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Writer's pictureLucas Benjamin

PREMIERE: Future Jazz Ensemble & XL Regular - 'Astral Sorcery'

Get a first listen of this Italian duo where they explore tomorrows experimental jazz-infused sound, which will be out on the epic Outlines compilation by ANMA & Cognitiva Records.

Nicola Penna aka Future Jazz Ensemble

Future Jazz Ensemble is the alter-ego of Nicola Penna, an Italian DJ/producer who has been releasing house-oriented sounds as Nasty Boy since 2009. When he uses the FJE moniker it is for his more experimental, jazz-inspired outputs. Such as the in 2020 released album The Mankinds Place. With these explorations he fuses the sonic paths of jazz, ethnic and electronic music; trying to recall the past and evoke the future simultaneously. For this track he joins forces with another rising Italian artist by the name of Alessandro Giacchi aka XL Regular.



XL Regular is a young producer from Italy who only surfaced on the scene in 2020 through a collaborative EP with fellow Romano SofaTalk. 'Uplifted' was an instant personal fave and made me keep a close eye on everything he's working on. Just 3 weeks ago his remix of Arnheim's 'Circulate Home' dropped and further showcases his curiosity into broken beat ventures. He clearly caught the bug and is ready to drop some heat.


Alessandro Giacchi aka XL Regular.

Credits on this first collaborative joint are equally divided with both programming the drums, playing several keys, bass, FX and the sax. 'Astral Sorcery' really does sound like the result of a match-up that clicked. The track lives in a contrasting universe with long, spacey chords, high tempo percussion, irregular snares, fat synths, stuttering sax-notes and a bouncing clavinet to keep a groove going in the madness.


"FJE’s complex rhythm section programming gave me the ability and freedom to express my ideas without worrying about being too abstract. Great experience, I’m 100% happy about the final result." - XL Regular

As todays refreshing broken beat-inspired wave continues to spread around the globe and morph into new shapes, like-minded artists are on the rise everywhere. This well-curated double album represents a snapshot of a new generation of exciting artists from across Europe, collaborating and mixing jazz, broken beat & house in expanding new ways. The artists are London producer Footshooter featuring Melbourne-based vocalist Allysha Joy (30/70), Barcelona's Karmasound, Parisian Roy Vision, a heap of Italian talent by the name of Veezo, Domenico Sanna, Aura Safari, Slowaxx, Quiroga & 291out and UK-based duo Contours & Werkha. We already got a first glimpse of the album by the only British duo on the comp, which is overall highly influenced by the West-London broken beat-aesthetic. Contours & Werkha completely embody the musical vision for this collection of tomorrows sounds. This becomes even more evident when you realise that both of the labels head honchos behind the project are producers in their own right and feature on Outlines as well.



Label bosses Angelo Mazzone (Footnote) and Piero Paolinelli (SofaTalk) see the compilation as:

“an open book, a narrative that looks to not only the future, but also considers the past. Sounds, cultures and colours come together on a mutual path”.

The incredible Outlines V.A. compilation will be released on April 2nd via ANMA & Cognitiva Records and you'll get a first listen of the opening track below. Pre-order now!

 

Steppin' Into Tomorrow stands with artists & labels and encourages listeners to support by buying their music directly from Bandcamp.

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