Based around a core duo of Alex Rizzo and Elliot Ireland (aka the Skeewiff production outfit and label heads of Jalapeno Records), the 11-strong Ikon collective is steeped in London's leftfield, jazz club culture, which influences their sound and the people the duo chose to collaborate with.
Theirs is not the natural sound of Ibiza, but if the pair were there, you know instinctively they would bide their time at Kumharas hanging with Lenny Ibizarre. Which is of course what Elliot did - and through Lenny he got to recruit Argentine singer, Sol Ruiz DE Galarreta.
But we're jumping ahead of ourselves.
Ikon's self-titled debut album is beautifully sun-kissed and for the most part laid back. But it is also diverse, embracing drum 'n' bass, bossa nova, downbeat nu-jazz and hip hop.
The album opens with the stuttering jazz percussion of 'Mogul Modal', featuring former Galliano vocalist Valerie Etienne and then soars into the epic 'The Dove', featuring the borrowed vocals of Italian TV diva, Rita Pavone.
'Vai E Vem' and 'Prozac' brings in the Latin influences as Pat Cerqueira adds Portuguese vocals to the bossa and bass Brazilian vibe, while Alison David, one time Red Snapper, Black Science Orchestra and Bugz In The Attic vocalist, turns-in her best recorded performance yet with 'Last Night'.
Apart from David's vocals, 'Last Night' is also a good example of Ikon's detailed production, featuring a multitude of nice touches from Peter Martin's upright bass to little shifts in snare and high hat patterns and incidental trumpet, string and guitar runs.
Equally, 'Statique' locks down the instrumental with a crystal clear trumpet while 'Indulgence', a track that originally started life as 'Up Its Own Arse' because of its rambling length, features Duncan Bridgeman's Asiatic flute and journeys from Spanish guitar to a Delhi dub and tabla 'n' bass jam in Vienna.
And at 11 minutes 30 second, there's plenty of space to explore all these areas.
Kirsty Hawkshaw, singer on Opus 3's 'Fine Day', takes the collective in yet another direction with 'Calling You', a ballad that constantly threatens to break-up, while Alison Limerick extends the vocal break with 'Do You Dream'.
The utterly French and Portishead-like 'Tricolour' is already a lounge bar classic and it's bitter sweet melody contrasts heavily with the joyful Latin beats of 'Thinking Of You' - featuring the exquisite vocals of the aforementioned Sol Ruiz De Galarreta.
Ikon are about sunny days, kicking off your shoes and doing nothing - hardly the usual posture for an Icon.
Go with them. They sound like happy people.
