Review: Lewis Daniel - Defective Disk (Independent)

If Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy was set as a jazz concept album in a computer game setting, Lewis Daniel's 'Defective Disk' wouldn't be too far from a fashionably (choose your own post code) London setting.

Sax player Daniel has put together 13 tracks that with a jazz-core, along with big name mates like Jay Phelps and Nathaniel Cross plus acclaimed actor Jacob Fortune-Lloyd (Star Wars, The Queen’s Gambit) who voices Mason, the imaginary CEO of 'Blink', "a dystopian social media conglomerate controlling governments and news".  It's like a post Trump2 update on Soweto Kinch's 'A Life In The Day Of B19: Tales Of The Tower Block' (2006) that was very pre-Social Media in a conscious hip-hop jazz period (Ed. for locational purposes B19 is next to B6, where Aston Villa's Villa Park is). 

'Flawed' featuring Natty Reeves is the 'redemption' highpoint but it really is a UK Jazz 'concept' album and I like Daniel's comment, "Artists like Louis Cole, Hudson Mohawke, and Radiohead really inspired me to experiment with production on this album". 

As Lewis Daniel is an alumini of The BRIT School, Guildhall School of Music (2013) and Tomorrow’s Warriors (like Soweto before him) so there's no contrieve mix with DnB ('Ships Do Sail') or 'Tech Glitch' or 'Find Your Tribe': can you see the concept connections in the song titles.

With 20 musicians contributing you get everything from neo-soul, fusion synths, jazz skat and Carrib pan drums and you can expect support from Jazz FM, BBC Radio 6 and on Jamie Cullum's BBC Radio 2  show.

Artist: Lewis Daniel 

Title: Defective Disk

Release date: 13th May, 2025

Label : Independent

Catalog Number : TBC

Format: Digital / Bandcamp  

Review: Küf Knotz & Christine Elise - Grow (Independent)

At last spring has arrived for Küf Knotz & Chri
stine Elise as thier lastest album, 'Grow' has be released to give new life to independent hip-hop.

We've been following the previous single releases from the duo with 'Inner G' / 'Clean' (see review HERE), 'Somewhere' / 'Patience' (see review HERE), 'Yü' / 'Cascade' (see review HERE) and the last album, 'Hypnagogia' (see review HERE) so now we have a further 11 tracks.

And it doesn't take long before we get more hot box goodness with 'Altitude' featuring Marv Ellis' and 'Worldy Water' as they follow the theme, incase you've not got it yet, that's following  the "metamorphosis of both plants and humans" on the circle of life and germination from 'Seeds' to 'Peace Of Mind'.

Having reached their 4th album with 'Grow', Küf (Producer/MC) and Christine (Harpist/Vocalist) have designed thier own back-yard plot that can be transfered to any part of the world.  Even then, 'Cascade' is one of the stand out tracks as the pair complement each other so well and when the world needs "joy, peace, love" more than ever, 'Clean' is the message; they do come from "The City of Brotherly Love" after all.

Tracks funk and bap with space synths like 'Patches', 'Magnetic' and the finisher (or should that be starter?), 'Seeds'.

If your a window sill gardener or commercial farmer, there's always something new to learn in the garden of life; and 'Grow' is new growth for spring this year.

Artist: Küf Knotz & Christine Elise

Title: Grow

Release date: 7th March, 2025

Label: Independent

Catalog Number: TBC

Format: Digital