Jimi Tenor & Kabu Kabu - 4th Dimension

With his Andy Warhol glasses, black polo-necks and album titles like Beyond The Stars, it would be easy to dismiss Jimi Tenor as just a groovy lounge lizard. And although he is best known for the jazzual, wigged-out sounds of Intervision, the Finnish maverick has also ventured into industrial rock and techno. It’s not a surprise that his latest effort, 4th Dimension, sets him off on a different orbit altogether. What is surprising, though, is that it’s pretty much a straight-up Afrobeat affair featuring African trio Kabu Kabu. Tracks like Mystery Spot are very much 70s-style funk aimed straight at the dancefloor, but it’s left to the likes of Floating Orange, with its bubbly synth, to remind you most of the album was recorded in a Berlin nightclub. With enough energy to keep the listener involved, 4th Dimension is a spirited set of West African funk workouts, but the biggest surprise is that it doesn’t break a few more rules. [Euan Ferguson]