Spanning all corners of the far-reaching musical orbit, from Ethiopian jazz to dust-laden lo-fi hip-hop.
In the midst of a tumultuous year music has served as a source of respite and comfort for many. In spite of a global pandemic, crashing economies and rising tensions in response to police brutality and the ongoing injustices faced by African and Caribbean communities throughout the Western world, accomplished and boundary pushing albums have continued to release to the masses in swathes, with some masterfully tackling the issues faced within our current troubled times.
Spanning all corners of the far-reaching musical orbit, from Ethiopian jazz to dust-laden lo-fi hip-hop, peruse a rundown of our favourite albums of the year presented in alphabetical order – because we’re here to share great music, not rank merits – and complete with links to purchase projects from the artist or an independent vendor below.
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Alabaster dePlume
To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1
(Lost Map/International Anthem)
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London’s Alabaster dePlume perfectly summarised the works within To Cy & Lee: Instrumentals Vol. 1 when declaring his project “a celebration of communication that’s free from the demands of words” in an accompanying press release.
Setting an extensive inventory of instrumentation – including but not limited to hushed woodwind and string incantations, expressive synthesizers, mystical vocal textures and the earnest inflections of his saxophone – to work in mesmeric tandem, the fruits of Angus Fairbairn’s latest labour are subdued, ethereal and raw with results that bathe its audience in a warm glow of serenity.
Recommended track(s): ‘Visit Croatia’, ‘Whisky Story Time’
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Mulatu Astatke & Black Jesus Experience
To Know Without Knowing
(Agogo Records)
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To Know Without Knowing reaffirms the enduring vitality of and seemingly bottomless pool of labyrinthine creativity possessed by one of the African continent’s most prominent and influential musical figures, vibraphonist Mulatu Astatke.
Reassembling with Australian funk and soul army Black Jesus Experience for the creation of their second collaborative album, the project sees Astatke flex his appreciation for a broad spectrum of musical ideas, from slick, politically charged raps to the shuffling Afrobeat drums of Nigeria and beyond whilst retaining at its core the inventive melodic lines of Ethiopian jazz that he has built his legacy upon.
Recommended track(s): ‘Mulatu’, ‘Living On Stolen Land’
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Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist
Alfredo
(ESGN Records/ALC Records)
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With the release of Alfredo all signs point to the start of another illustrious decade for Freddie Gibbs. Well accustomed to collaboration and rubbing shoulders with production heavyweights, the Gary, Indiana MC’s latest full-length offering arrived with little warning as a second teaming with Beverly Hills-born hip-hop luminary The Alchemist.
Bearing all the traits of an album plucked from the branches of hip-hop’s golden era – from soulful, sample-heavy production to potent lyricism rife with sleek cultural references and projected with dart-like precision – Alfredo does no less than affirm to anyone and everyone that Freddie Gibbs, with his abundance of charisma, is a bona fide linchpin of the rap game.
Recommended track(s): ‘Something To Rap About (feat. Tyler, The Creator)’
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Nubya Garcia
Source
(Concord Records)
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With the release of Source London’s Nubya Garcia steps to the forefront, presenting a stunning full-length debut that ably demonstrates why she has become a collaborator of revered stature among her many talented contemporaries within the melting pot that comprises her hometown’s cross-pollinating music scene.
A scintillating journey that showcases its creator’s masterful and expressive command of the saxophone, Source also provides one of the most succinct snapshots of the multifaceted and community-oriented nature of London’s creative landscape seen in recent times, effortlessly freewheeling through overtones of dub and Latin rhythm whilst drawing upon support from some of her most forward-thinking peers.
Recommended track(s): ‘Source’, ‘Boundless Beings’
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Golf Alpha Bravo
The Sundog LP
(Treasured Recordings)
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After becoming a household name for his role leading the hedonistic, house-inflected mantras of Jagwar Ma, a change in geographical location saw Gab Winterfield turn his hand to a new solo project named Golf Alpha Bravo, evoking sun-kissed imagery reminiscent of his coastal Australian homeland through a decidedly guitar-driven palette.
Teased in accompaniment with the project’s initial announcement by the spellbinding haze of album opener ‘Stuck Being Me’, Winterfield’s debut solo LP is a commanding exercise of dexterous, blues-infused guitar licks, rich vocal harmonies and primal, slow-burning rhythm that thrives within its considered minimalism.
Recommended track(s): ‘Stuck Being Me’, ‘Dream Baker’
Read our interview with Golf Alpha Bravo.
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Gum
Out In The World
(Spinning Top Records)
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For all of its luxuriance it can feel hard to fathom that the fifth album from Jay Watson’s Gum moniker is an entirely home-recorded affair, though it’s the creative freedom afforded by such an environment that yields the protean results achieved on Out In The World.
Amid expansive, cascading synths and crystalline vocals that exude a newfound confidence within their comfortable position at the forefront, the psychedelic rooting and pop flirtations that have become synonymous with the work of Watson find a wondrous state of equilibrium on his latest album, artfully pitting mad hatter eccentricities and a stadium-poised, anthemic grandiose akin to the work of friend and collaborator Kevin Parker.
Prolific and without ever faltering in quality, Watson continues to prove time and time again with each of his solo endeavours that the songwriting prowess within is unquestionably of the same elite pedigree that bestows the work of his famed cohorts in Tame Impala and Pond, contrary to the implication attached to the curious title of Out In The World‘s 2018 predecessor The Underdog.
Recommended track(s): ‘Airwalkin”, ‘Out In The World’, ‘Don’t Let It Go Out’
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Nick Hakim
Will This Make Me Good
(ATO Records)
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After stirring souls the world over with his breathtaking 2017 debut album Green Twins, New York transplant Nick Hakim gave time to lend his talents to those around him, offering collaboration to a noteworthy crowd with Lianne La Havas, Anderson. Paak, Pink Siifu and Slingbaum among its components.
With a realigned focus, Hakim’s 2020 return materialised in an ambitious sophomore album that feels familiar yet disorienting, and presents a glaring look at the weary state of the world and the musician’s own search for peace over contorted and warbling strokes of lush, enveloping low frequency R&B.
Recommended track(s): ‘QADIR’
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Homeshake
Haircut EP
(Self-released)
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Whilst categorised as an EP, I fear that sleepless nights would have ensued if I chose to exclude Peter Sagar’s lone musical release of 2020 from our year-end list on the grounds of a technicality.
Comprising six songs, Sagar utilises the brief runtime of Haircut to present a deft amalgamation of components from both his recent and earlier works crafted under the Homeshake moniker. From the catalytic, auto-wah-laden guitars and pitch shifted vocals that gave rise to a new generation of R&B-nodding indie rock (see Bane’s World, Michael Seyer, Triathalon et al) to the gooey, enveloping synth textures of late, the Canadian multi-instrumentalist ensures to satiate fans of all periods of his project with its latest chapter.
Recommended track(s): ‘Be Right With You’, ‘Haircut’
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KeiyaA
Forever, Ya Girl
(Self-released)
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The debut album from Chicago-born and New York-based KeiyaA is a proclamation of self-care and black liberation, with its messages emboldened by a compelling blend of numerous stylistic facets whereby arresting, buttery vocals slink and glide over an intoxicating, homespun brew of off-kilter grooves and sultry, cosmic funk.
Whilst permeated with an aura of coolness throughout its sixteen tracks, Forever, Ya Girl stands as a testament to hard work and extraordinary talent. Crafted over three years, KeiyaA helmed both compositional and production duties before self-releasing the album under her own eponymous label. A hard-won project in which its creator’s labour of love pays off and then some.
Recommended track(s): ‘Rectifiya’, ‘Nu World Burdens’
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King Krule
Man Alive!
(True Panther Sounds/XL Recordings)
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The long-awaited return of South London-born crooner King Krule materialised in a third album that depicts glimpses of a more hopeful and optimistic worldview. Whilst retaining the adventurous, immersive and at times bone-rattling sonics of its predecessors, Man Alive! sees Archy Marshall demonstrate a broadened spectrum of emotional identity that, if only for a few ephemeral moments, deviates from the despondent and saturnine characterisations of metropolitan living that have anchored past works and for which he has become known and loved.
Following a change in location, the dawning of fatherhood and the ruminations found within Man Alive! that allude to fragments of a newfound perspective, it doesn’t seem inconceivable to speculate that the days of Marshall’s music being the grade A accompaniment to dark nights awash with introspection, plumes of weed smoke and cathartic, drizzling rainfall may well be numbered in favour of pastures anew.
Recommended track(s): ‘Cellular’, ‘Alone, Omen 3’, ‘(Don’t Let the Dragon) Draag On’
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Land Trance
First Seance
(Dense Truth)
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From a spark ignited within the four walls of a flat situated in the heart of Liverpool’s student-centric Concert Square, the debut collaborative album from longtime friends Andrew PM Hunt and Benjamin D. Duvall proposes a stark juxtaposition to the environment – defined by one upvoted TripAdvisor review as ‘where civilisation goes to die’ – that the pair were immersed by during the time of the project’s conceptualisation.
First Seance is not music for sports bars, nor the garish LED-laden interiors of Fusion nightclub, but a spontaneous and arresting meeting of two integral figures from England’s experimental music community that coaxes extraordinary from the ordinary. Together Hunt and Duvall dissect and reassemble their project’s tapestry of components – from bells and chimes to chintzy organ and the gentle hum of an electronic motor – with a telescopic focus to cast a shimmering and meditative atmosphere capable of conjuring moments of unadulterated transcendence.
Recommended track(s): ‘Regulate’, ‘Chilean Miners’, ‘First Seance’
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Lianne La Havas
Lianne La Havas
(Warner Records)
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The self-titled album from London’s Lianne La Havas is a project that was in the making for five years and marks an enchanting return from the singer-songwriter, reiterating an irrefutable penchant for melodic hooks communicated though a powerful and boundless vocal range.
Pared back compositions are stripped to little more than the bare essence of La Havas’ velvet vocals and nimble guitar playing alongside few, unobtrusive embellishments whilst exploring the many facets of love to chilling effect, from finding solace at the end of a romantic relationship’s gruelling dissolution to developing self-love.
With most songs endowed with the compositional strength to constitute being the project’s centrepiece, Lianne La Havas feels like a win for the accomplished songwriter in all respects.
Recommended track(s): ‘Bittersweet’, ‘Can’t Fight’, ‘Weird Fishes’
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Tkay Maidza
Last Year Was Weird (Vol. 2)
(4AD)
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Ambitious, effortlessly cool and bearing a cosign from key Dungeon Family component Killer Mike, Australia’s Tkay Maidza made her anticipated return in August for the release of the second instalment in a planned trilogy of projects.
From the guttural club-oriented thump of ‘Shook’ to a swagger seen in ‘Don’t Call Again’ that would make Bootsy Collins proud, Last Year Was Weird (Vol. 2) amply affirms the chameleonic abilities of a young and multifaceted creative destined for worldwide acclaim.
Recommended track(s): ‘PB Jam’, ‘Don’t Call Again’
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Hailu Mergia
Yene Mircha
(Awesome Tapes From Africa)
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Yene Mircha marks a new chapter in the storied and ever-growing career of multi-instrumentalist Hailu Mergia. A defining figure of the rich musical landscape of 1970s Ethiopia turned unsung hero, Mergia’s fortuitous meeting with Brian Shimkovitz of Awesome Tapes From Africa in 2013 resulted in a rapid resurgence in popularity, new-found exposure in the Western world and one of the acclaimed label’s biggest success stories.
Showcasing the vast scope of his homeland’s sonic palette and a broader exploration of disparate ideas than its 2018 predecessor with support from a newly expanded band, Mergia’s latest LP demonstrates the prismatic nature of one of Ethiopia’s most skilful and imaginative exports.
Recommended track(s): ‘Yene Mircha’
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MIKE
Weight Of The World
(Self-released)
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The past several years have proven MIKE to be a vital component within a small, likeminded community of wordsmiths and producers who are devoted to surviving the innovative and curious essence of hip-hop during an era where the depleted remains of trap and grime continue to be peddled in bulk.
Staying the course for his aptly titled 2020 album weight of the world, MIKE’s latest body of work is a far cry from the braggadocio and materialism of the mainstream and commercial, instead favouring his craft as an outlet for razor-sharp storytelling that deals in personal grief and observations of a crumbling world. A masterful exercise in catharsis that sees his deepest introspections scooped out for all to see over woozy, enveloping loops, the predominantly self-produced effort serves as a concise affirmation of the New York MC’s dexterity and rightful place within the ranks of understated greats of the genre.
Recommended track(s): ‘love supremacy’, ‘weight of the word*’, ‘allstar (feat. Earl Sweatshirt)’
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Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes
What Kinda Music
(Beyond The Groove/Blue Note Records)
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Composed by two of the English capital city’s most chop-oriented instrumentalists, the collaborative debut album from Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes is one driven by an intoxicating and reverb-swathed mood that binds pitch-perfect vocals, heady wah effects, languorous groove and thunderous drum rolls that fans of 2016’s Black Focus will immediately recognise.
Should the stamp of approval from venerable jazz label Blue Note not pique your curiosity and be proof enough that Misch and Dayes’ chemistry is worth its salt, the pair’s first collaborative outing also features additional colouring from Freddie Gibbs and bassist Rocco Palladino, who continues the rubbery and resolute lineage paved by his father Pino Palladino on timeless albums by D’Angelo, Erykah Badu and more.
A deft marriage of two distinct talents that occupy opposing sides of the same coin, What Kinda Music finds its pulse by steeping in Misch’s infectious pop sensibility and implementing Dayes’ tendency to playfully push at boundaries in equal measure.
Recommended track(s): ‘Tidal Wave’, ‘Kyiv’
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Rejoicer
Spiritual Sleaze
(Stones Throw Records)
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Spiritual Sleaze marks Yuvi Havkin’s second album as Rejoicer to release through Stones Throw Records and a continuation of the Tel Aviv native’s decade long exploration of the ever-changing intersection where jazz, hip-hop and electronica meet.
Much like the prior works that have comprised his discography to date, the end product of Havkin’s latest creative pursuit defies easy categorisation as the pattering rhythms and enthralling synth textures that form the album’s disparate, free-flowing tracklist seamlessly shift in shape, pace and mood, from assertive and nightclub-ready to contemplative ambience befitting of far-flung, psilocybin-fueled mental states spent becoming one with the sofa. As such Spiritual Sleaze proves itself to be worthy of accompaniment to most settings and importantly, its home within Peanut Butter Wolf’s Californian haven for all things inventive and abstract.
Recommended track(s): ‘Pre Memory Circle’, ‘Aura Sight’, ‘Third Eye Jungle Run’
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Loris S. Sarid
Music For Tomato Plants
(Constellation Tatsu)
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Loris S. Sarid is a musician and sound designer hailing from Rome and now based in the cooler climate of Glasgow. Coming to our awareness through his debut release for Californian independent label Constellation Tatsu, Music For Tomato Plants was crafted over a period of four months as Autumn fell to Winter and inspired by the simple act of Sarid nurturing the growth of a tomato plant on the windowsill of his home.
Comprising a series of gentle and transfixing mantras voiced through a multitude of sound sources including kalimba, glockenspiel, electric piano and an analog synthesizer, Sarid gifts the perfect soundtrack for unravelling weary minds and nourishing souls in the aftermath of a long and enfeebling year.
Recommended track(s): ‘Ferns And I’, ‘Adaptor’, ‘O like a tomato’
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SAULT
Untitled (Black Is)
(Forever Living Originals)
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Little remains known about British collective SAULT, who whilst still in relative infancy, made not one but two lauded and striking impressions in the musical landscape of 2020. Their first, dubbed Untitled (Black Is) marked a timely and unforeseen reemergence, arriving in wake of the world’s recent amplification of a conversation that spans innumerable years.
A letter of intent that speaks to black livelihood with systemic racism and police brutality among its recurring themes, the ensemble pair their messages of revolt against oppression with an electrifying panoply of funk, soul, hip-hop, gospel, psychedelia, Afrobeat and many other sensibilities with apparent ease.
Punctuated by a cryptic anonymity which serves the higher purpose of imploring the listener’s attention to remain solely on the narratives within SAULT’s compositions, Untitled (Black Is) is a powerful manifesto that leaves its messages etched in to our psyche long after its runtime has concluded.
Recommended track(s): ‘Stop Dem’, ‘Bow’, ’This Generation’
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Sofie
Cult Survivor
(Stones Throw Records)
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The stylistic breadth of Sofie Fatouretchi’s debut album marks a unification of her assorted past pursuits, from classical music studies at the revered Vienna Conservatoire to playing a fundamental role in the global expansion of online broadcasting platform Boiler Room. A skilled practitioner of the myriad facets that she has ventured to date, the materialisation of Sofie’s first collection of original recordings saw her creative journey come full circle, reconvening with lo-fi and rare groove pundits Stones Throw Records – where she previously served as an A&R manager and accrued talent in the likes of Mndsgn and Knxwledge – for the project’s release.
Carved from an understated, minimal framework and paving way for confessional lyricism, the languid, whimsical and left of the dial pop compositions of Cult Survivor prove an intriguing listen that fans of hypnagogic pop luminaries Ariel Pink, John Maus et al would be remiss to not familiarise themselves with.
Recommended track(s): ’99 Glimpses’, ‘Try To Reach Me’
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Starchild & The New Romantic
Forever
(Self-released)
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In utilising downtime from duties as the leader of Solange Knowles‘ illustrious live band to forge his sophomore album as Starchild & The New Romantic, New York’s Bryndon Cook has created perhaps one of the most stirring bodies of work to release in 2020.
Deploying infectious melodic lines and textures adorned with the same air of timelessness that imbues the albums of songwriting greats such as Prince, Sade Adu and Kate Bush to bolster his deeply emotive vocals that communicate like a portal to the soul, Cook’s Forever is an album that enchants its audience and adjures repeat listens.
Recommended track(s): ‘Mess Around’, ‘Fall_Window’
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Sun Ra Arkestra
Swirling
(Strut Records)
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In the year 2020 the legacy of Sun Ra‘s fabled Arkestra continues under the leadership of longtime alto saxophonist Marshall Allen, and with the release of their first album in over twenty years the intergalactic group feel as commanding and adventurous as ever.
Within Swirling‘s ninety minute runtime several previously unheard songs – including a composition from the humble and enduring Allen – are introduced to listeners alongside a slew of staples from the canon of Ra which are reinterpreted and presented in a new light. Peeling back the layers on a selection of famed songs, the fervent pulse of ‘Rocket No. 9’, ‘Angels And Demons At Play’ and more are displayed with captivating refinement, and as a whole serve as a valuable entry point for new listeners of the group. The planets are aligned and the Arkestra continue to sing to the cosmos, with their collective voice captured in a clarity that has never been heard before.
Recommended track(s): ‘Seductive Fantasy’, ‘Angels And Demons At Play’
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Sunset Rollercoaster
Soft Storm
(Sunset Music Productions)
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Following the rapturous acclaim that came with the release of their 2018 sophomore album Cassa Nova, Taiwan’s Sunset Rollercoaster made a highly-anticipated return in October with the presentation of a nuanced new full-length project that masterfully draws and builds upon the bloodline of its predecessors.
With a palette described in our review of Cassa Nova as filtering “artefacts of American music such as Motown and P-Funk through a kaleidoscopic lens”, Soft Storm‘s refinement and occasional simplification of that sound proves a rewarding listen that boasts a wealth of textural depth and considered use of space within its compositions, and marks a worthy addition to the band’s exceptional soul, funk and jazz fusion-leaning repertoire.
Recommended track(s): ‘Under The Skin’, ‘Passerby (feat. Michael Seyer)’
Read our interview with Sunset Rollercoaster.
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Matthew Tavares & Leland Whitty
Visions
(Mr Bongo)
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When multi-instrumentalist and producer Matthew Tavares confirmed the end of his tenure with BADBADNOTGOOD in October 2019, it was shortly thereafter that he and former bandmate Leland Whitty set their fruitful collaborative relationship upon forging the creation of an impressive and partially-improvised new album.
Written in three weeks and recorded over just one studio session, Visions unfolds with palpable urgency and unpredictability, pairing transcendent builds with the tempering of soft, restrained passages for strikingly dynamic results that arouse a plethora of moods. An absorbing listen that sets aside the beat-oriented tendencies of the Grammy Award-winning band that brought the musicians initial notoriety in favour of cinematic and all-out spiritual pastures, each individual arrangement is endowed with its own unique beauty, though the album’s core strength lies in its cohesiveness as a whole which belies the spontaneity of its creation.
Recommended track(s): ‘Visions Of You’, ‘Awakenings’
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Thundercat
It Is What It Is
(Brainfeeder)
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Los Angeles bass guitarist Thundercat‘s ascension to the contemporary funk summit has been well-documented throughout the past decade, from performing with Erykah Badu to producing a Grammy Award-winning song for Kendrick Lamar, and following the April release of his typically star-spangled fourth studio album It Is What It Is the virtuosic musician now finds his feet firmly entrenched at the peak.
Whilst manoeuvring a whistle-stop tour through the sonics of Soul Train, Warp and beyond, Bruner’s latest album marks its distinction from projects of the past through a more elaborate engagement with serious and introspective subject matter, including the sudden untimely death of friend and collaborator Mac Miller.
With that said, for the weightiness that much of the album’s lyricism deals in, glimmers of Bruner’s peculiar sense of humour and an unshakeable, stank face-inducing rhythmic strut bolstered by the likes of Steve Lacy, Childish Gambino, BADBADNOTGOOD and Slave alumni Steve Arrington always ultimately prevail and the project stands tall as a must-listen for the few (if any) whose radar it may have eluded to date.
Recommended track(s): ‘Black Qualls’, ‘King Of The Hill’
Words by Sam Wilkinson.
Artwork by James Cassidy and Kana Kawasaki.
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Fruit and Grooves Collective 