Cool Hunting

The scene at Hiro in New York last Wednesday night was unmistakably "Worldwide"—Brits, Brazilians, New Yorkers and Japanese were all shaking their thing, both on stage and on the dancefloor. Not many can create this kind of multicultural fest, but champion of global beats, cult British DJ Gilles Peterson, is certainly one of them. Best known for his eclectic "Worldwide" radio show, the very successful Talkin’ Loud record label and for his numerous and consistantly diverse compilation albums, such as last year’s Back in Brazil, Gilles was in town to launch his latest venture, Brownswood Recordings. At Hiro (in conjunction with Giant Step) Gilles showcased several artists on his new label named for his old house that he moved out of because his record collection grew too big. The audience was treated to the dulcet tones of Brazilian singer Tita Lima, the soulful New Yorker Jose James and a special guest appearance by the multi-talented Taylor McFerrin. The night came to a rock n’ roll jazz climax with the New York debut of those crazy Japanese punk funksters Soil & Pimp Sessions. After our ears drums were blown out by Soil & Pimp's horn section, Gilles himself brought us smoothly into the early hours with his ever-beautiful beats.

The next Brownswood Session will be in Paris this Thursday, 1 February 2006, featuring the British "soul kid" Ben Westbeech. Keep your ears out for his debut album Welcome To The Best Years Of Your Life which will be released on Brownswood in March. You should also check out last year’s compilation Brownswood Bubblers, a forerunner to the launch of Brownswood Recordings.

Also on Cool Hunting: Matthew Herbert