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

Headz : A Soundtrack Of Experimental Beathead Jams (1994)

Style: Downtempo, Breaks, Trip Hop
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Mo Wax

Tracklist:
1-01.   Patterson - Freedom Now (Meditation)
1-02.   Attica Blues - Contemplating Jazz
1-03.   Awunsound - Symmetrical Jazz
1-04.   Nightmares On Wax - Stars
1-05.   La Funk Mob - Ravers Suck Our Sound
1-06.   M.F. Outa 'National - Miles Out Of Time
1-07.   PM - The Inside
1-08.   Autechre - Lowride
1-09.   Olde Scottish - Wildstyle (The Krush Handshake)
2-01.   DJ Shadow - Lost & Found (S.F.L.)
2-02.   Skull - Destroy All Monsters
2-03.   Deflon Sallahr - ... Don't Fake It
2-04.   RPM - 2000
2-05.   Palmskin Productions - Slipper Suite (I) Jeremy's Velvet Slippers (II)  Moonrakers (III) Unspeakable Acts
2-06.   U.N.K.L.E. - The Time Has Come
2-07.   Howie B. - Head West - Gun Fight At The O.K. Corrall
2-08.   Tranquility Bass - They Came In Peace
2-09.   DJ Shadow - In/Flux (Alternative Interlude '93)

The first double-disc/triple-vinyl installment of the Headz trilogy is easily the least of the batch. Though it features some heavyweights, the compilation suffers from a series of lengthy tracks that are too simplistic for their own good. Monochromatic and sluggish in long stretches to the point of approximating aural wallpaper, no amount of outer stimulation can add life to half of the material. Even an uncharacteristic Autechre track is weak. Nonetheless, decency is offered by the likes of DJ Shadow's U2-sampling "Lost and Found" (also a culprit of unnecessary length), Patterson's "Freedom Now," and DJ Krush's remix of Olde Scottish's "Wildstyle." Other notable appearances include U.N.K.L.E, Palmskin Productions, and Howie B. 

Andy Kellman / AllMusic

MC 900 Ft Jesus ‎– Welcome To My Dream (1991)

Style: Leftfield, Jazz-Funk, Downtempo, Poetry
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Nettwerk Europe, Play It Again Sam, SPV

Tracklist:
1  Falling Elevators
2  Killer Inside Me
3  Adventures In Failure
4  The City Sleeps
5  O-Zone
6  Hearing Voices In One's Head
7  Dali's Handgun
8  Dancing Barefoot

Credits: Bass – Steve Dirkx Congas, Percussion – Mike Dillon Design, Photography By – Richard Krall Drums – Al Emert Keyboards, Guitar, Trumpet – Mark Griffin Tenor Saxophone, Bass Clarinet – Chris McGuire Turntables – Patrick Rollins Producer – Mark Griffin

The follow-up to Hell With the Lid Off is darker, less cartoonish, and far more influenced by funk and jazz than before (if it weren't for the slightly whiny vocals over top of the opening cut, you might mistake the backing track for something from Miles Davis' fusion period). In a lot of ways, Welcome to My Dream was a precursor to trip-hop, layering hip-hop beats over jazzy breaks and dream-like instrumentation. The problem is tracks like "Killer Inside Me" and "Adventures in Failure": the backing tracks are killer and the delivery of the rhymes are top-notch, but they're ultimately a bit silly, which makes it a bit hard to take the rest of the album seriously. That's a shame because there are some great tracks here, like "The City Sleeps'" and "Falling Elevators." As before, DJ Zero scratches with aplomb. 

Sean Carruthers / AllMusic

Sandals ‎‎– Rite To Silence (1994)

Style: Trip Hop, Acid Jazz, Downtempo
Format: CD, Vinyl
Label: Open Toe Records, FFRR

Tracklist:
01.   Feet
02.   Nothing
03.   No Movement
04.   Change
05.   Ardens Bud
06.   We Wanna Live
07.   We Don't Wanna Be The Ones To Take The Blame
08.   Lovewood
09.   Here Comes The Sign
10.   Profound Dub

Credits:
Bass, Vocals – Ian 'Easy' Simmonds
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Wildcat Will Blanchard
Vocals, Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone, Harmonica – John Harris
Vocals, Percussion – Derek Delves
Guitar – Nick Van Gelder
Producer – Leftfield
Producer (Additional Production), Remix – Joe Gibb

The sole full-length album by the London groove collective the Sandals (a second was recorded, but rejected by the record company and unreleased) is, in retrospect, a prescient look at where post-ambient house electronica would go in the mid-'90s. The jazzy grooves, largely courtesy of bassist Ian Simmonds, who would go on to make some sublime solo records under his own name and as Juryman, and percussion-heavy arrangements have an organic quality that had been missing from most of the dance records of the early '90s, and the slow-moving, vaguely druggy rhythms are a clear forerunner to trip-hop. John Harris' flute, sax, and clarinet predominate over the electronics (interestingly, the group didn't have a full-time keyboardist or guitarist; friends like Jamiroquai's Nick Van Gelder and Julian Cope's guitarist Donald Ross Skinner pitched in). Between that and the shuffling, layered percussion, parts of this album sound like Herbie Mann or Rahsaan Roland Kirk's '70s work given a Tricky remix. Though the hit single "Feet" is an obvious highlight, it's tracks like the otherworldly opener "Profound Gas" and the slinky "Lovewood" that really put this album over. The belated U.S. version adds two lengthy remixes of "Feet" that add little to the original's charm. 

Stewart Mason / AllMusic