A quick look at the calendar shows us that we've entered a brand new season on this North Hemisphere of the globe. This meaning that one half of 2004 is already behind us and that time has come for another selection of albums. Not to mention that summer break is just around the bent. What's your destination, what are you going to do, where will you spin, what are your favourite tunes of the season ? You have an extra week (til Jul.1st) to drop us your answers if you wish, knowing that your postcards will be more than welcome on board as you return home… Welcome to our issue # 60...

Hopefully, free time is the supposed definitition to be given when breaks are coming. No need to rush anymore then simply find the best way to appreciate life the way it goes with the minimum amount of plans and let ourselves go while chillin' and let our minds & bodies wander here or there. This is exactly what we've got on this very last selection of biggies B4 summer holidays. Got a couple of celebrations of people going on their 20's including London activists Bobby & Steve (Laviniere) and Chicago house early daze label, Trax. Some atmospheric vibes coming from Scandinavia by the likes of Illumination and Fenomenon, meanwhile African diva Zap Mama drops a new collection of sweeties + other good stuff around. Not to mention a brand new selection of Japanese bits and bops by our very own Nik Weston and a welcome return album from reggae legends Toots & The Maytals.

Where was you at 20 years ago ? Chicago based label, Trax was in the process of giving birth to a new era alongside its DJ International opponent in what would become house music. Mixed by Maurice Joshua and Paul Johnson, Trax Records : The 20th Anniversary Collection brings us back to the memory of those early days with names that would become legends. Robert Owens, Adonis, Mr Fingers, Mr Lee, Farley JackMaster Funk, Maurice, Ralphi Rosario, Frankie Knuckles vs Marshall Jefferson, Liz Torres, Jungle Wonz, Kool Rock Steady… Names are definitely speaking for themselves in the evolution of house, should it be deep, acid or mixed with hip hop. A true piece of history gathered on this triple CD pack (traxhouse.com ).

Responsible of the memorable Southport Weekender CD triple pack, Dutch label suSu celebrates 20 years in the business from Bobby & Steve. Based in London, the Laviniere Brs. (being in the UK capital what the Cheers guys are in Paris) Made their reputation while being true activists in the Black dance groove era since day 1 in… 1984, while promoting events (cf. the Soul Heaven Parties but also Garage City amongst many others), producing and launching their own labels. Their Past, Present & Future collection is made of 2 CD's, the first one dedicated to disco incl. cuts from Teddy Pendergrass, Fat Larry's Band, Diana Ross, Rufus & Chaka Khan, Young & Company, the Jones Girls and former One Way vocalist, Alicia Myers to name but a few. Meanwhile, the second half of this package (dedicated to house) displays anthems and currents pieces from Ten City, Blaze, Incognito, Kevin Saunderson (with one of their remixes), Terry Hunter, Masters At Work and Kim English amongst others.

When UK vet DJ Dr Bob Jones and former Flying Records collaborator Lofty started to collaborate 7 years ago, they probably didn't know they would give birth to one of the most respected labels worlwide (Chillifunk). Their motto ? Most definitely : the more I get, the more I want, taken from their cover version of Teddy Pendergrass of the likes under their East West Connection guise being at the epicenter of their search for quality music, as demonstrated by their numerous collaborations gathered on this Movin On collection with people like Ultra Naté, Sandy Mill, Snowboy, DJ Oji & Una, Jody Watley and Daniel Vacchio dubbed with an extra CD mix by Liquid people. A package worth to invest on (chillifunk.com).

A bunch of miles up North drives us to Scotland, the homebase of Compost artist Joseph Malik, dropping his new LP called Aquarius Songs. Here (again) quality stands as the best answer facing the current situation of the record industry. The opening song which also happens to be the title track of this new effort has those bluesy frangrances which you may find in some Marvin Gaye's works, this making it an essential piece of music to add to your favourites of the likes. And the same ought to be said about the grooving and moody "Dream Dancer" whereas Malik would place some falsetto tones. Elsewhere "Believe And See" sounds more like an in yer face funk based concept. Parts also worth to mention include the bluesy "Casualties Of War" and the organic "Race Relations" (compost-records.com).

Facing the costs of Scotland is Norway and its ever boiling (modern) scene with people like Mari Boine, Nils Peter Molvaer, Eivind Aerset and the likes around Jazzland label leader Bugge Wesseltoft. All of them + Lamb, Society London and Frost receiving the remix treatment from Oslo pair Per Martinsen and Nick Sillitoe also known under the Illumination guise. Their treatment of Mari Boine "Gula Gula" song which would be a part of some previous Cafe del Mar volume is quite illustrative of what to expect here : a modern atmospheric groovy downtempo approach which stands as their trademark with the addiction of a revamp of their essential "Cry Me A River" song (jazzlandrec.com).

Also hailing from Norway (Stavanger) are Kjetil 'Kay' Ingelbretsen and Havard 'Hobie' Rosenberg aka Fenomenon which you may remember of whenever you was a Nuphonic fan at the time. Two people who would also have various production works incl. some for Naked Music singer Lisa Shaw. Well their Hourglass debut LP shows them in full effect twisting upbeat broken beat with soulful vocals, cool 80's references and a bit of pop appeal as shown on their lightning "Lucy Said" opener. "Space Continuum" is no doubt an ideal piece of moody midtempo groove with cinematic flavas to transport you to the place of your vacations, as is the horizontal "Hypersleep" a bit further on. Elsewhere, we also have the smooth and poppy broken-ish "Trouble Takes Flight" as well as an intimate cover version of Tears For Fears classic "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and an interesting delivery under the form of the syncopated "Restless". All on all, an interesting effort (beatservice.no).

We're keeping on this world tour down South to Holland where Floris hails from. A guy who's already started to make some noise on his name with his intimate atmospheres made of vibrant melodies and cool grooves, blending electronic effects and organic sounds at their very best, this with the addiction of selected vocalists. Expect there something inbetween dZihan & Kamien and Zero 7 with oustanding moments like the opener "You & I", "Depending On You", the most memorable "Day After", the dark appealing "Sart Up" and the vibrant ending "Drunk On Life". If, by any kind of chance, you happen to attend Floris's live at De Instuif – Wijk Am Zee on June 27 at at Roskilde on Jul. 04, you'll then have a better idea of what we're talking about (unitedrecordings.com).

Half Zairian and Belgian singer Marie Daulne, aka Zap Mama delivers another sample of her vibrant talent with her aptly named Ancestry In Progress new album, infected with hip hop/nu soul African tinged flavours with the help of Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli, Common, Lady Alma, Bahamadia, and ?uestlove. Gotta check out "Sweet Melody", "Bandy Bandy", "Show Me The Way", "Miss Q'N", "Yaku" and the jungly "Ca varie Marie" which are absolute gems on their respective spectrums, not to mention "Alright" and the shining "Zap Bébés" (luakabop.com).

Ending up this very last selection B4 summer break with a wink to reggae vet Toots (Hibbert) and his Maytals partners. A group that was already around some 4 decades ago. They would drop us timeless classics such as "True Love Is Hard To Find", "Reggae Got Soul", "Funky Kingston" and many others from their long time period with Island and the good news is that those dope tunes are on board this new adventure totally reconstructed with the participation of guests such as Bonnie Raitt, Bootsy Collins or Ken Boothe & Marci Griffiths and it's the case of all the tunes gathered on this effort, from Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, The Skatallites and Ben Harper to name but a few who, by this, have shown how much they love this Jamaican band. And guess what, they're not the only ones (v2records.com). Trully love you folks,

MFSB

IDM Album Tracks TENNERZ
JOSEPH MALIK Aquarius Song – from Aquarius Songs (Compost)
ZAP MAMA Sweet Melody - from Ancestry In Progress (Luaka Bop)
TOOTS & THE MAYTALS Funky Kingston – from True Love (V2)
FLORIS Day After – from Drunk On Life (United Recordings)
FENOMENON Space Continuum - from Hourglass (Beatservice)
INTERNS vs DJ OJI & UNA Soul Underground (Fly With Me) – from Dr BOB JONES & Lofty : Moving On (Chillifunk)
ROBERT OWENS Bring Down The Walls from Tracks Records : The 20th Anniversary Collection (Trax)
UNITED FUTURE ORGANIZATION Listen Love/Osunlade Mix – from Exceptionally Remixed (Exceptional)
BUGGE WESSELTOFT Existence/Chiluminati Mix – ILLUMINATION : from The Chiluminati Remix (Jazzland)
ALICIA MYERS I Want To Thank You - from BOBBY & STEVE : Past, Present & Future (A 20th Anniversary) (suSU)