Various Artists - Family Things Vol. 1

BLOOD ties may be absent but with friends and familiar faces on board, plus a clutch of most-welcome newcomers too, the aptly-titled latest EP from Deep Inspiration Show Records sure feels like a family affair. And with deep, jazzy, soulful, brushstrokes stretched liberally across its musical canvas, Family Things even has what is fast-becoming a trademark label ‘sound’. Malta’s master of the deep Melchior Sultana teams up with erstwhile partner Janelle Pulo for a typically-sultry number Reversed, while another duo, Jan Ketel & Siggatunez, pitch in with the slamming-yet-soulful Wanna Fly. Croatia-based collaborators Jan Kincl, Borut Cvajner and Regis Kattie channel the genius of Gil ScottHeron for stuttering, broken beat gem Paint It Black, while that man of many talents and alter egos Dan Piu presents the joyous Larry Heard inspired A Beautiful Day. Mastered by Sven Weisemann.