NuNorthern Soul take a break from their Balearic beats and White Isle sunset chillouts and take a trip to Thailand for a cracking collaboration between keyboardist Maarten Goetheer and drummer Pong Nakornchai. On the evidence here, both musicians are virtuosos on their chosen instruments. Together, across 6 tracks (8 digitally), employing clever, complex counterpoint and rhythms, the pair pay tribute to jazz / fusion giant, Chick Corea. Reimagining 4 of his most famous compositions. Goetheer in there with his Wurlitzer, Rhodes and ARP, chiming, singing, mimicking all sorts of zithers, woodwinds, vibraphones, and harps. His Moog adding squelchy bionic bass. His exuberance Azymuth / José Roberto Bertrami-esque. Goetheer’s groove on City Gate Rumble, in places, recalls Arthur Russell / Dinosaur L’s Go Bang!, while Nakornchai’s snares on the same song give Johnny Hammond’s Los Conquistadores Chocolatés a run for its money. His syncopation, simply super. Sometimes exploding.

This is space-age jazz funk. The sort of jazz, in fact, that techno talked about being the teacher. Time Track, for example, sports solar flights that rival Mandre, while in orbit with Atmosfear and sweetly / powerfully embracing James Mason. Each cut comes with a dub or a reprise, and the more stripped back these get, the more strongly they flex their less trad roots. Flaunting elements such as arpeggiated pulses and bumping, pumping deep house beats. Aligning the EP / LP as much with the music of, say, Uriel and Dave Angel as Herbie Hancock and Signore Corea.

Maarten Goetheer and Pong Nakornchai’s Suite For Chick can be ordered directly from NuNorthern Soul.