Seven Heven - Perfect Slices of Soul, Funk and Funky Jazz from the 21st Century New Music from the Original Compact Disc-Otheque
Compiled by Mark Webster
(CD/2LP/Digital/7" vinyl single) Barely Breaking Even BBE171, 2011-05-17

The revolution starts here! With World Record Store Day just behind us, bringing with it the news that vinyl sales were up 12% in 2010, what better time for BBE records to proudly announce the release of a compilation album that celebrates great new music, from across the globe, released by a series of independent labels, and all born on popular music's original and most natural format - the 7" single. Compiled by broadcaster, journalist, DJ and long time black music fanatic Mark Webster, Seven Heven brings together music released since 2000 by labels from the UK , Europe and America and highlights what is a burgeoning scene encompassing musicians, singers, DJs, clubs, gigs and an ever growing following of enthusiasts. And because this music is released by indie labels, a lot of it is already in the hard-to-get category - making Seven Heven an even more essential collection of music, Good is great, but good and rare, even better!! Seven Heven taps into all areas of the black music genre - sweet soul, organ-heavy soul jazz, pure funk, classy disco, vocal jazz, latin and all stops in between. Indeed, one of the tunes, 'Better Living', was only originally available on download so we became part of the solution, not the problem and pressed up our own 7" single. Thus, it's on the compilation. The 7" single is certainly making a comeback across the whole of pop - it always was and remains the symbol of 'youth music ' - and on Seven Heven we see that 'punk' attitude writ large. SAY IT LOUD, I'M 7 AND I'M PROUD!

Andreya Triana - Far Closer
(Download) Ninja Tune ZENDNLS264, 2011-02-07

Andreya Triana returns with one of the standout tracks from her critically acclaimed debut album, Lost Where I Belong. Far Closer combines Triana's beautiful, slowburn vocal and intelligent lyrics with one of Bonobo's key productions. Coming on like a more melancholy, reined in take on the Motown blueprint, this is a tune with an uplifitng, memorable chorus and no shortage of that rare commodity - genuine soul. Co-written with Fink, running away from love has never been made to sound more attractive. With remixes from Mr Scruff, Tokimonsta and a live version of the tune, recorded with Fink and Bonobo playing guitar and bass respectively.

Tru Thoughts Artists - Tru Thoughts Compilation
(CD) Tru Thoughts TRUCD216, 2010-09-06

An essential collection highlighting some of the amazing music from the Tru Thoughts record label. Artists include Quantic, Bonobo, Alice Russell, Belleruche, Beth Rowley and Stonephace featuring Adrian Utley (Portishead).

Andreya Triana - Lost Where I Belong
(CD/Download) Ninja Tune ZENCD155/ZENDNL155, 2010-08-23
(LP) Ninja Tune ZEN155, 2010-09-06

While the title of Andreya Triana's debut album suggests that she doesn't know where she's going or where she's come from, few things could be further from the truth. Whether working with Flying Lotus, Theo Parrish, Mr Scruff or Bonobo, Triana has been herself and only herself. Her refusal to conform has meant that her path to this release hasn't been as smooth as she might have liked, taking in shifts as a sushi waitress, stuffing envelopes and working in a hearing aid shop. But she has continued on her musical journey, a journey which Lost Where I Belong came to chronicle. Of the title of the record she says "it's about still feeling lost even though you know what path you should be taking in life. It's also a song about keeping the faith despite it all!" Triana's faith was rewarded when she met Simon Green aka Bonobo, who not only featured her on his Black Sands album but asked if he could produce her own record...

Andreya Triana - A Town Called Obsolete
(Download) Ninja Tune ZENDNLS266, 2010-07-26

Andreya Triana returns with the last single before the release of her debut album, Lost Where I Belong. A Town Called Obsolete is an obliquely upbeat and heartfelt plea for patience and faith in the face of indifference. Triana's voice is perfect for this mixture of longing and hope, smokey, beautiful and tonally perfect. Bonobo, meanwhile, hooks up dusty break-drumming, thrumming electric bass and a horn part that peaks at just the right times. It's another example of the understated brilliance and emotional weight that the pair have packed into Triana's debut.

Bonobo - Stay The Same
(Download/Promo CD) Ninja Tune ZENDNLS268/ZENCDS268P, 2010-06-28

The latest single to be drawn from Bonobo's breakout album, Black Sands, is the achingly beautiful Stay The Same. Featuring a vocal from Andreya Triana of devastatingly understated brilliance, Bonobo runs together woozy, off-kilter strings, rock solid, deceptively simple drumwork, a rising bassline and undorned sax-work provided by The Portico Quartet's Jack Wiley for another slice of his subtle magic. And if the sheer wondrousness of Triana's vocal is distracting you from what Si Green is up to, we also include the instrumental. The package is completed by a live version of the song recorded when Bonobo and his world-renowned live band played a set at legendary jazz club Ronnie Scott's.

Bonobo - Black Sands
(2xLP/CD/Download) Ninja Tune ZEN140/ZENCD140/ZENDNL140, 2010-03-29

Simon Green aka Bonobo returns with his fourth, most eagerly-anticipated and most accomplished album to date, the magnificent Black Sands. Green proves once and for all with Black Sands that he is an artist and producer with his sights set on much higher prizes than to rule any dusty subgenre of dance music. This is a record of epic reach and massive emotional pull, all held together by Green's understanding of composition and arrangement of live instruments (most of them also played by him) as well as his complete mastery of the tricks and techniques of the digital age. Black Sands is the most contemporary record he has ever made.

Bonobo - Eyes Down
(12"/Download) Ninja Tune ZEN12258/ZENDNLS258, 2010-03-08

Simon Green aka Bonobo returns with one of the key cuts from his forthcoming album, Black Sands. Drawing as much on the rhythms of two-step as the lush soundscapes for which he's best known, Eyesdown also features a remarkable vocal from Andreya Triana and enough fuzzed-out sub-bass for a binful of dubsteppers. Classic and contemporary, melancholy and exhilarating all at once, Eyesdown sounds like the kind of record Massive Attack could be making if they were starting out now.

Dowload the MP3 for free on ninjatune.net/bonobo/eflyer.php

Zero dB - One Offs, Remixes and B Sides
(2xCD) Tru Toughts TRUCD209, 2009-02-22

With their exhilarating and influential 2006 album Bongos, Bleeps and Basslines (Ninja Tune) sparking the kind of universal critical love-in that most producers can only dream of, and still sounding as fresh today as ever, pioneering underground duo Zero dB have now brought together their One Offs, Remixes and B Sides for release on Tru Thoughts in February 2010. As if the mere prospect of a new release by Zero dB weren’t enough to get tongues wagging and feet dancing, this 2 CD, 23 track monster boasts the best of a truly humungous catalogue of remixes courtesy of luminaries including Moonstarr, Aaron Jerome and Seiji among others. It also heralds a first and eagerly-awaited CD release for a handful of highly sought-after cuts - not least Hextatic's Distorted Minds (Zero dB mix), the Dave Da Gato Mix of Seven By Seven by Inverse Cinematics and the almighty Zero dB classic, The Snare - that were previously only available on limited vinyl and all snapped up by eagle-eared fans way back when. And, in addition to the big names and rarities on this latest addition to Tru Thoughts' esteemed One Offs… artist compilation series, there's also completely new and exclusive material including the immense Dave Da Gato's F_ck-Up The Festivals Bounce version of Universe by Alice Russell, bringing the soul diva/national treasure’s song to the heady, neck-snapping heights of euphoric club nastiness. One Offs, Remixes and B Sides is not only an essential listen for existing fans of Zero dB's unique concoction of Latin heat, jazz colour, startling beats and pure bassline filth, but for anyone who has been remotely moved by dance music in the last half decade.

Andreya Triana - Lost Where I Belong (incl. Flying Lotus Remix)
(Download) Ninja Tune ZENDNLS254, 2010-02-08

Welcome, please, Andreya Triana. The singer whose past credits include work with Mr Scruff, Flying Lotus, Theo Parrish and Bonobo releases the first single from her forthcoming debut album, Lost Where I Belong. "Lost Where I Belong", like the rest of the album which will follow, is produced by Simon Green aka Bonobo, this track being co-written with Fink. The album came about before Bonobo and Triana worked on a track for his lastest album and ended up touring the US together. A beautiful, subtle slice of jazz and folk-inflected soul, Lost Where I Belong is, Andreya explains, a microcosm of what her album is all about. "The underlying theme of the song is even though we can strongly and clearly know what our purpose is in life we can still get a bit lost along the way and struggle sometimes". Bonobo builds subtle live strings, brass and effortless-but-understated drum work around the gorgeousness of Triana's voice and lush harmonies. The remix comes from sometime associate and collaborator Flying Lotus who takes the original vocal out into the (LA) galaxy - all space fizzes and filtered drums - before Andreya roots it right back down again with an acoustic version which shows just how affecting her voice is, with Fink and Bonobo both lending a hand on guitar and double bass. No diva-histrionics here - just an attempt to let the melody and lyrics do the talking.