In the interview he told Gilles that the album took him 4 years to make. This was partly due to how busy Atjazz (aka Martin Iveson) is since he move to Derby in 1991 to be the in-house musician for a fledgling electronic games company. Even though, he went on to produce some of the music for Tomb Raider, he set up his own studio and record label, Mantis Recordings.

Being on the edge (if living in Derby is), Atjazz has always been associated with the edgier side of house (more than anything jazz). A musicians producer (al la his Nottingham based mate, Charles Webster and Matthew “The Saviour” Herbert), he is as good for the head as he is the feet. He’s credited with literally countless remixes from all over the place including the rather leftfield ObliqSound to ‘I Know All The Bitches’ with his own productions, he’s had two recently on different top albums of the year in 2008, Replife’s The Unclosed Mind and Robert Owens’ Night-time Stories.

Not sure what Full Circle these 11 tracks are supposed to represent but there’s a healthy mix of guest artists, including the aforementioned house legend Robert Owen, Sonar Kollektiv’s Clara Hill, Exceptional’s Ernesto and Sarah Jane Morris (last seen in this parish as Mrs Ubu up against David Thomas’ Ubu Roi in Bring Me The Head Of Ubu Roi!) who help shape this melting pot of as many flavas of deep house you can think of (Latin, jazz, broken beat, hip-hop, chill, funk and more that we haven’t even thought of yet).

At its best, this is just what you want in a Break Reform groove (‘One’ featuring Amalia) or a Berlin soul-orientated boogie (‘Sense Of Life’ featuring Clara Hill). Strangely enough these two tracks are the first and last on the CD; do I feel a joining of a circle, the completion of a journey? To be honest, I’m not sure. Some of the best moments are to be found when Peter Wraight is blowing his flute/trumpet/flugelhorn, Ben Hadwen (Planet Rescue/CDr) is on sax and Ernesto is on vocals. Having said that, these tracks do have layers and a depth that you grow into/grows into you. Just check ‘With You’, ‘Put It On’, ‘Fantasy’, ‘Before’ and the best of the lot, ‘Parallels’ or the game boy Yoruba of ‘I Forgot You’ featuring the vocals of Derby’s very own son, Clyde.

Not surprisingly ‘Love Someone’ was picked out as the single with the obligatory remixes (provided by Slope and Atjazz’ favourite Lithuanian production duo, Mario Basanov and Vidis Redo) but all the tracks here would be quality singles so it’s a highly recommended purchase.

Forthcoming Appearances:
22 August 2008: Boogie Brain at Amfiteatr, Szczecin, Poland : Atjazz, 4hero, LTJ Bukem, Rhythm & Sound, Pink Freud, Nookie, Jahcoozi, Dick4Dick

Reviewed: Atjazz - Full Circle (Mantis Recordings) Cat. No. MANTCD 006 Release date: 9th June 2008
Tracklisting:
1 One (4:59) featuring Amalia
2 Together (5:36) featuring Mr. J
3 Underlined (4:23) featuring rapper Cee-Rock “The Fury” and Ernesto
4 Parallels (6:29) featuring Dawne B
5 I Forgot You (4:58) featuring Clyde
6 Love Someone (7:15) featuring Robert Owens
7 Put It On (7:28) featuring Ernesto
8 Before (5:15) featuring Clara Hill
9 Fantasy (6:27) featuring Sarah Jane Morris
10 With You (5:40) featuring Dawne B & Stephanie Hernandez
11 Sense Of Life (6:36) featuring Clara Hill

Links
www.atjazz.co.uk
www.myspace.com/atjazz
ATJAZZ KEEPING IT DEEP PODCASTS (RSS - iTunes)
www.myspace.com/clydemantis
www.mantisrecordings.com
Gilles Peterson :: 24th July 2008 :: Atjazz In The Studio & Kode 9 and the Space Ape In Session
Jon Redfern - ‘I Love the Sun” (At Jazz Remix) (Reveal)
Mario Basanow & Vidis ‘Test’ (At Jazz Afrotech Remix) (Mantis Recordings)
At Jazz Ft. Robert Owens - ‘Love Someone’ (Mantis Recordings)
At Jazz & Mark De Clive Lowe - ‘Sweat No Sleep’ (Mantis Recordings)