KOJAQUE | ATLAS MAIOR | JOE ARMON-JONES | NERIJA | NICK MURPHY

Hello again friends, freaks and fans of nu-jazz music of the kind that doesn’t need a mandate to govern.

Have I got some bangers for you this week!

Up first, and bumbling on to the scene like our old friend Boris, is Irish rapper Kojaque, whose track Flu Shot providesa jazz-rap wake-up call that is deserving of the Charm Offensive mantle.

In at two, and ‘living in sin with the electorate’ John Major style (no, I’m not sure I get this reference either), is Texan oud pioneers, Atlas Maior. Their track, Riptide is the Military Coup.

Providing ‘strong and stable leadership’ (but with far more charisma and charm) is nu-jazz royalty Joe Armon-Jones. The Ezra Collective keyboard-player provides our Peaceful Protest this week with his new song Icy Roads (Stacked).

And the undisputed heavyweight of this week’s selections, nu-jazz supergroup NÉRIJA – like a towering Winston Churchill – settles in as our Guerrilla Warfare choice.

Finally, after the blood and thunder of Tony Blair came the somewhat more placid tenure of Gordon Brown and so it is with our Quiet Riot this week; Nick Murphy taking over from his previous incarnation, Chet Faker’s glitchy weirdness with something altogether more… spiritual?

And so, we’re not asking for your vote but should any of those inspire you to take action, by all means, do read on…

KOJAQUE: FLU SHOT
ATLAS MAIOR: RIPTIDE
JOE ARMON-JONES: ICY ROADS (STACKED)
NERIJA: RIVERFEST
NICK MURPHY: SOME PEOPLE

P.S. You can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the 45 RPM Playlist on Spotify itself.

If you like what you hear (or even if you don’t), please engage in dialogue with me @45rpm_Reviews on Twitter. And, if you’d like to receive updates weekly, please subscribe to the email list to get these recommendations sent to your inbox weekly.

– SV –