2xLP

'Yes Lawd!', the much anticipated debut album from NxWorries (pronounced "no worries") is coming October 21 on Stones Throw Records. On Yes Lawd!, Anderson .Paak plays a theatrically brash version of himself who raps and sings like a '70s superstar and talks shit like a stone cold player. The performance is seeded with details from his life, which has seen a fair share of struggle and hard-won triumph. Meanwhile Knxwledge weaves a tapestry of sampled bits and live fragments - bass, brass and violin - that smooths everything over, reminding us that despite whatever struggle it took to get here... well, you already know the name: NxWorries.

Packed full of cinematic textures, plaintive vocals and dusty house grooves, The Last Raw Era is the stunning debut album from Hollis Parker: a vinyl-only love-letter to New York City that harks back to bygone days of US house music.House music albums can be tricky to pull off. More often than not they are little more than a hastily thrown-together collection of club tracks, lacking the cohesion or narrative themes that mark a truly timeless body of work. Hollis Parker's debut is one of the few of recent memory that bucks this trend, applying a hip-hop production aesthetic to an album with house music at its core, creating an immersive listening experience over the course of 10 deeply emotive tracks.The Last Raw Era is themed around two distinct love stories: that evolving relationship between two fictional characters, and the entirely real emotion Hollis wears on his sleeve about New York, calling it the foundation upon which I'm built. A hazy melancholy informs much of the album's tone, with obscure samples dusted off and given a new lease of life in songs that evoke the languid production of Moomin as much as the raw house cuts of the early US masters.Crafted in the old-school style, Hollis took a turntable, a couple of samplers and a stack of vinyl records and got to work, creating a musical tapestry from instrumental samples, snatches of movie dialogue and heartfelt vocals. The result is both familiar and absolutely unique, with Hollis looking to the past to produce something refreshingly free of clichéd house tropes.This album is basically a culmination of everything I've done musically up until now says Hollis from the techniques and musicianship I learned to the equipment I figured out how to use, the different genres I've created: it all comes together on this album. It's a love story that's also about a city, specifically a city that I got to know before the internet and social media, back in the 90s, or what I like to call the last raw era.From the simultaneously heart-breaking and uplifting 4/4 bounce of What You've Done to the dreamlike drifting of Central Park Love, The Last Raw Era contains individual tracks that are without question some of the most beautiful of the year. But this is an album that needs to be listened to in its entirety to be fully appreciated: a timeless gem with the power to take you to another place.

Renegades of Jazz present their third album Moyo WanguIt's the year 2016 and David Hanke, widely recognized under his moniker Renegades Of Jazz, is back with his third full-on longplay effort entitled 'Moyo Wangu'.After his conceptual and darker approach to his last album 'Paradise Lost' released in 2015, we see Renegades Of Jazz explore the world of Afrofunk here, a world David Hanke is deeply linked to since he spent an influential part of his childhood in Arusha/Tanzania in the early 1980s .Due to being exposed to the sound of this East African metropolis throughout his early childhood days the love for any kind of African rhythm signatures and vibes has stuck to this day and is now reflected in the twelve tracks on the album 'Moyo Wangu' - a Swahili expression that translates as 'My heart' and perfectly describes where his heart is at.Already having introduced the audience to his love of all things Afro with the exclusive non-album track 'Tempo Tempo' that was featured on the 'Hits Agogo One' compilation earlier this year as well as with the first single release of the album 'Afro Cookie', a modern Afrofunk anthem with a distinctive twist that does not only refer to David Hanke's personal linkage to Africa but also can be seen as the origin and starting point of the musical journey we're about to experience here.'Moto Moto' musically depicts the hot, vibrant feel of a jam-packed dancefloor throughout an amazing night out, 'Beneath This African Blue' brings on sweet midtempo grooves and the captivating 'Harambee' (Let's work together) reflects the rhythm and reiterativeness of working together featuring the brass section of the Los Angeles-based Jungle Fire outfit who add their special heat. The albums title track 'Moyo Wangu' caters uplifting Afrofunk at its best and sees Marseille-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Hugo Kant delivering some thrilling flute action with a Jazz-infused twist whilst 'Them Who Walk Slow' is on a more laid back and tropical tip.With 'Karibu Tena' - Swahili for 'Welcome Back (Again)' – David Hanke returns to his spiritual home in a joyful, polyrhythmic way, 'Zebra Talk' is another collaborational effort featuring producer and multi-instrumentalist Kabanjak, also known for his works on other projects like Deela and as part of the Ancient Astronauts duo. The touching vibe of 'Jamboree' resembles the overwhelming joy and heartfelt spirit of gatherings and festivities.'Majirani Yako Kelele' works bubbling dancefloors with a complex swing, 'Jazz Makossa' amalgamates influences taken from highly Jazz-infused Makossa music and their traditional call & response techniques to a thrilling effect and finally 'Prison Island' concludes the album with a sweet yearning and laid back melancholia referring to the legend and history of a small island, also known as Changuu or Kibandiko, located only a few miles off shore of the beautiful Zanzibar Archipelago.

LISTEN : https://soundcloud.com/user-41943809https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Va3c7U0IKaE