Album Review: Broadcite Unplugged: Volume One – New Beginnings (Broadcite)

Writer: Marcos Moret

Coming from the crew behind the eponymous London-based night, Broadcite Unplugged: Volume One – New Beginnings is a stand-out compilation of electronic soul goodness. Consisting of tracks from both the Broadcite catalogue and those of like-minded labels (Sonar Kollektiv, Public Transit etc), there’s a variety of styles represented. Notably, there’s a real cohesiveness to the choice of tracks, meaning that the album works both as a showcase of up-and-coming artists, and as a consistently-vibed soundtrack perfect for chilling on a lazy weekend afternoon.

Stands out tracks? T-Roy’s The Sweetest Time featuring Ayuco is a sun-drenched Brazilian-flavoured soulful house number - a flute, cuica, horns and keys backing track playing a lovely foil to Japanese singer Ayuco’s smooth vocals. The Groovement Orchestra’s Declaration To The Groove featuring the dulcet spoken word of Marshmello, is excellent Herbie Hancock-circa-Thrust material that would sit nicely in a set alongside tracks like Agent K’s Orbit and Mr Scruff’s Shrimp. And then Method Unique’s Travesty is a bouncing broken beat riddim paired with mellow vocals that, on the dancefloor, will stand it’s own ground against pretty much anything currently being put out by bruk’s better-known protagonists.

The album is rounded out by, on the one by quality nu-jazz numbers like Ras’s The Old days and Brown’s Magic Rain and, on the other, lush downtempo vocal jazzy-soul tracks like Kelsey Jones’s Jazz Rooms and Afreex’s Perfect Combination. There’s not a dud in sight, which is really quite impressive in my book. All in all, a damn fine album of 21st century groove; don’t sleep…savour.

RELATED LINKS:
Broadcite - official site

PUBLISHED: 10 June 2005

RELEASE DATE: May 2005 (UK)

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