The premier German hip hop-funk label is celebrating its fifth birthday and to mark the occasion lets loose another of its ‘Fantastic Freeriding’ compilations. It’s basically the artists which have helped cement the label’s reputation as a hotbed of creativity, futuristic funk and variations on hiphop’s original spirit of rampant experimentation and cross-fertilisation. These include several; from Deela, Protassov, Kabanjak, Subrok Mission and Ancient Astronauts. Funk, jazz, exotic strains and orchestral flourishes create moods ranging from sexy to melancholy. And bugger me if Protassov and Kinski’s ‘Eastern’ doesn’t feature horn from Victor Brox, a veteran of the UK blues boom who I first encountered in the late 60s when he was in the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation or someone! It’s that kind of freewheeling spirit which makes this such a fascinating and enjoyable operation.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
