Review: Peter Matson - White Noise ft. Kendra Morris (Bastard Jazz Recordings)

Peter Matson's 'White Noise' is the first single from Brooklyn-based musician/producer Peter Matson (co-leader of Underground System) with debut solo LP, 'Hotel PM'

It's been nearly a year since F.I.D.E.L's 'Out Of Sight' (see review HERE) and Buscrates' 'Control Centre' (see review HERE), Simon Mavin's 'Good Hair Day / Only You & Me' (see review HERE) and Casa Bonita (see review HERE) so, even as fans of the label, is it any wonder that a new release is quality?

If you're in the Razor-N-Tape, lovetempo, Star Creature post-disco envelope this is a monster for you!  No surprise that Peter knows all the local big heads having worked with JKriv and Ibibio Sound Machine in the past whilst Kendra Morris has connections with Cinema/TV and the hip-hop scene including MF DOOM (Ed. she'll be a fan of the MF Teen 'tribute' - see review HERE).

Not only that, fans of 'Daylight' (see review HERE) and friends of Toribio joined together with Peter on 'S.Y.G' - check it out below.

This 'White Noise' is nothing like BBC's Radiophonic Workshop's experimental 'White Noise'  but I hope we get an instrumental/disco-dub remix to go along with this as it's far too short (4:21) with all those lucious strings.

 

Artist: Peter Matson

Title: White Noise

Release date: 7th Februaty, 2025

Label : Bastard Jazz Recordings

Catalog Number :  TBC

Format: Vinyl (pre-order) / Digital / Bandcamp  

 

Review: F.I.D.E.L. – Out Of Sight (Bastard Jazz Recordings)

F.I.D.E.L.'s new ablum 'Out Of Sight' is so typical of a Bastard Jazz Recordings' release - Jazz Not Jazz, Bastard Not Bastard or, in other words, just what you need.

It's been a little while since Buscrates' 'Control Centre' (see reveiw HERE) and Simon Mavin's 'Good Hair Day / Only You & Me' (see review HERE) but this is the disco to your Casa Bonita (see review HERE) the funk to your boogie as 'Odd Things (Parts 1 & 2)' is current post-Azymuth track of the year so far; especially as it's over eight minutes long. 

Is it any wonder when we find out the F.I.D.E.L is a collaboration of 'leader' Dilouya, UK legend, John Turrell (50% of Smoove & Turrell; who's album last year 'Red Ellen' featured a track with Ronnie Foster on it!- see review HERE) and Hip-Hop/Soul major force, Sly Johnson (BBE, Heavenly Sweetness, Blue Note and also a member of the French hip-hop group, Saïan Supa Crew).

But this is no 'one-track' album as the spirit of Prince runs through this album, particulary on 'Star 51', brackets "we love America".and a slimmed down version of The Pointer Sisters.  Then, at times, such as the title track, there seems like an odd hybrid a of Sa-Ra Creative Partners with Sly & The Family Stone/Bootsy/Isley Brothers in a 80s night club in Newcastle Market Street (aka Tuxedo Junction).

This all sounds good to me and it'd be easy to keep 'Star 51' and 'Odd Things (Parts 1 & 2)' on repeat but you gotta smile at 'All Of This Is Fake' and '(I Don't Give At Sh*t about) Summertime'.

There are other guests like Noraa ('Out Of Sight, 'Heartbeat') and DKO Records' front man Larry Houl on 'Odd Things' (and as good as the combined Parts 1 & 2 are, where's the dub Part3?) whilst I do hope that there's a live performance/summer festival band to support this release. 

P.S. It's flute gang friendly too!

Artist: F.I.D.E.L. 

Title: Out Of Sight

Release date: 8th March, 2024

Label : Bastard Jazz Recordings

Catalog Number :  TBC

Format: Vinyl (pre-order) / Digital / Bandcamp  

Review: Simon Mavin - Good Hair Day / Only You & Me (Bastard Jazz Recordings)

Can you have a good hair day in a musical spaceship?  You can if you're Simon Mavin as he launches his latest EP on Bastard Jazz.

If you're a fan of the first wave of current Aussie/Melbourne jazz-funk-hip-hop-soul-bruksters, Hiatus Kaiyote, you'll note Simon is the keyboard whiz, co-produer & co-writer in the band.

He definitely had a 'Good Hair Day' when he produced this track and fellow Meburnian(?), Harvey Sutherland, upped the pace and added more synths on the remix (and a reminder to dig out Sutherland's last album 'Boy' that featured that funkster, "Commander" DāM-FunK).

And talking of out there funk mission, 'Only You & Me' is very jazz-funk-Roger(and out there) with another great remix, this time by Aussie duo, Close Counters that ups the broken beat.

The label is increasingly our 'Leftfield of the Year' at this rate as this EP closely follows BusCrates album, 'Control Centre' (see review HERE) and this EP is ideal get ready to party tunes.

Artist: Simon Mavin 

Title: Good Hair Day / Only You & Me EP

Release date: 30th June, 2023

Label : Bastard Jazz Recordings

Catalog Number :  Digital / Bandcamp  

Review: BusCrates - Control Center (Bastard Jazz)

So we know Bastard Jazz are deep diggers but BusCrates is doing his retro take on deep soul funk hip-hop now, and it's all from the 'Control Center'.

Billed as "a balancing act between vintage 80s synths" and "90s boom bap" in a melodic soul envelope, these tracks are the instrumental funk; like that Dâm Funk can produce but more jazzy.

'Get It Going' is a perfect example and if you want to funk up your imaginary summer city park Ryuichi Sakamoto theme, try 'Internal Dialogue'. 

The title track and  'Clarity' are proper uptempo bouncers, if you wanna to go all Radio Saturn/old skool Daedelus, there's sweet hybrid in 'Prisms' and another one that caused some NY noise is 'Buckin'' that features DJ Epik.

And talking of DJs, DJ Spinna is a mutual friend of Peter Franks (Futuristica Music - new album review HERE) and BusCrates (which may or not  been the reason for the BusCrates Remix of 'Sirens') but it shows another knob twist to his musical synth/keys expertise.

The one for the radio playlist is 'On My Way' that features the vocals of Soraya Watti that so Capital Gold (but in a more than good way).

Bastard Jazz have gone the full steel mill mile with this release with vinyl LP and 7" ('Internal Dialogue') and t-shirt options.  This is so different to their other recent release on the label, the equally brilliant and diverse, Captain Plant's 'Sounds Like Home LP' they are going to have a busy summer.

Artist: BusCrates

Title: Control Center 

Release date: 27th January, 2023

Label : Bastard Jazz Recordings

Catalog Number : LP / Digital / Bandcamp