Once upon a time there were little things called genres. They helped to put life into little boxes and kept things organised. Particularly pleased with this was Radio 1. It let them easily explain what each of the shows were supposed to be doing and who should be listening to what. Of course John Peel paid no attention to this but that’s fine cos he was easily categorised as ‘the one who broke the rules’.

Recently however it seems that the rules have been bended, twisted and turned every which way but loose and nobody knows what’s what. Dubstep became House and Techno became Hip-hop and Jazz became Rave, then they all became some confusing hybrid of everything. So where does this leave the poor Radio 1 DJs? Gilles Peterson starts becoming Mary Anne Hobbs, Annie Mac becomes Zane Lowe and John Peel is left beyond the grave chuckling at the mayhem he helped to create and the station’s attempts to contain his efforts within just two DJs (even if they are the fantastic Huw Stephens and Rob Da Bank).

For us however it's a fantastic spectacle to see some of our favourite artists gaining exposure across the board and one such example of this is the latest selection that Alex Stevenson from Patchwork Pirates has put together for the pioneering ‘future jazz’ label Brownswood, ran by his boss and all round musical legend, Gilles Peterson.

Despite being tricky to pin down musically, it is possible to easily accept the flow and musical current that ties Brownswood Electr*c together. Most of the artists have grown out of the ‘post’ Hip-hop and ‘post’ Dubstep categories that have been wandering the internet desperately trying to find their own individual tags but failing miserably thanks to a production ethos that is more fluid than the creative juices of us lowly writers. Tribal and Tropical rhythms, Garage Step, Rave Stabs, Jazzy Synths, Soulful Vocals and the occasional gnarly Bassline all find a place on this album, often at the same time and a quality line up of guests includes current golden boys such as Mosca, Von D, Mount Kimbie, Pearson Sound (better known under his Ramadanman moniker), Shlohmo and even 16bit (who fits surprisingly well amongst the rest) along with the next wave of names on everyone’s lips such as Eliphino, George Fitzgerald and Rockwell (who we’ve only just realised is our old amigo from Cardiff, now living down in London). Very similar in atmosphere Fabric's Elevator album, this is going to be the perfect accompaniment to a blazing hot summer.


Speaking of Eliphino, we shall be heading down to check him out at the Beachbreak Live Launch Party tomorrow at CAI so have been rinsing out a few of his productions here at Chrome Mansions. He’s certainly switched up since his days at First Word Records, where he was more on a Dilla-esque Instrumental Hip-hop tip. Nowadays it seems he’s floating around the 130bpm region making the kind of deep dance tracks that sit some place between Garage, Dubstep, Broken Beat and the sort of Tribal and Tropical groove that reminds you of Carnival at dusk. Here’s a little taster plus a free download of his new Randomer & Fife remix courtesy of XLR8R.

Let Me Love You Forever by eliphino

The Floating World (Eliphino Remix) by eliphino

Download: Randomer & Fife - Slum City (Eliphino's West Green Road Remix)


Also from the Brownswood stable comes this Free EP from Ghostpoet, a Midlands artist now based in London who managed to charm his way into Gilles Peterson’s All Winners Broadcast with his blazed out poetical journeys over off kilter beats. Kind of like Galliano for the now generation, so you can see why Gilles was impressed, as are we. This introductory 4 track EP includes an appearance from ultra cool pop producer / songstress Micachu and a reworking of the classic Tribe track Electric Relaxation.

Ghostpoet - Gone by Brownswood

Ghostpoet - Longing For The Night by Brownswood

Ghostpoet - Love Confusion by Brownswood

Ghostpoet - Morning feat. Micachu by Brownswood