The Life and Times of Phoebus Brumal

Early on in their career Fila Brazillia nailed the art of drawing on elements of club music and matching them with funk, folk and jazz, original sound design and leftfield sampling, and then alchemising it all into their own supa-tight, sophisticated sound. A track like “Thatched Neon,” with its synths, FX, harp plucks, crisp bass and drum groove, and ensemble brass section feels semi-jazz,/near-Blaxpolitation but also completely contemporary. And it all just sounds so natural, so effortlessly done, as do psychedelic electro-fuzz synth wig-outs like “Bantamweight Werewolf” or “Blowhole,” poppy, acoustic-funk oddities like “You Won’t Let Me Rock,” “Underpuppy” and “Boca Raton,” and classic Fila squelch-funk like “Madame Le Fevre.” They’re often called downtempo or chill out, but Fila Brazillia were always way more than those labels, as The Life &… clearly demonstrates.