Regularly, The Book Los Angeles picks a selection of notable releases from some of the most progressive labels in the US and the rest of the world. Click on the links to access artists and labels web sites, where you will find complete merchandise, pictures and biographies.

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Artist: STIGMATO INC
Title: REALITY CHECK
Label: Utensil
Link: www.utensilrecordings.com
Root: Spain/Deep House-Downtempo
Born out of a global club culture, Barcelona based Stigmato Inc could be Groove Armada’s Catalan cousin. Sharing the same love for funk grooves and soulful vocals mashed up with deep house and downtempo beats, you’d think Andy Kato had a hand in the production. “Reality Check”, the band’s debut album, allows the live instrumentation to engage in small jams and solos, giving the studio production a palpable organic feel. From the jazz breaks and bluesy undertones, DC born vocalist Danna Leese soars above the mix with tales of love lost and love found. Cuban percussionist Yobanis Mesa brings Latin flavor into the rhythm, US jazzhead Terence Butler pushes the air through flutes and saxes, while DJ Tito Rossel and keyboardist Carlos Sanchez secure the groove foundation with a sexy club attitude. Unlike Groove Armada, Stigmato Inc does not rely on heavy sampling, and with a strong emphasis on songwriting, has all the consistence and unity of a real band, not a studio concoction. Somewhere inside every track beats Barcelona’s pulse, with a furious passion holding the promise of nights without end.

Artist: KLEE
Title: UNVERWUNDBAR
Label: Ministry Of Sound
Link: www.kleemusik.de
Root: Germany/ Synth Pop
While much of the Electroclash movement immersed itself intro metropolitan drama, German electro pop trio Klee prefers running through poppy fields, kicking off swirls of pollen into the warm light of a summer sun. Fronted by ingénue Suzie Kerstgens whose childlike innocence echoes the longings of a lovelorn lolita, Klee creates versatile pop songs echoing 80’s icons Depeche Mode and New Order, while also connecting to the indie rock origins of the band. The German lyrics of “Unverwundbar” (invulnerable) might be a handicap to find an international audience, but the hooks and melodies are contagious enough to cause pop addiction on a pandemic scale. Added perks find the chanteuse exercising her French on a hidden track, and practice her Russian on an mp3 found exclusively on the band’s website.

Artist: FRANZ FERDINAND
Title: FRANZ FERDINAND
Label: Domino
Link: www.dominorecordco.com
Root: UK/ Rock
When a bunch of Scottish lads set as a primary goal to “make music that girls can dance to”, you get Franz Ferdinand, the freshest of the new batch of young bands bent on resuscitating the post disco punk era. Every sound on their self titled debut can be traced back to an 80’s classic, so much so that one could play name that tune on every song: a little Talking Heads guitar riff here, an early Spandau Ballet or Stranglers bass line there… But the cutting and pasting pays off and brings punk back on the dance floor with Blondie-like attitude. Save the Kleenex for nostalgia mongers like Interpol. These boys are busy watching the girls dancing franticly.

Artist: FEDERICO AUBELE
Title: GRAN HOTEL BUENOS AIRES
Label: ESL Music
Link: www.eslmusic.com
Root: Argentina/ Downtempo Electronica
Federico Aubele is every musician's story: growing up under various musical influences, from Mozart to the Ramones by way of Antonio Carlos Jobim, to finally find his own voice and reconnect with his native roots while discovering the music of Astor Piazzolla. But it is a long way from the studios of Buenos Aires to the record bins of US cities. Following his instinct, Aubele sent a demo to those he thought might listen, gaining the full attention of Eighteen Street Lounge Music label heads Rob Garza and Eric Hilton, otherwise known as Thievery Corporation. Using the Thievery’s signature downtempo dubbed out sound, “Gran Hotel Buenos Aires” introduces the Latin flavors of a place half a world away. With Aubele’s guitar strumming weaving a thread through tracks that exude both passion and melancholy, the sensuality of the bandoneon mixed in with emotionally charged vocals make sadness a beautiful commodity. Connecting both Americas together, the collaboration with ESL brings Argentina’s soul on the doorstep of the rest of the world, and is proof that today’s emerging artists can position themselves in a global music scene, retain their identity and tap deeply into their roots.

Artist: FRAGILE STATE
Title: VOICES FROM THE DUST BOWL
Label: Bar de Lune/Studio
Link: www.fragilestate.com
Root: UK/ Ambient-Downtempo
If Neil Cowley and Ben Mynott (a.k.a. Fragile State) could magically turn the sound they produce into images, they would be hailed as visionary filmmakers. Despite the occasional comparison with Zero 7 and Air, “Voices from the Dust Bowl” takes an edgier, more inventive approach in which elements intersect leading to both elaborate harmonies and odd juxtapositions. Moving in the space of one note from a folky guitar ballad to monumental orchestral arrangements, epic soundscapes pay an involuntary tribute John Barry and Ennio Morricone. Hypnotic voices from far away places help the cinematic journey takes its listener by surprise, creating a vast abstract world where rules have been broken and fantasy alone moves the music through the mind.

Artist: RUBEN GONZALES/COMPAY SECUNDO/IBRAHIM FERRER
Title: HECHO EN CUBA 2
Label: Escondida/ Ultra Records
Link: www.ultrarecords.com
Root: Cuba/ Salsa-Son
In 1996, the Wim Wenders documentary “Buena Vista Social Club” resuscitated the careers of long forgotten Cuban Son stars like Ibrahim Ferrer, Ruben Gonzales, and Compay Segundo. What followed were an Oscar nomination, several Grammy wins, and a world wide infatuation with all things Cuban. 8 years later, Gonzales and Segundo have passed away, though not before having enjoyed life to its fullest and longest, leaving the torch to the younger bearer Ferrer, now barely in his mid sixties. Hecho En Cuba 2 gathers the biggest names spawned from this revival, united under the collective Afro Cuban All Stars, and featuring vocalist Omara Portuondo, Eliades Ochoa, and pianist prodigy Roberto Fonseca. While cigars and visas may be in short supplies, Cuba’s musical tradition knows no border.

Artist: TASSEL & NATUREL
Title: DJ CAM Presents FILLET OF SOUL
Label: Inflamable Records
Link: www.inflamable.com
Root: France/ House-Downtempo-Acid jazz
Departing further from his murkier past as an abstract hip hop master turntablist, DJ Cam’s latest acid jazz offering transforms France’s infatuation with jazz and soul into a deep love affair. Fillet Of Soul is a concoction gathering Cam, working here as a producer, sax player Guillaume Naturel and pianist Alexandre Tassel, two seasoned pros who have played with the likes Dede Bridgewater, Björk, Henry Salvador, Tito Puente, Diana Ross and Cameo to name a few. This tasty dish evolves within a musical palette ranging from downtempo moods to upbeat house shuffles, keeping the jazz alive with rich instrumentation and catchy arrangement, conjuring in the process the echoes of the bygone Latin Quarter Jazz era.

Artist:ARTHUR VEROCAI
Title: Arthur Verocai
Label: Luv'n'Haight/Ubiquity
Link: www.ubiquityrecords.com
Root: Brazil/ Soul Bossa
In the beginning of the 70’s, music exploded outside of conventional boundaries. While technological advancements brought new possibilities, psychedelic drugs were expanding the creative horizons of those who experimented with them. In 1972, Brazilian composer Arthur Verocai released his self-titled debut against the political backdrop of a repressive military dictatorship. While using metaphorical language in his warm crooning to conceal the message, the music of Verocai is at the crossroads of the influences of its time. Gil Evans inspired jazz progressions, string arrangements pushing soul on the brink of (not born yet) disco, synthesizers introducing electronic textures in folk composition, layered with the cinematic glam of a blackspoitation soundtrack… The ultra rare gem stands as the vestige of a musical big bang experienced by a new generation of artists, Verocai amongst them, and is finally poised to be discovered for the first time in the US.

Artist: MARQUES WYATT
Title: HORIZONS
Label: Om Records
Link: www.deep-la.com
Root: US/ Deep House
Every Sunday for the past 5 years, hundreds of people of all races, ages and social class gather up at Club Deep in Hollywood. From the alter of a place many call “Church”, Marques Wyatt drops the needle on vinyl scorchers, igniting the dance floor with his mix of gospel, soul and jazz influenced deep house. Out there in the dim light, the entangled bodies of devotees collide, daily troubles washed away in sweat. It is not so insignificant to have a message of peace and unity these days, and this much respected messenger has become more than a producer and DJ. Wyatt, his club and music have become symbols of hope for a future where mankind embraces brotherly love. Going too deep ? Then there’s always the music on his latest release “Horizons”, a penthouse party with a sidewalk attitude, guaranteed to make anyone’s ass twitch uncontrollably. Now here’s something worth getting religious about.

Artist: BEANFIELD
Title: SEEK
Label: Compost Records
Link: www.compost-records.net
Root: Germany/ Nu Jazz-Downtempo
Like label mates Jazzanova and Trüby Trio, Beanfield engage in the pursuit of music as high art, exploring new forms of expression by fusing electronic textures with complex rhythms, jazz progressions and soulful vocals. Frowning on the use of samples to favor a more organic production, the Beanfield sound is also re-energized by its new member combo, introducing keyboardist Michael Metke, a frequent Compost Records collaborator, joining founder Jan Krause with vocalist Ernesto and Bajka. With more laidback grooves and live instrumentation than its predecessors, “Seek” oozes with the sex-appeal of an acid jazz session in a London cellar club, blooming with endless layers of musical texture that slowly unveil themselves at each listening experience.