Producing

London-based producer duo Gypsy Hill – two of Batov Records' co-founders, DJ Kobayashi and Herbert Newbert – are that delectable mix of dedicated crate-diggers of global sounds as well as serious dance-floor enthusiasts. Their live shows mix Balkan brass, Mediterranean surf-rock, ska and electro-swing, incorporating scratch DJing and electronic beat-making into an ever-growing band that creates a raucous, kinetic energy; their natural home would be one of those slightly hidden but absolutely heaving smaller tents you stumble into with a face full of glitter at WOMAD or Shambala once the main stages have shut down.

Following their 2014 debut Our Routes, which gave Balkan brass a dubby, electro-swing-style makeover, Producing takes a more collaborative route, with seven different artists and groups appearing over the eight tracks, including multi-instrumentalist Koby Israelite, Gnawa master Simo Lagnawi and multi-national festival favourites The Turbans. The album has some great moments – halfway into ‘Late Junkies’ for one, when musicians of the wickedly named Hallouminati slowly join in on a bouzouki riff that culminates in a big Greek/ska knees-up – and is certainly richer for its diversity of voices featured, but it does feel slightly flat and lacking in spirit, never quite capturing the dynamism of which Gypsy Hill and their collaborators are truly capable.