For those of you fond of nodding your head, scratching your goatee and listening to the output of Ninja Tune, The Herbaliser will be a familiar name.
The brainchild of deck maestros Ollie Teeba and Jake Wherry, The Herbaliser is a nine-piece band brought together to, "develop the idea of 70's Funkology in a contemporary context." Mixing jazz, funk and hip-hop stylings the band encompasses a horn section with live keyboards, drums, bass and decks. Stalwarts of the Ninja set up for years they have laid down their black cloaks and samurai swords for this release on their own Department H label.
And mighty fine it is to. Recorded on the road during eight months of relentless touring, Session One is an effortlessly cool, super smooth journey around the set of an unmade Blaxploitation movie.
As soon as opener 'Who's The Realist' glides out of the speakers Antonio Fargas, Pam Grier and Richard Roundtree follow close behind, with each of the subsequent seven tracks conjuring up a new scene.
'Ginger Jumps The Fence', 'The Missing Suitcase' and 'Goldrush' are the perfect partners to any chase sequence. Uptempo, tight jazz funk workouts punctuated with sharp scratches and frantic percussion. While 'The Sensual Woman' and '40 Winks' would fit any lurve action like a glove.
Ultimately there is little innovation to speak of and aside from the odd bit of turntable trickery this is no doubt a look back at some of the band's favourite tunes. Having said this it is a wonderfully rich labour of love and a thoroughly enjoyable experience that will please both the uninitiated and aficionados alike. Now, where did I leave that afro comb?
