Sublime Tet

Though Jazzanova's underground credibility and respect among fellow artists never wavered during the late '90s, the German six-piece waited a long time to release a proper full-length (reportedly, it required five years of recording). In Between certainly proves the wait was worth it; the collective has not only a Teutonic efficiency for creating complex, precise, detailed beat tracks - recalling the earthier side of house, hip-hop, and jazz fusion - but also the wisdom to focus away from music that sounds like it came out of a laboratory. On the surface, "No Use" is just another smooth acid jazz number with a sensuous female vocal and a depth-plumbing bassline; in the hands of Jazzanova, though, it's transformed into a work of real beauty, an impeccable production with countless touches embellishing the percussion in a way that few acts have been able to do (Nuyorican Soul and 4hero are really the only others in the same league)…

Omar Souleyman turns out another brilliant batch of club-ready turns on EDM powerhouse Mad Decent. Getting back to the type of fire found on his Sublime Frequencies and Sham Palace turns following years of Four Tet-produced missteps, ‘Shlon’ is delivered hot and direct in the vein of 2017’s ‘To Dyria, With Love’ with 6 tracks of whirlwind microtonal synth licks, stentorian vox and driving machine rhythms. ’Salon’ sets it off with slow donks and line-dancing claps, ’Shi Tridin’ steps it up with a wild mix of Euro-house swagger and blazing synth crossfire, and ‘Mawwal’ makes room for dry-iced, beat-less slow jam in the titular style of sung poetry. ‘About Zilif’ is the BIG one though, featuring Rizan Sa’id slinging wild drums and scything riffs compatible with electro chaabi, and ‘Layle’ nearly hits Psy-trance levels of yoghurt-weaving club actio.