The years end will see the release of jazz impresario Sean Khan’s latest album on Far Out Recordings. As a cast member of the West London broken beat scene that stirred up jazz, house, RnB and all in between, it feels fitting to have a pair of young London based producers whose sounds do, well, just that.
In Henry Wu we have a representative of the Peckham based 22a; a label that groups the likes of Al Dobson Jr, Mo Kolours and Tenderlonius to put out moody nuggets of hip-hop tempered nu-soul, amongst other things. On the flip, the lesser known Ben Hauke, also nesting south of the river, whose promising career thus far has brought an array of grooves that are endearingly rough around the edges, sewing sounds together from a real plethora of sources.
In Henry Wu’s take on ‘Samba Para Florence’ there is an almost drunken swagger with its heavily swung house beat back by the bulgingly bright synth. A strong addition to his young but impressive and growing portfolio. Comparatively ‘Things To Say’ feels like a bigger step for the career of Ben Hauke with what is his most club-ready track to date. The peppered vocal fragments and delicately programmed percussion are oozing with detail and clearly Hauke is not a producer content to just cut and paste.
The vibe encompassed here holds a sense of continuity from Far Out’s recent Marcos Valle remix, courtesy of none other than Theo Parrish, and both contributions on this 12” look set to lend a funkily idiosyncratic and offbeat edge to all the right dance floors.
Samba Para Florence is out now on Far Out Recordings, order a vinyl copy through their web-store.
TRACKLIST
A1. Samba Para Florence (Henry Wu remix)
B1. Things To Say (Ben Hauke remix)
Discover more about Sean Khan and Far Out Recordings on Inverted Audio.