#38 Feat. New Releases in UK Garage / Bassline

Last Nubian joins the ranks of Eglo Records with his We Celebrate Us EP, a love letter to London and its diasporic community of musical creators, innovators and celebrators. The EP is a soul filled, jazzed out affair, flirting with moments of deep and dubby House, skipping Broken Beat and bumping UKG. Last Nubians production continues the legacy of Underground, Black British Dance music, furthering the sonic conversation that grew out of Jamaican Soundsystem Culture, spilling onto the streets of London and bouncing between cities like Detroit, Chicago and New York. Culminating in a dynamic array of sounds, all of which can be found woven deep into the fabrics of this EP. On We Celebrate Us the Brixton based producer is joined by a talented cast of collaborators and vocalists, adding emotive vocal tones and inspired poetic verses. Across three original tracks and two deep, exploratory remixes, the producer evokes tones of West Londons notorious Broken Beat scene, the uplifting party grooves of Soul II Soul, the acidic bounce of Larry Heard and the deeply personal, reflective words of Linton Kwesi Johnson. On EP opener Black the groove is in full force, jazz out, syncopated and rich in its musical musings. Warm chords and a rich B-line carry us through the groove untill the flute takes over and ascends into a heavenly cacophony of sounds. The vibes go deep on bouncing House groover Desolate Place, allowing vocalist Queen Sherine to get introspective and deep with her lush, velvet tones and on Intertwined Cultures poet Akeem delivers an ode to the magic of Nottinghill carnival, perhaps the true inspiration of the whole EP. Nothing could sum up the spirit of the record better than the words of Haseeb Iqbal on Haseebs Interlude, an eloquent poem, dedicated to this wonderful, sprawling city, and the energy it brings to the world, beautiful synthesised through the hands of Last Nubian.

Last Nubian, Achanté, Queen Sherine, AKeeM, Haseeb Iqbal