Greetings. Welcome to a new monthly music roundup column written exclusively for the Giant Step web site, written by yours truly, Velanche.

"Who is this Velanche guy," I'm hearing you asking in unison. Like most of the Giant Step fans and fanatics, I'm a lover of all things good music. I was born in about the mid-1960's. I've grown up being immersed in soul, R&B, and jazz fusion in the 70's, and ended up traversing through different musical tangents in the 80's and 90's. My tastes in music are very eclectic, but my heart stirs for the soulful, funky, and jazzy variety...in a bit of a leftward direction.

Another influence that aided my musical education was that of radio. I wanted to become one of those great DJ's whose choice in music went by their own convictions of what was worth sharing with listeners. And while these days most stations (on the right of the dial) are locked into consultant-driven playlists and mass broadcast automation, a newfound freedom for me was just around the corner while in pursuit of higher education.

College radio is one of the few bastions of free form radio left in the United States. Such an endeavor is usually an unpaid spot on the air. For me, it was the desire of wanting to share the kind of music I've enjoyed with others. With practically little representation of what I wanted to hear, I've started the Urban Landscapes Radioshow in January 1998 on KCPR, the university station for Cal Poly State University in San Luis Obispo. The beginnings were humble, and in those days trip-hop was at its peak and downtempo/ambient was part of the musical soundtrack.

A lot has happened resulting from my experience on the radio show. I was able to develop professional relationships with dozens of labels, artists, producers, and music promotion companies from around the world. This was helped, in part, from my being in charge of electronic/dance music for the radio station for about four years. Also very helpful was a web site for the show, which is now in its fourth incarnation. Around early 2000, I've started the idea of making the five most recent shows available, starting with Real Audio format. Since October 2003, the shows have been recorded and archived as mp3's. As of Summer 2005, the addition of the podcasts has allowed the show to expand its reach, with the broadcast downloaded by listeners in over 30 countries on a monthly basis.

Other happenings include writing music reviews for XLR8R Magazine, the occasional freelance writing gig, and spinning out in clubs (which I shall do more of this year). I've also expanded my own horizons by taking a trip to Europe in Winter '02/03 to meet and hang with folks whose music I've played on the show, and have also founded the yearly springtime pilgrimage for dance music lovers...Miami.

I'll stop here, but hopefully you have a bit of a taste for what I do. The music roundup column is the next step; to keep you, the Giant Step audience, informed of music that you may wish to check out. And lemme tell you, there's an incredible batch of golden nuggets to be had.

Now let's face it--most of you don't own two turntables and a mixer, let alone one. It's the digital age; whether it's CD's or mp3's, the music is now more available than ever before, and not just in the hands of the tastemakers for their record bags. I'm here to do my best to help navigate you along.

So without further ado, on we go....

Zero dB's Fluid Ounce label has earned massive respect for its output of leftfield biz. Its first release of the year will come from London's Daisuke Tanabe, one of its newest signings. The 4-track EP is dark, dubby and delicious. Already blowing up the CDR club night at London's Plastic People, it's definitely primed for the adventurous. Look for the release out this month. And while on the subject of the dB boys, the long-anticipated debut album will come out on Ninja Tune sometime this year. No release date yet as yet, so don't hold your breath just yet. More news to come soon.

Bristol's Up, Bustle & Out has been generating world-wide heat for over ten years. After five albums and a string of singles comes the wide release of 'City Breakers - 18 Frames Per Second' (originally titled 'City Breakers' last year). Dub label Collision drops it in May with a slew of dubwise action, including new ones not on City Breakers. Guests include Black Roots, Nicky Blaze, Nitin Sawhney, and the one and only King Tubby. Changes from the original release includes dope remixes from Beatfanatic & the Butch Cassidy Sound System, put a cool trumpet mix of the party anthem "Dance Your Troubles Away".

Fresh from being handed the "Record Label of the Year" honors by listeners of Gilles Peterson Worldwide on BBC Radio 1, Brighton's Tru Thoughts is on the fast track for 2006. With the first album of the year from the Nostalgia 77 Octet (the terrific live jazz album 'Sevens & Eights', recorded at London's Jazz Cafe), more releases are set to be unleashed to the world. Australian funk band The Bamboos' monster funk nugget "Step It Up", with the awesome Alice Russell taking charge on vocals, has been getting worldwide love on the limited 7" single (hunt it down...it's a keeper). The full-length album, for which the song is the title track, is set to drop (look for it in the states on Ubiquity).

And speaking of the lovely soulstress, Alice Russell's next single from her debut long-player of last year 'My Favourite Letters' is "Fly In The Hand". Out in late March, the single includes a shuffling hip-hop mix from DJ Vadim. Also on the wax is a sick downbeat mix of "Hurry On Now" from the Dirty Diggers (from TT's hip-hop sister label Zebra Traffic). Want those goods on CD? Not a problem; look for the 'Shapes Compilation' collection out in late March (or now through the Tru Thoughts site). Too many great tunes to mention, it's a very good representation of what the label is all about. The usual suspects--Quantic (with a new track), Ms. Russell, Diesler, TM Juke, and Jumbonics among others--are here.. Essential.

Time to take a trip to France, where plenty of musical action is happening. Just out is a live project from I:Cube (nee Nicholas Chaix, half of the Chateau Flight duo). "Live At The Planetarium" was recorded in June of last year at the Star Ball Festival in Paris. Very atmospheric in tone, the work is a continuous soundtrack broken into eight separate tracks. It's a dreamscape good for chillin' and head noddin'. Look for it on Versatile.

Pascal Rioux's Rotax label has a warm and soulful dancefloor winner with Rise & Shine, the new one from the duo known as Spiritchaser. Aided by vocal snippets and an synth-funk bassline and strings reminiscent of the Philly sound, it's a bouce-up disco affair Speaking of Philly, Mr. Rioux provides his "Philly Mix" take, with fattened beats, melodic guitar sampling, more pronounced strings, an organic-sounding bassline, and quite a bit more vocals....a nice reworking. Check it come March.

The New York-based afrobeat band Antibalas took some time out while on a recent concert tour in France to record a wicked cover of Sly Stone's "Family Affair". Produced by Paris resident Doctor L, the recording session lasted a day--assuring that the freshness of the music remains intact. The B-side finds a timely political message in "Mr. President", a spoken-word goody from Psycho, again inna afrobeat style. Out on Mind Records this month.

We jump now to Spain, where a flourishing music scene has garnered worldwide attention in recent years. It's in Madrid that El Gran Lapofsky's HiTop Records is ready and set (after a bit of a delay) to drop the second volume of its Spain Is Different comp series. While Casbah 73 is perhaps the best-known artist on the collection (with a cool reworking courtesy of expats Wagon Cookin', complete with kickin' live instrumentation), there's no shortage of awesome talent to show just how musically different Spain can be. From JP Duet's fresh batch of descarga to Los Rumbers's blend of hip-hop meshing with flamenco, the whole album is liable to knock your socks off.

And while we're still in Spain, lovers of the 7" single may dig the new 2Siders label. It's the start of a new series of rarified slices of jazz dance goodness. If the series is as strong as the first single, you just might die happy. The A-side features a mambo-infused cover of Cole Porter's "Night & Day", fronted with gusto by the late Frances Faye...very much a potential crowd pleaser. Flip the wax for another cover, "Cubano Chant", done by Ben et sa Tumba inna wicked Afro-Latin style. Limited pressings, so snatch it quick.

It's onward now to the region of Scandinavia, where an immense amount of quality music has surfaced in the last few years (Nuspirit Helsinki, The Five Corners Quintet, Koop, and the Gonkyburg massive of Swell Session et. al. to name a few). The city of Stockholm, Sweden is where one Cecilia Stalin resides. Best known to the world as the vocalist on Koop's "Baby" and "Waltz For Koop" on its most recent album for Compost, Stalin has blossomed into a multitalented wonder. Evidence can be found on her full-length 'Straighten Up'. Backed by a hand-picked quintet of choice local jazz talent, Stalin not only signs on the album (those only hearing her "Koop" work will be pleasantly surprised), but has also arranged, written, and produced the album. It's tremendously soulful and delightful. It's out on Firefly from Sweden. Find out more on the album at her web site, including where you may find it stateside.

Also hailing from Stockholm is the man known as Mad Mats, globe-trotting DJ, tastemaker, and founder of the renowned Raw Fusion label. Most any of its releases on wax are worth adding. But for those who aren't blessed with turntables, then you're in luck. Just out is the new comp 'Inside Scandinavia 2', featuring (in addition to the jazzy) a good dose of neo-soul delights and global groovers. Quite a few nuggets are being released on the comp for the first time, while others have made their way previously to vinyl. The creme-de-la-creme are here, incuding Povo (remixing, believe it or not, Baltimore's Fertile Ground), Teddy Rok (sans his band, Teddy Rok Seven), Todd Terje, and Up Hygh among others. Out now on CD, a vinyl release is imminent.

Rounding off the Scandinavian musical excursion, we go to Helsinki, Finland. You'd probably never guess that quite a bit of top future soul has been produced there. Proof comes in the form of a 3-track EP from the upcoming 'Hot As Hel' compilation on Nine2Five. Getting plenty of spins from Gilles P. is Kattrina's "Spared Your Kiss", featuring some deep production from label head Dharma One alongside Kattrina's sultry vocals. Excellent tracks also come from Present Sense & J-City. Sampler is out now, with the full comp expected this month.

A hip-hop tip from the Great White North finds Toronto's Do Right label is Anonymous Twist (nee one Own Chalm). Armed with an MPC 60, phat lyrics, and smooth delivery, "Royal Flush" is a funky ode to the world of poker. Can end up being the soundtrack for those poker tournaments if the dude's not careful. "Dollars of Fists" is on the flip. Watch for this come late-March, y'all.

The trip ends here, for now. More musical goodness to share with you in the near future. Big ups to Adam & Mehmet at Giant Step for allowing me to be your musical tour guide, to the labels and promo companies providing the music, and to you for your willingness to take the trip with me. If you'd like to send me your music, hit me up via e-mail at velanche@gmail.com. Until next month, peace out.