ASH KOOSHA | ANDERSON .PAAK | DOUGIE STU | YIN YIN | GIANNI BREZZO | TANK AND THE BANGAS | BICEP | PAT JAFFE | JONO MCCLEERY | G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE

Hello again friends, freaks and fans of Future Jazz.

In the week that the British government kindly helped Fatima to discover that her real calling was not in the flighty, unimportant world of the Arts but, rather, in an admittedly somewhat nebulous (but infinitely more grown-up-sounding) career in ‘cyber’, 45 RPM returns with 10 new future-jazz tracks that were simply born to do what they do. Which is blow your dick off.

That’s right, this week’s Future Jazz Offensive contains new music from G. Love & Special Sauce, Anderson .Paak and Tank And The Bangas.

We’ve also got some songs you might not have heard from a band I’ve compared to a sophisticated sex robot, a duo who’ve combined recordings of Malawian and Bulgarian singers from the 1950s (it’s better than it sounds), and another group I’ve described as being a bit like math-metallers Tool with jazz instruments (it’s really not as bad as it sounds).

And so, my friends, if you any of that has you fancying your chances at ‘reskilling’ Boris Johnson as a proper Prime Minister then, by all means, hear more here: Apple Podcasts | Soundcloud.

***

RECONNAISANCE

– 00:00 –

ASH KOOSHA – OPEEA

SELF-RELEASE
—
The ever-arresting Iranian electronic producer Ash Koosha has released what would appear to be a stand-alone single Opeea. I’ll be honest, a five-minute Google search didn’t give much away. Thankfully the music does enough talking; a positively synesthesic experience, Koosha’s music engages all the senses in a very real and tangible way and will stay with you long after it’s finished.
–
If you like this try ‘Part VI – Into Eternity’ by Carlos Niño + Miguel Atwood-Ferguson.

– 03:44 –

ANDERSON .PAAK – JEWELZ

APE SHIT
—
Cheeky Andy is back and he’s being even more cheeky than before. This time he’s ‘cocking his snook’ at us English with a proper ‘cor blimey guv’nor’ Dick van Dyke accent rambling its way through the funky, flashy jam that is ‘JEWELZ’. But I’ll forgive him. How could I say no to the best teef in the game?
–
If you like this try my review of ‘Turntables’ by Janelle Monáe.

– 06:29 –

DOUGIE STU – HENNY

ROPEADOPE
—
From Anderson .Paak to a dude who would appear to be very much his heir apparent (if .Paak was retiring or something). Multi-instrumentalist Dougie Stu has the jazz / hip-hop / experimental chops sorted, he lives in California which – as we know – is absolutely vital to sounding like a suuuper-cool mutha-humper, and – most important of all – Stu owns a sick pair of sunnies as sported on the cover of his new album, ‘Familiar Future’ (out today).
–
If you like this try my review of ‘Giants’ by Pete Josef.

– 11:10 –

YIN YIN – CHÔNG KY

BONGO JOE
—
When sex robots are sophisticated enough to tempt out of us our dirtiest little secrets and then bribe us by promising to write a letter to our Ma’s disclosing them, the soundtrack to humanity’s downfall will be ‘Chông Ky’ by Yin Yin. A frankly unholy union of electronic funk and South East Asian folk music, it’s about as crazy as it gets. And there’s no way I’m letting them know where my Ma lives.
–
If you like this try my review of ‘Jama Narenji’ by Kefaya + Elaha Soroor.

– 15:38 –

GIANNI BREZZO – SENZA

SELF-RELEASE
—
Imagine if math-metal overlords Tool had decided, rather than writing songs about the, um, pleasures of fisting and German recipes that absolutely don’t involve eggs, they’d decided to invite a couple of reed-players around and knock out some laid-back jazz. Actually, don’t imagine that. That sounds crap. Gianni Brezzo sound a lot better than that. But similar to that. If you know what I mean. No? Oh, never mind.
–
If you like this try my review of ‘Life Sings On’ by András Dés Rangers.

– 19:32 –

TANK AND THE BANGAS – SELF CARE

UMG RECORDINGS
—
I made fun of Teyana Taylor a few months ago when I insinuated that she might not be aware of how some (English. Slightly immature) people (me) might interpret the phrase ‘self-love is the best love’. And, well, Tarriona ‘Tank’ Ball’s own ode to ‘self-care’ very much appears to see the Queen of Louisiana Charisma making the most of her ‘alone time’. Obviously, it could just be a reflection of the self-isolating times we’re in. Or it could be a song about wanking. Up to you, I suppose. Either way it’s very, very good. NOLA’s finest, Tank and the Bangas release a new EP called ‘Friend Goals’ on November 20^th, from which ‘Self Care’ comes.
–
If you like this try my review of ‘Who You Foolin’’ by Gunna.

– 22:13 –

BICEP – APRICOTS

NINJA TUNE
—
I must have been having a week off when Belfast-born, London-based duo Bicep released previous single ‘Atlas’ because I remember hearing it for the first time. I remember loving it. And, having searched back through the catalogue of reviews on this site, I’m amazed I’ve not previously featured it. No bother. Let’s correct that now. ‘Apricots’ is the first single from a new album out in January called ‘Isles’ and it follows very much in the powerful footprints laid down by its predecessor. Mixing warm euphoric synths and dance music tropes with 1950s samples of traditional Malawian singers and The Bulgarian State Radio & Television Female Vocal Choir, it is wide-reaching in its scope, while being weird and wired and wonderful all at the same time.
–
If you like this try my review of ‘Linked’ by Bonobo.

– 26:13 –

PAT JAFFE – HANNAH

SELF-RELEASE
—
Pat Jaffe is a 22-year-old pianist/composer from Melbourne, Australia who’s just about to put out his debut album ‘Eldorado’. ‘Hannah’ is one of two songs that have been pre-released from the record and it features some excellent playing from Iceland’s Siggi String Quartet. Written as a tribute to a friend who recently passed away from cancer, ‘Hannah’ is a track that evokes a beautiful spirit. My sense is that Jaffe has done his friend proud.
–
If you like this try my review of ‘Initium’ by Keaton Henson.

– 30:48 –

JONO MCCLEERY – FOLLOW

NINETY DAYS RECORDS
—
Jono McCleery is an English singer-songwriter in the tradition of Nick Drake. Inasmuch as his songs mostly sound like folk music but his playful approach to rhythm and instrumentation has always felt more closely aligned to jazz to me and betrays a career spent touring with the likes of Bonobo and Portico Quartet. New track ‘Follow’ is brooding and broadly cinematic. It comes from the album ‘Here I Am and There You Are’ due to be released on 20 November.
–
If you like this try my review of ‘Flourish’ by Modern Nature.

– 35:00 –

G. LOVE & SPECIAL SAUCE – BAD GIRL BABY BLUES (LIVE)

SUGARSHACK
—
Dating back to the very first, eponymous G. Love and Special Sauce record, Garrett Dutton’s music has always sounded best when it’s raw, randy and, yeah, you get the feeling he might just be making it up as he goes (check out the vocal performance on ‘The Things We Used to Do’ if you don’t believe me). Now, in these times when live music is struggling, in a bittersweet twist the Philadelphonic pioneer reminds us once again what we’re missing and why we love it so, with this live ode to ‘wine, weed and making love all night’.
–
If you like this try my review of ‘Get Out and Get It’ by Devon Gilfillian.

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 –