Alpha & Omega / One Culture / Partial

One Culture is an incredible call for inclusivity in the shape of a trance-dance-inducing, spirt-lifting shot of psychedelic UK steppers. Originally released in 1993 on the Alpha & Omega album, Everyday Life, Partial have now pressed this Hindi mantra-showcasing masterpiece on to a stand alone 45. It’s the sort of thing that’ll have refreshed ravers communing with ancients and gods. A dub on the flip switches the focus onto some traditional sounding woodwind, something like, say, a Saharan nomad’s ney. Both mixes should be worshipped alongside Balearic / dub crossovers such as African Head Charge’s Songs Of Praise. 

Nina Girassóis Meets Paulera / Superfluido / Dubquake Records

Singer Nina Girassóis and producer Paulera’s Superfluido is a 10 track collaboration between France’s Dubquake and Brazil’s Rocky Studio. A definite highlight is the São Paulo duo’s cute digital reggae cover of the Tim Maia classic, Que Beleza. Other standouts include another cover – Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game – and their previous single, Heavyweight Sound, which multitracks Nina’s vocal, giving the song the feel of a post-punk girl band, like The Slits, The Raincoats or Bananarama. It also reminded me a little of Phoenix City All-Stars, brilliant, Al Breadwinner mixed, female-fronted Clash versions. 

Holy Tongue / The Bigger Tutti / Trule

Everything Holy Tongue touch currently sells out in blink, such is the reputation / following they’re building. This, however, is my favourite track by the trio to date. The write up from Dr. Nishimura at Lighthouse Records pulled in comparisons to African Head Charge, and I ain’t gonna argue. Opening with echoed Gymnopedie piano and spoken word samples, in a very On-U Sound-esque fashion, The Bigger Tutti teams Valentina Magaletti’s dynamite drumming and ritual, grounation percussion with trippy snatches of picked and strummed guitar. 

Mammo / Slows The Pace And Goes Farther / Puddlerunner

This substantial dose of dub techno was a Tom Dubwise recommendation. Inhabiting a space somewhere between ambient and a big room shaker, its hypnotic, all encompassing, bass boom is undercut by ritual rattle and sonic shimmer. Haunted by spectral voices, its considerable groove throws a curveball though, continually stopping and starting as its constituent parts spin in and out of each other’s orbits. 

Saint Etienne / Alone Together / Heavenly Recordings

Saint Etienne have a 12 up for pre-order that features 2 remixes of Alone Together, one of the highlights from their latest long-player, The Night. Only 1 of the versions has been shared so far, Pete Wiggs’ Hove Lawns Sunshine, where he adds a chopped & screwed, chugging beat to the original’s delicate delay-drenched drift. The results now resemble something more like “classic” St. Etienne, swapping their current “hauntological” leanings for `90s “Balearic”. Wiggs takes his time introducing each of the tune’s musical elements. First letting the guitar take the lead, then, when the horns finally hit it feels pretty damn righteous – and a bit of a flashback to stuff like Groove Armada’s At The River. I have super high hopes for Bob Stanley’s Morecambe Pier Dub. Anyone remember the colossal Keith Hudson-inspired mix of Filthy?

Sophisticated Soul Legends / Cherish The Day / Lovers Rock Recordings

The original mix of Sade’s Cherish The Day already rocked a little soundsytem reggae in its post-Soul II Soul rhythm, and here, on this undoubtedly illegal 7, the shadowy Sophisticated Soul Legends, push those “lovers” influences to the fore. Dropping the kick for Nyabinghi congas and swapping the live B-line for something electronic, their mix is sort of beatless, with the keys setting its shimmy to “skank”. 

T3AL / Original Watercolour / Spiritual World

Capitalising on their terrific remix EP, T3AL have announced  some brand new music. The 6 songs are slices of soulful pop, suffused with dub’s sense of space. Cool, catchy and cute they’re built around a blueprint of badass live bass, drum machine rattle and ricochet, and psychedelic Sci-Fi synth swirls. Topped by the duo’s trademark fluttering, spiritual jazz-flavoured flute. The woodwind, in particular, weaving something truly unique. All are slow, smooth grooves whose lyrics revolve around changing romantic relationships. From the softly skanking heartbroken Original Watercolour – where the pigment’s lack of permanence acts as a metaphor for a paramour’s lies – to Locked In 2 Love’s “You’ve got the key, turn it for me”. The latter, the perfect soundtrack for a sun-kissed summer coastal drive. Their words are delivered in whispers, often heavily echoed. Sometimes treated with tape effects. Shaken by the odd soundclash siren. Accompanied in places by a little clipped guitar and clusters of robotic handclaps.