lyrics are deep and spiritual, politically conscious, and explore all aspect of humanity, both dark and enlightened. African legends Manu Dibango and Ray Lema lend their maestria to a production orchestrated in part by London based I.G. Culture, exploring West African rhythms, hip hop, R&B, reggae, jazz, bossa nova in a transcontinental quest in search of their African ancestry. Free from hype, Les Nubians dispense beauty, peace and wisdom in a universal message that requires no translation to touch everyone.

Artist: THE RAVEONETTES
Title: WHIP IT ON
Label: The Orchard Label
Link: www.theraveonettes.com
Root: Danemark/ Garage Rock
Need a break from the drum machines and over hyped MTV Rock bands? How about a little garage rock with a twang for a change of pace? Nonchalant vocals play off like a modern Velvet Underground, eerily detached from a sonic mayhem mixing the spaghetti western sensibility of Wall of Voodoo and Concrete Blonde, with a wall of guitars more akin to post punk bands like Sonic Youth and Jesus and Mary Chain. Forever changing the notion that Danemark is a quiet and subdued place where you freeze to death, The Raveonettes deliver a healthy slice of good ol’ Rock’n Roll under the skillful production of Blondie producer Richard Gottehrer. With 8 tracks running in average under 3 minutes, and a packaged priced under 8 dollars, Whip It On offers more bang for your Buck, guaranteed to deliver more jitters than a caffeine overdose. This fictitious soundtrack to the film Ed Wood or John Waters never made, celebrates its indy spirit with an irreverent slap in the face of a humorless recording establishment, and in doing so, reminds everyone of what Rock is all about.

Artist: KASKADE
Title: IT’S YOU, IT’S ME
Label: OM Records
Link: www.omrecords.com
Root: US/ Deep House
When it comes to deep house, compilations far exceed the number of producers working the scene, one single at a time. Uncovering an artist capable of producing an album filled with dance gems which are both solid and inspired is a rare occurrence. Walking in the foot steps of Miguel Miggs, Charles Webster, and Roy Davis Jr., Ryan Raddon, aka Kaskade, is such an artist. Plucked away from his Clark Kent day job, having concealed is identity to become production assistant for OM records while sneaking in demo tapes, and becoming one of the label’s strongest emerging talent. With tracks on the top DJ’s playlists, from Lazy Dog (London) to Marques Wyatt (L.A.), frequent inclusions on top selling compilations like Naked Music and Hed Kandy, Kaskade has slowly imposed his sexy mix of soulful vocals (courtesy of Joslyn, Rob Wannamaker, and Andy Michelle), deep bass grooves and irresistible shuffles, producing enough bounce to register on the Richter scale. Isolated from the mix, the songs become sweet pop entities with song structures, while still fitted for dance floor consumption, San Fran style.

Artist: VARIOUS
Title: VIVA CUBOP 3
Label: Cubop Records
Link: www.ubiquityrecords.com
Root: VARIOUS/ Latin Jazz
The roster of talent listed on the latest Viva Cubop, a collection of exclusive and pre-released material from Ubiquity’s Latin Jazz imprint, reads like the who’s who of master percussionists and jazz musicians from San Diego to London. Characterized by a very organic “takes you there” sound, from the classic salsa, rumba and mambo of Francisco Aguabella and Jack Constanzo, to the more progressive acid jazz approach of John Santos/Bobby Matos, Dave Pike and Snowboy, the 13 tracks make the case for the label, proving itself to be the definitive champion of afro cuban jazz in the US. Many of these artists featured (detailed bios available on website) are local, and deserve to be experienced live beyond their recordings, to grasp the full scope of their talent.

Artist: VARIOUS
Title: TORCH-A SIX DEGREES
COLLECTION OF MODERN TORCH SONGS
Label: Six Degrees Records
Link: www.sixdegreesrecords.com
Root: VARIOUS/ Downtempo
Although it missed the date by a couple of month, this collection built on mood, passion, and all things concerning matters of the heart, will turn any moment into the perfect valentine. Introspective, occasionally melancholic but always deeply romantic, Torch is a refined tasting platter for the discerning ear that makes one fall in love with the idea of love, as expressed through the many prestigious artists own interpretation, from the ever so low jazz register of Cassandra Wilson, the cinematic downtempo visions of John Holmes (featuring St. Etienne’s Sarah Cracknell), the Philadelphia neo soul of King Britt’s Sylk 130, the lushious electronic melodies of Mandalay (remixed by Nitin Sawhney), to the unmistakable crooning of Elvis Costello, playing lounge jack with Roy Nathanson. And this to name only half a list that won’t conform to any particular style or era, yet knocks out the afterhours competition with sass, intelligence and taste.

Artist: COOL HIPNOISE
Title: SELECT CUTS SHOWCASE & MORE
KINGSTON-HAVANA-LISBON
Label: Select Cuts-Echo Beach
Link: www.selectcuts.de
Root: Portugal/ Downtempo Dub
Born in the burgeoning Lisbon acid jazz-hip hop scene of ‘94, Cool Hipnoise came to be as an experimental gathering between jazz students Francisco Rebello, and Tiago Santos, whose shared love of dub reggae, Afro Cuban and Brazilian beats took them to uncharted territories, creating a gorgeous hybrid mix of these influences. As other members joined in to form the core of the band, a decade of playing festivals across Europe and three albums followed, developing further the band’s unique signature sound, earning them a record of the year title in 1997. This compilation is presented in a typical Select Cuts “showcase” format, with each track followed by an instrumental dub mix, includes various (mostly Portuguese) guest vocals, notably by the Last Poets, and an unlikely psychedelic dub version of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are” closes the album, demonstrating best that in the musician’s mind, music knows no frontiers.

Artist: VARIOUS
Title: REWIND 2
Label: Ubiquity Records
Link: www.ubiquityrecords.com
Root: Various/ Downtempo-Electronica
There’s nothing like a good oldie, a classic song embedded in your memory bank, ready to be shower-sung, hummed or karaoke-ed at any opportune moment. Taking this principle to heart, Ubiquity’s second edition of Rewind raises the bar on the first by including 5 exclusive tracks, as well as a handpicked selection of soulful, jazzy and sometimes exotic reworks bringing an underground sensibility to old school classics. In the process, songs by John Coltrane, Bill Withers, Curtis Mayfield, The Temptations, Chrissie Hynde, Sting, Grace Jones and more, are mutated into their modern incarnation by artists like Roy Davis Jr., Herbert, Yesterday’s New Quintet, Nicola Conte, John Beltran, and Terry Callier. Piling up talent upon genius, the new versions become classics in their own rights, whether they’ve been tweaked to death, or still retain the form and substance of the original. More than a pure exercise in style, each song feels like an intimate love affair between original authors and new performers, creating a timeless expanse in which then and now collides to create the future of music.

Artist: VARIOUS
Title: EURO LOUNGE
Label: Putumayo Records
Link: www.putumayo.com
Root: Various/ Downtempo-World-Electronica
The word lounge has been so overused by now, that any compilation displaying the dreaded name makes one cringe like a bad Martini hangover. Not so with Putumayo’s Euro Lounge. Behind a title designed as a marketing effort to fit in with current trends, hides a brilliant compilation mixing world beat with downtempo electronica, reaching beyond the topology of the European continent. The opening track by Thievery Corporation sets the course, featuring Loulou, a persian singer who first migrated to Paris, then to the States, to explore new grounds for the Jamaican influenced dub of the DC producers. Followed by S-Tone, who originates from Italy, and sets his influences far east of the Adriatic sea. The same displacement applies to Gabin (Italy), Arling and Cameron (the Netherlands), and whether they are from Chile, Spain, Germany or Turkey, musicians in 2003 are more than ever connected and aware of each other, and the world they live in. The evolution of media, communication technologies and distribution networks that have made music readily available almost anywhere, have created a global community of artists, blending and mixing sounds into a universal language, bringing people and cultures together, offering ultimately a more positive vision of a world at peace celebrating its differences.