Little Axe

With the aid of legends Skip McDonald and producer Adrian Sherwood, Little Axe melds an alien mix of blues, electronica and slightly progressive and funked-out reggae and dub into a spiritual kind of background listening music. And spiritual being almost literal, ghostly even — from the vocals to the music itself, everything sounds distanced, sounding off from far away, as if from another time or galaxy. On the surface it sounds like liquid-smooth electronic mud, but deep within it contains an old musical soul that transcends the ages, one that skips modern times altogether. Hard Grind is perfect get down music for the new age.