Gilles Peterson proves once again, as if he needed to, his panache for spotting blinding tunes with the classy seventh instalment of the Bubblers series from his label Brownswood Records. Bubblers 7, showcasing exclusives from underground talent across Europe and the US, is an archetypically eclectic affair; electronica, soul, house and experimental sounds of all descriptions sit very snugly together. It’s a testament to Peterson’s skills that such a diverse lot makes for a satisfying and cohesive listening experience.
The UK contingent represents in honourable fashion. Jon Phonics' Onra-esque 80s-sample led instrumental ‘The One’ makes for a firing album opener followed by former Elova vocalist Tania Auclair’s dystopian baby-maker ‘Thrum’. Acclaimed singer-songwriter Obenewa takes us through a spectrum of emotions; frustration, vulnerability, resilience on the engagingly raw ‘Make It Better’.
They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery. If so many an artist on Bubblers 7 give their influences an enthusiastic nod. The lead vocalist on The Stepkids' gorgeous slice of psychedelic soul ‘La la’ appears to have listened to a lot of John Legend recently. KING’s splendidly wistful ‘Hey’ is reminiscent of Jill Scott in more fragile mode (indeed it is more appealing to a non-fan of Ms Scott than much of her output). Eric ‘Erro’ Roberson finds a musical progenitor in Jesse Boykins whose contribution to Bubblers 7 is the sophisticated old-meets-new school club banger ‘B4 the Night is Thru’. The UK’s folk-tinged all female act Stealing Sheep channel Bjork on the wonderfully dissonant ‘Shoot The Ducks To Win’. The deceptively simple, canon-structured, harmony soaked chorus alone will have you wanting to go back for seconds and thirds. Ntjam Rosie’s lush, heart-on-sleeve ‘In Need’ has more than a little Mama’s Gun era Erykah about it. The orchestral arrangement certainly has a Badu-ish ambition, staying the right side of opulent to enchanting effect.
The obvious cross-references don’t stop Bubblers 7 from having its own stamp of individuality. Elsewhere off-mainstream favourite of soul fans Bilal steps a little outside of his comfort zone on Cubic Zirconia’s eerie house number ‘Night & Day’. Gospel track ‘Wind Blows’ by Ivy Chanel gets a vibrant Latin makeover. Yet another great instrumental, Tall Black Guy’s waltz-like ‘Water No Enemy’, has an appropriately reassuring in utero feel despite the slight urgency of the ¾ beat. Cleveland and Ahmed weave an attractively melancholy tale of heartbreak and rejection on ‘Sensitive’, with the same sort of uncluttered but expansive approach to its production as heard on ‘In Need’. Chris Turner’s falsetto competes good-naturedly with the jubilant horns on sexy mid-tempo funk jam ‘Liquid Love’. Rounding off with yet another solid instrumental (Ratcliffe’s post-industrial ‘Mindset’) there’s hardly a weak moment on Bubblers. Even the less than spectacular contributions by Sara McFarlane ('Waking Sleep') and The Park (the kooky ‘Belleville’) barely disrupt the steady flow of musical goodness.
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