Grace Jones, Gwen Guthrie, Jimmy Cliff, John Martyn, Talking Heads, Robert Palmer, Ian Dury, Tom Tom Club, Black Uhuru….just some of the artists to have recorded seminal albums at Chris Blackwell’s Compass Point Studios during its 30+ years of being open. It’s a pretty stellar list. What made the place so special was the sound created during its golden era by the All Stars: (Sly Dunbar (drums), Robbie Shakespeare (bass), Mikey Chung (guitar), Uziah "Sticky" Thompson (percussion), Barry Reynolds (guitar), Wally Badarou (Synth/Keyboards) and then Tyrone Downie (formerly of The Wailers). That band was helmed by Blackwell, along with co-producer, engineer and mixer Alex Sadkin. It’s a sound that has been often copied, or attempted to be anyway, but rarely bettered. It’s up there with the likes of Rudy van Gelder’s Blue Note studio or Muscle Shoals, in that it created a sound all of its own that was more than just a sum of its location and personnel.

Francois Kevorkian’s connection to Compass Point goes beyond simple fandom, he also worked as a producer there including mixing Guy Cuevas’ ‘Obsession’, still a huge record that never fails to get a reaction, and still just sounds so different. Now, three decades into knowing each other, FK has teamed up with another DJ/Producer who knows his way round a dancefloor, Dimitri from Paris, to put out ‘Nassau Excursion’ on Rush Hour. Homages or tributes to lost sounds can place artists on shaky turf indeed. The words ‘inspired by’ can often make the heart sink. But occasionally it can be the catalyst for something really great, and fortunately this one absolutely falls into the latter camp.

‘The Compass Point’ is a pure percussive groove, overlaid with synth stabs and layered guitar riffs and more than enough echo and bass to put it in the pocket. Eight minutes just isn’t really long enough for this one. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, DJ Rocca pops up too with some jazz funk wig out loveliness too. ‘Da Riddim’ follows suit, with a more bass led sound, slap heavy and chopped in with a nice vocal drop. There are call backs to some of the classic sounds that Francois has laid his magic on over the years for the keen-eared, this is way up there with some of his best. Lastly ‘Steppers Revenge’ is the most dub orientated of the three, it’s a more piano-centric sound, but some of those bass stabs and effects just do it every time. This is killer. Now, can we have an album please?

Nassau Excursion is out on Rush Hour now.