"If you're in need of some classic sounding chillout to take things easy to then tune in and drop out."

"bares Selkie's soul for all to see and the fact that is accompanied by production that would stand on its own two instrumental legs really marks her out as a talent"

"Perhaps it's an antidote to the long grey Berlin winter's but "Vulture" radiates warmth and sun kissed lands, real and imagined from the off."

Self taught, Or Kantor is a respected tatoo studio head, multidisciplinary artist and craftsman by day, with a nice line in evocative, ethno-ambiguous, " Surfterranean " music making by night. I do wonder how some people fit it all in. A visit to his tattoo studio by an Anova Records A&R person saw his 2024 debut album Sarda Sarda  signed to the label, and a year later his sophomore is on the shelves of your favourite music store. This time round he's dialled down the surf

Jowee Omicil has been around. sMilLes is the eleventh album no less from this nomadic Canadian-Haitian composer and multi-instrumentalist who can turn his hand to saxophone, clarinet, flute, pocket trumpet, Rhodes, piano, voice and more. The album is an eclectic jazz ride with some choice guests and throws in some tropical vibes as well to keep you on your toes and maybe even get you moving, but the real standout track is "Should I Smile", mainly due to the always impeccable

"If that wasn't enough whispered, Sun Ra reminiscent, voices drift in at the end like ghosts from the world's battlefields to add spectral weight to the message."

"Undeterred, a minimal piano pierces the machine sounds at the halfway mark, tentatively at first - note by gentle note, before being inevitably swept up and along by the impatient electronica"

"leftfield leaning, 80s vibing, soundtrack nodding jazz fusion "

So it was with trepidation that I clicked play on these versions of two Talking Head's classics - "Once In A Lifetime" and "Psycho Killer"

"It's a fine slice of cinematic neoclassical music that unusually stands on its own sonic feet, but I'm sure works wonders during the accompanying film scene"

"encourage you to pay more attention to life's ambient soundtrack as you go about your business"

"Slowly, surely Canty increases the intensity to urge the Fourth World out of the shadows and the electronic augmentation recognises the ritualistic call to action. "

"Same, same but different and a cultured, curious but slightly less meandering, more immediate take on the sprawling original whilst retaining its charm, just what a good remix should do."

"If some gentle, contemplative folk music is the order of the day then look no further."

" the elongated piano notes land softly on the well placed ambient synth cushions and what sounds like natural water sounds, or is it leaves rustling?"

"the trio pause to reconsider their path, toying with ideas before deciding that a full on jazz dance assault is the way"

"The track then launches into a full on spiritual nu-jazz wall of sound that courses through the speakers and your consciousness"

"choosing to slide into its gaseous ambient constructs out of structural necessity, resulting in a fine slice of wafer thin ambient folk"

"The synth pads are familiar but rather than sounding generic the main refrain just sounds blissful and balmy"

the track has been reincarnated and is having a more serene existence this time round, and when it sounds this nice that's OK.

"a simple yet supremely satisfying bed of low frequency adjacent drones, sound elongations & minor sonic detailing that radiates a low lit warmth"

"the increasingly psychedelic sounds, and probably a few pheromone's, swirling around the room"

"there's an uncompromising tone and serious intent to the soft edged delivery and you suspect you're going to be in for a treat, confirmed by the downtempo, post punkish dub bassline"

"the song doesn't waste any time getting straight into an easy, breezy yacht rocking groove that suggests the late seventies never went away"