Hot Wax

This luscious piece of ambience, largely the creation of producer Kirk Degiorgio and vocalist Jinadu, exudes an intoxicating magical quality that stems from its inherent humanness- the lyrics, vocal harmonies and instrumentation. Opening and closing with soaring acoustic soul ballads “The Beauty Room” is an unashamedly rich listening experience, where lavish strings slide beneath enchanting harmonies in a warm analogue soup. Recalling past influences such as Steely Dan, Crosby Stills and Nash, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and the Beach Boys with its Fender Rhodes keyboards, vocals and laid back funky feel; new technology is also embraced, reaching to a transcendental state beyond time and space. This is inspired, heart-warming music to really chill out to.

World circuit records celebrate twenty years of recordings with the release of this 28 track, 2CD collection. Featuring an unparalleled line-up of artists, this compilation brings together previously unreleased studio recordings and live versions to appeal to the world circuit aficionado and highlight favourites for those seeking an introduction to the label. Wending its way from the Buena Vista Social Club to Ali Farka Toure through Ibrahim Ferrer and Ruben Gonzalez, ‘World Circuit Presents.’ is packed with classic performances from the labels top artists: Orchestra Baobab, Toumani Diabate and Cheikh Lo to mention but a few. Not content with releasing a mere ‘greatest hits’, the album also sheds light on lesser-known aspects of World Circuit’s output. Uncovered deep from the vaults are half-forgotten masterpieces, previously unheard live performances and other un-released material such as the amazing brain entraining Moroccan Gnaoua trance music from Mustapha Baqbou. A personal favourite is the extraordinarily delightful rendition of Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’ with its quirky improvised style. One could not dream of a musical arras more rich in cultural texture and splendid in colour.

The follow on to last year’s hugely successful album ‘You Are Here’, ‘The Remixes’ furthers the deftly crafted sonic adventures of Atomic Hooligan breaks masters duo Matt Welch and Terry Ryan with this rockin’ set of mash-up tunes.

Here comes more insanity of the sonic variety from The Residents with their new album release, “Tweedles”, the result of some strange and rather unusual circumstances. In the autumn of 2005 The Residents received an offer: a young gentleman in Romania had built himself a state of the art recording studio and had the wild dream of asking his favourite band, The Residents to try it out. As it happened, the bands’ own studio was undergoing a process known as seismic upgrade (strengthening the building to withstand a major earthquake) and could not use the facility for a year. Fate had stepped in and The Residents saw no reason not to have a look at the studio. The group boarded a jet for Bucharest in early 2006 with the idea of recording a couple of tracks while having a nice vacation in a country they had never visited. Since no ideas had been formed in advance as to what would be recorded, they felt it was appropriate to record everything during the trip, including the jet’s take off. Once on the plane and bored, ideas started coming and soon The Residents were roughing out an idea for the whole album. The group’s ultimate destination was not Bucharest, but a town 400 kilometres away, Hunedoara in the area of Romania known as Transylvania, historically the home of Count Vlad III, fictionalized by Bram Stoker as the vampire Dracula. By the time they landed in Bucharest they had outlined an album about a ‘vampire’ of sorts. Not a Bela Lugosi vampire, but one that feasted on broken hearts; a man who devoured the romantic emotions of others as a source of power. A man who took the stance that anyone who would stoop so low as to love him was not worth loving in return. The band fell in love with Hunedoara and as they produced their story of sexual compulsion, their impromptu recordings of street musicians, church bells and a small travelling circus with its strong Felliniesque presence, soon made it into their electronic pieces. Focusing less on harmonics and melody than their previous release, Animal Lover, these latest compositions are a patchwork of new and often exotic textures. For the group, this patchwork was the reflection of an often chaotic, but uniquely immersive experience. This is a carefully chosen collection of some of the most sought after conscious songs on brand new one-drop or lick over rhythms that have taken over the air waves and the dances for the best part of this year. Included on this value for money double cd. package is a fistful of tunes from long time favourites Bounty Killer and Sizzla such as the powerful ‘Chant Dem Down’ as well as newest blood on the scene, Fantan Mojah, who has had two number one’s this year already, dropping in here with ‘Nuh Build Great Man’, ‘No Mercy’ and ‘Jah Time’. Other hits from the year include ‘Phantom War’- Lutan Fyah, ‘Beautiful Lady’- Gyptian and ‘Nuh Badda Mi’ - Perfect. The whole album pumps, bumps and grinds to the vibration of peace love and righteousness. An inherent part of this is the Rasta man’s ritual of smoking the herb, mention of which is never far from any roots reggae album. Continuing the tradition here are Marlon Asher with ‘Ganja Farmer’, Gyptian - ‘Sensi’, Albrosie - ‘Herbalist’ and Jah Mason with ‘Couple Chalice A Day’. Skin up, rise up and give praise with this excellent and comprehensive album.

Arising from the Monza club night in Ibiza, set up by Frankfurt’s Patrik Dechent of Sunset People with the idea of doing something fresh and to bring new music to the island, this upbeat mix flows with open-mindedness and innovation. Avoiding repetition and constantly on the move, ‘Monza’ streams through a range of styles and emotions. From Dennis Ferrer and Kerri Chandler’s sensuous house to the ominous bass of Martin Landsky’s ‘1000 Miles’, the reduced funk of John Tejada’s ‘Forced Fiction’, Heidi and Riton’s jacking ‘Vejer’ and Erol Alkan’s up-tempo, summery remix of Hot Chip’s ‘Boy From School’, Heidi never stays in one place for too long. Her wish is that in a disposable world, for the mix to be timeless and sound just as good in the future. This three-track primer serves as a tasteful appetizer for the forthcoming LP. -’Stand Your Ground’, and an insightful view of the developing sound of this loose collective. The recordings in their clarity make a break from the past; vocals more exact and the instrumentation starkly realised. The band have obviously riffled the fifties guitar sound of Dorsey and Link Wray as the bedrock for their new sound. A monster riff echoing the sound clash between Run DMC anchors the opening track. And Aerosmith, a lo-fi funkadelic rubs shoulders with a succinct Beck style arrangement. Track two’s take on classic rockabilly avoids the cliché of nostalgia by conjuring the ghosts of a fuzzed up Cochrane and Bolan, fed through contemporary production. A gem. The last tracks pared down arrangement hints at the soul based sound of the first LP., a terse example to the over elaboration of the Raconteurs. Strength through brevity, an ominous harbinger of things to come, good omens on the rise.

Bonobo’s latest release finds himself drawing together the underdeveloped into a more sharpened production and coherent whole; this time there’s hardly a chimp in the armour. His debut LP. ‘Animal Magic’, through poor distribution uniquely resulted in him being bigger in the Belgian Congo rather than his hometown of Brighton. Hopefully this new release may give him the crossover success his talent deserves. This refined mixture of melancholic instrumentals, ambient sound scapes and the revelatory integration of world voices combined with rave live reviews from The Big Chill and The Glade will finally establish his place in the mainstream. Expect a PJ Tips advert theme tune soon; it’s in the leaves.

A very important nutritional element is nitrogen, signified by the letter N. Nitrogen is vital for the formation of chlorophyll and for a fast-grower like the marihuana plant it is doubly important. An excess of nitrogen leads to a weakening of the marihuana plant, and the consequence is a lowered resistance to diseases and moulds.