– THE QUIET RIOT –

Many of you will know JJ Whitefield. You just may not know him as ‘JJ Whitefield’. As Jan Weissenfeldt (the name his mother gave him – see what he did there?), the German guitar player, band leader and producer has forged his own legend in the minds of many funk, hip-hop and afro connoisseurs around the world.

As co-visionary behind the production teams The Soul-Saints and Poets of Rhythm he’s released records on Ninja Tune, Stones Throw and Daptone and garnered praise from Madlib, DJ Shadow and Kamasi Washington, amongst others.

Now on so called “Kraut-Jazz” label Kryptox / K7 and in the midst of recording a new full-length entitled Brother All Alone (with some of Berlin’s leading Hipster Jazz-scene lights), he drops Yellow Sari – an Indian-inflected mellow-out that is tailor-made for sun-drenched days.

First to that sitar. There is something about that instrument – its drone-like qualities, it’s ethereal, other-worldly timbres that hypnotises me whenever I hear it.

That Weissenfeldt then runs it through various fuzzers, fazers and sound manipulators only adds to the instrument’s mystical allure.

But, don’t despair, fellow funk-heads.Those psychedelic meandering bass lines and metronomic The Meters / James Brown kicks and snares we know and love Weissenfeldt for are still there.

 Brother All Alone will be released on 7th June.

MORE FROM THIS WEEK’S MIX

HUMAN BLOOM: CAPILLARY
KATE TEMPEST: HOLY ELIXIR
SKINNY PELEMBE: NO BLACKS, NO DOGS, NO IRISH
CID RIM FEAT. LYLIT: FURTHER

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 –