Silhouette Brown

A charge often levelled at the music emanating from the West London broken beat/nu jazz movement is that the music too often indulges in overlong freeform jam sessions. It’s not entirely apparent if two of the scene’s most esteemed members Dego of 4Hero fame and Kaidi Tatham have heard these charges, but this latest project of theirs resoundingly proves broken beat isn’t as one-dimensional as some would like to tag it. Unlike the DKD project Dego and Tatham released a few months ago with fellow scenester Daz-I-Kue, Silhouette Brown is a subdued detour than the usual frenetic energy associated with broken beat releases. Subtle soulful flourishes abound while kinetic drum programming is subsumed in the mix rather than being the focal point. In this case the spotlight falls on Deborah Jordan, a relative newcomer to the broken beat scene whose vocals bless the record, the first full vocal album produced by Dego. Her smooth, varnished voice — obviously well-versed in jazz — casts Bembe Segue’s inspirational lyrics nicely against the warm backdrops Kaidi and Dego rustle up, not unlike the vibe they conjured for their collaboration with Toronto vocalist Ivana Santilli. While the persistent down-tempo vibe prevails a couple of more up-tempo tracks the sure shot foot-shuffler "Spread That” and the percussive intricacy of "Check It” particularly impress. While this laidback offering may catch broken beat adherents off guard, it makes for a more than satisfying Sunday morning comedown album.