Yes, it's out internationally - not sure about the US. It's had a very good reaction out here (in Melbourne, less so Sydney) and it has been supported by Kiss FM (not related to UK) radio.
I know some are not feeling it, which is cool and I do respect that (though I'm a huge fan of Stacey's stuff!!), I really love it but I have lived with it since around mid-2000. The broken beat influence is really interesting, I had not picked up on that. RE: two-step garage, not all of it is commercial or obvious and it's a shame that the hype is impacting on perceptions of the music as a whole. The Wookie and MJ Cole albums are really good - very musical. Wookie is more on the R&B side and MJ Cole is more 'intelligent' drum 'n' bass with 'songs'. Both producers are diverse. On Wookie's there is a techno track that sounds like some bizarre take of Richie Hawtin aka Plastikman! There is an instrumental track on Cole's that has an ol' skool Detroit feel to it (feel not obvious sound). Some of Cole's remixes (Jill Scott, De La Soul) are superb too. I come from an R&B background, maybe that's why I like it, but I think the movement has been influenced in equal parts by drum 'n' bass and nu era R&B/hip-hop producers like Timbaland as much as 'garage'. Kenny Dope was saying that it reminds him of 80s freestyle music (albeit he prefers freestyle). >Is the album out proper yet? If so, are there any new opinions on it? As >some folk will recall I thought it was awful (unlike Vertigo, which is quite >good), other folk have told me it grows on you, but it hasn't done so yet. >It's still cack IMHO: the broken beats connection is there, but it's a much >more insipid take. But I wonder what the general reaction is...
