Fila Brazillia

Members of the acclaimed underground label Pork Recordings, Fila Brazillia's innovative productions bring a warm, live feel to Downtempo electronic music, freely drawing from idioms of Funk, hip-hop, and jazz. Producers Steve Cobby and Dave McSherry happen to be ace instrumentalists, piecing together deceptively simple breakbeats, deep, sinuous basslines, and swirls of synths in several voices, from the watery sounds of a Fender Rhodes to the squirm of an abused oscillator. Many of their productions ooze futuristic Lounge kitsch, full of hip-wiggling bongo breaks, lush keyboards, snippets of flute, and electronically doctored horn blasts. Others are pure instrumental Funk, complete with clavinet lines straight from the Headhunters. And the occasional crunchy guitar riff reveals sympathy with the pleasure of rock 'n' roll, though always filtered through several layers of chorusing and flange effects.