Making jazzy house music isn’t anything new. From Kerri Chandler to Theo Parrish, various producers have instituted ranging levels of brass, woodwinds, and all other sorts of saucy horns into their sound, helping to create that welcoming feeling that just sneaks down into your soul and never lets go. In more recent years however, certain younger producers have been bringing their interpretations of jazz-infused house into the mix, taking inspirations from their hometowns, collaborators, labels, and perhaps even the aforementioned luminaries who first helped cultivate the stye. One of those new talents is the Berlin based DJ and producer Glenn Astro, whose forthcoming album Throwback (released May 25 on vinyl via Tartelet Records) is swaying in the springtime breeze (as well SoundCloud embed) below.
Since 2011, Glenn has been manicuring his sound, a delicious medley of house, jazz, instrumental hip-hop, and disco. The 15-track album also brings into the mix one of Glenn’s close friends and Tartelet Records label partner, Max Graef, whose own deliciously jazzy 2014 album Rivers of The Red Planet helped place the German upstart firmly on the map. Glenn’s LP certainly takes some cues from Graef, which isn’t surprising seeing the artists collaborate on two of the album tracks.
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Glenn’s album is a great listen on all fronts, and travels from full-on analog synth jams, to the type of thermally intoxicating instrumental hip-hop you might encounter on a famed J. Dilla beat tape. While the influence here is vast and certainly layers the listener with a vintage vibe, there’s some segments that offer a very modern take on a sound that’s been around for decades.
Glenn Astro is on Facebook // SoundCloud
