Earth Leakage Trip
Research
(NexGen Music)
Earth Leakage Trip, the duo of Neil Anthony and Tony LoBue, has come up with some dreamy electronica on "Research." This lounge influenced CD is led by electric piano and, on some tracks, ethereal female vocals. It leans toward nu-jazz, but the playing is minimal. The instruments make a groove or suggest a feeling, instead of trying to fill in all the spaces. ... read more

Mystic Man & Eshamanjaro
In Heavy Weather: The Dubstep Remix EP
(Fat! Records)
Reso and Hektagon remix Mystic Man & Eshamanjaro’s jazzy and rambling breaks and hip-hop hooks in their own respective style. Reso’s drum and bass influence deconstructs “Minds I” to deliver an extroverted electronica remix of what once was a reflective downtempo self-exploration. Meanwhile, Hektagon remixes “The Rambler” – an appropriate track considering Hektagon’s specialty in mixing dub and breakbeats while staying true to the track’s original intent. ... read more

Lemonchill
Sentant
(Clubland Records)
The word chill has become a mainstay in the world of downbeat. It's ubiquitous as a descriptor of music and it is sometimes loses its luster becomes of its common use. Numerous compilations too bear the word in the title. It's so predictable that you can almost expect a couch to appear across the compilation cover. When a label is placed on a music style so often, I sometimes find myself a little skeptical. ... read more

Mystéfy
Spark Within
(Compost Records)
Mystefy is the performing alias of a German woman living in Ottowa, Canada who sings sweet ballads with an intention to provide the world with new jazz standards. The music that accompanies her voice is a simple trio of piano, double bass and drums. After viewing her photos and listening to her music I can only conclude that she must have a strong charisma, the kind that not every performer possesses. ... read more

Thievery Corporation
Radio Retaliation
(Eighteenth Street Lounge Music)
As the air raid siren called out and solid, smooth, reggae infected beats and rhythms rolled out under the chanting voice of Sleepy Wonder, the grin on my face got wider and wider. The song is called "Sound the Alarm" and it leads Thievery Corporation's new album Radio Retaliation, announcing that not only is this going to be considered one of Thievery's classic albums, but that the infamous duo have an uncanny ability to deliver strong humanitarian and political messages with a finesse that, no matter what your personal beliefs are, makes the words go down smoother than premium rum. It is no coincidence there's a green ninja on the cover. ... read more

Toao
The Neo Lounge Affair
(Soilsound)
Many CDs are made to be soundtracks, real or imagined. Toao takes the idea further here with The Neo Lounge Affair. This twenty-four track project is both an electronica CD and a radio play. There are ten chapters of a noir detective story, with dialogue by a man and a woman, interspersed with music. Normally this would not seem to be a good idea, since once you have heard the story, you might not want to listen to it twice. But each chapter is between one and two minutes long, acting more like an introduction to the music than an interruption. ... read more

Global Noize
Global Noize
(Shanachie)
Downtempo listeners are open to the wonders of the musical world. For those who have not yet stepped into jazz, Global Noize offers a fantastic bridge between a traditional electronica perception of downtempo and the foundation of most contemporary American music (JAZZ!), by creating an album that melds electro-funk, trip-hop, jazz and eclectic world influences. As globalization makes its impact on U.S. culture through technology, the economy and pop culture, artists, such as Global Noize, are increasingly blending sounds to blur the lines of what we know as traditional music genres. ... read more

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