Available on: Tectonic LP

Vanese Smith a.k.a Pursuit Grooves hails from Brooklyn NY. Coming from the same class of Red Bull Music Academy participants as Fatima, Goldielocks and Jamie Woon, she’s been producing since 2006, and already boasts two full-length LPs on her own What Rules Records label.

But it’s her latest release on Bristol dubstep don Pinch’s Tectonic label that’s got tongues wagging and people everywhere waking up to her sound. Deviating away from their usual dubstep-orientated releases, Fox Trot Mannerisms is a record full of woozy, space-shot soul that’s apt for a Spring release, and sure to stay in your stereo until well into Summer.

Opening with swinging hip-hop track ‘Pressure’, Pursuit re-introduces herself with a wonderful array of keys, drums and soulful vocals (her own) before switching things up and MCing. ‘Shabaps’ sees her take off on a soulful journey through the beat cosmos, while the bouncy beats on ‘Start Something’ are quickly moulded into a sweet future hip-hop track. The instrumental ‘Whisper’, ‘Tweezers’, ‘Cosy’ and ‘Mister Softee’ see Pursuit take things down to a slower pace, with multi-layered productions packed with emotion. All in all, despite this being her fourth album, it’s an excellent introduction for Pursuit Grooves and the wider world, and a bold release by Tectonic unlike anything the label’s put out before.

Zainab Jama