Following last year’s critically eulogised Court the Storm LP, Portland’s Y La Bamba have crafted a fine amalgamation of smoky folk and hip-swaying Latino sensuality to produce Oh February, an EP that pours into the ears like a fine bottle of summer wine.
So far, the band have released two LP’s, the other being Lupon (2010), a touching record with a finespun spirit, and their latest jewel provides further evidence of their pleasantly softened talent.
Roots Manuva – Banana Skank [EP] (Big Dada/ January 21 2013)
By Jack Flahavan
Rodney Smith (aka Roots Manuva) has returned full-throttle with his new EP, Banana Skank – a spin-off from the final track of his last album, the critically celebrated 4everevolution (2011). It is an encapsulating creation from Britain’s master of dub, and one that will not disappoint his ever-growing number of ardent fans. Always loyal to his finest art and ethnic fibre, Smith delivers his textbook dub-style with a forceful slug: the impact is a jaw-breaking, sense-shattering hunk of robust beats that will rock your bones.
Lapalux – Some Other Time (Brainfeeder/ October 16 2012)
By Jack Flahavan
Lapalux (real name Stuart Howard) is back with his second EP for Brainfeeder with Some Other Time, a contorted, brain-frazzling reel of electronic music that flickers like the projection of a scatty silent film, jumping from image to image without a narrative, delineating a swath of juxtaposing thoughts and emotions.
The EP is vehemently experimental and almost impossible to categorize, as the sounds drift in and out of the listener’s consciousness, receding into the gray momentarily, only to ping forwards once again with the rapidity of a stone that has been fired from a slingshot. The cerebral qualities of Some Other Time are the defining facets, which, in turn, incite one’s sensory perception, enlivening the emotions that shift from one state to the next without lingering for too long.
Lukid – This Dog Can Swim (Ninja Tune/ October 15 2012)
By Jack Flahaven
London-based producer Lukid offers a strange and unsettling preview of his third album Lonely At The Top with the release of ‘This Dog Can Swim’, a single which will be officially circulating the veins of the music industry on October 15, courtesy of Ninja Tune.
Jesse Boykins III – The Perfect Blues (Ninja Tune/ September 24 2012)
By Jack Flahavan
Jesse Boykins III is an artist that I have not come across before, and I must say that I am slightly disappointed in my ignorance of his music. Now aged 27, the Chicago-born Boykins emerged on the scene in 2008 with his debut EP, Dopamine: My Life On My Back, so I have some catching up to do.
