One-time member of The Sandals (remember them?), Ian Simmonds aka Juryman, now focuses on producing the kind of jazz inflected techno that gets the likes of Gilles Peterson hot under the collar. The music, however, rarely becomes so excitable, preferring to stay on a consistently chilled, at times almost ambient, vibe.
The album is at its best when Simmonds drops the slightly pretentious jazz ambling and the poetic musings of Roger Robinson in favour of some straight-up beats business. 'The Ethiopian', for instance, rides on a rhythmic base that is part Carl Craig, part Modaji and is all the more welcome on the dancefloor for it. The majority of the album is closest in character to J. Swinscoe's Cinematic Orchestra, though, on the whole, the tracks fail to achieve the same bite.
Strictly for the nujazz coffee table massive.
