Crucial Material – March 1st, 2021

Another bumper edition of Crucial Material with some killer releases across the board.

Here are our favorite EP’s, Albums and Reissues of the past week. As always we encourage you to buy digital or physical releases if you discover a release you love. Support artists and labels!

JAZZ

Menahan Street Band — The Exciting Sounds of Menahan Street Band

The return of this majestic ensemble is as hard hitting and melodically sumptuous as expected. After almost a decade they have not missed a beat and continue to define their lane and provide sonical excellence
— Selected by ASMA

Various — J Jazz Volume 3: Deep Modern Jazz from Japan

BBE Music releases the third volume of their phenomenal ‘J Jazz’ compilation series, continuing to shed light on some of the most essential and obscure modern Japanese jazz recordings from the 1960s through the 1980s
— Selected by TJ Gorton

Nicola Conte & Gianluca Petrella — People Need People

Nicola Conte and Gianluca Petrella release a brilliant uplifting and collaborative album that fuses together Afro jazz, house, electronic sounds, disco and more
— Selected by TJ Gorton

Sam Gendel — Fresh Bread

Sitting at the nexus of jazz-newage-experimental-beats, here is a 52 track mega mega album from this talented musician on the rise from Los Angeles out of the Leaving Records camp.
— Selected by Lexis

Henryk Debich — Monika b/w Zabawa w ciemności

Killer, unreleased (till now) orchestral jazz funk from Polands’ Henryk Debich and the Łódź Orchestra. Essential purchase for jazz, funk & library fans
— Selected by Oli Brunetti

ELECTRONIC

Enayet — Chokkor

Warped and distorted cerebral bass/techno ear-drum ticklers with progressive structures that could shatter any club.
— Selected by dileta

DJ Durbin — And You Told Me EP

These heavily textured snappy technoid bass abstractions could each be individual feature films
— Selected by dileta

Dance System & Mark Broom — Back To Business EP

Two FUNKY techno/house cuts: a gorgeous chopped stroboscopic disco slammer and an absolutely boiling high-speed wonky thumper.
— Selected by dileta

Pepe Bradock — Dactylonomy III

One of the strongest EP’s in a while from le maître incontesté de la French leftfield house. Play This Loud.
— Selected by Lexis

Calibre — Feeling Normal

Calibre’s signature sound extends far beyond his signature liquid-soulful-intelligent D&B sound. On this record, he explores the possibilities at 140bpm: breakbeat / ukg / electronic dub. Flawless. 
— Selected by Lexis

Rian Treanor — Obstacle Scattering

— Selected by Lexis

SOUL & FUNK

Adrian Younge — The American Negro

Younge dissects the African American experience. Beautifully arranged, soul drenched orchestrations carry highly relevant songs and words, punctuated by spoken interludes driving the message home.
— Selected by Oli Brunetti

FUNK

We Love You Roger Vol.2 (Compilation)

Superb follow-up of the 1st “Roger Troutman Tribute” compilation that came out on Madrid’s Neon Finger label.
— Selected by Walla P

RAP & BEATS

Kristoffer Eikrem & Beautiful Disco — Dusk/Dawn

Mutual Intentions deliver yet again on this beautifully crafted beat tape from Kristoffer Eikrem teaming up with Beautiful Disco
— Selected by Spacewalker

N. Hardem — Verdor

— Selected by Lexis

Max I Million — Uncut Gems 

Another banging album from Sweden’s producer extraordinaire Max I Million. Definitely a must-listen for all Boom Bap/Hip-Hop heads.
— Selected by Walla P

Tall Black Guy — Airplane Mode

40 min of TBG’s typically laid-back soul & jazz inflected beats, more personal than ever. Featured guests, including Kenny Keys, 14KT, Saint Ezekiel, only complement proceedings.
— Selected by Oli Brunetti

INDIE

Stereolab — Electrically Possessed [Switched On Volume 4]

Stereolab. That Is All. 

— Selected by Lexis

GLOBAL

Caravela — Orla

Weaving Afro-Brazilian rhythms and contemporary jazz with a progressive edge, around Ines Loubet’s beautiful vocals, Caravela have honed their sound on this excellent second LP
— Selected by Oli Brunetti

Luis Pérez Ixoneztli — Santuario de Mariposas

Mexico’s pioneering ethnomusicologist, composer and multi-instrumentalist, and current Carlols Niño collaborator, explores indigenous Mexican instruments and music on this hypnotising reissue on Tokonoma Records.
— Selected by Oli Brunetti

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We also invite you to check out our main five playlists where you’ll find our current favorites across Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp.