Maim That Tune

This is FB's second album after Old Codes, New Chaos and for me, it is one of the most beautifully crafted albums I have ever experienced. From the very start the sounds cocoon you in their warmth and take you on a journey. Jazzy cords reverberate and repeat creating a slow trance-like effect as soothing "dubby" basslines perfectly complemented by ingenius percussion drive the tunes along. The late great Bill Hicks's tirade against the advertising world is used to great effect in the middle of the album just before Fila Brazilia kick in with a folk-trance barnstormer. Starsky and Hutch era pure funk pumps up in later tunes, bubbling beneath the surface of exotica. Don't expect anything fast, hard or intricate-just look forward to the fact that their brilliance lies in an uncomplicated arrangement that seems to calm the mind while funkin you up. [Charlotte Nation/New York] SSteve Cobby solo work available @ stevecobby.co.uk

Experimental technoheads Fila Brazillia really mix it up on Maim That Tune, constructing various takes on techno, including elements of spaghetti Western, hip-hop, house and African music.