Lord Newborn and the Magic Skulls is the collaborative project of esteemed sound scientists Money Mark, ShawnLee, and Tommy Guerrero. In the winter of 2008 they locked themselves away in Money Mark’s Los Angeles-based studio. A tasty three-way meeting of the minds resulted in this funk-inflicted collection of beats n’ breaks, wrapped-up in a sunny West Coast musical tortilla that’s smothered in as much jazz and prog-rock as it is in soulful psychedelia.

The opening track on Lord Newborn & the Magic Skulls’ self-titled album on Ubiquity tells you everything you need to know. « A Phase Shifter I’m Going Through » features slippery, bluesy, psychedelic electric guitar, a bubbling, repetitive bassline playing 12-bar blues, and shimmering hi-hats and snares — all wrapped in a loose groove that might have been an outtake from Jimi Hendrix’s « Rainy Day, Dream Away. » Voices hum along in harmony, and the entire track just slithers and adds to itself with the sound of sampled sitars, fuzzed-out guitar, more percussion, and breakbeats, while never losing its groove. Lord Newborn & the Magic Skulls are the studio collaboration between Shawn Lee,Money Mark, and Tommy Guerrero. Together they’ve responded to Ubiquity’s penchant for psych-drivenbeats and grooves and come up with a messed-up, acid-drenched, rhythm-heavy mosaic of sounds, textures, open spaces, and EFX. The grooves are deep and dubby — reminiscent of some of Lee’s work with Clutchy Hopkins and his own middle-period recordings.

Money Mark’s killer instrumental work is very similar to the stuff he did for Mo’ Wax. And what can you say about former skateboard champ turned rocker Tommy Guerrero? The instrumental work here resembles — at least texturally — his Soul Food Tacqueria album. Soul-jazz and early soul-esque funk are all wrapped up and layered inside the rockist stance. The set’s best cuts are the opener, the beautifully woven « Rainy Day Dog » (check out those flute sounds), the completely flipped-out and acid-inspired « L.I.V.E, » and the dubby funk of « Ancient Scrolls. » Hopefully this isn’t a one-off and these cats can find time to work together again; while what’s here is deeply satisfying, the possibilities they introduce on this set are nearly limitless.

Tracklist:

01. A Phase Shifter I’m Going Through
02. Astro Blue
03. Dime Bag Conspiracy
04. Escape From Prism
05. Disco Loco
06. Rainy Day Dog
07. That’s Right (It’s Time To Get Down)
08. She’s My Melody
09. Ringa Ding Ding Ding
10. L.I.V.E.
11. Revenge Of The Fillet O’Fish
12. Ancient Scrolls
13. Crazy Apartment

Check out the video for « A Phase Shifter I’m Going Through » which is a bit of a slacker parody of Kutiman’s still-mindbending « The Mother of All Funk Chords ». For those who knows, in the video, you ‘ll also recognize some musicians such as Daedelus playing instruments. Check it out!

http://www.myspace.com/lordnewborn

http://www.ubiquityrecords.com

The follow-up to his inspired 2007 debut LP, Working Nights, sees the Mancunian producer and Prime Numbers honcho Trus’me revamping his lively synthesis of soul, disco, funk and house with a newly organic feel that largely eschews samples in favor of live instrumentation and a host of guest vocalists including the likes of Paul Randolph, Pirahnahead, Dâm Funk and Amp Fiddler. In the Red manages to show off the scope of Trus’me’s talent in a mere eight tracks.

For futher information

http://www.myspace.com/trusme

Strut will be releasing the first all new Internationally released solo album from Mulatu Astatke in over 20 years.  Mulatu Steps Ahead explores new directions in fusions of Western jazz with Ethiopian modes, moving forward the pioneering sound Mulatu developed during the ‘60s and ‘70s, showcased on the anthology New York – Addis – London. For the new album, tracks were recorded with members of Either/Orchestra in Boston, with contributions by traditional Ethiopian musicians in Addis, members of The Heliocentrics and some of the UK’s leading jazz and African players during the final sessions in London in November 2009.

Mulatu will be touring the album from March 2010 globally, interspersed with dates with The Heliocentrics.  Streaming audio and info will be available soon at www.mulatu-steps-ahead.com

Strut records website : www.strut-records.com

Tracklist:

01 Radcliffe
02 Green Africa
04 The Way to Nice
04 Assosa
05 I Faram Gami I Faram
06 Mulatu’s Mood
07 Ethio Blues
08 Boogaloo
09 Motherland
10 Derashe *

* Digital-only bonus track

Zero dB – One Offs, Remixes and B Sides
(2xCD) Tru Toughts TRUCD209, 2009-02-22

With their exhilarating and influential 2006 album ‘Bongos, Bleeps and Basslines’ sparking the kind of universal critical love-in that most producers can only dream of pioneering underground duo Zero dB bring together their One Offs, Remixes and B Sides

As if the mere prospect of a new release by Zero dB weren’t enough to get tongues wagging and feet dancing, this 2 CD, 23 track monster boasts the best of a truly humungous catalogue of remixes courtesy of luminaries including Moonstarr, Aaron Jerome and Seiji among others. It also heralds a first and eagerly-awaited CD release for a handful of highly sought-after cuts – not least Hextatic’s Distorted Minds (Zero dB mix), the Dave Da Gato Mix of “Seven By Seven” by Inverse Cinematics and the almighty Zero dB classic, “The Snare” – that were previously only available on limited vinyl and all snapped up by eagle-eared fans way back when. And, in addition to the big names and rarities on this latest addition to Tru Thoughts’ esteemed ‘One Offs…’ artist compilation series (which has previously seen Bonobo, Quantic, Nostalgia 77 and Domu dust off some of their best kept secrets for the fans), there’s also a healthy sprinkling of completely new and exclusive material including the immense Dave Da Gato’s F_ck-Up The Festivals Bounce version of “Universe” by Alice Russell, bringing the soul diva/national treasure’s song to the heady, neck-snapping heights of euphoric club nastiness.

As any avid follower will know, the Zero dBoys, Chris Vogado and Neil Combstock, have been keeping busy at the cutting edge singe the release of ‘BB & B’, making killer club music under various monikers, many of them to be found on this record, and packing out dancefloors with DJ sets in some of the biggest clubs and best soundsystems known to man, including Plastic People and Japan’s Club Yellow. Vogado, now living in Barcelona, runs the boutique Fluid Ounce label from his legendary Fl. Oz. Studios, and Combstock has also seen his muse lead him round the globe, living, DJing and making music variously in Japan and Thailand among other places.

Zero dB’s ‘One Offs, Remixes and B Sides’ is not only an essential listen for existing fans of Zero dB’s unique concoction of Latin heat, jazz colour, startling beats and pure bassline filth, but for anyone who has been remotely moved by dance music in the last half decade.

Listen here

fluidounce.com
tru-thoughts.co.uk
myspace.com/truthoughtsrecords

Gil Scott-Heron will release his new album “I’m New Here” on groundbreaking independent label XL Recordings. Produced by XL label owner Richard Russell, “Im New Here” is Scott-Heron’s first album in thirteen years. “I’m New Here” sees Scott-Heron reflecting on his life with his trademark vocal power and insight, sharing his visions among Russell’s flickering, electronic soundscapes. The pair started recording the album in 2007, with the majority of the record being recorded over the last twelve months in New York at Clinton Studios.

website : http://gilscottheron.net/

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are already well known as one of the most exciting acts in the nation for both their explosive live shows and their prolific output of gritty studio recordings. Their breakout release, 100 Days, 100 Nights, sold over 150,000 copies worldwide. On Jones’ birthday this year, the band will release I Learned the Hard Way, their fourth full-length on Brooklyn’s independent Daptone Records. The record marks a bold step forward for a band who almost singlehandedly stewarded today’s return of soul music to its more traditional sound.

‘I Learned the Hard Way’ was produced by Bosco Mann and recorded on an Ampex eight-track tape machine by Gabriel Roth in Daptone Records’ House of Soul studios, the record drips with a warmth and spontaneity rarely found since the golden days of Muscle Shoals and Stax. Sharon’s raw power, rhythmic swagger, moaning soulfulness, and melodic command set her firmly alongside Tina Turner, James Brown, Mavis Staples, and Aretha as a fixture in the canon of soul music. From the lush Philly-Soul fanfare that ushers in « The Game Gets Old » at the top of the record, to the stripped down Sam Cooke-style « Mama Don’t Like My Man » at the tail, the Dap-Kings dance seamlessly through both the most crafted and simple arrangements with subtlety and discipline. I Learned the Hard Way is the « Daptone Sound » at its finest.

website : www.daptonerecords.com

Tracklisting :

1. The Game Gets Old
2. I Learned The Hard Way
3. Better Things
4. Give It Back
5. Money
6. The Reason
7. Window Shopping
8. She Ain’t A Child No More
9. I’ll Still Be True
10. Without A Heart
11. If You Call
12. Mama Don’t Like My Man

The album is out since the 18th of January.

Tracklisting

01) Surprise Hotel
02) Nadine
03) Ha Dvash
04) The World Is All There Is
05) Poseidon
06) Yam Lo Moshech
07) Night Dancing
08) Momentary Shelter

More details and videos on Myspace  http://www.myspace.com/foolsgold

The jazz voice of a generation, José James returns with a moodier, edgier and more sensual sound, drawing inspiration from the worldwide underground. His debut LP ‘The Dreamer’ (released in 2007 on Brownswood Recordings) was crammed with smoky, low-slung jazz grooves blessed with Jose’s rich baritone vocals. Magnificent self-penned works nestled alongside uniquely crafted cover versions of John Coltrane, Rashaan Roland Kirk and even West Coast hip hop institution Freestyle Fellowship. Pursuing the same deeply soulful vocal jazz tradition exemplified by Babs Gonzales, Billie Holliday, Joe Williams and Leon Thomas, ‘The Dreamer’ quickly cemented Jose’s stature and raw talent within the worldwide jazz community.

José announced his comeback with a killer 12” featuring ‘BLACKMAGIC’ remixes from the hotly-tipped Joy Orbison and dubstep innovator Untold. The BLACKMAGIC EP drops in January on gorgeous white vinyl featuring production from the aforementioned FlyLo, Moodymann, DJ Mitsu The Beats and Taylor McFerrin a week before the full album is released on 1st February.

www.brownswoodrecordings.com

TRACKLISTING

1. Code
2. Touch
3. Lay You Down
4. Promise In Love
5. Warrior
6. Made For Love
7. Save Your Love For Me
8. The Greater Good
9. Blackmagic
10. Detroit Loveletter
11. Love Conversation
12. Beauty
13. No Tellin’