sneaky jesus, Poland's hottest new Jazz group return to Shapes of Rhythm brand new for 2022, with the follow up to 2021's sell out For Joseph Riddle LP. Back in early 2021 the band sent the label a finished album project and an enquiry as to whether they'd be interested in releasing it. The oddball and quite unique mix of avant garde, jazz funk, free and modern jazz styles immediately caught the label's ears and the project was quickly signed.
sneaky jesus are a young, new group so when the LP was released there was a real sense of the unknown but copies quickly began to fly out and the band hit the road across Poland playing many shows including Jassmine: Poland's most prestigious jazz club.
To celebrate For Joseph Riddle's release, Shapes of Rhythm decided to get the stems to some producers and this EP is the result. The tracks – all completely different in flavour – take in electronic, sparse and smoky hip hop, beats, jungle as well as tropical vibes.
Groove Professor is sneaky jesus' drummer Filip Baczyński who also has a passion for beat-making when he's not behind the drum kit. This was one of the first remixes to emerge and is an accomplished hip hop version of Bugs,For Joseph Riddle's opener. As you'd expect the drums play a huge part in this remix as a live-feeling pattern swings throughout. Picking a section of Bugs to develop a groove and then working a deep, dub-inspired texture this is an intriguing reimagination.
One artist that Shapes of Rhythm have long wanted to work with is Poison Zcora AKASean Keating. Having just had a huge year as part of Lunch Money Life, his label Tiff's Joints' music is always on the hi fi. Sean picked Battledance to work with and injects real bounce and a sense of playfulness to the EP. Twisting the beat into a swinging 120BPM 4/4 there's a distinctly tropical feeling here, with many of the original instruments replayed or heavily effected to bring about a totally different angle.
Kai Meara is another producer the label had been looking to bring to the label. His beats regularly featured on the label's Balamii radio show in 2021 and a remix was the follow up conversation. Kai Meara's take on Jozek Zagadka is inventive, taking sections of track and establishing a deep, but sparse groove. This is late night, laid back hip hop: a whirlwind of sampled instrumentation. Less Gang Starr more Kutmah, the boom bap is replaced with subtle snares and fills.
Released in April 2020, Awkward Corners' reinterpretation of Battledance was for many the first listen of anysneaky jesusmaterial. Keen to get Chris Menist's trademark mix of electro-acoustic instruments and booming 808s, this deserves to be heard again. Focussing on the original's nimble bassline groove and using that as a base to build around, Chris works congas, illimbas and berimbaus to the into the mix for a deep listening experience.
We close the EP with Poland-based beat-maker Baby Meelo's rework of Minneapolis – Police Game. With 25 minutes of this track to choose from, friend of the band Baby Meelo takes For Joseph Riddle's closing track into a totally different direction rocking a jungle and 90s hardcore-inspired 150bpm rollout. Keeping all the tension and conflict of the original, this rework is all about using snippets in short loops or even longer passages repeated as new themes such as Matylda Gerber's pressing Sax licks.