JOE THOMAS Schallplatten & CDs

Review: 'Incense Music for Dining Room' is the third release in the acclaimed Incense Music compilation series curated by Toru Hashimoto, with artwork by Jiro Fujita and mastering by Calm, who is one of Japan's leading figures in jazz, chill-out and Balearic music. The 7" comes with two standout tracks: side-A features a beautiful reinterpretation of Yusef Lateef's 'Love Theme From Spartacus,' famously sampled by Nujabes on 'The Final View,' while Side-AA delivers a mellow, jazzy take on Joe Thomas' 'Coco' which also known as the basis for Buddha Brand's 'Buddha's Holiday.' It makes for a refined blend of nostalgia, jazz and chillout for discerning diggers.

Review: Lofi hip-hop hears an organic blissing-out, as Tokyo producer Nitsua goes shoulder-to-shoulder with US producer Joe Thomas on an evening dinnertable delight, 'Love Theme From Spartacus'. The third instalment in Incense Music's Music For Dining Room series, it comes as yet another selection curated by Tohru Hashimoto and mastered by Calm. Yusef Lateef's eponymous 1961 song for the film Spartacus by Alex North lasted for 38 years before Terry Callier lent it his lyrics, inscribing it in the hooky, studious headspace you hear it in now. Thomas' 'Coco', meanwhile, goes full soft-rock AOR; a fluting original with a driftwood temperament.