Following a two-year battle against serious illness, junglist [a]Peshay[/a] has risen from his bed and, not unjustifiably, decided it’s time to drop the moody posturing and [I]smile[/I].
Here he celebrates being alive by way of glowing tunes and jazzy rhythms. Thankfully, only occasionally is this like a dreary evening at the Montreux Festival. Largely, it’s the sound of drum’n’bass docking expertly with Roy Ayers, Masters At Work and, on ‘End Of Story’, where US rapper J-Live guests, the funkier end of hip-hop. Nowhere is this brew more rosy than on ‘Truly’, where long-standing garage diva Kym Mazelle roars through a sanguine anthem which Basement Jaxx fans are sure to love.
Naturally, to rest those facial muscles, you have to stop grinning sometimes. This being the point where [a]Peshay[/a] devises a strong-arm onslaught with old mucker Photek on ‘P Vs P’; then revisits the age when electro spawned Detroit techno on ‘Robotics’.
A bit of rough but mainly radiantly smooth, ‘Miles From Home’ sounds tailor-made for those nights in the city when it gets so hot you can hardly breathe. The fumes are overwhelming, tempers are rising and you feel like sleeping in the freezer, but still, says [a]Peshay[/a], don’t forget to smile.