Among the worthy mentions is Gill-Scott Heron & Jamie xx We’re New Here.
Read the review below:
GIL SCOTT-HERON & JAMIE xx
We’re New Here
In what became his last release before his death in May, We’re New Here found Gil Scott-Heron combining with Jamie Smith, producer and percussionist for London minimalists the xx. Smith, a gifted re-mixer, was tasked by XL Record chief Richard Russell with re-contextualizing and refitting the dimly lit sounds and arrangements of 2010’s I’m New Here, Scott-Heron’s first release in 16 years as well as one on which he sang and spoke over spiny production provided by Russell. Smith approaches his mission by adding what Sean Fennessey calls “brightness, an energy, and a historical milieu” and in effect, transforming Scott-Heron from “broken man into a recombinant diva.” David Bevan [source Pitchfork]
