Outlines "Our Lives Are Too Short"
(Sonar Kollektiv)
Outlines' classic house track 'Just a Little Loving' steamed up many a dancefloor since its release in 2002 with its nod to morning sex (what's better?). The song's uniquely infectious sound with its stuttered, cut-up vocals and chords still sound fresh six years on. And though it had the markings of a one-hit wonder, the team behind it, the French trio of Jerome Hadey, Irfane Khan-Acito and Jay1 have proven on their full-lenght "Our Lives Are Tooo Short" that there's a plethora of bitching ideas brewing in their brains. This release is chok full of jazzy and soulful sounds that reflects their hip hop, house and jazz influences. It's like the best of both worlds: future sounds with a classic "old school" sensibility. There's uplifting and inspiring vibe to this release with tracks like 'Our Lives Are Too Short' and its inspirational and chorus ('our lives are too short, remember, be strong and never surrender'), 'Now That I'm Free', with another catchy chorus and a guest appearance from RZA and 'To Much To Ask For' with its quirky and complex arrangement and French rap. It's apparant that Outlines put "much love" into recording their music and there's a overall warmth and intimacy to the recording. Arrangements are spaced out with shifting sounds, tempos, choruses and lots of piano chords. Vocal harmonies and call-response rest alongside French rap, vocal samples and scratching. Somehow they put all of these pieces together and tracks like 'Matter of Time', 'How It Should Be Done' and 'Hold On'.Outlines have taken the momentum generated by 'Just a Little Loving" and delivered on its promise. Their debut is a full course of soulfulness with a French twist. In short —
'"c'est trop canon!"

DJ Dolores "1 Real"
(Crammed/Ziriguiboom)
Imagine you find yourself in the seaside Brazilian neighborhood of Brasilia Teimosa where DJ Dolores is hosting a gigantic, raucous block party. The crowd is a mix of Brazilian youth, rastas, hippie tourists and some funky fishermen. Amongst this crazy mix of humans and street noise, DJ Dolores drops a sound explosion of tracks from his latest release, "1 Real" and the crowd is grooving to its frenetic blend of horns, violin, samples and call and response vocals. You are swept into the fray and chaos of life — these people might be poor but they really know how to enjoy life! Dolores is in full control at the decks, dropping bomb after bomb of rhythm and sound from "1 Real" a meltdown of Brazilian popular music with a booming beat, funky horns, organ and call and response vocals. The party is on full steam a music based on traditional rhythms, beefed up by violin, guitar, drum machine and lo-fi effects. From forró to the music of the Jovem Guarda (the Young Guard of romantic Brasilian rock from the '60s), everything is incorporated in the mix. DJ Dolores takes the pieces of the country’s neglected musical traditions, especially those popular styles traditionally shunned by the establishment, and puts them togehter again, bridging the gaps between poor & rich, young & old, and showing that there’s an amazingly rich musical world beyond samba and bossa nova. With the help of regular collaborators such as Isaar, Maestro Forró, Gabriel Melo, Fernando Catatau, vocalists Isaar and Maciel Salu, and guest appearances by acclaimed Nordeste fusionist Silvério Pessoa and by Marion, a young, Rio-based French vocalist DJ Dolores knows how to rock the favela. With"1 Real" the party never stops. The sun sets on the Brasilia Teimosa beach and you wind down the day's festivites with a cold cachaça and a warm tropical breeze. This is a life one could get used to.

Gregor Tresher "A Thousand Nighs"
(Great Stuff)
Gregor Treshor is a fixture of Europe's techno and electro scene and has experienced a phenomenal rise over the past 3 years: supported by the likes of Anthony Rother, Billy Nasty, Dave Mothersole and Sven Väth, he has released on labels including Datapunk, Cocoon, 541, Kosmo and Electrix. Treshor scored underground hits with his "Still EP“" (Datapunk Records) clubtunes like "Neon“ (Datapunk), "Full Range Madness" (Cocoon), "The Now People“ (Great Stuff) and his Remix for Sven Väths "Komm". Last summer's "A Thousand Nights“ was a club hit and his debut CD uses this track as a blueprint for a debut recording of deep, pulsating and sparse tracks. Combined with spacey atmospherics and driving beats the result is an impressive body of minimal electronic music. "A Thousand Nights" opens with the deep bass and stripped down dub of 'Black Rain' moving into an uplifting, dream-like state on 'A Thousand Nights' and 'Painkiller' with its subtle catchiness and the tripped-out buzz of "Full Range Madness". 'Anti' is a nine-minute scorcher with its repeated flute-like sound and a wickedly dark mood. The album closes with 'The Good Life', an interlocking deep house track.

10 Years Who Cares?
Various Artists (Sonar Kollektiv)
The Jazzanova collective's label, Sonar Kollektiv, has made its ten year mark with an impressive track record of delivering the beats and pieces. No other label has been so consistent in its releases of progressive soul, house and neu jazz. On this double CD Sonar Kollektiv reflects on the previous decade with wonder at all that has been accomplished. Care? Damn right we care, because without Sonar Kollektiv the underground dance and soul movement would be greatly dimished. And so what has Sonar Kollektiv accomplished in its decade of existence? Let us count the ways: artists such Clara Hill, Fat Freddy's Drop, Slope, Ame, Micatone, Benny Sings and Thief; classic tracks like Jazzanova's 'That Night' and 'Let Your Heart Be Free', Moonstar's "Detroit", Georg Levin's "I Got (Somebody New)", Extended Spirit's "Fadin' In" and the list goes on. In sum, Sonar Kollektiv have created a whole new sound that is both listenable and enjoyable and ready to get you moving when the mood is right. The double CD reflects the label founders two pronged strategy; CD1 is packed full of 20 musical pearls while CD2 is a DJ mix by JAZZANOVA, showing the club orientated aspects of Sonar Kollektiv which have always played an important role. If there's one fault to Sonar Kollektiv it's that mainstream audiences haven't picked up on their releases. It's almost tragic to think that the masses are still jamming to tired bling crap when there's such quality music to be heard. It's just a shame that more recognition hasn't been cast their way. In a sense Sonar Kollektiv is the underground's secret love affair. And for that reason we do care.

Future Sounds of Jazz 11
Various Artists (Compost)
With this many releases under their belts Germany's Compost records has deservably earned its reputation for compiling the most futuristic jazz vibes. It's a given that there are no traditional jazz sounds on these releases since we've heard it all before. With label founder Michael Reinboth at the healm the series has continuously dished up a jazzitude that surpasses classification and Volume 11 is no exception. In fact, "Future Sounds of Jazz 11" is the least jazzy of any releases in the series. On FSOJ11 Reinboth presents his selection of rarities, exclusives and contemporary beauties with an emphasis on techy sounds and beats. The selection ranges from precisely programmed and aesetci to soulful and deep. Standout tracks include The Invisible Session's “Till The End“, a soulful vocal track with piano, and a touch of Detroit; the deep keyboard-led house of Dennis Ferrer's “Son Of Raw“; and Joash's “Salome” with its heavy strings interspersed with vibes and a modified bossa nova beat. Of course the future isn't always a forward looking thing and some of the comp's songs are clearly harking back to the disco era, such as the cheesey synth-disco of Wojtek Urbanski's "Violet Violin", Blackjoy's repetitive disco-funk on "Moustache" and the '80s disco classic 'Movin' by 400 Blows. With twelve songs that nearly stretch the definition of jazz to its breaking point FSOJ11 is further proof that Compost records has its sights, and ears, on the future. But perhaps it should be called Future Sounds of Disco on its next release.