Does it need saying how consistently brilliant Claremont56 is? It does because quality shouldn’t be taken for granted, it needs to be cherished and celebrated in equal measure. There are a few labels out there where every release is a banker. It’s not even controversial to put C56 in that bracket. There's the peerless Originals series, then the new cuts from Paul himself under various aliases and guises combining with varied collaborators. Plus the artists he’s brought to the attention through the lable, like Bambi Davidson and Jpye. The list goes on…So this is some kind of pre Christmas treat and a half, getting two drops from the label in the space of a few weeks.

Chaz Jankel is a name that, if it’s a new one on the radar, requires immediate investigation. Blockheads keyboardist and solo artist extraordinaire in his own right. Bridging the not inconsiderable gap from a grey 70’s Britain to Garage era New York, his music has always been forward thinking and funky as. But he's always melded it with a sense of humour and some pure groove for good measure. So this was a real surprise, and treat, to see him rock up with a new track, ‘Rumba Jam’. It’s classic Chaz brought bang up to date. A shuffling samba-like beat with keys done only how he can. Layers of bass, accordion and guitar combine for pure sunshine on wax. Mudd’s remix flips the emphasis to the strumming acoustic guitar line as a starter, teasing out the wait for the Rhodes solo of the original. A double AA if ever there was one.

Meanwhile, it’s a fair question to ask, is there something in the Pegnitz waters at the moment? Nuremberg feels like it’s having a bit of a moment of late. Locating themselves at the intersection of influences that includes dub, Kosmiche, psychedelia, maybe a little jazz and a soupcon of Balearic sounds - Neumayer Station have taken their time in putting together their debut, Crossings. The teaser that was the title track here, made an appearance on the Claremont editions 3 comp a couple of years back. That was a decent taster for the full eight course banquet of an album that they’ve now dropped. It’s meticulously put together without a wrong note in place. But loose limbed enough to not feel forced.

Beginning proceedings is ‘Unterführung’, a bit of a creeping monster of an opener, gurgling with sub-atomic bass noise and guitar klangs that prepare the way for some suitably tripped out vocalisms. ‘Nalut’ chips in with a choppier guitar beat and cleverly balanced melody and is not afraid to harness the power of a subtle whistle. ‘A Gentle Flow’ strips back the vibe to a very much more sedate location, this time introducing a combination of mellow organ and that guitar again to bring a centring kind of atmosphere to the track.

‘Bassrutscher’ introduces a walking bass and space noise combo over some slide that just sounds like very little else that’s out there at the moment. ‘Zielgerade’ translates as home straight and it powers forward with emotion and restrained energy, evolving and morphing across its length with instrumental variants dropping in and out like ever changing sonic scenery. A more acoustic counter drops with the uplifting ‘Von der Morgenröte’ an eyes closed lost in a moment piece if ever there was one. There’s more of that sensation in ‘Feeling Forst’ but with a more cosmic twist before ‘Crossings’ does its thing with a dreamy sax refrain that provides a perfect closer.

Claremont 56 has always been a benchmark for quality releases, not rushing, beautiful music superbly put together. It’s fair to say the label’s sound has evolved over the years, but it’s never lost the identity that makes it what it is. With these two, that just keeps on rolling.

Neumayer Station’s ‘Crossings’ is out today and Chaz Jankel’s ‘Rumba Jam’ comes in early December. Order both from the Claremont 56 Bandcamp site.