Review: JNBO & Friends - JNBO & Friends (College Of Knowledge Records)

There's one thing Henry Jenkins hass lots of is musical friends and the album 'JNBO & Friends' is a celebration showcasing all of Melbourne/Naarm best in cinematic, instrumental OST grooves and beats!
 

You'll recall Henry Jenkins co-produced Owelu Dreamhouse's debut album from earlier this year (see review HERE) but he's got many avenues in the Melbourne/Naarm area where he's based where he's a composer, producer and bass player.  Best known as the in-house engineer at College Of Knowledge Records and the producer behind Surprise Chef, Karate Boogaloo, and the Grammy-nominated Frollen Music Library (see HERE).

Utilizing collaborators from Karate Boogaloo, Surprise Chef and The Cactus Channel and having "a fixed ensemble of eight instruments — a self-imposed creative constraint, Jenkins used to explore how much variation he could draw from the same personnel and setup across 12 tracks".

And for OST/library diggers after rare "head nodding" funk they musically develop "picturesque ambience" with "three guitars and three keyboards precisely arranged across the stereo field — drawing on the influences of Bernard Herrmann, Les Baxter and Lamont Dozier while maintaining an unmistakably eccentric voice of its own".

If you know the previous singles, 'Missing' and 'Dogs' you'll have a good idea as to what to expect - but don't count your chucks too soon as 'False Cuts' is out-there all with 'Blood Nose' bush tucker noir and the Prog-ish 'Name' (shame it's so short).

From the album cover photo, this is a bit of a carnival ride but thankfully more ups (and more ups) than downs (under). 

BUY LNK / PRE-ORDER: & Friends | Jnbo

Artist: JNBO & Friends

Title:  JNBO & Friends

Release date: 3rd April, 2026

Label : College Of Knowledge Records

Catalog Number :  TBC

Format:  Vinyl LP / Digital / Bandcamp 

Drums - H. Whitlock
Bass - H. Jenkins
Guitar - (Centre) D. Thor
Guitar - (Left) L. Stuckey
Guitar - (Right) L. Coleman
Piano - L. Douglas
Solina String Ensemble - J. Curtin
Hammond Organ - C. Riley

Composer - H. Jenkins