Write Out Loud (Reviews and Writing)

This review was originally published on The Doughnut.

If you’re thinking “Ibiza? Ugh, no thanks!” and expecting loud, raucous rave and trashy pop – think again. This is a collection of (mostly) chilled-out Jazz blended with subtle, unobtrusive grooves creating some enchanting – but never boring – tracks to relax and mellow out to.

There’s pretty much something for everyone here – from chilled sax solos of Electronic Bodyguards (‘Are U 4 Real?’) to Chris Coco’s surprisingly pleasant take on a classic Fleetwood Mac instrumental to the completely spaced out psychedelic ambience of Jamie Isaac (‘Hollow words’) and everything in between. There are 18 tracks of smooth jazz which are perfectly mixed to give great tasting cocktails every time.

Personal favourites include: Polar Redfunk (‘Dreaming About You’)- such a mellow voice, lovely chilled sound yet never dull; Amane’s sleepy ‘Tangerine’ I loved because it reminds me of many happy times travelling to Asia by plane listening to the wallpaper music they pipe out to stop passengers stressing out before take off; and some glorious acoustic fingerpicked guitar from Dimitry Raschepkin (‘Diamond’) – ravishingly beautiful and possibly the best track of the album.

The Korvid’s opening track (‘Ursula My Dear) is almost a Bob James for the 21st Century (less cheesy perhaps) and worth a listen to the first couple of minutes:

Don’t think of it as representative of the album though. That’s simply not possible with a single track. Take it as a dip into an Ibiza we’re not so accustomed to – and maybe go for a full swim when the album releases on 14th August.