WIBUTEE Life In Space
Interview with Håkon Kornstad, Per Zanussi, Welte Holte & Rune Brøndbo
Led by Norwegian saxophonist Håkon Kornstad, one of the most talented musicians of his generation, Wibutee have been, since Newborn Things, their first album released in 1999, merged jazz and electronica to create something totally unique. As they are about to unveil their third and most accomplished album, Playmachine, we caught up with the four members as they were touring Canada to talk about the evolution of jazz in recent years, the fierce independence of the Norwegian scene, the impact of technology on their work, and how their respective side projects all fuel Wibutee with energy and new ideas.

RJD2 Cutting Edges
Interview with Ramble Jon Krohn
With its seamless syntheses of vintage sounds, RJD2’s 2002 debut Deadringer heralded the arrival of a singular hip-hop talent and upped the ante for all would-be beatmakers. Using hip-hop as an approach rather than a stylistic constraint, the Ohio producer crafted wonderfully organic and impeccably arranged aural collages which often replicated the sound of a real band. Two years, and a hundred freelance productions later, RJ is back with an even more ambitious album, the near indefinable, genre-hopping frenzy that is Since We Last Spoke. We caught a few precious minutes with the tireless sonic explorer, who obliged us with a little insight into his ideas, his methods and his hatred of the Internet.

SONAR BOUND
SonarClub London, Hackney Ocean, Friday 4 June
Now in its eleventh year, Barcelona’s Sonar Festival held its launch party at the Hackney Ocean, North London, with sets from RJD2, Vitalic, Richard X and Jeff Mills. Serena Kutchinski took the opportunity to get in full Sonar mood.

PAN SONIC Kesto (234:48:4)
Three years after their last album, Finn duo Pan Sonic return with a monumental piece of work spread well over four hours. Their most consistent and fascinating piece of work, Kesto is Pan Sonic’s masterpiece.

A HAWK & A HACKSAW A Hawk & A Hacksaw
This first album from A Hawk & A Hacksaw sees main man Jeremy Barnes builds a bridge between the musical legacy of rural France and the influence of the New World.

BABY FORD Basking In The Brakelights
Six years after is last solo album and two years after his project with the Ifach Collective, acid house legend Baby Ford returns with a new collection of beautiful minimal techno.

BOOM BIP Corymb
More than a gap-filler between Boom Bip’s first and second album proper, Corymb collects remixes, Peel Session recordings and a handful of new tracks to explore and redefine Bip’s sonic scope.

GRAVENHURST Flashlight Seasons
New signing for Warp, Gravenhurst is the solo project of Bristol-based Nick Talbot. Recorded in his bedroom, Flashligh Seasons is a superb exercise in lo-fi guitar pop.

DAVID GRUBBS A Guess At The Riddle
Gastr Del Sol founder David Grubbs returns with a new solo album, his eleventh in seven years, of oblique indie-pop.

MURCOF Utopía
Following his superb debut album as Murcof, Fernando Corona returns with this collection of remixes, provided by the likes of Jan Jelinek, Deathprod, Sutekh, Icarus or Colleen, and recent tracks and builds expections for his second proper album.

ORBITAL Blue Album
This is the end of the road kids. After fifteen years and seven albums, brothers Paul and Phil Hartnoll have decided to turn the Orbital switch off for good, returning to the source of their sound one last time and scanning their entire work in the process.

LAURENT PERNICE & JACQUES BARBERI Drosophiles & Doryphores
French experimental musician Laurent Pernice teams up with writer/saxophonist Jacques Barberi to create an interesting electronic/jazz hybrid

SLOWBLOW Slowblow
Slowblow is an Icelandic duo and this self-titled album is their third in ten years. Acoustic and austere, the pair create here an engaging piece of work.

WAGON CHRIST Sorry I Make You Lush
The last year has been Luke Vibert’s most prolific period of his career, and he now finally unleashes the latest in his Wagon Christ adventures.

WIBUTEE Playmachine
Returning two years after the superb Eight Domestic Challenges, the Norwegian jazz quartet present another collection of avant-garde jazz in which they incorporate elements of electronica.