Quantic and Alice Russell with the Combo Bárbaro - Look Around The Corner
(CD/2xLP/Digital) Tru Thoughts, 2012-04-02

The first single from Quantic and Alice Russell's upcoming album with the Combo Bárbaro, Look Around The Corner, felt to us like a marvelous and deep tribute to the late Charles Stepney (arranger and producer for Minnie Riperton, Terry Callier, Rotary Connection, Marlena Shaw, etc. - check this mix for more info) and we were expecting an album of the same type, quality-wise. Well no disappointment here, none at all, this is another killer album from Quantic and the Tru-Thoughts label, "pure sweet soul and blues, with overtones of gospel and folk music and the added Latin swing of the Combo Bárbaro", as the press release says. You're in for a big surprise though, since Alice Russell is not singing out of her powerful, knock-you-down voice, and embraced the opposite, full of self-control and near-reserve, reaching for example for a so seductive Dusty Springfield spirit on Here Again... Absolute class!The album will be released early april 2012, don't miss that train.

Hint - Crash & Burn / Daily Intake
(10"/CD) Tru Thoughts Recordings TRU245/TRUCD246, 2012-02-27 (10") / 2012-03-19 (CD)

Hint is back with a new single and a new album and that's reason enough for us to celebrate! His second album, also released on Tru Thoughts Recordings, Driven From Distraction, was killer soulful electronic madness, sounding like nothing else on the map, a really astonishing record that easily made it to our 2008 Top 10. After many singles, tracks here and there and remixes, Hint has just released a new 10 inch, Crash and Burn feat. Natalie Storm b/w Aliens Enter feat. T-Fly... The A-side is a monster dancehall/bass mashup, while on the flip you'll find an addictive piece of abstract and exotic hip hop. Both tracks are to be found in the album to be released march 19th, Daily Intake, which we're supposed to come back to next month, but it's so brilliant we couldn't pass on talking about it many weeks before it's available. Expect hip hop, UK house and bass, dancehall and breakbeat to collide on dancefloors worldwide because this is HEAVY, on the opposite end of the cheesy/cheaply sounding stuff to be found in 99% of dance music out there. Prized tracks include the mesmerizing bounce of Lock The Door featuring Zed Bias, hip hop/bass headphone marvel Peter & I Featuring T Fly and the closing track and aptly titled Mad Nervous.

The latest mix from Hidden Orchestra's Joe Acheson celebrates the release of the Flight EP on Tru Thoughts Records - starting and finishing with different versions of title track Flight, with the mixtape speeding up throughout from 70bpm to 140bpm. This feature-length mixtape features an eclectic and intricately-woven selection of music, sound effects, acapellas, interviews, and spoken word.. Hidden Orchestra are touring Europe extensively in February 2012 - Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, France, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, and for the first time Italy and Greece… Check...

Quantic and Alice Russell with the Combo Bárbaro - Look Around The Corner
(10" vinyl/Digital) Tru Thoughts TRU249, 2012-02-20

The new collaborative full length from Quantic and Alice Russell with the Combo Bárbaro, Look Around The Corner will be released on Tru Thoughts Recordings next april; preceded by the lead single (the title track) out on deluxe 10 inch vinyl and digital in February. One could of course expect some deep Colombian roots stuff, or even maybe, on the opposite, a comeback to the duo neo-classic UK funk sound of some of their previous collaborations. Not at all, this first single is really a surprise, and the biggest influence appearing here is obviously (much-lauded in those pages) arranger and producer Charles Stepney (Minnie Riperton, Terry Callier, Rotary Connection, Marlena Shaw, etc.). Go and check the mix we had published way back in 2006, Charles Is The One if you haven't already! If the whole album's as good and deep as this single, it's sure to be one of the releases of the year! Nuff' said. (Djouls)

Kinny - Big Fat Liar
(Digital Single) Tru Thoughts TRUDD 036, 2012-01-16

Big Fat Liar, out as a digital single on 16th January 2012, is the first taste of Kinny's stunning second solo album, Can't Kill A Dame With Soul, which follows in February. An opera chanteuse turned singer-songwriter, Kinny's lifelong passion for reggae, jazz and soul intertwines with her classical training for a truly unique and potent style. The warm, immersive and soulful soundscape created by Norwegian producer/musician duo Souldrop (who also produced two tracks on her first album) provides the perfect cocoon for Kinny's crystal-edged voice, the eclectic sonic palette ranging organically from big bassy beats and keys to acoustic instrumentation and percussion. Announcing Kinny's emphatic return with a big fat beat, Big Fat Liar exemplifies her more fiery and dancefloor-orientated side, and is certain to soundtrack many a night out. Bonus tracks come in the form of the more languid and laid-back groove of album track You From This Sting and an exclusive unplugged version of Water For Chocolate - the original, which appeared on her debut solo album Idle Forest Of Chit Chat, was the first track she ever made with Souldrop, planting the seeds for the flourishing creative partnership you hear on the new record.

We're closing this year with a party mix for the new year's eve, cooked live by DJ Loik on december 30th with a selection of vinyls brought by your main operator Djouls. This is our 68th mix in 2011, twenty came from our own decks, while we managed to bring in 48 guest mixes. So, a big THANK YOU to all the artists, DJs and record collectors who shared some musical pleasure with us during the last twelve months: Hidden Orchestra, Gato Loco, Blend Mishkin, DJ Tom B., DJ Chicken George, Waxist Selecta, Renegades of Jazz, Seun Kuti, Chris Menist, Onur Engin, Blitz The Ambassador, Big Pimp Jones,...

Lanu - Roosevelt Blues & Acoustic EP
(Digital single) Tru Thoughts TRUDD038, 2011-12-19

Out digitally on 19th December, this third single release from Lanu's acclaimed Her 12 Faces album brings the limelight to rest on the beautifully folksy Roosevelt Blues featuring Megan Washington, an infectiously fanciful and evocative song telling imagined tales of soirees spent rubbing shoulders with ghosts of gangsters and Charlie Chaplin at the eponymous LA hotel. Inspired by a US DJ tour taken by Lance Ferguson (aka Lanu), Roosevelt Blues is as much a product of the crazy urban legends and history he delighted in soaking up, as of the records he delighted in buying, digging into both the crates and the culture of America's West Coast. Perfectly complementing the leftfield folk stylings of the lead track, this release also brings a set of four absolutely beautiful new acoustic versions of other songs from the album. All voiced by Washington, the tracks reworked here include the two previous singles, Beautiful Trash and Fall; plus Hold Me Down, a modern twist on a heart-rending Bacharach-style ballad; and the delicate, lo fi indie/electronica of Wire, transformed by glorious finger-picked guitar in this incarnation. The latter three are exclusive and previously unreleased.