series: Slow Mo country of origin: Germany style(s): Lounge, nu jazz, hip hop, dub, ambient pop essential releases: Slow Mo 1 (Stereo Deluxe, 1998) Slow Mo 2 (Stereo Deluxe, 2000) Slow Mo 3 (Stereo Deluxe, 2002)

As electronic dance music progressed through the 1990's and ambient music expanded beyond ambient techno and trance into more mainstream forms, the basic sound became more like pop, rock and jazz. Drums, bass, guitar and brass - though often sourced from samples - made frequent appearances in the music. Soon people were calling it lounge, a word many thought lost forever in the kitsch world of 60's bachelor pad music. But tags like lounge and nu jazz have stuck and they're not bad descriptions at all, really.

One of the greatest purveyors of the style was the German-based Stereo Deluxe label founded by the late Oli Rosch (who was tragically killed in 2002). The label's output is highly diverse - often uptempo funk - but at the downtempo end of the spectrum the Slow Mo series sets an exceptional standard in the realm of jazz, dub and hip hop-influenced instrumentals. Names like Bonobo, Thievery Corporation and dub maestro Richard Dorfmeister will be familiar to aficionados. But many others like Sola Rosa, Extended Spirit and Lounge Conjunction seem to have been plucked out of obscurity by Rosch for a very well-deserved airing. Slow Mo 3 is a good place to start for newcomers. It's dreamy and gorgeous but beneath the clouds lies a gently funky and a deeply soulful core.

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