Linear Labs
is the brainchild of composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist
Adrian Younge
. He formed it in 2012 along with a studio and publishing company for releasing his own projects and others he felt passionate about. The label issued dozens of recordings before going on hiatus in 2020, when he and his business and musical partner,
Ali Shaheed Muhammad
, created the
Jazz Is Dead
label and concert series.
JID
released 21 collaborative albums over four years while
LL
sat idle. In 2024,
Adrian Younge Presents Linear Labs: São Paulo
reinaugurates the label with a preview sampler featuring one unreleased song from forthcoming albums and artists that
Younge
recorded and produced in Los Angeles. While focusing on artists from all over the world,
offers stateside treats, too: He teased his own forthcoming release,
Something About April III
, along with one from hip-hop legend
Snoop Dogg
and another from
Bilal
.
Only one of these nine tunes clocks in at over four minutes; they all sound like singles. Production is classy, pristine, and lush. Set opener "Esperando por Você" is a preview for
.
plays half a dozen instruments with
Jack Waterson
on electric guitar alongside
the Linear Labs Orchestra
. The star-studded vocal chorus includes Brazilian singers
Céu
,
Luiza Lian
, and
Manu Julian
, as well as Rio-based film composer
Antonio Pinto
. Its production weds psychedelic soul, MPB, and library music in a woozy pillow of sound. Its spacy delivery recalls moments from
's 2016 offering
Tropix
and
collaborate on "Rules of the Game," a forthcoming blaxploitation adventure that showcases the rapper at his very best. Led by
Dave Henderson
's ticking hi-hat cymbals and
's slippery psychedelic bassline, the
LL Orchestra
and chorus --
Loren Oden
Saudia Mills
-- elevate
Snoop
's rap. "Fire in the Disco" sounds like
Speaking in Tongues
-era
Talking Heads
jamming with
Hermeto Pascoal
's band and Rio's
As Frenéticas
plays multiple instruments above a septet of brass, reeds, and woodwinds, with a five-voice women's chorus riding the strutting wave. The groove moves east on "Farrar Konam," starring the gifted Iranian-Israeli singer
Liraz Charhi
and a horn section. The dreamy, beautiful "Nossa Cor" is sung by
Samantha Schmütz
. It's a gorgeous exercise in 21st century psychedelic samba with reeds, winds, and hand percussion. Following the drifting instrumental "Human Absence," where
is backed by a 30-piece orchestra, and the lilting folk-soul of "Run" featuring London-based singer
Ala.ni
checks in on the glorious retro cosmic soul tune "Spiraling";
plays everything but trumpet, which is played by
Clinton Patterson
Lætitia Sadier
sings the psychedelic-dream-pop-meets-MPB closer "Purification." Played by multi-instrumentalist
, with
Waterson
Patterson
, it channels
Bachrach
Petula Clark
Ashford and Simpson
. Throughout the relatively short
, we are continually drawn into his complex yet alluring, multifaceted sound world to revel in listening pleasure. The batch of
recordings these tracks are drawn from should make for sensorially adventurous listening. ~ Thom Jurek