SAM PREKOP | NEIL SWAINSON QUINTET | LUEDJI LUNA | MODASAURUS | BODY MEAT | BANDLER CHING | BILLY POD | ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER | NUBIYAN TWIST | MELODY GARDOT

Hello again friends, freaks and fans of Future Jazz.

In the week that millions of Americans, for the first time in their history, were left begging for a commercial break, 45 RPM returns with 10 new jazz tracks that will keep your finger firmly off the remote.

This week’s Future Jazz Offensive contains new music from Melody Gardot, Oneohtrix Point Never and Nubiyan Twist.

We’ve also got some songs you might not have heard from a Samba artist with an ability to ‘use the force’, an electronic producer whose music feels like a day in bed in all the best ways, and a track I’ve likened to an orgy in the White House (and this time I’m not picking on Trump, I promise!)

And so, my friends, if you any of that leaves you struggling to ‘stand back’ and ‘stand by’ then, by all means, here more here: Apple Podcasts | Soundcloud.

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RECONNAISANCE

– 00:00 –

SAM PREKOP – SUMMER PLACES

THRILL JOCKEY RECORDS
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Prekop – the frontman from indie rock/jazz crossover act, The Sea and Cake – recently released a new solo album, ‘Comma’ that feels like the more mature, less adolescent older brother to The Postal Service’s ‘Give Up’. Lead-off single ‘Summer Places’ is the audio equivalent of a duvet day – a warm, enveloping space to wrap yourself up in and forget that the world’s gone to shit, you’ve got bills to pay and that one day we will all eventually die.
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If you like this check out my review of ‘Massive Charade’ by Elsa Hewitt.

– 03:32 –

NEIL SWAINSON QUINTET – 49TH PARALLEL

REEL TO REAL
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For those in the know, Toronto bassist Neil Swainson’s 1988 record ‘49th Parallel’ has become something of a collector’s item. Swainson’s only album as a leader and last studio session was recorded alongside the likes of tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and trumpeter Woody Shaw. Now it’s being re-released and the title track sounds as fresh as ever, swinging and swashbuckling like Bill Clinton at a Killing Kittens party… dressed as Cap’n Jack. Sorry if you were eating.
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If you like this check out my review of ‘Nomads’ by William Chernoff.

– 12:05 –

LUEDJI LUNA – BOM MESMO É ESTAR DEBAIXO D’ÁGUA

SELF RELEASED
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Salvador-born Luedji Gomes Santa Rita releases her second album this month, called ‘Bom Mesmo É Estar Debaixo D’Água’ or (for those without access to Google Translate) ‘It’s Good to be Under Water’. But don’t fall for her Jedi mind trick on the title track; after the standard Brazilian samba introduction, it quickly drafts in funk beats and subtle jazz Rhodes tones to make a smooth, sensual cross-cultural hybrid.
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If you like this check out my review of ‘Baby, Come To Me’ by Eliane Elias.

– 16:31 –

MODASAURUS – SEEN MY JAWA?

SELF-RELEASED
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Ottawa jazz-fusion quartet, Modasaurus are not afraid to combine a wide-reaching taste in music with a playful tone. New album ‘4K’ effortlessly glides from Middle Eastern vibes to a decidedly Celtic “Crazy Ceilidh” to the Samba rhythms evidenced on ‘Seen My Jawa?’ But even if none of the above are enough to tempt you in, the final minute of this cut is just about the most enjoyable I’ve experienced since watching Donald Trump squirm trying to defend his love of racist dickheads.
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If you like this check out my review of India by Jackson Mathod.

– 24:56 –

BODY MEAT – THE WELL

SELF-RELEASED
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I’ve told anyone who’ll listen (not that there are many) how 2019’s Body Meat record ‘Truck Music’ was my favorite of the year. In May, the Philadelphia producer released this stand-alone single on which he seamlessly combines his trademark stutter-core Ethio-footwork inspired polyrhythms with an even greater command of melody and the odd bit of jazz instrumentation thrown in. He continues to sit firmly on the far edges of accessible but I absolutely love the messy magic he conjures up.
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If you like this check out my review of Nairobi Flex by Body Meat (simply because no-one else sounds like him.)

– 28:26 –

BANDLER CHING – POUSMOUSSE

SDBAN ULTRA
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Our Belgian friends, Bandler Ching combine jazz with strong hip-hop and electronic elements. Led by composer and saxophonist Ambroos De Schepper, they will release their debut EP ‘Sub Surface’ later this month and first single, Pousmousse provides an intriguing amuse bouche, generously laden with helpings of everyone from Moses Boyd to Radiohead.
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If you like this check out my review of Stranger Than Fiction by Moses Boyd.

– 33:08 –

BILLY POD – L

PUZZLEMUSIK
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In 2019, Greek drummer Billy Pod released his album ‘Drums to Heal Society’. A mix of outstanding musicianship, haunting melodies and rich, complex moods it was a rare treat of a record. Now London-based, Vassilis Podaras (as he’s known to his Mum) has re-released the song ‘L’ from that LP along with a new, and pretty evocative animated video. If you missed it the first time around, treat yourself and unearth this hidden gem.
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If you like this check out my review of Cluster 3 by Kepler is Free.

– 36:32 –

ONEOHTRIX POINT NEVER – LONG ROAD HOME

WARP RECORDS
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Daniel Lopatin’s 0PN project has been at the leading edge of experimental electronic music for some time now. His last album, ‘Age of…’ was like dark chocolate; complicated, with bitter overtones that often disguised its moments of genuinely warm, gooey sweetness underneath. On ‘Long Road Home’ – one of three songs released ahead of a new full-length (‘Magic Oneohtrix Point Never’, due out 30 Oct) – however, things are far more melodic, with genuine notes of melancholy in the vocal. Last time out, I remarked how ‘Age of…’ was the most human Lopatin had ever sounded; on ‘Long Road Home’ he makes me feel more alive than ever before.
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If you like this check out my review of ‘Ur2Yung’ by Machinedrum.

– 40:00 –

NUBIYAN TWIST – TITTLE TATTLE

STRUT RECORDS
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I feel like ‘tittle tattle’ might be the sort of Anglocentric term that my American readers may not understand. If so, by way of a rough translation, it’s a slang term for the sort of thing your President has spent four years getting away with (no, the other thing that doesn’t involve vaginas). It’s also the name of the new single by London/Leeds afro-jazz collective Nubiyan Twist and what a reliably rambunctious ball of good vibes and cosmic energy it is. Oddly, the polar opposite of Mr. Trump. It comes from an upcoming album called ‘Freedom Fables’, due out next February.
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If you like this check out my review of Carry Me Home by KOKOROKO.

– 45:14 –

MELODY GARDOT – SUNSET IN THE BLUE

DECCA
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I love Melody Gardot. I just love her. I love how her music is never in a rush. I love the quiet majesty of the production on her records. But most of all, I love how, despite being a mere 35 years of age, the tone of her voice seems to betray a lifetime’s-worth of wisdom far too complex and nuanced for a whippersnapper like me to understand. ‘Sunset in the Blue’ is the lead-off single from an upcoming album of the same name due out on 23 October.
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If you like this check out my review of Långfredag by Jazzagenturen.

CEASE-FIRE

You can find all of the tracks reviewed above in the 45 Revolutions per Minute playlist below or click to access the Future Jazz 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.

Until next time, love and noise.

– SV –