JJ Whitefield - Exotic Meditations / Sloppy Souls

Prolific German producer and multi-instrumentalist JJ Whitefield continues his exploration of vintage library music on Exotic Meditations / Sloppy Souls, a limited-edition release of just 300 copies that brings together two distinct sides of his musical personality.

Best known for his work with the Poets of Rhythm and a long list of funk, jazz and psychedelic projects, Whitefield has a knack for digging into obscure musical traditions and making them his own. On the Exotic Meditations side, he blends laid-back funk grooves with the hypnotic melodies and rhythms of Ethiopian jazz and Middle Eastern music, creating a warm, atmospheric sound that feels straight out of a forgotten 1970s soundtrack. Tracks like “Assra Hulet” and “Trip to Cairo” are full of winding melodies, earthy percussion and understated rhythmic interplay. Flip the record over and Sloppy Souls takes things in a different direction, trading the more exploratory sounds of the first side for slow-burning instrumental soul, mellow grooves and hazy, late-night moods.

There's a wonderfully loose, unhurried quality to these tracks, with Whitefield making the most of relatively simple arrangements and letting the rhythms do the talking. An excellent little record for fans of dusty library funk, global grooves and soulful instrumental music, with two complementary moods that make it equally suited to attentive listening or a relaxed evening at home.