sofatalk & xl regular: afro quarters ep
The founder of Cognitiva Records SofaTalk is a celebrated music producer and DJ known for his wide ranging tastes that spans house, funk, neo-soul, jazz, broken beat and downtempo. Having previously released two handfuls of stellar records - found on labels such as Banoffee Pies Records, YAM, Ten Lovers Music, Nómada Records, Broken District, Omena or ANMA - he pairs up again with up and coming Italo talent XL Regular. Hailing from Rome, XL Regular has been making a name for himself by skilfully mixing and cleverly blending a myriad of elements of jazz, hip hop, and jungle, all squeezed into broken beat. This ‘fantastic’ duo join the Outplay imprint and gives us a bouncy continuation to their previous releases presenting a collection of loungey deep house and intricate broken beat, laced with the live instrumentation, the result being this wonderfully jazzy EP entilted Afro Quarters.
The Afro Quarters EP is comprised of four electronic jazz-funk infused house tracks which make for a perfect testimony of their musicianship. “Rumble Strip” kicks off with broken beats turning into a 4x4 house beat filled with percussion, dreamy keyboard licks and sultry vocals to underline the floaty vibrations. The title-track is up next, pushing further into their signature jazz infused broken beat house style, with funk bassline and key stabs that makes it hard for us not to move! Third track is called “Easy”, and contains a incredible groove reminiscent of the masterful work of Kaidi Tatham, with its heavy staccato bass and keys, and dreamy jazzy chords balance it all out. “On The Run” closes out the EP while continuing the overall vibe of luscious warm chords and some unbelievably impressive broken house beats. Available on vinyl, Afro Quarters EP is another high-karat gold record from SofaTalk & XL Regular. Keep them coming raggazzi.