Latest releases reviewed

COLDCUT
Sound Mirrors
Ninja Tune
****
Few of the acts Coldcut may have regarded as peers when they started out making music some 19 years ago are still around. This speaks volumes about club culture's burn-out rate, but it also tells a tale about Coldcut's resilience. While there have been occasional hits, three albums and various remixes, Coldcut have spent most of their time overseeing the Ninja Tune label and developing such innovative projects as the VJamm audiovisual mixing software. Sound Mirrors, though, shows they still have a magic touch when it comes to their own studio output. A beguiling, sparkling, emotive set of songs featuring diverse guest vocalists Roots Manuva, Jon Spencer, Annette Peacock and Soweto Kinch, Sound Mirrors is deep, funky and downright smart. Be it the folky, bluesy reach of Man in a Garage or the epic, euphoric embrace of Robert Owens on Walk a Mile, there's much to admire in Coldcut's bracing songwriting and production radicalism. www.ninjatune.net

MISS KITTIN
Live at Sonar
Sonarmusic
***
It wouldn't be Sonar without a sighting of the Kittin. Caroline Herve has become something of an icon at Barcelona's annual electronic music beano and attracts a crowd regardless of what's on her turntable. Most mix-CDs are put together in recording studios, with much editing to ensure a smooth flow, but you can see the joins and much more on this souvenir of the French producer's appearance at Sonar last June. Herve says these bumps and miscues are all about "surrender" and "humility", but really it's about hitting the wrong button at the wrong time. Still, in an era of digital perfection, it's good to see Herve letting it all hang out, so to speak. Trackwise, however, she doesn't miss a beat, with twisted dark cuts (Ricardo Villalobo's Dexter), alternative classics (Aphex Twin's Window Licker) and various re-edits and reworkings of her own material (including 2 Many DJs taking on Requiem for a Hit) popping up in the mix. www.sonar.es