Tosca ‎– Suzuki (2000)

Style: Downtempo, Trip Hop
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label:  !K7 Records, G-Stone Recordings ‎

Tracklist:
01.   Pearl In
02.   Suzuki
03.   Annanas
04.   Orozco
05. Busenfreund
06.   Honey
07.   Boss On The Boat
08.   John Tomes
09.   Ocean Beat
10.   The Key
11.   Doris Dub
12.   Pearl Off

Credits: Lead Vocals – Anna Clementi, Mike Daliot Written-By, Producer – Richard Dorfmeister, Rupert Huber

Tosca's second album Suzuki takes a lighter, airier approach to the trip-hop terrain that Opera explored. The spare, shimmering title track's delicate synth textures, minimal beats, mellow rhythms, and breathy vocal samples set the tone for the rest of the album's laid-back tracks. Though "Orozco," "Bass on the Boat," and "Ocean Beat" are more immediate variations on Tosca's relaxed sound, for the most part, Suzuki offers a locked groove of hypnotic, deeply chilled-out epics. 

Heather Phares / AllMusic

The Cinematic Orchestra ‎– Motion (1999)

Style: Future Jazz, Contemporary Jazz
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Ninja Tune, Form & Function, Toy's Factory

Tracklist:
1.   Durian
2.   Ode To The Big Sea
3.   Night Of The Iguana
4.   Channel 1 Suite
5.   Blue Birds
6.   And Relax!
7.   Diabolus

Credits:
Producer, Written-By – J. Swinscoe
Recorded By, Engineer – Jamie Finch

Exciting times, these! So what if the Messiah didn't turn up on the Eve of the New Millennium? What do we need some sandled beardy-weirdy for, anyway? Less than two full months into 2000, we got Primal Scream's Molotov incendiary device, Exterminator, which resurrected the emaciated, once-revolutionary specters of the Stooges and the MC5, and stomped dusted-up beats all over them. Brill! 

The rollover of the century also saw avant-jazz taking on electronica and offering us the hope that smooth jazz wasn't the end of the road for that great tradition. Compare Autechre's LP5 with Elliot Sharpe's Errata and you'll be gobsmacked by the similarities and the friendly rivalries. Shit, what if Jelly Roll Morton and King Oliver had had PowerBooks and CuBase rather than rusty trombones and bordello pianos? What freaky shit we'd be listening to now! What if John Coltrane...? Or Ornette Coleman...? 

The Cinematic Orchestra (aka J. Swinscoe) is coming from the other angle. He's a veteran electronica producer taking on jazz. And unlike Sharp's ripping up of conventions, Swinscoe's hung up on admiration. Motion is nothing less than a beat-driven tribute to Miles Davis' collaborations with third stream arranger/composer Gil Evans. Those 50's records (Sketches of Spain, Quiet Nights, Miles Ahead, for example) threw away the hard-bop rulebook and attempted to find a third path between the irreverence of jazz and the academics of the classical tradition. Davis had already expressed that interest when his nonet recorded The Birth of the Cool, but the idea was fully realized on his recordings with Gil Evans.

Swinscoe obviously adores the glowing discords and the curious harmonies of "Saeta" (from Sketches of Spain) and he's built Motion around them. Rather than using a sampler to do all the work, he's pulled together a small band and let his drum machine contribute the beats. 

The opening track, "Durian," incorporates a sample of Nina Simone's heart-wrenching rendition of "Strange Fruit" and builds the close brass harmonies to a forceful climax. "Diabolus" takes a different approach to the same end and closes with an almost ambient coda. However, Motion is ironically rigid. The hip-hop beats aren't sufficient to overcome Swinscoe's reverence for the tradition he cops from. Too often the flow is ponderous and self-conscious. 

If Swinscoe had allowed his musicians the freedom of a true blowin' session, Motion could have been a signal moment in the much-needed dialog between the electronic and jazz avant-gardes. Instead, the album simply restates the obvious, however beautifully. The revolution will not be held in a trendy coffee bar and Jesus won't return until he's sure that there's some kick-ass music down here to soundtrack his second coming and the destruction of all those whining bastards who've been bothering his poor, defenseless father for centuries. 

Paul Cooper / Pitchfork

Crazy Penis ‎– A Nice Hot Bath With... (1999)

Style: Deep House, Downtempo, Funk, Disco, Acid Jazz
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Paper Recordings

Tracklist:
1.   Starwar
2.   Do It Good
3.   3 Play It Cool
4.   Omega Man
5.   Smoothin' Groovin'
6.   I Am Love
7.   Mambo
8.   A Little Something
9.   Drop Your Weapon

Credits:
Bass, Guitar – Crazy Penis
Keyboards, Bass – Tim Davies
Keyboards, Horns – Crazy Penis
Written-By, Producer, Arranged By – Chris Todd, James Baron, Tim Davies

Beginners expecting a dancefloor dominatrix in the likes of Lords of Acid may not be satisfied with the laidback jazz-house grooves of Crazy Penis, though the slightly sampledelic bent of producers Jim Barron and Chris Todd works well on tracks like "Drop Your Weapon" and "Play It Cool." 

John Bush / AllMusic

Waiwan ‎– Distraction (1998)

Style: Breaks, Trip Hop, Future Jazz, Broken Beat
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Autonomy

1.   The Deep
2.   Nightmare
3.   Ain't Easy
4.   Yesterday
5.   Goddess
6.   Blue
7.   Hindsight
8.   Filtered Funk
9.   Revenge

A gem from 1998, which was not a vintage year for downtempo. The Bristol sound was mostly spent, despite a valedictory coda in Massive Attack’s Mezzanine. Ninja Tune was changing direction to take in the likes of Chocolate Weasel’s kitsch-funk. And the trip-hop template was fast becoming coffee-table music turned out by insipid second-raters like Thievery Corporation and Morcheeba. 

But this is a cracking album from Waiwan, in part because it outlines the state of the art thus far. The thunderous timpani that open “The Deep” flag the genre’s cinematic influences. What follows — the well-tempered vocal snatches, washy electric piano and clipped wah-wah — inaugurate an album of uncrowded dubby trip-hop, which wears its influences on its sleeve. “Ain’t Easy” consciously apes Massive Attack’s “Better Things”, with it’s almost identical bass figure and reverb-swallowed drums. “Yesterday”, with a clipped snyth anticipating the backbeat, echoes the somnolent mood of Coldcut’s “Eine Kleine Hed Musick”. The album’s closer, “Revenge”, finishes out the cinematic feel, setting angular string progressions against ominous bells, metallic clangs and distant sirens. 

There’s a sunny feel to it, too, with occasional clipped sax riffs recalling Pete Rock’s early-90s horn riffs. Brittle, jangled piano figures on “The Deep” and “Ain’t Easy” suggest the dusky vibe of the Isley’s “Summer Breeze” or Kool & The Gang’s “Summer Madness” (a reference more explicit in the rising snyth sounds of “Filtered Funk”). 

The jazzy stretch in the middle of the album may be a little too smooth, though “Goddess” is hailed as an early classic of the Nu-Jazz scene. But “Nightmare”, its booming double bass figure amid drum & bass-influenced breakbeats, treads a path being taken at the same time by Red Snapper (and later tarmaced with bus lanes and parking bays by The Cinematic Orchestra). 

Waiwan was apparently part of the Common Ground project that released one album on Ultimate Dilemma. A new Waiwan album is apparently imminent from Earth Project, though the audio clips suggest that his jazz-funk-fusion roots may have got the better of him. I suppose that means his old site at Autonomy isn’t going to get updated (so much for the five-album deal, huh?), but you can still catch plenty of audio clips there. 

RJ Wheaton

Rockers Hi-Fi ‎– Overproof (1998)

Style: Trip Hop, Dub, Downtempo
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Downbeat

Tracklist:
01.   Hello Everybody
02.   Times Up Part I
03.   Times Up Part II
04.   Dis Next Recording
05.   Transmission Central
06.   Hard Times
07.   We Na Go Run
08.   7 Ways
09.   Free
10.   Skank Jnr.
11.   Madda Roots
12.   Overproof

Credits: Backing Vocals – Jackie Dean Strings – Puddletown Symphonic Trombone – John Johnson Vocals – Farda P., MC Tweed Written-By – Bush, Tweed, Plummer, Whittingham Producer – Glyn Bush, Richard Whittingham

Sylk 130 ‎– When The Funk Hits The Fan (1995)

Style: Disco, Funk, Soul, Jazz-Funk, Hip Hop
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Six Degrees Records, Sony Records, Ovum Recordings, Ruffhouse Records, Columbia

Tracklist:
01.   Narration
02.   Jimmy Leans Back
03.   City (5-6 Theme)
04.   The Reason
05.   E.R.A.
06.   Gettin' Into It
07.   When The Funk Swings
08.   Season's Change
09.   "13"
10.   Red Handed
11.   Taggin' & Braggin'
12.   Incident On The Couch
13.   Gorgeous
14.   A Day In The Life
15.   New Love
16.   Uptown
17.   Last Night A DJ Saved My Life
18.   When The Funk Hits The Fan
19.   Next

Credits:
Performer – Cosmic Lounge Arkestra
Presenter – King Britt
Producer, Created – King Britt
Vocals, Musicians – Alison Crockette, Alma Horton, Antoine Green, King Britt, Tanja Dixon, Ursula Rucker, Vicki Miles

DJ King Britt and his Sylk 130 collective debut with the impressive When the Funk Hits the Fan, a seamlessly retro concept album exploring a day in the life of a teenage DJ spinning records circa 1977. A celebration of the soul, funk and jazz which inspired Britt himself, the album is a pastiche of songs and skits, perfectly evoking the spirit of the late '70s while firmly entrenched in contemporary sounds as well; it's this same timeless quality which makes cuts like "Last Night a DJ Saved My Life," "Gettin' into It" and "The Reason" so effective. 

Jason Ankeny / AllMusic

Karma ‎– Pad Sounds (1997)

Style: Downtempo
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Groove Attack Productions

Tracklist:
01.   Pad 1
02.   My Resting Place
03.   Relax Yourself
04.   Ghia
05.   Enter The Dragon Pt.1
06.   Enter The Dragon Pt.2
07.   Look Up Dere
08.   Pad 2
09.   Static Travelling
10.   High Priestess ('97 Live Rmx)
11.   Dakini

Credits:
Sleeve – Weusthoff & Rose Communication Bureau
Written-By, Arranged By, Producer, Recorded By – Lars Vegas, Mojo Tom

Pad Sounds fuses the atmosphere of trip-hop with the intensity of drum'n'bass, a hybrid best heard on the group's underground club hit "High Priestess," featured here in a live remix. 

Jason Ankeny / AllMusic

Nightmares On Wax ‎– Smokers Delight (1995)

Style: Trip Hop, Dub, Downtempo
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Warp Records, Rough Trade

Tracklist:
01.   Nights Introlude
02.   Dreddoverboard
03.   Pipes Honour
04.   Me + You
05.   Stars
06.   Wait A Minute
06.   Praying For A Jeepbeat
07.    Groove St.
08.   Time (To Listen)
09.   (Man) Tha Journey
10.   Bless My Soul
11.   Cruise (Don't Stop)
12.   Mission Venice
13.   What I'm Feelin (Good)
14.   Rise
15.   Rise (Reprise)
16.   Gambia Via Vagator Beach

Credits:
Producer, Mixed By, Programmed By, Other (Herbalized By) – E. A. S. E.
Programmed By – Robin Taylor-Firth

Despite the liner notes by Nightmares On Wax aka George Evelyn himself asking that the music found on Smokers Delight should not be considered trip hop, this album is the benchmark - if not the blueprint - for that genre. Mind you, back in 1995 when this stone cold classic was originally released, trip hop music wasn't yet de riguer in cafes, hair salons and hotel lobbies worldwide. Smokers Delight was the second album from Nightmares On Wax, following a more dance floor-oriented debut, Word Of Science. For the follow up though, Evelyn got to experimenting with trip hop - which is essentially hip hop with deeper soul and less rapping. With its rubbery bass lines, low-slung funk, meandering, jazzy guitar patterns and slow-motion chocolate-smothered grooves, Smokers Delight is often described as sophisticated stoner music, but that's merely lazy alliteration. This remains an all-time classic of contemporary instrumental music and an essential album. 

David Carroll / In The Pocket

Cool Breeze ‎– Assimilation (1995)

Style: Dub, Acid Jazz, Downtempo
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Dorado, Jazz Not Jazz Records

Tracklist:
01.   Down By Law
02.   Shalom Salaam Peace
03.   Can't Deal With This
04.   Stranger
05.   Socio Groove
06.   Check It
07.   NB
08.   Charlie Don't Surf
09.   The Sun That Shines Above The Earth
10.   Assimilation .
11.   Dark Soup
12.   Acoustic Blues
13.   "It'll Take More Than That"
14.   She Fell Asleep (Watching Channel Zero)
15.   Tik Tok (Kid Loops Remix)
16.   The Papers
17.   Lo And Slo
18.   Blow Out
19.   All In One

Credits:
Mixed By – Charlie Lexton, Jamie Lexton
Written-By, Producer – Charlie Lexton, Jamie Lexton

I have a habit of listening to genres in the most offbeat way possible. It’s almost like I want to deliberately alienate myself from anyone I might actually relate to (cries into pillow). When I say I like trance, it’s generally about as far removed from what most people would call “trance” as possible, (no bad thing, I’m sure you’ll agree). Likewise, when I claim to enjoy hip-hop, it’s generally stuff with absolutely no rapping or mainstream appeal whatsoever.

Cool Breeze’s album Assimilation is exactly the kind of hip-hop I love, although perhaps “hip-hop” is the wrong word. Acid jazz? Breakbeat funk? Sample collage? Beat making? Whatever. Assimilation may have been released on relatively unknown label Dorado back in 1995, but it wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Ninja Tunes and their roster of delectably funky ‘90s jazzy hip-hop acts like DJ Food, The Herbaliser and Coldcut. If that doesn’t immediately give you a picture of how this album sounds then you need to brush up on your music history, maaaan.

Fundamentally, there’s not a whole lot to separate Assimilation from the ranks of similar British albums that were released between Paul’s Boutique and Endtroducing, but Cool Breeze is an assuredly talented sampler and beatmaker. His basslines are pleasingly warm and dubby, his tracks laced with cool soul and B-boy swagger, and his humour is sly without being irritating. The album also contains two brilliant standouts. First up is the achingly beautiful Can’t Deal With This, a languid summer groove where Rhodes stabs intertwine perfectly with guitar lacks and a heart-melting vocal performance from Imaani, who apparently went on to be a runner up at Eurovision. Then there’s the Kid Loops remix of Tik Tok (Come On), which emphasises the spacey dub atmospherics of the outrageously funky original while allowing the low-slung dub bassline to continue making love to one of the most infectious jazz flute samples ever uncovered.

The supporting cast of tracks are very strong, including (importantly) the opener and closer, and the only weak spot is the rather bizarre Charlie Don’t Surf, with a somewhat cheesy anti-war stoner vocal. Assimilation may not be remarkably different, but it’s a cut above the crowd in its genre, far better than many of the critically heralded efforts by contemporaries such as Mr Scruff or DJ Vadim, and deserves an honorary status as a forgotten classic. 

Jack / I Am Not A Music Journalist

St Germain ‎– Boulevard (The Complete Series) (1995)

Style: Downtempo, Deep House
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: F Communications, Play It Again  Sam

Tracklist:
1.   Deep In It
2.   Thank U Mum (4 Everything You Did)
3.   Street Scene (4 Shazz)
4.   Easy To Remember
5.   Sentimental Mood
6.   What’s New?
7.   Dub Experience II
8.   Forget It

Credits: Flute – Malik Percussion – Miguel "Punta" Rios Piano – Alexandre Destrez Saxophone – Édouard Labord Trumpet – Pascal Ohse Producer, Mixed By, Written-By – Ludovic Navarre

Picture a world where each and every French dance band was unflinchingly bad; where every Air or Cassius or even Phoenix never existed since every homegrown, starving musician looked to somebody like ATB instead of St. Germain. Luckily, this is but a piece of fiction. Because Ludovic Navarre created such a saintly pseudonym, employing deep house, tittering breaks, and down-tempo attitudes that -- in over-simplistic terms -- virtually invented the entire French house movement that has crossed over more times than a Diana Ross impersonator. The question is, does being first make you any good? Taking cues from acid jazz and its chin-stroking underground, songs like "Deep in It" or "Street Scene (4 Schazz)" seem to shyly respond, "yes." It's only the preponderance of an odd sense of a Frenchman aping American black music that starts to cause the most alarm. The loose jazz excursions such as "Sentimental Mood" carries all the emotional weight of a sewing needle and the choice of blues samples (while being years before Moby even caught onto the idea) feels contrived. The album may exude an atmosphere of a musician discovering a new genre hybridization, it just doesn't quite reach the maturity of a fleshed out idea. A landmark album? Yes. An album that lacks the loveliness of an Air or the inventiveness of an Etienne DeCrecy? Also, yes. Boulevard has been looked upon as the "essential" Revolver or What's Going On or Dig Your Own Hole piece of French house fans' record collections. It's only a small indignity that the music itself rarely reaches such heights of its comparisons.

Dean Carlson / AllMusic