Listening to this remarkable album for the first time you’ll surely be struck first by the deep, soul-piercing voice of that great Brazilian singer, Seu Jorge. Yes: he’s a singer first and foremost. Many may know him as an actor for his screen-stealing performances in the likes of Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic and Fernando Meirelles’ City Of God but Seu Jorge has known since he was a child that we was destined to sing. He’s a Brazilian singer who speaks the truth through samba, to paraphrase a well-known Seu Jorge quote.

But this project is about a band: Almaz. Drummer Pupillo and guitarist Lucio Maia from the stalwart Nação Zumbi; bassist and composer Antonio Pinto from the soundstages of Hollywood and Brazilian blockbusters such as City of God, the film that showcased Seu Jorge’s star-turn as Knockout Ned. They came together naturally to record a song for a Walter Salles film; they enjoyed the experience so much that they recorded an entire album of music that inspired them. Songs famous within the Brazilian diaspora (Tim Maia, Jorge Ben) mesh with classic American (Roy Ayers, Michael Jackson) and European (Kraftwerk, Cane and Abel) soul songs begging for a bit of psychedelic samba.

They enlisted producer and fellow Brazileiro Mario C. (Beastie Boys, Jack Johnson) to put the finishing touches on the project. And now Almaz, looking to only “common sense” as bandleader, spring forth with an album both warm and dark; an album that is psychedelic and yet grounded, uplifting but at times somber. To listen to Seu Jorge and Almaz is to join them in the studio, where the only bandleader is the music and the only agenda is to follow your heart.

An inventive showcase of what’s possible when armed with just a sampler, a few studio toys and a fertile imagination, Paul White & The Purple Brain is the intriguing sophomore album from South London producer Paul White.

A collaboration of sorts, the entire record is based around and inspired by the work of little-known Swedish psych-rock guru S.T. Mikael. Heavy on Eastern influences and otherworldly concerns, Mikael’s music ranges from searing electric guitar-led dirges to dreamlike ballads to ghostly atmospheric experiments – sometimes all within the same song. The strange and wonderful home recordings of this cult hero have been issued in tiny quantities since the 1990s on the Subliminal Sounds label.

Having been granted access to S.T. Mikael’s back catalogue, Paul White found a unique source of inspiration and challenged himself to create an album using the Swedish multi-instrumentalist’s work as the sole basis for his output. The result is Paul White & The Purple Brain – a remarkably diverse album that defies easy categorisation. Marshen Signals brings to mind the brooding atmospherics and jeep-rattling bass of mid-90s D.I.T.C. productions, whilst Alone Again nods to the pioneers of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Sitar-led tracks such as Pride share common ground with the likes of ‘60s English psych band July and My Guitar Whales – the first single to be taken from the album – could be a classic rap banger remixed for a Hungarian fairground.

Praised as someone who “embodies all that is good about a new generation of producers” (Dazed & Confused), Paul White has won over fans of left-leaning sounds and interesting hip-hop, including Diplo, Mary Anne Hobbs, Benji B and Gilles Peterson. His 2009 debut album The Strange Dreams of Paul White introduced a hip-hop producer with a deft touch, a quirky sense of humour and a refreshing lack of regard for the conventions of the genre. There was also something very British about his avoidance of the traditional soul, jazz and funk sample sources of his hip-hop forebears in favour of prog and psychedelic rock, reggae and the abandoned vinyl of English charity shops. Paul’s playfulness and world-class production chops are also evident throughout his Sounds From The Skylight beat tape, which rounded off an impressive 2009.

Whilst Paul White’s previous transmissions have come through fledgling indie label One-Handed Music, Paul White & The Purple Brain will be co-released by both One-Handed and Now-Again.

It’s been a startling couple of years for instrumental beats of all persuasions: the likes of LA’s Brainfeeder crew and Glasgow’s LuckyMe collective have developed styles with a scope far beyond creating merely ‘instrumental hip hop’. Amongst all the hype and promotion, one of the music’s reclusive architects seems to have been mysteriously overlooked.

However, ask the likes of Gaslamp Killer or Ras G and they’ll tell you the same thing: Dimlite’s production was astounding from the start. His EPs of 2003 and debut album Runbox Weathers two years later revealed a Swiss producer beholden to no one, possessing a style as nuanced as his friend Prefuse 73 and yet enriched by a careworn romanticism and quirkiness that rewarded repeat listens and has, over time, made him something of a ‘producer’s producer’.

Another album, singles, remixes and side-projects followed, taking Dimlite’s sound further left, further into a singular world where soul music, latin rhythms, hiphop and more are reconstituted into dreamy, lovelorn beat constructions. And so he takes his place on Now-Again, home to a cadre of similarly singular spirits such as The Heliocentrics and The Whitefield Brothers, each bent on refracting music history through their own unique lenses.

And while copycat producers abound, Dimlite’s uniqueness is only throw into sharper relief. It’s clear the moment he sings, such as on EP highlight Elbow Flood or the astonishing (and miniature) closer, Can’t Get Used To Those. It’s apparent in every one of his strangely abrupt changes. It’s even in his song titles. Perhaps Prismic Tops will be the record that sparks a critical reappraisal of this gifted producer’s work. And if not, Now-Again Records is still proud to present this, the latest in a line of remarkable releases from a quiet pioneer.

Download High Res Photo 1: Dimlite by Matthias Guenter.
Download High Res Photo 2: Dimlite by Matthias Guenter.

Myron & E, a Calfornia-based soul duo, are the newest recording act on the Finnish Timmion label. Backed by Timmion’s “in house” band The Soul Investigators, the duo’s debut 7” single ”Cold Game / I Can’t Let You Get Away” is an exercise in gritty, Impressions-influenced soul music and was released in Europe in a limited press. The single will soon be available in North America on Now-Again Records, distributed exclusively by Stones Throw.

Myron & E are singers from differing musical backgrounds. The two met working in the tour outfit of Bay Area indie-hip hop legends Blackalicious. The senior member of the duo, Myron Glasper, got his start in music in the early 90s working as a back-up singer in Los Angeles. The mysterious “E’s” is actually the DJ known as E Da Boss, whose music has been released on labels including San Francisco’s Om Records.

Myron & E’s music might seem to be a radical departure for two hip hop-reared Californians, but the duo slide into their new-roles like tenured soul stars. The Soul Investigators backing tracks – lush, string-swept affairs that revel in analog tape hiss and the overall warmth of live musicianship – came together under the tight guidance of producer and recording engineer Didier Selin.

The Soul Investigators, originally from Matinkyla, Finland, made their first recordings in the late 90s and have worked independently from day one. Timmon Records, founded in 1990, has released a series of albums which range from the psychedelic excursions of Didier’s Sound Spectrum to the anthemic soul of Nicole Willis. Willis and the Soul Investigator’s ”Keep Reachin’ Up” album is probably the label’s “biggest” success, but Timmion’s catalog contains dozens of entries and shows no sign of slowing.

Brasilian flavored, minimalist Latin jazz a la Baden Powell and Hermeto; A newly recorded album steeped in tradition – perfect for those feeling saudades for bossa nova’s most vibrant era.

“Triorganico’s debut… is something you’d expect to hear floating from a smoky Bossa Nova club in the 1950s?not downtown LA… Triorganico finds comfort in history and hindsight” - Waxpoetics