So that’s 2010, then. A year of staggering comebacks, of fine funk, and of exciting new music. Sitting here on a flight back to NYC after a Christmas break in the UK, it’s probably as good a time as any to fully reflect on the year, and to take the time to acknowledge the albums [...]

Volume 2 of freethinking nyc took place at Kush last night. The idea is simple: 2 DJs playing a genre-spanning set of music that you would not normally hear in a club setting. It’s not just about the same thumping hip hop, or chart pop. There’s some great music out there, that if given the [...]

The Original Funky Drummer Art Blakey Over the last few weeks I have been listening to a great big pile of music. First and foremost, I have been listening to an awful lot of Jazz, specifically Hard Bop. I’ve been revisiting artists like Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers Ugetsu, At the Jazz Corner of [...]

It seems entirely appropriate to be writing my first blog entry after a week of listening to a heap of new music. So, new material (or at least new to me) from Alice Russell, Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, and Lou Bond have all been thoroughly enjoyed this week. Here’s the thing – and [...]