Om Records have already placed their mark on the genres of lounge and chillout with their compilation series Om Lounge and Om:Chilled. Each volume has lent credibility to their interpretation of what defines these types of music. Now this time, Om have brought together sounds with an urban sensibility on their collection entitled Downtempo Garden. Downtempo Garden may be the mother of all inventions. Sure the telegraph and light bulb were nice, but now we have something that may be truly useful. Om provides a collection of artists that helps define this nebulous label of downtempo music. Om may not need to sign up for a patent just yet. But, they may bring you more of the creature comforts of life with the sounds from Downtempo Garden.
In the beginning, Downtempo Garden begins as life crept slowly from a primordial soup. Ambient workings on Cates&dpl’s “Late Night Nothingness” create a subtle relaxing mood and it feels like an awakening of the senses. This is a sample of the sounds yet to be heard from from this duo on their upcoming release due out later this year. Next, Om ups the anti, only slightly, with down beats on Grand Synthe’s “Nova.” “Nova” experiments with noise work, occasional keys and a seductive morphed female background vocal.
Charlie Tate is one half King Kooba, one part Alta Plana, one part Colossus. On Downtempo Garden, he shows up as himself under the next track, “Ramsden Road.” As himself, we hear a break beat as Tate experiments with a lazily repeated piano solo. It is simplistic and beautiful in the same sense because Tate refrains from complicating the rhythm. Tate returns on Downtempo Garden as Colossus with a hip-hop sans rap creation entitled “Hai Pinga.” This beat’s heavy and it has all the makings for pullin’ an all nighter. The scratching is subtle and the noise work is unique. You’ll ride a more soulful slow groove on Colussus’s “Dopebeatz” as it grabs a hold of what could be some 70’s soundtrack. King Kooba’s “Static Society” has appeared on numerous compilations and reappears here on Downtempo Garden. Make another toast to this beauty because you’ll find yourself celebrating “the vibe”again, if you know what I mean. On the “Space Jam”, it begins like a tripped-up, mashed-up Herbie Hancock/Miles Davis jam. The trumpet disappears mid-way into a bouncing beat, carried by tricked-out scratchin’.
Jaywalkers is actually a side project from long standing Om label mate Mark Farina. Farina has a history of experimenting with his genre bending sounds on pressings like the Mushroom Jazz series or some of his house selections. As Jaywalkers, he prepares his downbeats well and makes a double aural libation on Downtempo Garden. First, we hear “The Language of Music” which has appeared previously on Om Lounge 7. It is funky and sublime. “Morning Mist” stays true to the Jaywalkers’s game providing a similar honed style. Its infectious groove is layered with beats and keyboard rhythms with a downtempo flavor. Later, Mark Farina appears under his true name with a remix of “Cali Spaces.” Papp’s version rolls slow and pure and it’s truly hard to envision this track’s life as a house beat.
Joey Youngman is straight from the hill country of Austin, Texas after a relocation to focus on his labels. Youngman’s catalog runs deep with plenty of the house varieties but on “Conflict Resolution” we get a take on his more subtle mood with a stepped down beat showing off a funky side.
The Jazzual Suspects may be making their debut on Downtempo Garden. They provide the listener with two terrific works. “Funkin Koobad” is a jazz sounding, danceable beat layered with a lounge vocal. One can almost smell the ash sticks dangling precariously from the organist’s cigs. “Hotpot” continues to blend more laid back beats and vocals amongst the jazz mainstays of organs, horns and vibes.
Om Records picks the fruits of their labor with a compilation of old and new tracks on Downtempo Garden. There is a variety of sixteen slow, heavy beats that cries out for some sophisticated head-nodding. Some tracks have popped up on previous releases and may not be entirely new material for some listeners. But, what works for Downtempo Garden is the overall production of like-sounding music. It is a solid collection of tracks that are destined for a late night session. Thanks to Cool Rob G, this release comes with an uninterrupted mix set of the whole album for your enhanced listening pleasure.
