Cottam 2 - Cottam

On the day that the the long-awaited repress of Cottam’s second instalment on his self-named platform finally landed on my desk I almost hugged the postman. This EP was one of three curious 12’s that propelled UK based Paul Cottam (who I'm reliably told is a top guy) to notoriety back in ’09 and is by far and away my favourite of the six that are now out there.

The A could easily be used as a description for Cottam’s style – a mid-tempo chugger with a disco-y guitar riff lacing the background. Once you’re deep into the track, a soulful vocal catches you off-guard and transforms the track completely for the last few delicious minutes.

The flipside though, is the real reason I was happy to wait so damn patiently to kop this release - a glorious rework of a 70's Nigerian jazz track (I'll let you find the original, sample collectors).

The rumbling bass and the heavily delayed claps of the intro transport you straight onto a journey you’re not going to want to return from and, by the time you get to the infectious afro-jazz vocal lines, the repetitive trumpet hook has you hypnotised.

The heavy kick and the lazy percussion bounce you along nicely into the sixth minute where the track takes a turn. Those trumpets you’re by now so familiar with open up and come to life to give you that ‘hands in the air’ feeling you only really get late into a set when the sun is coming up.

This badboy is a stunner, the kind of EP you pick out each and every time you’re flippin’ through your crate.

Sold out in most of the usual haunts, but it looks like you can still grab a copy at Red Eye.