Hard to believe perennial UK tastemakers, Tru Thoughts, are a decade old. Aside from reminding us all of our mortality, they've also released their latest compilation. Tomas Olesen gives it a listen, or ten!
Having celebrated their ten year anniversary last year, Tru Thoughts continue the run of 'Shapes' compilations with this rather snazzy snapshot of the label's eclectic roster.
Opening on the Eric Lau remix of Lizzy Parks' 'Forever and a Day' sets the mood nicely for the first CD. Sounding like Sa-Ra crossed with King Britt, this remix sold out in a day on the original limited edition vinyl release. The Bamboo's current singer, and one of the finest soul voices out there, Kylie Auldist, gets a fantastic street soul re-edit of her tune 'In A Week In A Day' courtesy of Ashley Beedle.
The Bamboos themselves feature on this first CD too with Paul MacInnes on vocals. The incredibly tight Bamboos pull off their usual magic trick of managing to sound classic and fresh at the same time. If you have yet to check them out, the new album is essential listening. The now sadly defunct Up Hygh also appear here. Their amazingly crisp hip hop beats really marked them out and this one has proper P Funk drizzled all over it.
CD 2 is aimed more squarely at the dancefloor but maintains a similar vibe. The exclusive Andy H remix of a Kinny track, 'Petrified Dazed', is an early stand-out. Featuring the song-writing talents of TM Juke, it's like dancehall meets dub meets soul – a real winner. Flux Pavillion proves that the 'rising dubstep star' tag is deserved with a really nicely judged remix of Quantic's 'Mishapes Happening'.
Also on a non-typical dubstep tip is Fredo's Squadron Face which is like Fat Freddy's Drop if they were produced by Disrupt: nasty wobbly breaks intersected with porno horns. The two Hint tracks here, one a remix of an Azaxx track, bring a little of the UK funky sound to the compilation and One Woman Army, featuring the vocal talents of Laura Vane, is a fitting way to finish off. The UK funky base is tempered by the soul vocals and little keyboard stabs and twiddles that give it a real jazzy feel. It nicely sums up the Tru Thoughts sound, always looking to the future of music whilst remaining rooted in 'real' musicianship.
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