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The J-Stars - sounds like the name for a funk
collective of indescribable talent, projecting you
into the middle of the dancefloor with remarkable
speed.
Coming down to earth, it's actually the music
of two blokes from Sheffield and Hull. Mind you, the
discovery that the name is an acronym for an air force
program looking behind enemy lines lends something a
little more sinister to the equation. The Joint
Surveillance Target Attack Radar System - now that
sounds like a devious arrangement.
Close scrutiny of the J*S*T*A*R*S make-up reveals
that both its practitioners have expertise in the art
of making people dance and smile. Steve Cobby
is one half of Fila Brazillia, a prolific team
of consistently good albums (eleven at last estimate!)
and countless remixes, their speciality being
instrumental grooves to charm away the early hours.
Sim Lister has worked with him before at 23
Records, the company now looking after all Fila
productions. Together with Fila's other half Dave
McSherry the small collective have become famed
for their breezy funk, shot through with a sense of
humour in quirky samples or athletic bass lines.
Put Me On A Planet is an extension of this,
containing all the elements that make Fila's music so
enjoyable. The titles offer a clue of the subtle
humour involved - Faberge Tang and Blu Genes for
instance. With each track leading into the next it
comes across as a semi-mix album, obviously geared
more towards the floor than the sofa. And when
insistent riffs such as the one that dominates That
Hefty Track make themselves known, I know where I'd
rather be.
Even by then, the second track, you'll have caught
the bug. The beats are springy, the harmonies spicy,
the loops insistently making a play for the middle of
your head. Mostly instrumental, they include melodies
from trumpet and saxophone to complement the
electronic wizardy going on elsewhere, Spanish
Hustle's evocative sax solo a good example.
A couple of the older tracks appeared on 23 Records
samplers back in 2004, but have not lost their appeal.
Tripping The Light Fantastic scoots along with
electronic squiggles and snippets of brass, while
Spansules takes a trip to the disco, brass section
once again in tow. Finally Loose Nuke Threat, another
feelgood track, nods its head to Mr Scruff with
a nifty aside or two.
One listen all the way through and I guarantee
you'll have the bug. J*S*T*A*R*S may be a typist's
nightmare, but their music offers a feelgood extension
to the summer. You'd be silly not to join in.
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